Christmas in Pictures

The kids opened two presents on Christmas Eve: pajamas and sugar cereal!

Christmas morning didn't start too early... Averi woke up at 6:38. Taylor followed, Ella trailed. We were ready to open gifts by 7 or so.  :)

Averi's blinking in this one ;)

In retrospect, we should've gotten pictures of each child with all the gifts they received. We'll probably see some more of the gifts tomorrow.  :)

Halloween

It worked out that I never got a photograph of all the children in their costumes. Taylor went as a tradesman in Daddy's safety vest and hard hat. Averi went in the same owl costume as last year. It's so big, it will probably fit her next year, as well! And, Ella, went as little miss devil, a perfect fit if I ever saw one. ;)

Ella reminds me of my brother Jason's girls here!

I didn't get a picture of the pumpkin, either, but it was a devil, too!

Taylor's Baptism

Taylor's 8th birthday fell right on the Labor Day weekend this year. Since this is the best time to coordinate with American residents, Taylor was baptized on the very day he turned 8.

We took pictures of Taylor that morning to use on his baptism program (click here to view):

We didn't use this one but it's so cute!

Pre-baptism photo:

I am disappointed that we didn't get a family pic, including Grandma and Grandpa Harris! :(

Here are some pics from the "after party":

Some footage:

Ella's 4th Birthday!

Finally posting pics and footage from Ella's 4th birthday!

We started the day with a trip to Calaway!

Ella has been anxiously awaiting this gift since Christmas!!

Her own LeapPad!

We had some family over for cake and ice cream!

Some footage (no video editing possible at the moment so it's raw!):

Happy Birthday, baby!!!

Christmas Preview

While it will take a bit of time to compile the footage from Christmas morning, here is a preview of one of the gifts.

Taylor is obsessed with K'Nex. Ever since he got his mega box, he's been wanting one of the roller coaster sets. Shawn and I purchased one at Toys R Us for him and then found a better one at a much better price on Kijiji (classifieds).

Daddy and Taylor spent the morning assembling it and here is the finished product!

Calgary Temple Preview!

It was an exciting day after a phone call from Shawn's sister, Vickie.

Vickie has been doing the gold-leafing at the Calgary temple. Today she called one and all to invite us to the construction-worker-family-pre-Open-House-viewing! So, amongst the other construction workers and their families, we got to be one of the first groups through the new temple! It was a fabulously memorable experience!

It started pouring rain between the Stake Center and the temple. Most of it was covered but for part of it, volunteers handed out white umbrellas! There were lots of volunteers! They've been calling for them for months and it is unfortunate that our current situation (Shawn in school) renders us unable to participate. :(

The temple was, of course, beautiful! Stained glass sheaths of wheat seemed to be the theme. I had to ask what the symbolism was and was informed that it represents Alberta's wheat crops. Duh! Didn't think of that, though, as I don't associate Alberta with wheat so much as beef. Better sheaths of wheat than shanks of meat!

The baptismal font was stunning! A glass room with benches overlooks the scene which seems a much better way to go about baptisms for the dead than a long line of youth waiting their turn...

Ella was very vocal for the entire tour (of course). When she saw the baptismal font she exclaimed, "Toilet!!" and then "Bathtub!!" We were, thankfully, able to keep her from christening the font!

The gold-leafing was terrific! ;) The ceiling in the Bride's Room was stunning with Alberta's flower, Wild Rose, trimming the ceiling.

The terrestrial room had the most stunning artwork! Believe it or not, they brought in an artist from Rexburg, Idaho to tour Alberta and transfer his vision onto the walls. I laughed out loud during the tour when they mentioned that: a bit of Rexburg here in Calgary!  ;)

The telestial room was very neutral but the celestial room was indescribable! The main chandelier was enormous!! Averi was quite impressed with the rainbow-producing crystals and I indicated that we could eventually get a chandelier for her room, albeit on a much less magnificent (and child-friendly) scale.

The view from the temple and the temple grounds are incomparable! You can see downtown Calgary and, though the clouds prevented us from seeing this evening, the Rocky Mountains!

The temple is situated very subtly within a NW community called Royal Oak. Since it isn't lit up yet, it seems to suddenly appear from nowhere. Access is from behind the temple and seemed quite oblique.

We brought the camera for (exterior family) pictures but with the weather and the exasperation factor (3 kids + temple tour = tired parents), we will have to wait until a future opportunity presents itself. Sorry!! Do recall that we have pictures of its construction here.

Canada Day Celebration

It's high time I get these pics posted!

For the last several years, our church has put on a celebration for Canada Day. It involves food, entertainment, kid activities and the flag-raising. In the photo below, Ella can be seen plucking the Canadian flag markers for the flag-raising ceremony. Eek, that child!!

I, with a couple buddies, happened to be part of the entertainment [footage below]...



That horrific part in the first song was my fault, of course. It is quite unfortunate that I was the one holding the mike at that point.  :s  In our defense, we had only 4 days notice in which to find songs and practice! (And in defense of the audience size--determined by the pathetic smatter of applause--we were the first act and, therefore, a crowd had yet to accumulate.)

