Olympic fever

We decided to go yesterday and watch the Olympic torch run by. It was really neat and that fact that it went right through mom's and dad's community was very cool. It went by in a flash but I am glad that we went. GO CANADA GO!!! Elyse and I showing off our new Olympic mitts.

Elyse, Connor and Paige patiently waiting.

Okay so this wasn't an Olympic hockey game but we cheered loudly and proudly anyway! We went to watch Chris and Bruce play in a hockey tournament on the weekend, unfortunately we couldn't cheer them on to a victory.

Go Tiger Sharks!

New Years Fun

My Ballerina. Elyse LOVES to dance and do her ballet. When mom and I saw these tutu's at Winners I knew that Elyse and Paige would love them, they have barely taken them off since Christmas.
New Years Day at our house. We have always gone bowling and played games on New Years day and this year was no different. Bowling was super fun, the girls really liked it and did quite well at it. Dave brought over his Wii and Elyse beat Chris on the Wii bowling. It is a bit hard to play games with the kids so the Wii is perfect for everyone.

Mom and Dad and Me. I am so lucky to have such amazing parents and the girls are so lucky to have such great grandparents.

The weather FINALLY warmed up this weekend, we had such a miserable cold December with tons of snow! We decided to go to Bowness park to go skating. It is really pretty there and it was so nice to get out!

We were focused on Elyse getting up and skating we turn around and Paige got up herself and started walking towards us. She is a trooper and laughed whenever she fell down. It was a slow start for Elyse but by the end of the weekend she was doing excellent!

After skating we met up with Bruce and Connor at Confederation Park to do some tobogganing.

I was so surprised how brave the kids were, they flew down the hill all by themselves. Paige wasn't really keen on it and preferred to slide down on her bum. On the last run, Connor and Elyse hit a jump and got about 4ft of air, the looks on their face were priceless!! Connor didn't want to go again, he banged his chin and Elyse was mad at me because I didn't "catch" them. All in all though, it was a GREAT day!

My "super" family. I got them all these Superhero shirts for Christmas, it was a gift for Chris too :) Batman he loves(Elyse's shirt), I love Wonderwoman(Paige's shirt) and Chris got Wolverine.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2009

We spent Christmas Eve with the whole family at Mom and Dad's. It was really nice and of course we enjoyed a wonderful turkey dinner.
Grandpa read The Night Before Christmas to all the kids who seems to really like it.

Elyse with the mountain of presents. It seems like a ton (which is it) but we all bring our presents for each other over to Mom and Dad's to exchange Christmas day.

Paige and Hayley. The girls love the hayl-ster.

New Jammies, ready for Santa to come!

Christmas morning is so magical at this age. I really love it and try to enjoy every minute because the girls are growing up so fast.

The girls were really good at taking turns and being appreciative, even when it was clothes :)

The girls each got a new Princess nightgown, now we just need some nice weather so they wouldn't freeze at night in them.

I was so excited for the girls to open this. This was my dollhouse from when I was a kid. Grandma Thelma and my mom made it for me and I love it so I am hoping the girls have the same love for it.

Round 2 at Grandma and Grandpa's in the afternoon. It was a really nice day and of course everyone got spoiled but we really enjoy that we can spend these special days with our family.

Christmas Festivities

December is always a busy month but I love the Christmas season and all the fun get-togethers and outings that it involves.
Elyse

Paige

The Kvellestad Family Christmas party at Bruce and Alida's. All the kids, Paige, Elyse, Thompson, Coleman, Connor, Astelle and Andreas enjoying their pizza. It was a fun night.

Elyse and Santa. We are so lucky to have a personal Santa on call for all our parties.

Family Picture.

Paige being her normal little hamball self. She is such a character and is always looking for a laugh!

I got one of my presents early this year, my new bosch mixer. I love it!! I have been making breads and buns and really enjoying it. The girls love to help and even though it takes atleast twice as long with my little helpers they love it. We made lots of cookies this day as well and cinnamon buns!

Paige with Santa at our Christmas party.

Ever since the older kids were little we have had this little party. It is alot of fun and they are getting sooo big. Elyse, Connor, Coleman, Tyler, Jett, Eliseo and Paige. Thanks again to our good friend Santa for making it even more special.

It was so cute to see Elyse is her first Christmas concert at Pre-school. They sang Jingle Bells and We wish you a Merry Christmas and acted out The night Before Christmas. Elyse is standing with her friend Olivia which she has really bonded with over the last few months.

Paige and Elyse have really turned a corner I think. There is alot less fighting and alot more playing together. I LOVE it when I can hear them laughing and pretending and being kind to each other. They really love each other and always tell me that each other is their best friend.

Family of Five!!!

So as most of you know I am pregnant with our third. I can't believe how fast the time is going. It feels like we just found out but I am already 19 weeks!! I am feeling good and although I know it will be a challenge we are so excited to have a new little baby in the family.

