Merry Bermuda Christmas!

Just a few quick pics of us cherishing the amazing Christmas moments with our boys.

Donating at the Salvation Army

A plethora of gifts from Santa, Nanna, Grampy, Grandma, Mommy and Daddy

A new tradition -- boys splashing in the ocean, parents sipping champagne and orange juice at a world-class beach on Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas from Bermuda

We are nearing the official anniversary of our move here and wanted to share our year in pictures. It has been a very happy and memorable year for us. We have made new friends, started new traditions and enjoyed our visits with friends and family over the course of 2009.

Wishing we were sharing our Christmas wishes in person,

love Quinn, Morgan, Rheanne and Jim

(press the play button!)

Getting ready for new Christmas traditions

The weather outside is balmy...not really what we are used to in mid-December. Still, we are attempting to get into the Christmas spirit without the usual shoveling, treacherous driving, frostbitten toes, and Yorkdale traffic jams!

This week Morgan and Jim went out and bought our tree (artificial for the first time ever - but one that we can use on those years when we are winging our way north for the holidays) and then we hauled out all of our decorations and had a wonderful time rediscovering our ornaments and hanging them from every branch.

A year ago today we were leaving our home in Toronto. Because everything was either shipped or stored by this time, we didn't do any decorating for the holidays. We hadn't seen our Christmas things for two years - for Quinn (who was only 1 the last time they all came out) it was a wonderful discovery.

Meanwhile, life goes on as always - last week of school; Morgan's final soccer match of the season; and tonight - the Bermuda Christmas boat parade - okay, maybe some things are a little different!

Meet Molly

Since Morgan could talk he has been obsessed with animals. Not just a little bit interested, but absolutely, wholly and completely obsessed. He has asked numerous times if he can have a pet but there always seemed to be a reason why it wasn't the right time (allergies, too much work for mommy and daddy, we were moving, etc.). Finally, today, Mommy and Daddy caved.

We all made our way to the pet store where we bought a cute little dwarf hamster complete with a cage, bedding and food. We promptly went through all the possibilities for naming the newest member of our family...Gingerbread, Cabbage-head, Toffee, Cinnamon, Alice (after another new member of our family!), Hammy, Swizzle, Sandy...and settled on "Molly". The hardest part so far has been leaving her in her cage. It seems that this little creature will most certainly be smothered with attention.

Halloween in Bermuda

Halloween in Bermuda is a little different than we have previously been used to living in downtown Toronto. Instead of have over 100 kids knocking on our door, we had 3. That's right, only 3, and they weren't even in costume. Instead of having a chill in the air and seeing the beautiful fall colours, we spent the early part of the day in our shorts and t-shirts with sunshine and warmth streaming in our wide open windows. Instead of going door-to-door trick-or-treating, we went over to an event at the school and knocked on classroom doors where students gave out candy to the little children.

It was a new experience.

The jury is still out as to whether it was a successful holiday, but we did have some definite highlights. The astronaut costumes were cute as can be and were met with rave reviews. The homemade spaceship was great fun to make and even more fun to play with. We had a fantastic time at our party and our impromptu (if short) trick-or-treat through an up-scale neighbourhood turned out to be a great idea, especially watching Morgan race from house to house and Quinn and and his little friend Imojen hold hands the entire time.

All in all, because we spent the day together...it was a Happy Halloween.

La cuenta, por favor (muchachos!)

Our life is pretty fantastic these days. Not only are we blessed with two gorgeous children who amaze us daily, a wonderful family (two of whom flew all the way to Bermuda to look after those two gorgeous boys), and a life in Bermuda that means we get to spend our days enjoying sunshine and beautiful views...but we get to go to conferences in (wait for it...)...Spain!

Jim and I had a really lovely time seeing the sights of Lisbon, the Algarve, and Seville last week when we jetted off for eight days, leaving Morgan and Quinn in the very capable hands of their grandparents. A nice side benefit was the chance to catch up with some Canadian friends who were attending the IB World Heads Conference as well. The weather was great, the tapas was even better and the wine was cheap.

