Out of the Woods

This week we got to see our kids' school production of Into the Woods ... twice! Since Alaina and Eric were in different casts, we weren't sure which night to invite people to come, but our wonderful family came to BOTH shows! 

Thursday night, we saw Alaina as Rapunzel. This was Alaina's final role in a high school play, since she is in Grade 11, and her school only does a play every other year. She was the perfect Rapunzel in a beautiful costume designed and made by Janae.

 

We loved her singing and her long hair coming down from the tower (I couldn't get a picture, unfortunately!) ... but she is now covered in bruises from being dragged across the stage by the witch!

 

 

The next night, we saw Eric in his very first school play as Cinderella's father.

Eric had already performed a matinee for their school and was considered an "audience favorite" because of his humorous portrayal of his character.

 

He was the father of one of Alaina's friends and the husband of another, so he got to spend lots of time with high schoolers :)

Here is a video link to of one of their dances, taken during a dressed rehearsal with Eric's cast (when Eric forgot his black shoes!), filmed by Alaina: "Into the Woods" Dance

It's hard to believe this production is all over now! 

We've been thinking about it since last June when Alaina received a script, the kids have been working on it with practices multiple times a week (and every Saturday over the past few months), and then all of us were immersed in it two nights in a row. Even Jason is singing the songs now! :)

It's definitely something we will always remember.

Janae's Birthday: Ice Cream Tour and More

Janae celebrated a milestone birthday this month: 19! 

She and I went shopping at Coquitlam Center, then Janae went out for dinner with Alaina, and afterwards our family had a strawberry cake at home.

But throughout the month we continued the celebration with trips to new ice cream shops every week :)

Since Janae is a big ice cream lover, I thought it would be fun to spend the month of March sampling ice cream from shops we hadn't tried before. We looked online for the best-rated places in Vancouver and then chose four.

On Janae's actual birthday, she and I tried Vashti Rose in Port Moody, and even by the end, this was one of our favorites (Janae ranked it #2 of 4). Janae got Mini Egg, with a sample of chocolate mint on top. (I had chocolate cherry with a sample of Mini Egg, in case anyone is wondering!). So good :)

One week later, our next stop was Chocolats Favoris in Gastown. This shop obviously specialized in chocolate--they filled our cones with melted chocolate, added soft serve ice cream, and then dipped it all in more melted chocolate, adding toppings as well. It was pretty messy, but very, very good! (Janae ranked this one #3 of 4.)

The third week, we had Alaina and Eric with us for spring break, and we stopped at Rain or Shine in Vancouver on our way to Flyover Canada. Janae got a sundae here, which she didn't like as much as the other ice creams, but I tasted Eric's chocolate honeycomb and definitely want to go back for a cone of my own someday. Janae gave this shop 4th place.

Yesterday, we finished our tour at Earnest Ice Cream in Vancouver. We didn't know we were saving the best for last, but Janae ranked this as #1 out of the four shops we visited. She once again tried the Mini Egg, and it did not disappoint! Alaina had strawberry (maybe the best strawberry ice cream any of us had ever tasted!), and I got carrot cake.

You might think that this was a lot of ice cream, even spread over the entire month, but when Janae had her friends over to celebrate, they also had an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen--kind of a tradition with Janae. (Janae and Alaina also snuck in a trip to a local and well-loved ice cream shop during the month, which just shows that for some people there might not be such a thing as too much ice cream!). 

Anyway, Janae wanted a Hamilton quote on the cake, "I'm only 19 but my mind is older," which seemed fine until I had to give it to the DQ staff over the phone and then again when I picked up the cake :). They definitely got creative with the color scheme!

The girls went out for dinner in their prom dresses then back to our house for the cake.

Then the next day they had a party for Janae as well :)

Such a great month of celebrating Janae ... and now half of my kids are adults!

The Happiest Day after Christmas

After Christmas, there's really only one thing to look forward to, and it started 12 years ago:

Eric's birthday, of course!

