Last week, my mom braved the chilly temps in order to squeeze in one more visit with the grandkids before Christmas.  She wasn't quite prepared for the cold spell that arrived the same day she did. At -35, not including the wind chill, it was the most frigid temps she has experienced in a long time. We made the most of it and just bundled up so we could venture out a bit.

The week went by quickly as we seemed to have something going on every day. She got a chance to meet some of my Canadian girlfriends at a dessert and coffee party one night. We took Wyatt to the drop-in gymnastics and he had a ball, bouncing around on the trampoline and flinging himself into the foam pit over and over. We slogged through the snow one day in order to do a little Christmas shopping. We even made Christmas cookies one afternoon. Wyatt participated for about 2 minutes before he wandered off to find something more fun and Dayven ended up decorating them all. I think he secretly enjoyed it.

 

We took a trip to the West Edmonton Mall to visit the sea life exhibit. There's a sea lion show and an underwater cave where you can watch all the marine life - giant sea turtles, sharks, fish, eels and even penguins. They also have a touch tank where you can pet the sting rays. Our mall is quite unique with an indoor water park, ice skating rink, bowling, an amusement park, a pirate ship in a lagoon, glow in the dark putt-putt golf and a casino. They even recently built a sloth habitat!

Dayven and I took advantage of the sitter and went on a date one night just the two of us and also had a Christmas dinner with the Cat mining crew and their wives. Since Nana had things so under control, I kicked back a little, even heading out to the library and the gym on my own. My mom was working hard her entire trip - helping with the kids, cooking, feeding, cleaning, taking the trash and recycling out, doing laundry, all the stuff it takes to run a household. Even though Dayven does a lot, I find it almost overwhelming at times - the one drawback of a big house - and really appreciated the extra set of hands (and the sympathy). My mom suggested I get a cleaning lady to help me keep on top of it. An excellent idea, which sadly, Dayven shot down. Only another mom can truly appreciate all a mom does, right?

Nana headed home bright and early this morning and we miss her already. She called to give me an update and she had a long day of travel home. It was -46 when she got to the Edmonton airport and all the flights were grounded. It must be -40 or warmer to fly. She waited for 5 hours at the airport for the weather to warm up and the plane to be de-iced. Luckily, she had a long scheduled layover in Seattle so she was still able to make her flight. It's always something when you travel. We're staying put for Christmas, but we're already planning our spring break trip to Cedar Key!