Granny and Grandpa's House

The girls got a pony for Christmas
Annika can't quite believe it.
Molly the dog
Annika and Bailey
Annika and Molly

Grandpa reading The Night Before Christmas
Stephen and Phanie
Madison and her Wii
Annika's excited about something!
Wow, look at the haul!

Grandma and Grandpa's House

Angus and his new toy
Laura and the beagles
Alyssa - what did they do to you?
Madison and Alyssa
Madison couldn't get enough of Alyssa

Let the Christmas Photos begin!!

Christmas 2007 - First pictures are from Aunty Joey's house. Carter wearing Mom's necklace
Phanie, Stephen and Allan (who could not look more impressed)
Annika opening some presents!

Happy Holidays

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! We enjoyed a week in Regina and Saskatoon with family and friends. It was wonderful, but as usual felt rushed and we didn't squeeze in a visit with everyone we would have liked.

2007 was a great year for us, and 2008 is shaping up to be even better.

In May one of my best friend's, Amber, became engaged to her boyfriend Erik, and they are set to be married in August this summer. I am so happy for her and cannot wait for what is sure to be a wedding to remember!

Allan's cousin, Ashton, and his fiance Heather, also set a date for their wedding and will be married in Moose Jaw this May. We're excited for this, because with this family a wedding always means a huge reunion with an equally huge party!

In May I applied for, and got, a new job. I am still working for CanWest Mediaworks but am now the Customer Service Supervisor for the Calgary, Regina and Saskatoon markets. This brought me working daytime hours which is fabulous. I started this in June and it was so nice to have more time at home with the girls this summer.

Allan also started a new job this summer, working for Scatliff + Miller + Murray, a firm here in Winnipeg. He is loving it.

In September Madison started Grade 1. She loves school and is doing great. She excels in English and the arts. She was the first student to start bringing home chapter books and shares Allan's talent in art. In April she actually had a picture chosen to hang at the Superintendant's office at the school board.

Both girls started dance in September. Madison in her fourth year, Annika in her first. While Annika adores dance class, Madison is ready to hang up her ballet shoes and focus on gymnastics (which she also started this year.)

Allan was asked to TA an AutoCad course at the University this fall which gave him some great teaching experience. He was asked to continue this semester but because he wants to focus on his Practicum he turned it down.

As I mentioned, we spent Christmas in Regina and Saskatoon. Pictures are soon to come, I promise!!

To finish up the proposals of 2007, one of my best friends, Tara also became engaged to her boyfriend Adam on January 1st 08.

It's been a year to remember - that's for sure.

Cowgirls

Dance Class

Brick Wild One

Monday's deal - posting for Mom ;)

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween night, the weather was warm and the girls got a *ton* of loot!!

Halloween Preview

Cook This!!

A friend shared this recipe with me and we tried it tonight - it was delicious!! I highly recommend it!! The only difference I did (which she did recommend!) was add a dash of soya sauce to the orange sauce at the end.

You won't be dissappointed!

Too Busy To Cook?
Jeanne Silvestri, Coral Springs FL

4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin
All purpose flour 2 tablespoons
(1/4 stick) butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 cups orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; dust with flour. Melt butter with oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; sauté until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate. Add ginger to skillet; stir 1 minute. Add brown sugar and mustard and stir to blend into drippings. Add orange juice and orange peel. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet. Simmer 3 minutes. Turn chicken over and add green onions. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is thick enough to coat spoon, about 3 minutes longer. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Transfer chicken and sauce to platter.

Epicurious.com © CondéNet, Inc. All rights reserved.

Happy Turkey Day

I'm a bit early - but we'll be going to Regina for Thanksgiving so I'll post now!!

We are looking forward to going home! Thursday we'll drive to Regina and go straight to Jenn & Matt's to meet Alyssa.

Friday early morning we're driving to Saskatoon - Allan will go to a meeting (that as you probably know we're very excited about!) and the girls and I will go straight to my Mom & Frank's acreage. Since last time we've visited they've aquired 2 horses and a handful of kittens. Should be a fun visit :D

Late Friday night we'll drive back to Regina where we'll stay at Allan's parents until Monday.

Saturday I'm doing lunch with the girls at The Last Straw and then we're going shopping. American Eagle here I come!! Amber and I are also going to a Travel Agent to inquire about the Vegas trip we're planning for this spring.

Saturday night I am going to a Pub Crawl with Amber, Julie, Michelle and some others. Should be a blast!!

Sunday Laura and I are going to go for a Sushi lunch (Sushi in Regina - might be interesting ;)) and then do some shopping. Sunday night is Thankgiving dinner. I am hoping my Epicure will be in so I can make stuffing with my new Sage & Cranberry stuffing mix I bought!!

Monday we come home and it will be sad as we won't be back until Christmas. :(

On a side note - I think I am going to take some University courses. I don't know exactly what to take. Some sort of business management, maybe Human Resource Management - I'm still in the early stages of planning. Just when we thought we were finished with University in our family ....

Excuse me, Teacher?

Allan has another new job! He was asked to teach a drafting & 3D course at the University.

Gypsy

Here is a picture of Mom's new horse. She has two horses, but they just got the second one today so she has no name or photos!

More Alyssa Pictures