Zoo lights

I figured since I have been blogging pretty much all afternoon, I may as well get right up to date. So here is what we did last night. We did watch some of the Grey Cup but it was such a mild night that we thought we'd take the girls to Zoo lights. It was really fun! We had a Christmas kind of day yesterday, we went out to Bass Pro shops and saw Santa, made a decoration, decorated a cookie in the mall and then did some shopping it was a really fun day!

This was Paige talking to Santa on the jumbo screen, it was sooo cute, she was chatting away and is pretty funny. She asked for a Polly Pocket (like we don't have enough of those!). She really didn't want to see Santa earlier in the day but then she did and said "Santa is a good guy". Elyse of course had no fear and could not wait to tell Santa she wanted a Princess Barbie Doll (again like we don't have enough Barbies).

We had a really fun weekend. We spent Friday night playing Scrabble with Mom and Dad because the roads were SOOO bad. It took us 2 hours to get from Sunridge mall to my parents and it is normally a 15 min drive! We decided to wait out the traffic with them and it was a really fun night!

Our Cruise - The Carnival Spirit Nov 11 -19

There are a lot pictures I know, but on an 8 day Mexican Riviera cruise there are a lot of photo ops. We had a good time, it was tiring and a long trip, 12 day in total but we really enjoyed all being together. It was really fun to have Bruce, Alida and the boys as well as Mom and Dave and Crystal and Colin all with us. Unfortunately my Dad couldn't get away from work, we missed him!

The girls were pretty excited about the bunkbeds in our stateroom. Bon Voyage! Leaving San Diego.

Exploring the ship, this was the "jungle".

The girls loved that at dinner, their Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches were served with chips and cookies.

Long Day!

Our first day at Sea, it was a bit chilly for the pool but the kids didn't care.

Chris trying out the waterslide.

Playing some mini-golf on the ship. We dropped the kids off at kids club (Camp Carnival) which they loved and it gave us a few hours to enjoy some grown-up time.

The kids loved to have Auntie Crystal and Uncle Colin on the cruise with us, they are so much fun and were so great with the kids, thanks guys, it wouldn't have been the same without you!

Elyse in the dining room on formal night, she loved to get all dressed up. We were lucky the girls for the most part were really good for dinner and it was along time to sit, all those courses took about 2 hours each dinner time!

Sometime though, it would be all too long for Paige, my little thumbsucker.

Lunch time by the pool. It was so fun to grab lunch by the pool and watch the ocean go by. We saw a few dolphins and a whale!

Auntie Crystal was soooo good at keeping Paige entertained at dinner time. It was so fun getting the girls all dressed up each night, it is way more fun that getting yourself ready!

I love this picture of Paige she is getting to be such a kid, she looks so big!

A girl could get used to having dessert served to her each night!

Our first stop was Acapulco. This is a little market we stopped at.

I don't really have any great picture from this stop. It was by far my least favorite and I don't think I would ever go back. It is a huge city over 2 million people, it was dirty and busy and the people were so aggressive. The boys (Chris, Bruce and Colin) went on a 6 hour deep sea fishing trip and we (Alida, Mom, Crystal, Dave and I) decided to take a cab to the beach with the kids. The vendors on the beach would NOT leave us alone, it was literally ever minute that someone was trying to sell you something! The waves were big and the undertow was really strong so the kids could not go near the water as we learn when they all got knocked over as soon as we got on the beach. But at least it was warm - I would say about 34 degrees.

Laura, Crystal and Alida. I think we were all excited to get back on the boat. Oh and as for the boys, they were really bored on their fishing trip and no-one caught a thing!

Next stop Zihuataneio. This was my favorite stop! The beaches were amazing, there were no vendors and the water was calm and warm.

This is Chris and Elyse with our ship in the background.

Crystal and Chris decided to go para sailing to celebrate Chris' 34th birthday, they really enjoyed it. The girls and I got to watch from the boat.

There were lots of cool things on the beach, like the dead blow fish above and the starfish that Daddy caught in his feet. Uncle Bruce had to miss this day because he was quarantined because he was feeling ill. The girls really enjoyed playing in the water here. Paige got so brave and wanted to go in the water all the time as long as you held her the whole time. My girls love the sand and surf.

And finally Manzanillo. This stop was interesting, the closest beach was a 45min taxi ride away. The sand was more like mud, but regardless, the kids still loved to play in it.

The other good thing about this beach was all the shells. It is one of Elyse favorite things to do, look for shells, as you can tell by her collection on her towel.

Back on the boat for dinner. We did anytime dining which was a great option with the kids.

Our last formal night, we managed to have dinner in the dining room each night which was nice, the food was much better there than at the buffet.

This is one of Elyse's new things, she loves to pretend she is a statue. And she is really good at it.

We covered a lot of ground and saw and did a ton this trip. The kids enjoyed the beaches, the kids club was great for the days we were at sea. Of course the staff was great, the girls loved that the "magician" would leave a different towel animal in our room each night. It was nice to enjoy some good weather and spend time with family.