Ella's 3rd Bday Celebration

For Ella's third birthday, we got a strawberry-rhubarb pie and lemon cream cheese torte at Costco. Nontraditional but Ella's still too young to have a preference.

We celebrated at Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's home. There were a lot of family visiting because Shawn's cousin had gotten married that weekend.

I've been waiting for Ella to turn three FOR-EV-ER. I have been assuming that she would grow out of some crazy behaviors. Since she has not, and under the advice of 3 people who have children with disabilities (within one week!), we are having Ella assessed for behavioral or developmental issues. She's a very bright girl but extended family (and those who have followed this blog) will allow that she has more than her fair share of bizarre performances. (This comes to mind as well as the 2011 Swan family reunion sacrament table swan dive (@ Bear Lake) that I don't think I've shared on the blog yet.)

Some footage:

Happy Father's Day

Averi made this in preschool. Some of the answers are HILARIOUS!

My First Recital

OMGoodness, I'm so ecstatic that this is over!

It may be recalled that I received singing lessons as a Christmas present. My instructor, the fabulous Tanis, is a coloratura soprano and has a Masters in Vocal Performance. She lived just a couple of blocks away (in my ward) so it took me less than a minute to drive there (Shawn: Why don't you just walk??). She has since moved to a small town just south of Calgary but the 25-minute drive there is still worth it.  ;)

My motivation in taking singing lessons is to hopefully acquire the confidence to perform. As is true with teaching, I am fairly certain that the more I perform, the better I will become at performing. I insisted Shawn record me at my recital so I could critique myself. The added benefit is that I got to hear what I sound like. I've never been able to "hear myself" when I sing... Weird, but true.

You can't really tell that I'm dying of nerves (except that I can't breathe and don't smile or make much eye contact), but my usual stiffness is broken up with occasional hand rotations/waving... Whoops. I do that during lessons/practices to help with energy and flow. Didn't think I'd carry it over to my performance. Bah, whatever.

The recital takes place in a United Church building.

Taylor filmed my little pre-recital-footage message so excuse the shaking and noises. ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

I didn't get any cards out this year except to my mother. Guess that's what matters but I wanted to shout out to all the other moms in my life! Stepmom, sister, grandmothers, mother-in-law, friends... This world is a better place because of you!

We went on a short family bike trip, complete with picnic!

Skipping stones:

Averi asked: Did Jesus make rocks?
Me: Yes...
Averi: Did Jesus make them so we would trip on them?

Averi tripped on them.

Taylor drinking from my Camelback (a water backpack) reminded me of feeding from the breast.

Happy Mother's Day! Shawn got me a blizzard cake from Dairy Queen!

10 Year Anniversary

Shawn and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary (Feb 23, 2002) last evening at a restaurant called Chop. I have to say that I had the most FABULOUS petite filet mignon in red wine reduction. I ordered medium rather than my usual medium-well and I couldn't even tell that it was any pinker inside... It melted like butter. The decor was really cool, too. I forgot my camera even though I had been reminding myself the day before to take it... :(

Let it be noted that it has been agreed that Shawn is choosing the activity/venue next year!

Taylor slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's under the care of Uncle Aaron. They made pizzas and watched Kung Fu Panda 2.

Averi and Ella spent the night at Aunt Diana's. Apparently, Ella emptied the contents of a jar of vaseline onto her face and into her hair. Funny, since she doesn't like it when I put lotion on her face. She was also up frequently through the night. I guess it was a bit early to be getting rid of Ella for a night...

I'm Dreaming of a Harris Christmas

It's really sad how few pictures I got from our trip to Idaho this Christmas. I'm still waiting for Dad to be able to send me his bazillion shots... ;)

Here's a few Shawn took from Christmas Eve day:

And some from Christmas Eve:

 Kids doing Christmas ornaments...

Lerina as my slave keeping me company while I peel potatoes.
I will cherish this memory always! ;)

Here is Christmas Day:

Why is Ella's face always dirty??

Taylor got a total of FOUR Nerf guns!!

And some fun footage:

Taylor's First Day of Grade One

I'm kind of disappointed in how the pictures turned out...  :(

I found these cute printouts on HowDoesShe. Since they're from the States, they say "First Grade" instead of "Grade One" which only bothered me a little at first. They're so cute that I can forgive foreign colloquialisms! ;)

You can see that Taylor let me do his hair for school!!

I get pouty when people get in the background of my shots...

 In the gymnasium being put into classes... Taylor got the same teacher he had last year (they're all moving up each year)! I'm sure that this will help him with the transition to full-time school. His teacher will also already know his strengths and areas that he needs to work on.

He even has the same classroom! His new velcro indoor shoes were purchased at an amazing sale and don't bother him!!!  ;)  Yippee!

Taylor's 6th Birthday

My first baby is 6 years old! He started grade one today (see next post)!

Here's our mini-celebration in pictures:

We had trifle instead of a traditional cake.

Here's the video for a taste of crazy!