I need to stop getting so far behind! Now I have a whole month to summarize. Honestly it went by so fast, I can hardly remember the details! The kids had some school activities, I was able to volunteer for gingerbread house making for both Nathan and Lynsey on the same day which was fun. Adam had his IEP meeting before the Christmas break, it was pretty good. Adam's ABA team was very helpful in identifying some problem areas and giving good advice. I just really hope Adam's teachers are able to implement some of the things they suggested. All in all, I am hopeful that the behavior assessment that is starting now in January produces some useful results that can help everyone figure out what is going on, and what to do differently to make sure his undesirable classroom behavior stops and he can learn!
We had our family Christmas on the 16th, since that was our last weekend at home. The kids had a lot of fun opening their presents (although Lynsey was a bit disappointed that she didn't get a phone, although we never gave her even an ounce of hope that she would be!). Nathan is getting so good at putting together Lego! He got a pretty big Star Wars set and assembled it almost completely on his own. Adam didn't care too much for the things he got, but as usual he loved the atmosphere of opening presents.
A pretty big thing that happened for Lynsey before we left on our trip is that she finally got to hold her hamster, Luna. She has been working hard at getting her used to her hands, and she finally succeeded in picking her up! I am so proud of her for being patient and playing the long game, way to go Lynsey!
We left for Kamloops on Thursday the 21st around 1. We probably should have left an hour sooner as that would have given us more daylight on the sketchy roads, but it was what it was. The road wasn't terrible until Merritt, the stretch to Kamloops wasn't great because it was snowing and was getting dark by this time. We were thrilled to get to the BP's and have some supper at the end of it! The kids had fun swimming that evening and the next morning, we got on the road a bit later that morning. The drive to Calgary was pretty good, didn't get there until after 8 mountain time. The kids were thrilled to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house again! We hung around Calgary on Saturday, going sledding with Bobbi and Jer and hanging out at their place for a while, then heading back to Mark and Frances' for dinner with Mike and Annie. The next morning (Christmas Eve), the trip to La Crete began!
The drive was long but the kids did fairly well. The roads were decent. We were happy to get to Mom and Dad's and know that there would be no long drives for over 4 days! We had a great time in La Crete! So much visiting, playing, puzzling...it was our first Christmas up there since 2012 - way too long! The drive was well worth it for sure. The gathering was at the school, what a great venue for our family! The kids had a blast playing around in the gym. The next day, I even got to play some basketball because the LCPS senior girls were playing a game against alumni, which I am of course:-). Becky, Mary, Joyce and I all played and it was a fun experience! I was terrible, haven't played b-ball in something like 10 years, but it was still fun! Got to see Melanie and Patti at the Espresso House (great coffee house, way to go La Crete!). Even though the temps were freezing, my home town did not disappoint<3 .="" p="">
We headed back to Calgary on the morning of the 29th (Friday). The drive was so long again, I was starting to question how insane the decision to drive the whole way up to La Crete was! When we got to Calgary, Brian's parents were hosting the Penner gathering so there was some chaos. The kids jumped right in, didn't seem to bother them. Steve and Andrea were there of course so we finally got to see them for the first time in a year. On Saturday morning the kids opened their presents and played, and I went to have coffee with Kendra in Coventry in the afternoon. So good to catch up with her! It was so cold (really Calgary, never get to -30 unless I come to visit apparently:-S) and the roads were icy because it had snowed a ton, but I was still glad I ventured out. How I love catching up with old friends! The six of us couples got to go to the Keg that night for dinner while Mark and Frances babysat for all the grand kids - a nice treat! Sunday we had our big dinner, celebrated Adam's birthday (yep, he is 8!).
Monday morning, our trek back home began. Not without a bit of drama, of course. Our tire was low, it had lost a lot of air over night, and Mark and Brian were able to see where the slow leak was. It was a nail. What tire shops are open on New Years Day you ask? Well the answer is NONE!! Ugh. We had gotten up so early, were all packed by 7am, and we had to try and figure out what on earth to do. After lots of calling around with no results, Brian decided to go to Walmart and get some emergency tire fixing goop and a mini air compressor in case of a road side emergency. Our plan was to check the tire at every stop and fill it every chance we got and hope for the best. We set off at 8:30am. The tire did fine, we filled it up a few times but it was losing air really slowly so didn't have to fill it much the few times we did. The roads were okay for the first part, the worst was Merritt to Hope when it was starting to get dark (thanks to our late start we lost an hour and a half of daylight at a critical time, grr). It was cold and the road was icy. I was so tense! Thankfully it was not snowing, but icy roads are so scary! Brian is a great driver and we made it to Hope without incident. We decided to have some McD's at Hope and we were off on the home stretch! No drama at the border, the agents were great. We got home at 9:40 our time, such a long day. But we made it! Everyone was so glad to be home!
Routine started again Tuesday, everyone back to school, work, gym (whew it was time!), and Adam started with more evening sessions this week. He will now have 2 sessions on Tuesdays. He did fine with it, they are good with not pushing him too hard if he isn't dealing well. I still feel a bit tired, but starting to feel caught up. Getting this blog post done is a big check on my to do list;-).
Happy New Year everyone! Oh I can't forget to mention what happened this morning, Nathan lost his first ever tooth! Lynsey helped him pull it out, no drama at all. My baby's first tooth!
Here's to a great 2018!