As nice as it was to spend time alone together and see another beautiful country, we were both anxious to get home and see Morgan and Quinn. The phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" couldn't have been more true in this case.

Nanna and Grampy made it to Bermuda!

They made it...barely! Nanna and Grampy obviously belong in Bermuda. They already have the relaxed and laid back attitude toward time down pat. This meant that to get on their flight here, Nanna had to sprint to the airplane with just her carry-on bags and Grampy had to reschedule and come two days later. In any case, they are here and we are thrilled to see them in person, show them around our new home and enjoy their company. Highlights in the first few days have included lessons on the scooter, being fans at Morgan's first soccer game of the season and lots of books, drawing and hide and seek. It will be a great couple of weeks!

May I take your order?

We're not sure if it is because we have been eating out a little more lately (parents both at work, parents both tired and not feeling like cooking!), or if it is because we have done more entertaining, but Morgan has decided to have a full-fledged menu for our house. We have spent the last few days playing restaurant. Morgan's Cafe cooks food to order, takes reservations, and even delivers. His restaurant serves brekfist, lunch, hot stuf, snaks, diner and drinks and the menu includes all of our family favourites. This morning, Morgan was the host with the most serving breakfast to Quinn, Mommy and Daddy, even putting the dishes in the dishwasher when he was finished. With the thriving tourist business in Bermuda, Morgan is well on his way to making his fortune.

A Big Day

 

 

It was a big day in our family.  Morgan and Jim returned to Somersfield for the start of a new year and I returned to teaching after a few months break.  A new start in a new school year is always exciting, but not quite as exciting as the first day of school...ever!  Quinn has been very excited and very nervous for the past few weeks knowing that today was coming.  He eagerly got dressed this morning and was looking forward to seeing his teachers Mrs. Feven and Mrs. Hammer.  He was all smiles as we got in the car and posed for the camera lots of times when we arrived at Somersfield.  He even skipped off to Jim's office and had a big kiss and hug for me as he left.  When it was time to go into his classroom and say goodbye to daddy, the reality set in and a few tears were shed.  Apparently, later in the day when it was rest time he let a few more sobs escape, but he did it.  I can't believe how fast time is flying.  I can't believe he is already in school.  I can't believe how proud I am of my little boy.

Last Day of Summer

 

What a summer we have had this year.  We have filled our days lounging on the beach, jumping off the dock, painting, hammering, drinking sherry on the veranda, spending time with lots of family, laughing, playing and generally enjoying the company of each other.  Morgan and Quinn spent their last day of summer holidays doing what they do best...playing together.  I don't think there are two children that have more fun and expend more energy than these two.  

It has been a fantastic few months.  Now we are moving on to another exciting chapter.  Quinn is beginning school, Morgan is moving into P2, Jim is busy improving the school in numerous ways and I am starting to teach M1 English and Humanities.  We all have exciting days ahead and the best thing is that all the action will happen on one campus.  We are a Somersfield family.

Jobs complete...for now

 

We loved our extended stay at the cottage this summer and had a chance to do lots of the jobs that have been hanging over our heads for years.  The bathroom has a new shower and a few other new finishing touches, many closets, drawers, cupboards and areas have been re-organized, and getting the cottage to its old glory days is starting to feel less overwhelming.  Our two biggest sources of pride were the new ramp for the dock and the boathouse.  Jim and I traded back and forth between playing with the boys and puttering away at our project.  Typically, Jim hammered and nailed all morning while I scraped and painted all afternoon.  It is a great feeling of accomplishment and makes the cottage look a little fresher.   Enjoy the pics of our (mostly) finished work.

Doting Grandparents

This was a very special week for Morgan and Quinn because they had all three of their grandparents in the same place at the same time...and a place that they adore to boot. Grandma extended her stay a couple of days to welcome Nanna and Grampy to the cottage and we have had a wonderful time of splashing, hiking, throwing rocks (and other things!) into the lake, hammering, eating and playing games, as well as lots of giggles and laughter. It has been a really nice way to finish our time in Canada, though makes it just that much harder to leave. We are down to our last few days that will be used mainly for buying up all the items at Yorkdale that we can't get (or don't want to pay extreme high prices for) in Bermuda.

