Let's start at the beginning! The Christmas Season in Iowa was both busy and very fun! Many potlucks and Christmas parties with delicious seasonal flavors, as well as spending some social time with friends! We also had a lot of fun trying to track down two of the 'in demand' gifts for Christmas this past year - Hatchimals (for kids) and the NES Classic (for bigger kids). Auntie Anne was on the hunt for Hatchimals for the grand kids, and Cassie for the NES Classic for Trevor, but neither came close to the coveted gifts due to the high demand and high population in the Durham Region. Andee and Iowa to the rescue! Andee found an app on his phone that would track when the gifts were due to arrive at the Target stores in Iowa, and waited patiently for a shipment to come to Cedar Falls or Waterloo. And low and behold, at 6:30AM one very cold December morning, four NES Classics and four Hatchimals appeared in the Cedar Falls Target! Andee bolted out of bed to wait in line outside of the store, and braved -17°C (0°F) temperatures for nearly an hour to acquire the popular gifts! I joined him for about 15 minutes outside, and together we were able to snag two NES Classics and two Hatchimals for Christmas gifts! Auntie Anne's grandkids were surprised with the cute toys on Christmas day, and we were able to surprise Trevor with a NES Classic! This was the second year in a row we were able to surprise Trevor with something that couldn't be found in Canada, and it was so much fun! And the hunt was fun too!
We were also able to take a week of vacation to head back to Canada for Christmas! We surprised Dave and Arielle by showing up a day early for our vacation week and making it to their Christmas party! It was so great to see a cute (and pregnant!) Arielle, and see a few of our friends that we hadn't seen in a while! We also spent a lot of time with family, and it was especially fun to have Jamie and Tiffany announce that they will be having a baby in July! They announced it to Carol and Bill by giving Carol a Christmas gift of a little pacifier charm for a bracelet, and they caught on right away! We now know that they will be having a little boy, and we are very excited to meet him (hopefully!) when we head back home in the Summer for vacation! A wonderful Christmas gift! Here is a photo of their public pregnancy announcement!
And as usual, we took our Aldridge Family photos, and were able to spend some time on Christmas Day with both families. Delicious food and wonderful company! We are always happy to see our immediate and extended families when we head back home!
Vera also had a fun time traveling to Canada, if by 'fun' you mean panicked meows and howls for a large portion of the car rides. She was, however, a little better than last time, so, I guess we'll call that a win? Once she arrived she was very content to explore my parents house and spend time with 'Grandma and Grandpa' and 'Aunt Cassie'. It may have been the other way around. Either way, she was well loved and enjoyed in Canada!
We had a great time visiting home, and knew that we had a lot on the horizon in the coming months back in Iowa. Job and visa applications, moving plans, Worship Night, and lots more! Stay tuned for a Winter/Spring blog headed your way in the next couple weeks!
