December came quickly and we started our typical assortment of festive activities. It began with a trip to the mall to get photos taken with Santa. Soon after we were at the Shaw Family Christmas Party (another fabulous event) and then the Calgary Zoolights. We picked out a tree at Superstore and the cats marveled at how wonderful it was to put decorations on a tree. We did shopping and baking and put up the lights. We saw the fireworks at Confederation Park and when the snow finally came, Brandon spent hours sledding down the hills in the park. When we needed a break from the cold, we strapped on some roller blades and had a blast rolling around at Lloyd's Roller Rink. I even took Brandon to church one night in hopes of showing him how other people view and celebrate the season.
Jamie was scheduled for hernia surgery in late December so we missed Brandon's school event known as Marche du Noel but our friends Shawn and Christine were able to take him so at least B was able to go.
Through a strange series of miscommunication with friends, we ended up spending Christmas home alone this year. It all worked out well though. Brandon was in his glory on Christmas morning - opening gifts of Lego, Pokemon, Nintendo gameboy, games, and clothes. In the late afternoon we headed over to Bob and Marilyn's house (Danica's parents) for Christmas fun and a fabulous dinner. We were made to feel really welcome and we had a lovely time spending Christmas evening with them. The rest of the holidays were spent as a family. We went to the movies (Star Wars), played mini golf, and went swimming. For New Years' Eve, we went to Sloane and Mitch's house to ring in 2017 and celebrate with them.
My goal for 2017 was to pay off the truck. With this in mind, I spent the month of January trying not to spend any money. It was an interesting challenge. I didn't buy any lunches or coffees at work. I didn't buy any clothes or succumb to any of the Boxing Day sales running rampant throughout the city. My hard work paid off and in February and Jamie and I wrote the last cheque on the truck (Yippee!)
Speaking of February, I also took my Mom to Palm Springs for a four day girls trip. I wanted to do something special for my mom's 70th birthday so I asked her where she'd like to go. She picked Palm Springs for the dates Feb 3rd to Feb 6th but left the rest up to me. I ended up reserving our stay at the The Hotel California and I don't think I could have picked a more perfect spot. It's a family run boutique hotel on the fringes of downtown Palm Springs. Our room was super comfortable, the pool was really warm and the folks we met while staying there were also tons of fun. The Hotel California offered free snacks, all-day coffee and they even thew a party on Superbowl Sunday. The best thing they did though was give my mom pink champagne on ice to help celebrate her birthday. Thanks Larry!
Palm Springs itself was a great little town. It was very friendly and easy to get around. The weather was good so we spent most of our time at the hotel's pool. We also did some shopping, had birthday dinner at the fabulous Colby's Restaurant and even took in a polo game at the Empire Polo Fields! We felt very posh hanging out in the VIP section, dining on our lunch.
Our holiday was over much too soon and I found myself back in snowy Calgary. Winter progressed without too much excitement until we got to Jamie's birthday. I always view Jamie's birthday as the end of winter. The weather is usually still pretty bad but at least it's a time of year where we can start looking forward to -30 degree days being over. For Jamie's birthday this year I bought him a gym membership to use at the city pools. With his membership, I was able to include Brandon for only an additional $30. This proved to be an excellent idea. Both Jamie and Brandon have been enjoying their time at the pool. Hopefully this will be a good primer for many swimming days ahead this summer!
It sure was a long winter but things progressed as they do and we really didn't have wait long for Spring to arrive.