Cottage Living

We have always loved coming to Pointe-au-Baril each summer to visit our cottage, but this year was made that much more special because we were able to see family that we've missed over the last few months while we've been in Bermuda. We began our month-long stay with a couple days of just the four of us cleaning, tidying, celebrating Morgan's sixth birthday and seeing what jobs were most pressing for this year.

Brett, Karen, Sophie and Clara called and said they were arriving the next day and we had a lovely few days catching up, splashing at the beach and exploring the variety of toys on the veranda. One day after they left, Brandon and Lucy arrived for a week of fun. Swimming off the dock became the activity of choice, along with lots of books, riding on the top of the car and various arts and crafts activities. Before long, Grandma, Mary-Kate, Dan and Bodhi arrived to fill up the rest of the bedrooms at the cottage and we had a very full house.

It has been fantastic to see all of the different personalities of the little members of the Christopher family and how they relate to each other. While sleep can be a little hard to find around here, fun certainly isn't. We have thoroughly enjoyed all the action, laughter and excitement of the past couple of cottage weeks. It is feeling more and more like we have the best of all worlds...Bermuda through the year, Pointe-au-Baril through the summer. What more could we ask for?

Celebrating Six

We had lots of celebrations for Morgan's birthday this year...a combined party with Erika in Port Hope with cake decorated by the birthday girl and boy, a cottage party with just our little family, and another party when Mary-Kate, Danny, Bodhi, Grandma, Brandon and Lucy were there to join in the fun. What a way to turn six!

Happy Birthday, beautiful boy!

Family Fun

We have been in Canada for less than 10 days, but we have made the most of every second. After celebrating Quinn's birthday in grand style, we headed back to Port Hope where Morgan and Quinn settled in for an extended stay. They enjoyed the high energy and all the action, hitting the beach, the Bowmanville Zoo and the movies (among other things) with Erika, Uncle Rhys, Uncle G., Nanna and Grampy.

Meanwhile, Jim and I took off for a course in Vancouver and a quick visit with Jeff, Heather and Graeme. The course was fantastic and gave us lots of ideas to use in the next school year. We also had ample time for shopping, dinners out and fancy drinks. All four of us made the most of the time we spent apart, but we were certainly thrilled to have our foursome back together again yesterday. We are now headed up to the cottage for a few weeks of relaxing on the veranda, playing on the beach, puttering on the docks and simply enjoying the company of each other.

Three!

A birthday to remember! Breakfast pancakes and watermelon with Grandma, waterslides with Erika, Nanna, Grampy, Uncle Rhys and Uncle G, and a picnic dinner with cake and chocolate icing. Happy 3rd birthday, darling boy!

Bermuda Holiday

 

  

We are all getting very excited about Thursday when we head off to Canada for over a month.  We have already lined up visits with Grandma, Uncle Rhys and Erika, Nanna, Grampy, Uncle G, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Heather and Graeme, and that is all before the middle of July!  In our last few days of our Bermuda holidays, we have been making the most of the fantastic weather and beautiful beaches.  Our favourite beach these days is John Smith's Bay where there aren't too many tourists, the parking is relatively close and there always seems be lots of other children to splash around in the water with or explore with on the rocks.  We've also tried to get to a few other sights on the island including the ever-popular zoo-quarium and Fort Hamilton.  It has been a great holiday so far and we are only one week in!  

School's Out For Summer!

 

  

Morgan is officially on summer holidays after graduating from "P1" last week, although Jim is still slugging it out at school in meetings for another couple of weeks.   Quinn is thrilled to have Morgan around full-time and we are all set to take in lots of beaches, check out the Dockyards snorkel park and spend time playing on various playgrounds on the island.  We have to fit it all in before July 9th when we take off for Canada and move to the other island in our life: Pointe-au-Baril.  Here are a few pics from our first few days of vacation -- Jim and I getting set to run in the Fidelity Couples 5-Mile race, Quinn living it up (with blue lollipop all over his face), and Morgan and Quinn enjoying an afternoon of animals and cars in the backyard.