Working Vacation

At the end of January this year we were lucky enough to take a working vacation. There was a farm tour and trade show happening in the Abbotsford/Chilliwack area that Michael wanted to attend. There was a couple old barns that had been renovated and made more efficient, even a few older barns that had been retrofitted for robots so he wanted to see how they were able to make things work in an older system. Of course there was also some amazing brand new facilities to check out as well. With the tours and the trade shows taking up a few days we decided it would be a good time to extend our stay and hit the aquarium and science world. It took us a bit to figure out a hotel to stay in, not the easiest thing when you have four children, and most places were booked due to the trade show. We actually ended up staying in Langley so that we could have adjoining rooms. The kids thought it was awesome! For me, I loved the fact that there was no house work, no meal planning, and no laundry! We had a ton of fun, it was the perfect way to break up the winter and put some fun into what seemed like an endlessly grey January!

This little vacation turned out to be extra special in our hearts as we also used it as a time to spend with family. Every evening we had an engagement with different family members. These are always special times for us and I always make it a priority to see as much family as possible when we are in the area. What made this time so special was that it ended up being our kids' last visit with great grandpa Haak, and the last time we all saw him before he got sick. At the time I never would have guessed that this would be our family's last visit with him. He was so great! Talked with all the kids, hugged each of them, joked about coming out to plant corn, and just loved on us. I am so glad that it worked out that we could spend time with him that evening. What a blessing to know that my kids were able to have that last visit with him while he was still healthy and able to engage with them. It seems incredibly unbelievable that just two short months later we are gathering in Abbotsford again to pay tribute to him and celebrate the legacy that he left. Once again reminded that life is short, make time to spend it with those you love, don't let yourself get too busy in the details that you don't appreciate the people in your life.

 Our first engagement of the trip was supper with Great Grandma and Grandpa Martins. It is a favourite stop for my kids.  The famous Apple Betty's. It's an all you can eat buffet, and well...the kids love it! This was the first time we have gathered with them and all the cousins at the restaurant. It was a lot of chaotic fun!

 

The next day we had the farm tour. This was a lot of fun, however a little colder then we expected. The kids did pretty good and we made it to four different farms before they got too tired and grumpy. One of the highlights was definitely watching the robotic milkers. Mason couldn't figure out where the robots head was though. I think he was expecting something more transformerish then what he saw, lol.

checking out the Lelay robot

can't be too careful, better make sure we don't cross contaminate so on go the boot covers!

yes the dolls came to each and every stop with us!

checking out the DeLaval robot.

We also managed to use the pool and take a bit of time just to chill out at the hotel in between plans. We were pretty busy this trip and didn't have a lot of time to enjoy just vegging out, but we did try and make the most of our time. The kids definitely enjoyed the fact that someone came in and cleaned up after them every day, and I enjoyed the fact that "that someone" wasn't me! :)

Day two was the Tradex. It was very busy in there, and it took forever to get Michael through the place. Every few steps there was either a farmer to chat with or a salesman vying for his attention. The kids had a blast, they kept saying they were trick or treating as each booth and display had some sort of candy or freebie to give them. We came home with a whole bag full of loot.

That's one giant tractor!

The kids enjoyed milking the fake cow!

The petting zoo was also a highlight!

Day 3, and my favourite day of the trip, was the Vancouver Aquarium! I love the aquarium and so did the kids. They loved seeing all the neat fish and running through the different displays. The beluga's are my favourite, I just can't get over how beautiful they look swimming around in the underground viewing area. The dolphin show was also really fun! Another highlight of the aquarium is the 4-D movie theater. It was so fun! Mason was a little freaked out when it felt like snakes were crawling by your feet. It was a really neat show we watched the planet earth oceans video while being sprayed in the face when the dolphins would jump or having your chair vibrated, etc. I would highly recommend taking the experience in if you are planning to attend the aquarium.

The jelly fish were another favourite. There were some really neat displays!

ready to take in the 4D movie experience.

The rainforest exhibit.

The penguins were pretty cute too!

...and of course you can't leave unless you go through the gift shop, lol, so one cute stuffie for all! We really did the tourist version, we even purchased the cheesie family photo! Oh well, I guess better to have a cheesie photo when they are still young and cute then when they are in the awkward teenage years haha.

Day 4 was an exciting  trip to Science World. If you are going to go I suggest getting a pass to your local science center (as long as it's more then 100kms away from Vancouver) as it gets you in free to Science World. Our pass to the Vernon Science center for the year was cheaper then it would have been to pay to attend Science World for the day. We decided to skytrain it to the Science center. Mason thought the trains would actually be flying so was a little disappointed that it was so easy to get on, haha. Small town kids! They were a little nuts and the trains were very busy, but we made it, and it was a fun experience for the kids. Science World was fun too. The Lego exhibit had just opened the day we got there so that was cool. The kids were able to participate in building the massive Lego mural which was kind of cool. They were given a little square and a pattern to follow and they would build their little square, a person would check it, and then it would get placed in the correct space on the wall. The other favourite part of the day was the Omnimax theater. It's such a neat screen. I love how it feels 3D because of the large scale of the screen.

hard at work building their squares

This was one of my favourite photos of the trip!

Science World meant some abandoned dolls, lol, good thing daddy was willing to carry the girly backpack and dolls while everyone else ran around!

It was a jampacked trip, full of lots of walking and late nights. Most nights by the time we got to the hotel the kids were zombies, and on a few, they were just outright passed out. We ended our trip with a superbowl party and another great day of visiting family. It was a pretty awesome trip and holds lots of great memories. I came home feeling very blessed to have gotten away. For Michael, it was the longest he'd left the farm in a looong time, and he was a bit antsy about it leading up to the trip, but once we got on the road he never looked back, and things went great on the farm.

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!