I got to go to Hemlock Valley for an incredible day of skiing with some of my favorite people, and then met some other favorite people for a great dinner at Blustone. I lost my keys and glasses that night... I found my keys in the engine compartment of my minivan... weird...
Ethan had a birthday too! My youngest boy has turned 8!! Ethan is an incredible little boy. I was praying with him one night and thanking God for his abilities, and I just kept on listing, and listing them. He is good at art, spelling, hugs, writing letters, giving gifts, lego, models, making juice, cleaning, organizing, building Ikea, scrapbooking, baking (he made and decorated his own birthday cake), matching clothes, really the list endless!
We went skiing/boarding again, but this time in Kamloops at Harper Mtn. While the boys were on the hill, the girls went shopping and got Emily's ears pierced. She did really good too! A little crying at first, but since then has been very 'big girl' about her earrings.
We wrapped the month up with a visit from my dad (pictured below). A good 10 day visit to reconnect with the family and get some shopping done that you can't do in the Yukon.
January was a fantastic month, filled with a few birthdays, a couple of trips, a New Year spent with friends, and so many events for what is traditionally a slow month. We do live a fantastic life!
Emily is 2nd from the right in the front row of pink
We once again had our Christmas Eve with the Lang's at our home. We didn't let 'a little' snow slow us down. Once everyone was off work (they are all in the snow business) we partied, exchanged gifts, laughed and had our traditional Christmas Eve , BUT without church. Our 3 options for a Christmas Eve service all cancelled their service. 
A highlight of the month was our new addition, seen above. Jenn has been looking for the right piano for 4 years. We finally found THE piano at a local store and it was EXACTLY the sound and price we have been holding out for. 
Emily and Gabe did trees
Ethan was in on the construction phase - of course!
We then attended a two day conference in Louisville. One day (Jenn's birthday actually) we drove to Georgetown, Kentucky to tour the Toy0ta manufacuting plant. It was amazing. We also had time for a short trip into Indiana.
On the 23rd of October, we boarded a plane for the Caribbean. Jamaica to be exact. We spent 8 fantastic days there. The resort was amazing, the food was incredible, the ocean was gorgeous and warm, we sailed, snorkeled, kayaked, swam, and did some incredible scuba diving. All in all it was an amazing vacation.
On Saturday we went to Whytecliff Park (near Horseshoe Bay) and attempted our 1st and 2nd open-water sessions. If you remember last Saturday was still OCTOBER, the water was super cold, but our wetsuits kept us sorta warm.
Today we skipped out on work and parental duties and went to Porteau Cove (near Squamish) to do our last 2 open-water dives. Our instructor Les, has been an amazingly patient man. We know him from our days at APA. He owns the Langley Dive Center and gave us (basically) private lessons.
It was a long day, but at the end of it Jenn and I overcame some fears, and achieved our goal. We can now scuba dive!! It was an awesome feeling to have achieved something I have wanted to do (badly) since I was 15 years old. So, next week we are going to do a little scuba without wetsuits ;-) There will be a full report when we are done.
Thanks Les!!
Our family is so small that we don't usually have 'the kids table'. But this year we did, I must say that rocks!!
And of course during the entire festivities Sarah and Emily were trying on all of Sarah's dance costumes, VERY cute!!
It was an awesome day, except for the Canucks losing miserably on Pay-Per-View :(
Tonight was date night, and one of the things we like doing is going to concerts. This evenings selection was Sheryl Crow.
The Jim Cutty Band (from Toronto) was the opening act...They were alright... Sheryl opened with a ballad, and then played a tonne of her hits, like "Love is Free", "A Change Would do you Good", "If it Makes you Happy", "Everyday is a Winding Road", "Soak up the Sun", "The First Cut is the Deepest". She did 3 songs in her encore, which made for a pretty late night.
And as always, the people in the crowd were fun to watch. There are some people out there with NO rhythm!! And there was a few "What were they thinking wearing THAT??" kind of moments too!
We decided to do something we've never done as a family before. We signed the whole family up for The Mercy Walk. Its a 5 km walk around Stanley Park to raise money for a women's shelter that our pastors are directors of. Although the weather wasn't the greatest, we all trekked out to Vancouver early on Saturday morning to take part in the event. Our family (mostly Jenn) raised a bunch of money and we walked with about 150 other people.
The worst part of the run is that we got separated from Josh. He was riding his bike and through some miscommunication decided to go on an adventure. We were very nervous (to say the least) about our 11 yr old son riding his BMX through Stanly Park all by his self. He thought it was okay to ride with the front of the line group, and then decided to go some places that he didn't get to check out last time he was at the park with his cousin. Needless to say we were frantic, and did end up finding him. The ironic thing is that he had no idea that he was lost and said he had his best bike ride ever!!
Today, Sunday, our church had its 1 year anniversary! It was a great party, with lots of guests, jumphouses, bbq, cotton candy, face painting, corn-on-the-cob, sooo much fun! Pastor John spoke from the heart and was so excited about what we are doing in Abbotsford.
Emily had a particularly good Sunday. She won the how-much-candy-in-the-jar contest, got a butterfly painted on her face, and a balloon puppy!
Saturday morning Ethan and I(Dad) went and did a little fishing at Mike Lake. No, we didn't catch anything - stop asking.... We'll let you know when we do!
We had some visitors, it was real nice that Piper brought her parents to come hang out with the Lang6! We did the same thing at their campfire last week, it is fun sharing campfires!
Of course Jenn cooked some fabulous meals. This one pictured below is the best of those meals! Salmon with onions, chilli's, and lemon cooked perfectly over the fire. Asparagus, steamed over the fire. Baby potatoes drenched in butter, sour cream and bacon, cooked in foil over the fire, and pasta salad (not cooked over the fire!).
And we went to the main beach at Alouette Lake for a while on Sunday afternoon. Except for the view, this beach sucks. Its super loud because of all the boats coming and going, the beach is rocky and the water is murky. We don't recommend this beach, The one at the campground is way more peaceful and relaxing to be at.
That may have been our first and last camping of the summer, but it sure was a great trip. The weather cooperated, and we didn't kill the squirrel...although we realllllly wanted to!
It was a pretty fantastic summer for us, but there was a lot of excitement over this school year start up around here. Gabe is in Grade 10, a sophomore. That's a little weird to me as it seems that was the 'real' high school year when we grew up.
Emily started school of a different kind on Tuesday, she started Dancin' School!! There is only one other girl in her class, and Oh my! Were they adorable!
Oh yeah, we figured 4 kids in 4 different schools meant a lot of driving, so this year we budgeted for the 2 oldest to take the bus. Man, its only been 2 days, but what a difference. I don't have to leave work for an hour to pickup and drop off, Jenn doesnt have to dash out the door. They just magically appear after school at the front door! Love it!!
