Loppet Season!

We have the cutest minion ski hats thanks to Sandra Volpatti!

Jackrabbits is a great introduction to the sport for anyone who wants to start up.

Cross-country skiing has become one of our family’s favourite winter activities. It’s something fun that we can all do together, and it’s relatively inexpensive too! The kids are always excited to get up there and get going. Mason can be a bit of a stick in the mud and can get a little whiny, but the girls are awesome! Bella has shocked us. She just takes off!  She did so well in her jackrabbits lessons that she skipped ahead a level. I love that skiing gets us outside in the winter. It can be so easy to stay cooped up all winter but having to get to lessons once a week forces us to spend at least one day outside a week.

This year the kids participated in their first loppet (ski race). It was the Reino Keski Salmi loppet, one that I skied in as a kid. It was funny watching them line up to ski and take off. It was just like I remember as a kid, only a little less intimidating, lol. I remember feeling like I was going to get run over by all the adults. The kids did great though! Cheyanne skied in th 5Km and Bella and Emme were in the 2Km. Bella and I skied together while Emme and Chey were on there own. Everyone did awesome and finished hard. The atmosphere up thee was just like I remember as a kid, lots of volunteers, some incredible skiers, and awesome beef on a bun at the finish!!

The big girls also skied in the Pirate loppet., another race I did as a kid. This race is organized for the school district and is for kids grades 3-5, but they allowed Emme to ski in it as well. I wasn’t able to go because I had to work in Bella’s class, but Michael managed to get them all geared in pirate costumes and up the hill. Both girls skied 5k and did awesome! Apparently Emmersen was flying! Apparently it was a pretty cool experience. Michael said that the very last skier to come in was followed up by all the pirate clad volunteers and was greeted to the finish line by a huge cheering crowd! I have to say the people up at Larch Hills are amazing! I swear they have the friendliest volunteers up there!

Grandma Olund and Mrs. Doorn also skied in the Renio Keski-Salmai loppet this year. Although they almost missed the start and had to run for it! They skied well though and finished strong!

Lined up and ready for the cannon to go off!

Mason, pulling his sled full of snacks so he can cheer loud!

Emmersen skied so fast she was finished before daddy and Mason were there to cheer. They just saw her crossing the finish line as they were walking up, so she got an after the race photo shoot instead!

Bella did great too!

It was fun skiing with her, she was all smiles the whole way!

Cheyanne was pretty tired, but finished hard!

All dressed up and ready to head to the ski hill!

Mason again ready to take up his position as a cheer leader

The cutest pirate competitors!

Grandma came along to ski with Emme and Michael skied with Chey, while grandpa and Mason hung out together cheering for the finishers and enjoying the hot chocolate and hot dogs when it was all finished!

We have had a blast skiing this year, we love it! It is a perfect family sport for anyone looking for something fun and active to do in the winter! It always seems like a lot of work to get up there, but once we are there the fresh air reminds us that it's worth the effort. We were lucky enough this year to have the right weather to make it possible to ski at our place with out sinking in too far. The kids loved exploring he lowlands in winter, and I had a lot of fun too!!

Christmas Time!!

Christmas is always a favourite time of year for me. I know sometimes it can end up getting crazy busy and it seems like we can loose the joy that the season brings, but when I take time to really be in the moment and enjoy the chaos, I LOVE Christmas! I love the typical Christmas pageants, all the family gatherings, putting up the tree, opening gifts together, and just having fun. So...just a few of our Christmas highlights :)!

Bella was pretty much the cutest sheep there was in the church Christmas concert, at the very least, she was the only purse touting sheep! She had a lot of fun, and there were a couple of cute "kiddo" highlights. The first was when Bella and Mason's class came out to introduce the play, each kid had a letter of the title "The Thrill of Hope," however, they had it spelt backwards and never could get it straightened out. The other fun highlight was when the sheep got lost. It was their turn to come out and no one could find them.

Cheyanne and Emme were angels for the play. They were a part of the choir and each had a solo verse to sing, and a final line to sing together. They were pretty cute, sang amazingly well, and then had a little tiff over who should hold the mic. It brought back some embarrassing memories of my sisters and I hip checking each other over who should stand closest to the microphone.

After the concert we decided it would be the perfect moment to take a picture for grandma and grandpa's Christmas card, lol, as always it was pretty nuts but made for some funny moments.

We found a great place to get our Christmas tree this year. It was at "The Christmas Tree Farm" back of Armstrong.

They were amazing there. They served us hot chocolate and candy canes, and even had a mail box where the kids could write letters to Santa. A few weeks later each of our kids got a personalized and unique letter. It was a great touch and we will definitely be returning there again!

I love decorating for Christmas, and love nativity scenes, putting it out for the year is when I really begin to feel like the Christmas season has started.

Cheyanne and Emme stitched this nativity scene with Great Grandma this year. They were so proud to present it to the family as a Christmas present.

Bella in her school Christmas concert. Always neat to hear the message of Jesus' birth proclaimed so clearly. It has definitely been a blessing to be part of such an amazing school at King's Christian.

This year our Haak side got together at different times to open presents. The kids had a lot of fun opening gifts with the Coleridges.

All ready for the Christmas Eve service!

Dexter and Bella were the advent candle lighters this year. They took their job very seriously!

Cheyanne and Emme preformed Away in a Manger together. They started a little rocky but they got it straightened out and finished great!

"The Three Wisemen" preformed "O Holy Night"

It has been a Christmas Eve tradition to get new pj's and a book, every year the kids look forward to it.

 Showing off their snazzy batman pj's, complete with capes, lol.

The was the kids watching for grandma Haak to make her way up for gift opening time!

Us girls all got Maplelea Dolls for Christmas! It has been so much fun enjoying tea parties together, and dressing our girls for big events. The girls have hauled them pretty well everywhere we have gone since they've gotten them.

Couldn't let the boys feel left out so they both got remote control vehicles, Mason got a tractor and daddy got an awfully fast car!

The Christmas Day hay ride has become a pretty fun tradition around here. The kids love it, and it's a great way to burn off the extra energy that Christmas seems to bring! Could these two little guys get any cuter!?!

We had a lot of snow this year, and in plowing the driveway, someone got the new tractor awfully stuck! lol.

Christmas celebrations with Uncle Andrew's family happened in the New year this year. Bella loves to read to everyone, and very much enjoyed having Joelle for her audience!