Christmas and my birthday

Let the picture overload begin.

We got to do a few fun things before Christmas break started and all the family arrived.

I like this picture of Josh helping Grand-Maman put the star on top of the tree

The boys and I had a sleepover by the tree. It was a fun evening. I tried to get some pictures... Well, they don’t look like what I had in mind, but they capture the spirit of the evening perfectly.

The boys teasing me with their thumbs in their mouths when I’m trying to take a picture

One giggles, the other one tries to escape

now he’s hiding

 

This is not be the perfect Christmas picture I had in mind, but I like it just the same

Just before Christmas break started we took a trip to Lyon to attend a concert with David Archuletta!! My friend Kim and her daughter Kate accompanied us. Kate is a big fan. And I, was giddy like a little girl. We left right after I picked up the boys from school but I took a wrong turn and we arrived 10 min late. Kate had been very anxious to arrive and she was worried we’d missed the show. We had to park in the street because the parking lot was full, so we arrived from behind the stake center. There’s a big fence around it, but we didn’t want to loose one more minute of the show so we climbed the fence to get to the closest door. What a surprise when I opened the back door and fell face to face with David Archuletta. Haha! We moved aside quickly but Kate recognized him and he waved at her and it totally made up for my being late!

It was really a beautiful performance. I love his voice and the spirit he brought with him. He sang several Christmas songs including "Il est né le divin enfant" in french, and he also sang his famous "Glorious", which I love. What a perfect way to get into the Christmas season.

Josh received a birthday card and a Christmas card from his Gramma.

The boys attended the school Christmas party (first a visit from Santa, and then a circus show). Stacking chairs and doing tricks on them... that gave them some ideas.

This year, we spent Christmas with all of my sisters. There were just too many cute moments to capture. How glad I am for my family and for so many cousins and family members to interact with.

It’s a challenge staying sane in the middle of this family chaos but it is so much worth it.

The boys shared their passion for pokemons with their cousisn

It was Christmas in the fall. No snow, warm temperatures. The kids played outside a lot.

More pokemon games, and fancy dinners :

Christmas morning: yes they woke up early but they waited patiently in front of the TV until all the adults were up to open the presents.

So many kids and so many presents!

Josh’s reactions are always priceless. William was so fast I didn’t get a picture of him opening his presents. This is him after he’d opened everything, I’m not sure what he was thinking!

The boys received a punching ball and some boxing gloves from their Dad. They put it to good use right away.

Then they played, and played...

ate, and ate, watched TV and watched TV...

William’s favorite present and at last some snow (the day after Christmas)!

Then it was my birthday and it was one of the best ever. Coraline’s birthday is only a few weeks after mine and she’ll be 30 so we decided to celebrate it while we were all together. Luc offered to watch the kids so Maman and all her daughters could go shopping together. We had the best time. We got some presents and I convinced Coco to get her ears pierced. Then we ate in the cafeteria and realized it was the first time we had lunch out together.

We went back home and found the children fed and happy. Coco and I spent the rest of the afternoon making our cakes. An Olaf cake for me and a spiderman cake for her.

There are some disadvantages to celebrating one’s birthday around the same time as Christmas but it also means I have my family with me almost every year. I’m so lucky for that. Turning 31 was one of my favorite.

And I enjoyed sharing this special day with Coco, the best aunt and sister (we all agree on that).