This year, I said he could stay home from school on his birthday (it was a Friday, with not much going on academically). Of course, Alaina woke him up early anyway--since she still had to go to school :) She made him a fun card and gave him a very ... interesting ... gift.

Here's a closer look at that card--notice the height difference between Eric and Alaina. That's taking us back a few years!

Later, we had pizza and an ice cream cake (less of a mudslide this year, luckily). Grandma gave Eric a harmonica that came with pages of handwritten hymns and instructions, so Eric has been playing "Come, Come Ye Saints" like a pioneer all day.

On Saturday we extended the festivities by going to see Zootopia 2, which we all enjoyed.

Happy 12th Birthday, Eric! 

Happy New Year, 2026

Happy New Year!

Alaina, Eric and I started a new tradition this New Year's Eve: making oliebollen (Dutch doughnuts). My mom used to make these when I was little, and it was so nice to try them again :)

Then on January 1, we went to one of our old favorites: Burnaby Village Museum (pictured below on New Year's Day 2016 and 2026).

 

The kids have grown a little in 10 years, but they still had fun seeing all the historic sites, 

 

 

riding on the carousel, 

 

and posing for pictures :)

Such a fun way to spend the last day of 2025 and the first of 2026!

Countdown to Christmas 2025

Our family's festive season usually starts the day after Remembrance Day, when all of us agree that we "need a little Christmas."

This year was no different :). 

November 12, the kids set up their traditional toy scenes, which meant lots of laughter, singing and nostalgic fun.

 

We started watching Christmas movies (Alaina made a schedule that started with Netflix romances and ended with favorites like White Christmas, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Home Alone and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas later in December), listening to Christmas music, and putting up decorations.

By this point, we'd already started to see Christmas trees and decorations everywhere, from the mall to the orthodontist (where, incidentally, Alaina got her braces off in time for the holidays!).

 

We visited the cemetery and took a wreath, which we hoped would last throughout the last half of November and all of December, despite windstorms, flooding, ice and snow.

(This year we had a big flood and lots of wind, but no ice or snow yet.)

Next, we had Christmas concerts. Eric played a "Feliz Navidad" duet with his teacher at two piano concerts, and danced in a Guatemalan Christmas play at his school's concert. 

November 29, we picked out our Christmas tree! It wasn't easy to all agree, but we finally settled on a really beautiful one that fit perfectly in our living room.

 

Our church's Christmas party was the same day ... where Eric participated in the Primary's nativity for the last time (since he'll be 12 in less than a couple of weeks!). He played a very tall and reluctant Joseph :)

December also means final exams at the university. Ben had one, Janae had three, and I invigilated dozens more. The first weekend of exams was rescheduled due to our area's flooding, so both Janae and I had to wait an extra week to start winter break (December 20--really cutting it close!). Luckily Ben's only final was online and proceeded as planned :).

This year we made our own gingerbread and followed some very easy instructions to make A-frame houses. These were so much fun and definitely smelled like Christmas!

 

Once school got out, everything got even more exciting. Janae and Alaina practiced piano/cello duets of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which they even performed for us on Christmas Day. 

Eric and Alaina also played some impromptu trombone/saxophone duets of all the beginner band songs :). 

 

On December 22 our family went to see a big Christmas lights display that Jason had been telling us about, about an hour away. Alaina had smuggled her bunny (Rosie) into the truck, not knowing we'd be getting out to walk around the display ... luckily she had a carrier and a blanket, because it was a little chilly!

Then somehow it was Christmas Eve. The kids exchanged their sibling gifts, Jason made his annual bacon and eggs for dinner, and I made pulla and hot chocolate. We drove around to look at lights, then came home to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and wait for Santa.

And he came!

The kids had fun opening presents ...

 

Rosie nibbled on some wrapping paper, and Pumpkin hid behind Eric's new volleyball rebounder.

Then it was turkey dinner, games, puzzles, crafts, and watching "Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" with Grandma.

I'm so grateful for all the days leading up to Christmas, and for this happy day to celebrate!