Talulah and I wanted to share our appreciation for the time we spent with some special peeps yesterday! Her great aunt Carol & great uncle Rick (actually… I suppose it's great great aunt & uncle, but that's just a mouth full) organized a horse drawn wagon ride and invited us along! (It was supposed to be a sleigh ride, but there wasn't enough snow so it was a wagon ride, lol!)
It was so much fun! Talulah was hilarious, totally not shy and she had to be rescued by Ryan on numerous occasions. My no-fear kid was all over the place and leaning WAY over the side of the wagon to see the dogs, horses, snow, purple wolves, bears, unicorns, foxes…. etc. etc. etc. Well, she didn't see purple wolves, bears, unicorns or foxes - but it wasn't for lack of trying! (Thank you Ryan for keeping her safe!) Talulah rewarded Ryan with a nice snuggle while she drank her hot chocolate.
She was so in love with her cousins Jayden, Riley, Shayna and Saskia. Like seriously, she LOOOOOOOOVED them!
We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, made s'mores, ate LOTS of treats (Talulah's got her Daddy's sweet tooth, that's for sure), sang some Christmas carols, played in the snow…. Such a Christmas-y event, filled with family! (Or ex-family-in law?? Whatever…. FAMILY.)
Anyway, just thought I'd share the message of thanks that we sent to all of them. Because, they're all awesome and the kids are fantastic and it was a really really special time.
So, all y'all reading this… Be sure to send some extra love to your families this holiday season!
With that, here's a big public THANK YOU to Rick, Carol, Tracy, Rob, Ryan, Chrissy, Shayna, Saskia, Jayden & Riley - We love you!
Hey Everyone!
I just wanted to thank you so much for an awesome day yesterday. Talulah and I had a BLAST! It was so unbelievably nice to spend some quality time with all of you. You have no idea. :)
After we got in the car Talulah cried for a good ten minutes because she wanted her "friends". She kept interrupting her cries with, "What's da big one's name again? Oh Shayna…. I waaaaaaant my Shaaaaayyna 'cause I looooooove her!" and repeat with all names. I had to tell her we'd go to Jayden and Riley's house all the time (couldn't include Shayna & Saskia's house because China's a little too far to promise) and then play some Raffi on the stereo to calm her down. Also, the promise of a REALLY big snuggle when we got home seemed to help a bit. And then she passed out HARD for the rest of the drive.
Shayna & Saskia are so grown up! Not to mention so sweet, polite, friendly and thoughtful. They both helped Talulah without hesitation many times and it seriously warmed my heart like you wouldn't believe. Saskia helped Talulah navigate the snow and climb through the rope fence. Shayna made sure she was safe in the deep snow and when Talulah went over to her (nice and warm by the fire) and said, "Do you wanna go play wiss me?" Shayna, without hesitation, said, "Sure!" and popped her gloves on to head out to the snow. Both girls were excited to see her and were more than happy to read her the book she got from everyone for Christmas! (Which we forgot at your place, of course. Because I forget everything since becoming a mom.) Saskia was having trouble getting her gloves back on after the wagon ride so I stopped and asked if she wanted help with her gloves. She replied with a polite, "Yes please." and a "Thank you." after each glove. SO POLITE! If I was struggling with my gloves when it was that cold I would have replied with a "GAH, YEEEESSSSS PLEASE! HURRY!" So seriously Tracy & Rob - what's your secret??
Jayden & Riley are just as I remember them from a couple of weeks ago. ;) So sweet. I love how happy Jayden was to hear about how much Talulah missed (and loved) her from their last play date. Jayden's always so outgoing and FRIENDLY - I love it! It was so nice to see how close she is with her cousins - it's exactly like you told me Chrissy - they want to be together all the time! Oh, and Riley with his "donkey-horse" comments? They don't get much cuter than that! I laughed so hard. I loved watching him sometimes play with the other kids and sometimes off to explore by himself (rearranging the HUGE wood pile was priceless.) And, I think he even started talking to me at the end of the visit! Usually he just plays with Talulah & Jayden and ignores me the whole time. I like to think we're just communicating telepathically… But sure, I guess he's "shy". Hee…
Rick & Carol - being the lead in the entourage, organizing the whole wagon ride and hotdog/marshmallow roast, goodies for the kids, and inviting us along was so awesome! The kids may not have been into the Christmas carols, but I sure was! It was SUCH A GREAT TIME! And we really really do need to get together more often. :) Thank you so much!
I'm so thankful that Donovan and I remained close and have an amazing co-parenting relationship. It means I still get to have a friendship with him and I still get to be involved with all of you! It really is so wonderful to have all of this. And, Talulah's lucky to have so many people who adore her. Amazing parents who love her, a stepmom who ROCKS (sometimes when I tell Talulah she's going to Daddy's house she says she doesn't want to see Daddy, just "Dodi" (aka: Jodi). It warms my heart that she loves Jodi so much, that's how I can tell she's a wonderful stepmom.), grandparents who are crazy about her and a plethora of aunts, uncles and cousins who are nothing but happy to see her!
Anyway, I know it's just a big mass of email mush… But I really really had a great time yesterday and loved seeing the kids all together. You brought the love this Christmas season, that's for sure!
The only thing that was missing? TRACY!!! I was really sad that I didn't get to see you (and that you didn't get to join in on the fun). It would have been so wonderful! Talulah and I are heading to Winnipeg on boxing day and won't be back until January 5th - I don't suppose you'll still be in town? Next time you're here, I'd really love to see you too. It's been way too long. Someone - please give Tracy a BIG HUG from Talulah and I!
So, thank you, thank you, thank you a million times over!
Love,
Sarah & Talulah xoxo
Oh, Sarah, I can't tell you how good your letter made me feel, it brought tears to my eyes, good tears, it's wonderful how well you and Donovan are handling this, it's not really abreakup becuase you're both so grown up about it, your both wonderful parents and bring so much joy to the family, you will aways be family. love you both so much. Talulah is just too much, can't tell you how much she is loved. thanks for sharing. and thank you Rick and Carol for being the kind and wonderful people you are Merry Christmas best New Year ever
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