Ahhh Christmas.

Well the Loewen house would have looked mighty un-Christmas like had it not been for the Cornelson family who mailed us our very own Christmas trees, among other things!

As we speak, Mark is studying his brains out before his two exams this morning. He's finished today and I have one more on Thursday. Today me and the other girls on our program are heading down to the states to do some final Christmas shopping, tomorrow we babysit, Thursday we pack, and Friday we fly home for a glorious 25 days and we can't wait.

Bridal Falls

Last weekend, the husband was itching to get outdoors so we drove out to Bridal Falls for a little hike. It was snowy and beautiful and even a little Manitoba like?? (See Highway pic).

Just Another Too Cute Shot of Miss Jayda

Let it Snow!

We were some pumped to see the coming of the snow this year. We brought out our Christmas music, went for a long walk in the evening, helped pushed a vehicle stuck on a hill, got some hot cocoa to drink with the neighbors who were decorating thier tree... Altogether lovely.

Birds.

Well now that my husband became a bird nerd, we spend our Saturdays at bird festivals with numerous other 55+ folks...
To be honest we've only been to one; last weekend we took part in the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival. We saw hundreds of baldies and it was interesting even to me. They weren't close enough to get a good shot with my zoom but I got a pic here of a captive orphaned eagle.

The Canasta Finals

Well, for those of you who were waiting, and I know that's most of you, the results have finally arrived. After playing canasta for a year with a running score, Amy came out on top with a whopping 341,990 to Mark's 296,235. A good year indeed.

Tastes Like Home

Mark & I wowed ourselves with this dinner of vereneki, schmontfat, and farmer sausage.
We had to call Ruthie Pie, just to make sure we would get the most authentically Grandma Wiebe schmontfat, and I have to say for the first try, it was de-lish.

Trick or Treat

Jayda was our only tricker-treater this year, but as they say, quality over quantity right?

More Parents!!!

We greatly enjoyed the company of the Loewen parents for a few days at the end of October. Our first day together we went for a drive up Sumas Mountain and walked around at the top. Beautiful day, beautiful view. In the evening we went to see a movie and then relaxed in the in room jaccuzi at the hotel.
On Saturday we went down to Bellingham in the states where we ate some killer all you can eat fish and chips (see the folks and fish photo below). In the afternoon the boys went exploring along the coast while the ladies spent a few hours in the mall. In the evening we ate more seafood at a lovely seaside restaurant and then headed back to Abby.
On Sunday we went to church, went to a great buffet with Uncle Dwight and the kids, napped at the hotel, watched hotel tv, went out for dinner and enjoyed lovely conversation throughout the eve.
Monday we relaxed some more, ordered pizza, watched football and the like.
Tuesday morning we had breakfast together and then the in-laws were off. Lovely lovely....

Thanksgiving Again

We were lucky to have a large contingent from the Loewen family out a few weeks ago and even got to have turkey dinner all over again.
This pics are of Mark with some uncles and aunties and "little" cousin Zac.

Marko's Birthday

On October 17th, 1980, our world became a little more loveable with the coming of Mark Joshua. At the ripe age of 27 with years of travel and experiences under his belt, 2 half-marathons, a pretty little wife, what could have really made Mark more complete, more happy this birthday? Well for this ex-exercise-hater turned running nerd, it was a Garmin Forerunner 250 GPS running watch.

To truly understand the diversity and loveability of Mark Josh, also note the other two highly desired gifts: a pedicure set and lemon & lime juicers.

The Birthday Man Along the Fraser

The Event.

To celebrate the occassion, we went for a walk along the Fraser River, looked for hawks (to no avail), dined at the Bombay restuarant in Mission, went to see The Kingdom, and enjoyed each others company. To quote Mark himself regarding his birthday, "It was really good; it was my favorite; best gifts ever." Wow.

Ah Marriage...

I arrived home after a long day of birthday present hunting to this beautiful gourmet dish of grille chiz con soupe tomatoe...
As Tom Waits said:

So if you find someone
Someone to have, someone to hold
Don't trade it for silver
Don't trade it for gold
I have all of life's treasures
And they are fine and they are good
They remind me that houses
Are just made of wood
What makes a house grand
Ain't the roof or the doors
If there's love in a house
It's a palace for sure
Without love...
It ain't nothin but a house
A house where nobody lives

Farewell to Ma & Pa Bergman

After a lovely weekend together, it was time to say farewell! to the folks. Before going to the airport, we went up Cyprus mountain for a little hike on this beautiful BC day.

Tristan & Silke

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Kuhn's

At the Bracewell's

Thanksgiving Weekend

We were very excited to have the Bergman folks out for the weekend. As with most Bergman family events we were busy and we laughed a lot! Friday was spent with the Kuhn kids, Silke & Tristan doing a little mini-golfing, a little eating, etc. Saturday we went to White Rock (see pics below). 'Twas rainy and cold, too much so for Ruthie & Amy. But the company was good... We spent the evening with Kristin & Andrew Bracewell (that's thier little beauty below, Ms.Jayda). After some Greek we enjoyed cider and pumpking pie- delish. Today (Sunday, that is) we went to Fresh Wind for church and then out for lunch again (good to have the folks here...) and much to the boys delight did some back roads exploring to the Fraser River (again too cold for the ladies, we stayed in the car). For dinner Ria (Kuhn) made us the full Thanksgiving meal. We've just arrived home here a little tired, very full, and very satisfied. A great Thanksgiving, considering our distance from home. Tomorrow we take off to Vancouver to say good-bye to ma & pa and then back to school for us on Tuesday. Hope y'all had a great long weekend!

Kenny & Ruthie Pie's Visit

Marathon

On Sunday, Mark & I went to Port Coquitlam for the 1/2 marathon where Super-Marko ran 13.1 miles in 1hr 44min 29s. Impressive! We went IKEA to celebrate and then out for Greek and then home for a nice long meddeshlope (spelling anyone?).

Man or Machine?

Our Next Door Neighbor- Jayda Riley Bracewell

And then we were bloggers...

Well familia y amigos, we have decided to come out of our marriage cocoon and let you into the thrilling lives of Mark & Amy. It's either spend the next hour on this or study the history of my church denomination and so here I am. Do Enjoy!

The Road Trip Out West