Christmas at the Lake

On Boxing Day. we celebrated Christmas with Justin's aunt and uncle at their lake house in Alberta Beach. We spent the night there and we played some games that evening

It was nice to spend time with his side of the family. (Although we had a rough sleep and the kids were getting bored because there wasn't a lot for them to do so next time I'll bring more activities...)

Christmas Day

Today was Christmas day and it was quiet, simply and wonderfully perfect. Justin and I were up before the kids so we got to embrace the quiet morning together. I made some hot cocoa and ate some breakfast.
Our solitude was quickly interrupted with the thunder of little feet trotting excitedly down the stairs.

The room was filled with laughter and excitement as the littles opened their gifts. They were all impressed and grateful for what they had received.

The rest of the day was very laid back. We watched the Muppet Christmas Carol for our Christmas Day tradition and we really enjoyed our family time.

Jeannotte Christmas (Dec 23-24)

This year, we spent Christmas with my parents on the December 23rd and stayed the night through Christmas Eve. We went to the Live Nativity in Spruce Grove on Dec 23rd which was cold but really neat and I felt like it was a good way to spend time on the family. We came home that night at drank hot chocolate and ate some cookies.

Every night in December the kids open up a Christmas book to read. This was December 23rd's

The next day was Christmas Eve which began with a delicious breakfast and then some crafts and relaxing throughout the afternoon. There was also a nice dinner and some gifts to be opened from Oma and Opa.  The evening wouldn't have been complete without dessert and Christmas Eve wouldn't be complete without our traditional Christmas Eve PJs!

One of my favourite things to do at Christmas- crocheting with a fluffy blanking watching Christmas movie

Christmas Eve traditional PJ time!

Crafting

This Christmas season has got Justin and I working hard on our gifts this year.  It feels a bit like Santa's workshop in our basement :D

An elf hard at work

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A felted campfire for the kids

With squishy flames, logs and rocks

Also includes a smore kit!

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Playsilks dyed with Kool-Aid

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A dolly diaper bag for Lily including diapers and wipes!

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A shark pillow for Ella

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I also crocheted matching slippers with grippy soles for my sisters kiddos. (Which I forgot to take a picture of!!) I'm actually really proud of these- they have rubber outer soles and minky inner soles which is a technique that I have been working on by myself.

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Justin made wooden animals for the girls, wooden cars for Theo and an essential oil shelf for me. He also got into leather crafting this year and made me a bracelet. He also gave away other fine creations like wallets, passport holders, a belt and other little things.

 

It's been eventful! (and a bit exhausting haha) but I'm so excited for Christmas morning!

Boisvert Family Christmas Photoshoot 2018

For the past week, I've been preparing our annual living room photoshoot and I'm really excited about the outcome!

WISE Winter Faire

One of my favourite festival at the kids' school is the Winter Faire! It's a fundraising event which brings together the community. There's many activities including a Cookie Cave, Secret Store, Rope Making, Maple Taffy, Bannock, Fishing Hole, Candle making and crafts. Oh and a cozy cafe!

I invited my parents this year and I think they were impressed with the school.

The kids enjoyed themselves as did I... Can't wait till next year!

The fourth is with us....

Let this be an official announcement that the Boisvert's are anticipating the arrival of BABY #4! We are so excited by this news and the little one is expected to arrive April 2019!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Oh how I love this time! It just brings such excitement and happiness! We have been getting ready with decorating today and I have enjoyed letting the girls help with the tree. I texted Justin and said that our tree "looks like Father Christmas threw up on it" haha. But they were so happy helping I didn't really care at all.

Ella turns 6

I can't believe our little Ella turned 6 this year! She's such amazing kid. She still loves dinosaurs but also has found an interest in sharks, lions, tigers and really anything else with sharp teeth. In fact, she requested a "carnivore" birthday party.

She was so excited. She invited her friends, including a few from school. I organized a  little craft for the kids and they had a fun time playing. I provided simple snacks and made a "6" cake with some shark fins. I think she was really happy.

Vancouver adventures and Young Living Canadian Convention

DAY 1
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Vancouver for the Young Living Canadian Convention. It was my first solo trip on a plane by myself! I stayed with my friend Laura who is a member of the Church as well.
Our first day, we wanted to take a session at the Vancouver temple so we took many forms of public transit to get there. For the most part, it was raining and we had our suitcases with us so we were pretty wet. It was quite the adventure. We stopped for some Pho and took a break at a library to dry off and to read the Book of Mormon. We are both taking part in President Nelson's counsel to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.

We eventually made it to the temple and participated in a lovely session. Afterwards, one of the matrons was willing to drive us back to our hotel so we wouldn't have to take the public transit all the way back downtown.

DAY 2
Since the YL event didn't start until the evening, this was a great day for exploring Vancouver. Laura decided to go back to the temple and I wanted to venture around downtown. I ate breakfast at the hotel and then tracked down a grocery store close-by so I could grab some groceries. Then the adventure began.
Because we are members at the Telus World of Science, we have access to difference centres all over the globe and I thought this was a good opportunity to check out Vancouver's! It's a beautiful facility and there was a lot of fun exhibits. It was weird though to go there without any kids!

After the science centre, I wandered around to find a cute bookstore and then I had  some food, and checked out a library.

I met up with Laura later that night to register at the convention center. We got some pretty awesome swag and afterwards we went out for dinner with some members of the team.

My favourite thing to eat for breakfast

The autumn leaves are so pretty here

Convention registration

SWAG

DAY 3
Convention day! It was filled with a lot of valuable information and a lot of fun. The sessions were all informative and inspiring. It was also a bit overwhelming at times but overall I had a really good time.

We travelled back home late last night. It was a long day and night of travelling. We made it home safely and I'm really grateful for the opportunity I had to go.

Four babies, one dress

I have this weird tradition where every Sunday, on my 20th week of pregnancy, I wear this dress (and I take a picture) Here's the comparison shot for my four pregnancies...

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be pregnant again. I always wanted four kids and I feel so blessed that my dream is coming true. 

Halloween funtivities!

Our Halloween started with the WISE's Pumpkin walk. This is always a fun event! The kids picked out some costumes from the bin and away we went. This year we had a lion, princess and a dog join the walk. There was a nice little story and a bonfire and a concession full of sweet treats, savoury soup, and hot apple cider.


A couple days before Halloween, I found these awesome costumes at Winners on clearance. It took some time but I eventually convinced the girls to wear these on Halloween night. I also wanted Theodore to join in the party so I proceeded to make him a simple felt bread/toast costume.

Trick-or-treating was a lot of fun. We went to my parents neighbourhood and received lots of yummy treats!

TRICK OR TREAT!

Harry Potter Festival

Today we took the kids to a local event in Edmonton called the Festival of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the second year the Festival took place. Justin and I went last year by ourselves but we had such a good time and I was really impressed by how family friendly the event was so I wanted to bring the whole fam this year!

Despite the chilly weather, we had a lot of fun. There was free crafts to make, we had some Harry Potter themed beverages and there was a lot a wizard-y shopping. I even dressed the kids up and we took part in a  family photo shoot.

I made a Pygmy Puff for Lily's costume