Merry With Children: SITS

I am participating in the "Back to Blogging" event over at SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce).

I really liked the thought of going back and looking at what I've blogged in the past. I rarely do it so I'm sure you don't either! ;) So I'm republishing my very first post below for you to read. In January 2006 I had lived in Calgary for just over a year and had been married for 6 months. Evan wasn't around yet and I was getting used to being a wife and a stepmom in Canada.

It's funny to see how young Will & Nicole look!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I decided to start our blog with the latest big holiday for us. Will and Nicole (the kiddles) spent Christmas Day with their mum so Dewey and I decided to do something different this year. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night at Storm Mountain Lodge between Banff and Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. We had our own little log cabin with a fireplace. It was very quaint and we loved the fireplace (when it wasn't smoking us out). Dewey has great fire building skils (or so he tells me) but unfortunately the wood was wet so we looked like we were trying to send smoke signals.

After spending a relaxing two days, we headed off for some adventure. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not really the "adventurous type" when it comes to sports. When Dewey came up with the idea of going snowmobiling.....I was less than enthusiastic! I decided that I had to make the best of it and grit my teeth and pull back the throttle. After picking out our "sleds" we headed up the mountain. I hate to say it but Dewey was soooo right. It was so much fun! You eventually forget that you could possibly plummet to your death down the mountain (just kidding mom) and it starts to be a blast. We are definitely going to do it again and maybe take the kids next time. After a full day of sledding and lunch on the mountain, we headed back to Calgary.

We picked up the kids on the 27th and headed out to Nana and Papa Don's. We celebrated Christmas with Claire, Don, Will and Nicole on the 28th. Copious amounts of presents were had by all. We're all definitely spoiled. The highlight for Dewey was his new XM radio receiver which he is already very much attached to. I think he actually wishes that his commute was longer so he would have more time to listen. Will, Nicole and I put together a Christmas tree that my mom sent. It was made of cardboard and you poured a solution into it's base. Then it grew white crystals that filled it out to look like a snow covered Christmas tree. It was a big hit with everyone because it was so unique. Will loved his Robo Raptor (as can be seen in the pic below) and Nicole loved her Puppy Surprise. You get the mommy dog and it has a "surprise" number of puppies. You should have seen Dewey and I trying to figure out where the puppies came out at the store! We didn't really want to buy a toy that would be a huge anatomy lesson at the same time. :)

So are you a new reader of Merry With Children or have you been around from the beginning?