The 1st Gingerbread House

The other day in the store Katie asked if we could buy a gingerbread house. All I could think was oh, what a mess! Needless to say we left sans gingerbread house. Yesterday Grandpa and Katie put one together that he had purchased. Thank goodness for grandparents or Katie would never have got to do one.

A shot from the airplane window last night somewhere over Texas. The picture doesn't even do it justice. What an artist God is!

They really are everywhere!

You all know Aaron and I, and the one thing we are still getting adjusted to is not having a Starbucks within 5 minutes of where we are living. Halfway through our trip though we discovered a Starbucks a few minutes walk from our resort. I am so glad that Caramel Machiato's are universal!

The Coba Ruins

The third day we were in Mexico, we booked an excursion to go the Mayan Ruins at Coba. The day included a trip to the ruins with a guide who was actually Mayan. That may not sound that special but he was able to give us a lot more info about the ruins and their customs, some of which they still practice. Next year the largest pyramid will no longer be open to climb. Fortunately we have now climbed Chitzen Itza and Coba, one which is already closed. Coba is the largest of the pyramids. It is 42 meters to climb, but well worth the view as you can see from the photos. This area was home to about 50,000 people from about 400 AD to 1200AD. We also visited an actual Mayan Community which was very humbling. It really reminded me how blessed we are in how we live but more importantly that Christ has called me to be his, and that I was born to a family that were believers. While there I got to try my hand making corn tortillas. I did terrible when it came to shaping it, but it tasted good. At the end of the day we were able to swim in a senote and do a little snorkeling. It was a full and tiring day, but one I won't forget for sure.

Extreme's

Last night Aaron and I arrived home from a week of rest and relaxation. We headed off to the Mayan Riviera last Wednesday just the 2 of us for a early 10 year anniversay celebration. Our anniversary isn't until April, but that wasn't going to work for a trip together. I had to title this extremes since the temperature in Edmonton when we left was -42 with the wind chill. Suprisingly we were still not the coldest place on the planet! The whole week we were in Mexico the weather hovered around +30, with only an hour of rain one day. It was amazing to say the least. I had looked so forward to time without the kids, but as most of you can guess it didn't take more than an hour before we were thinking how much they would have loved everything there. Here are just a few photos of the trip. Not only was the weather perfect, but so was the resort. Highly recommended!

November Update

Well life has certainly been busy for us, and as I see with many of you, the same can be said. I still can't believe that it is the middle of November. Since the end of September many things have begun and are in full swing. Katie is now in Ballet/Jazz once a week in Blackfalds and is taking skating lessons again on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. I have also been asked if I can help coach with the school age lessons in Canskate. So once again I am back on the ice. It is a little weird after all this time, but I am glad to be out there and the kids are a lot of fun. As you can see from the picture of our backyard, winter finally arrived this week. Although I am enjoying looking out the window at the snow, shovelling it this morning wasn't a huge amount of fun.

I have also been busy attending 2 mom's groups, one in Red Deer on Wednesday mornings, and one on Thursday mornings here in Lacombe. It has been great to drop the kids off in the childcare and enjoy some coffee with other mom's. One of them does crafts and ussually a speaker, or some activity of sorts. The other one is more of a bible study. It has been a good opportunity to meet people. Luke and Katie have a great time, and it definitely breaks up the days. Aaron and I have also joined a couples bible study group on Sunday evenings with 3 other couples. This has been good for Aaron since he is finding that his life is all work and no play. You can keep him in your prayers that he is able to get involved in some things that interest him. It is hard with a schedule that varies from week to week.
We have also been attending a church here in Lacombe regularily (First Baptist). It is predominatly young families, and we have been very comfortable there.

Well that pretty much summarizes life, aside from me playing around with decorating the house (I will put pictures up when I actually complete things). I guess I should start thinking ahead to the end of December since that will be here before I turn around I am sure!

Trick or Treat 2010

This year we had a black cat and a chubby spider joining us for Trick or Treating. Katie had planned to be cinderella until the night before when I dressed up as a black cat for a party. Fortunately it was an easy to adjust costume for her. Luke is the only spider I have ever described as cute, but I also think you can all agree that he isn't your typical spider. We had a lot of fun, and are still digging through all the candy. We only went to a few houses on our street before heading out to the country and going to family houses. The weather was incredible and it made for a really fun night.