My other lovely parents' visit, December 1-11

The day Mom and Dad H. arrived for their second annual (or so I hope will become annual) visit, it was busy.  I'd been up most of the previous night, rushed out the door for A's 9:00 am swimming lesson, went with her to get a gift for the bowling birthday party she was to attend, dropped her off, got groceries, picked up the siblings, got A and then made it to the airport - a little late.  All the while, S was home tidying.   We might have been a tad grumpy if it weren't exciting to be getting such great people for a visit.  As was, we were set for a fun time!

The afternoon started off with the kids receiving gifts from Omi & Opa's October cruise.  The girls received funky kitty masks in which Mom looked particularly cute!  You can't tell it, but Ai was less than enthusiastic about his pirate shirt.  He must be rather like S - not an easy one to buy clothing for.  Iz has since happily claimed it as her own, as unlike big sister, she's not really into frou-frou wear.

The kids then subjected Opa to what must be the welcoming ritual for grandfathers . . . the styling of the hair!  It took a little longer to do Opa's than it had Grandpa's, but both passed the test of being extremely kind, patient and really very cute and so were allowed to stay . . .  :)

My Dad the day he arrived back in November!

Sunday we were able to go to church together, went on a Costco shop (always a highlight when I have visitors with memberships!), then spent the afternoon decorating the tree.  Dad kindly helped me find the wrecked Christmas lights and afterward, there was some game board playing.

It was nice to have the right ratio of grown-ups to kids for game playing - something I often forget to do as I don't really enjoy it.  Many an afternoon/evening found one being played, which I so appreciated.  Meant I got to do things uninterrupted while they were busy. :)

Monday night we went for dinner at the home of nearby friends, known by S and his parents from their church back home. They're super nice and we tested that by having the two youngest have three bathroom accidents between them.  I have no idea what was going on (!) but by the end of our time, I had a boy wearing girl pants and a girl wearing boy clothes.  Next time, we'll have THEM over . . . 

I don't usually get out to shop very much, so taking Mom and Dad to Ten Thousand Villages for my Christmas shopping was great fun (for me).  Tuesday morning was "The Greatest Drug Store on Earth" . . . London Drugs, only found in the southern quadrant of Winnipeg so somewhere I'd been to twice during my Winnipeg life.  It feels like 'home.'  I don't even need to go down their candy aisle to feel happy!  

Wednesday was our morning at the much-loved Manitoba Museum.  I let Ai skip out of Nursery to join us and it turns out he didn't return for two weeks!  Iz had had a mild cold and it ended up hitting Ai pretty hard.  Made for the first two weeks of October, November and December having him sick at home (with the others joining him for varying lengths of time).  It's been quite the season that way and we keep confusing the fellow parents as to whether Ai is still a student there or not!  At least he had a fun day, getting to play in the Science Gallery while Omi and Opa explored the museum without us.  He didn't get really sick until the end of their visit . . . 

It continued to be a fun day, with Omi & Opa treating us to a nearby Chinese restaurant - yummy!

the co-ordinated colour-er

What is up with this?!

And we returned home to celebrate Mom's birthday - two months to the date after the fact!  I was a little behind in the Fall . . . 

I like Ai's adoring expression here.  He told Omi that she's "the best girl in the whole world!"
Gotta like that . . .  He can be pretty sweet at times, good thing.

We got to end with some mellow family story time, which is something we do every night but it doesn't always have 'mellow' as an adjective!  It was a really nice day.

Thursday I got to sneak out to my Mom's group Christmas brunch - without the two sick kids.  Mom, Ai and I then went to check out the Zoo Gift Shop's 70 % off sale, and boy, we both enjoyed it!  Stocked up on presents for last-minute birthday parties that the kids will attend, though wish I'd bought way more!  Even I still love a cute 'stuffie' and I always love a good deal . . . 

Friday we picked up A from school mid-morning and went to the Royal Canadian Mint for a tour (thanks to a Groupon deal).   Trying to keep the kids occupied during a more adult-oriented tour, I didn't listen to lots of the facts presented.  According to the Mint's website, the Winnipeg facility has "produced more than 52 billion coins for dozens of countries. Our longest continuous contract for producing foreign coins is with Barbados – more than 30 years.  The Winnipeg Mint is our high-tech, high-volume manufacturing facility. Every single Canadian circulation coin is produced here – literally billions each year . . . . The Ottawa facility produces hand-crafted collector and commemorative coins, gold bullion coins, medals and medallions. This is where the master tooling is done to create the dies that strike coin designs for both circulation and commemorative issues."

I'm glad I now know what's inside the rather impressive building when I drive by.  It was far too cold to take photos of the exterior, sparkling on a beautiful, snowy winter day surrounded by the flags of the 70 countries it has produced coins for in the past 30 years. Got a couple shots from inside the gift shop - like Iz seeing how much she'd be worth if she was made in gold.  We all know she's priceless, however, and it was a far better investment for us to invest in an adoption than some bars of precious metal.  She's worth far more than $11,660.08 or any price otherwise!

Saturday Omi got to attend A's last swim lesson of the season (she's doing well, moving up to Swim Kids 5 . . . which as a pathetic swimmer, I'm really happy about!).  Later that cool morning, we ventured to the Forks Market and met Ruth and baby, Isaiah, for warm drinks.  

Omi once again made a gingerbread house kit with the kids while I did a few errands. 

And she kindly took a photo of us so we could be the "A" of "hAppy birthday" in a photo card for cousin, Corinne.   It gives a pretty good view of Ai's browned front tooth, thanks to a run-in with his bedpost that had happened in November (without me even knowing about it until the following week when it started to change colour!  I'd assumed he was just whining and had been in a rush to head out somewhere.  Poor boy . . . ).

Sunday I stayed home with sick Ai while the rest ventured bravely in the cold (it was below -20 C) to Fort Whyte nature reserve for a good long walk.  I was super impressed that they had a nice time (and was still glad I'd stayed home!).

Really, what IS up with this?!

That's more like it!

Omi joined A in her class Monday morning so she could experience a bit of A's school life.  We were surprised, too, that Omi confirmed what A's teacher had said:  A sits well at her desk, does her work really quickly and doesn't answer out of turn!  How can this be the same girl we've always known to flop around at the table, on the couch and even in her sleep!  She somehow holds her energy in appropriately, which is great!

In anticipation of the flight home on Tuesday, we spent Monday evening having an early Christmas together.   Dinner, gift exchange, dessert and then the dreaded family photo for the year.  I'm so glad Omi willingly persisted until we got an acceptable one as there were far more taken than the four attempts below!

I didn't realize S's bike helmet was stolen along with his bike last October and that he'd been
commuting to work all year without one!  I was as happy as he that he was given a new one!

Opa and his love-able, crazy granddaughters!

Oh boy!

A more realistic family portrait

Almost . . .

Yay - good enough!

I count myself pretty lucky.  When I told friends that my in-laws were coming for this length of time, even sleeping in our basement (brave them), I received lots of groans and 'poor you!' comments.  Obviously, I'm fortunate when it comes to in-laws as it wasn't a thought that crossed my mind, not even considering that the temperature was never above -10 C during the duration of their visit and we had much inside time.  I have some pretty wonderful parents on both sides and so appreciate the effort they have all taken this Fall to come and spend time with us.   Thanks, Mom and Dad!  The kids are wondering when you're coming next - hopefully when it's a tad warmer and sooner then next winter!