Top Ten

I haven't been great at keeping up with my blog, but now that we have 9am church, it is my goal to take a shorter Sunday afternoon nap, and work on my blog. Here are some top 10 highlights of what the Edmonton branch of the Wolsey family have been up to from the end of September until today.

1. West Edmonton Mall

We live right next to WestEd and our kids think it is the coolest place ever!! They love to go walk around, play at the arcade, go bowling, eat. One of the first things that we did was check out the Pirate Ship.

2. Drew's Birthday and Tom and Jane Come to Visit

Drew's parents came up for his Birthday. In our house on your Birthday you get to request your favorite meal for dinner. Drew's request was Chicken Enchiladas and for dessert I made peach and coconut cream pie.
We were still having really nice weather, so on Saturday we went for a picnic at William Hawlrek Park. It was a beautiful day.

3. Telus World of Science Centre

We decided to stay in Edmonton for Thanksgiving so that Drew could get ahead in his lesson planning. That weekend we checked out the Science Centre. It has become one of our favorite places to take the kids. There are so many cool things to do and see there. The highlight of our first trip for Davis was being picked to be a helper in a Chemistry Exhibit. He got to pour "water" into cups to make different drinks for the Persnickety Princess. The thought it was pretty cool.

4. Davis Starts Jiu Jitsu

We encourage our kids to participate in sports activities. Marcus picked soccer, but Davis decided that he wanted to try something different, so we put him into Jiu Jitsu, and so far it has been the perfect fit. He looks forward to going every week, and he has told us that when he gets big, he wants to be a Jiu Jitsu teacher.

5. Halloween

We love Halloween. The kids love decorating the house and making it spooky, carving pumpkins, dressing up, and of course, Trick-Or-Treating. Drew took the boys out for a little while and they went to part of the houses in our Community, and they came back with their bags bursting with candy. I think that we still have some left (even after Drew took the mini chocolate bars out and took them to work). I wanted the kids to dress up all as a theme like they did last year, but they couldn't agree on something. Davis wanted to be scary, so he was a Ghoul, Marcus was Optimus Prime, Phoenix was Superman, and Taylor was a cat.

6. Edmonton Winter

One of the things that worried me about moving to Edmonton was the Winters. I have heard that they are brutal and that it is cold, and there is lots of snow and it is miserable. We have been very lucky to have a very mild winter, but there have been a few bouts of very cold weather. I have to be honest, and I would rather take the cold and lots of snow over the constant mind numbing wind that Lethbridge gets.

7. Marcus Turns 5 and More Visitors.

My parents and sisters came up the weekend of Marcus' birthday to help us celebrate.

My boys are obsessed with Lego, so that was a natural fit for a theme for Marcus' Birthday Party. Some boys from Marcus' Primary class and Kindergarten class came over and we played Lego inspired games, ate Pizza and Lego candy, and had a Lego brick cake.

8. Phoenix Turns 3

Phoenix was very excited when it was his turn for a Birthday Party. He even had what type of cake he wanted picked out for over a month. He picked a Max & Ruby cake from Dairy Queen. My parents and Karen and Martin came up for his Birthday Dinner (Spaghetti and Meatballs), and for cake and presents. Phoenix was so excited after each present that he would open, and did a little victory dance.

 

9.  Christmas   

I know it is cheesy, but every so often I like to dress my kids in coordinating outfits.  Since Taylor got a black and red Christmas outfit, then I had to get red and black ties for the boys too.  

 

We pulled the kids out of school a day early and headed down to Southern Alberta for Christmas holidays.  Our first stop was Aetna to spend time with my family.  While we were there my Dad found the only snow that was in the area and took us sledding and snowmobiling.  The kids had a blast, and I rode a snowmobile for the first time in years.  

 

 

 

Christmas Morning is the best when you have kids.  I love watching them opening presents and seeing how excited they get over their new toys.  On Christmas day we packed up and headed to Lethbridge for the week, so basically all their new toys were packed in the van for the week.  When we got back to Edmonton and unloaded the van, it was just like Christmas morning again when the kids finally got the chance to play with their new toys.  

 

Boxing Day is just not complete without the usual Wolsey celebration.  This year the 3 boys sang "Christmas Don't Be Late".  They did a really great job.  

10.  Bob the Leopard Gecko

About a year ago we went to the pet store for a family activity.  Davis told Drew that he really wanted a pet.  Drew told him that he could get a pet if he picked something that wasn't stinky and if he saved his money and paid for it himself.  Davis decided he wanted a Lizard, so we did some research into what would be the best Lizard for kids.  Davis got his brothers involved in the saving, and they finally saved up enough money to buy their Lizard.  I am really proud of how hard they worked to save and accomplish their goal.  There were times when they wanted to buy something, but we would just remind them that if they bought it, then it would take them longer to buy their Lizard, but they persevered.