Early Christmas Celebrations - Dec 2 2018

Part numero dos of my hectic holiday weekend.

After our Christmas dinner party on Saturday December 1, Blake and I had to leave early Sunday morning to head down to Whitby. We agreed to take Josh and Michelle down to Whitby so that they could head home. Blake and I were going to Whitby so that we could participate in the annual Christmas tree cutting with the Aylward family. Since Blake works every other weekend, our weekends were limited prior to Christmas. December 2 was the only day that we could all get together, so off we went. Unfortunately, Mady and Kyle couldn’t come this year because they are off having a blast traveling around Australia and New Zealand (I don’t feel that bad for them). The Aylwards always go to the same tree farm every year. I think it’s Prestonvale Tree Farms in Courtice, but I could be wrong. Anyways, Sam and Maegan were able to come along as well so it was great to have most of the family together. As well, Blake’s Aunt Darcy, Uncle Mo, and their son Ben come every year. So, we had the whole crew together and off we went to pick a tree. Last year, the Aylwards chose my tree and it was quite the honor. It sounds silly, but it was! Once we get to the tree farm we usually veer left, but this year they hadn’t posted any maps, so we veered right to see what we could find. We didn’t have any luck with the first lot, but we continued searching. Finally, after only about 15 minutes of searching, we came to a clearing and I pointed out a tree and said “what about that one?” Sam ran over to a tree, which was not the tree I was pointing at, and said “This one? This is a nice tree.” … sure...that tree was totally the one I was pointing at. Nice pick Kaylin! Blake’s mom, who really is the supreme judge when it comes to picking the tree, instantly loved the tree. All of the other trees around it had been cut down, so it was like it was meant for us!

(Blake approved the use of these family photos - I'm not sure Blake's dad was aware family photos were being taken.)

Time to cut the tree down! I think we broke a record for shortest time it took to choose a tree with the Aylwards. This year we weren’t messing around. Blake and Sam lugged the tree to the car and we headed back. Blake and I couldn’t stay for very long because we had to go back to Peterborough for our annual Christmas by Candlelight celebration at Lang Pioneer Village, but we stayed long enough to have some delicious hot cocoa. Then we went home.

Once we were back in Peterborough, we changed into warmer clothes since the Pioneer Village is all outdoors. Also, Paula was joining us this year, so we had to wait for her to drive back up to Peterborough. Have I mentioned how awesome Paula is? I attempted to make hot cocoa for us to keep us warm ouside. I’ve been trying this detox hot cocoa that I found online, but I can’t seem to get it right. This time was probably the worst attempt yet. Poor Paula drank it all to be nice, but I took one sip and that was it. Gross!

We almost didn’t make it out to Lang because the driving conditions were so poor. It was generally a warm day, so I guess the sudden change in temperature caused intense fog. We could barely see a car’s length in front of us. It was eery. Blake almost turned back, but I convinced him to complete the journey. We made it safe and sound.

When we started walking up to the entrance the fog overlay made me think that we were walking into a zombie pioneer village. I wouldn’t have been surprised if we were chased around the village by zombie pioneers. That is not something that I would have wanted (Paula would have loved it), but that was the ambiance. That obviously didn’t happen and we continued on with our traditional walkthrough. When we walked into the first building, we had to pay for admission. Since when? Blake assured me that he had always paid for us, but I had been oblivious to it. What a gentleman!

Our first stop was to take our annual Christmas picture. I guess the budget was lower this year than previously because they didn’t have a photographer this year. People were just expected to take the photos on their phones. It was kind of disappointing, but still fun to dress up. Blake dressed up like an old-fashioned soldier while Paula and I dressed in full black and white. We took a couple of pictures together until the organizer asked us if we wanted a picture of us under the “kissing ball”. Paula and I just looked at each other like, “That’s a weird question to ask a group of three.” I guess this lady was quite progressive, but it was still an awkward moment. Of course Blake and I decided to take a picture under the kissing ball, but Blake only kissed me on the cheek … as if I wouldn’t kiss him … what a weirdo. I guess he was trying to be respectful towards Paula, but it wasn’t necessary. (I bring your attention to one of the funniest pictures the three of us have taken together. This was about 5 years ago. Blake and I were doing a sort of couples photo shoot and our friend just happened to capture this hilarious image. We love it)

After the awkward picture incident, we hopped from building to building learning about pioneer life and tasting the delicious goodies. We had sugar plums and old fashioned plum pudding...neither recipe had any actual plums in it, apparently pioneers used the term "plums" for raisins. We all agreed that the most interesting building was the Print Shop. We learned a lot including where the terms upper and lower case came from. It was fascinating! We then grabbed some truly good hot cocoa and hot apple cider. We also shared a giant apple fritter. After our bellies were warm and full, we claimed a space to watch the live nativity scene that is put on annually. The three of us aren't religious, but Blake and I enjoy watching the nativity scene for the singing and to see the live animals. This year they even had a donkey! After the brief performance, we headed over to the Town Hall where the Christmas sing-a-longs happen. Neither Blake nor I can sing very well, but we still enjoy singing as loud as we can. On the other hand, Paula is a good singer and made the not-so-great singers (Blake and I) sound even worse! I was a little disappointed because the usual performers are a group called Sheesham and Lotus. They are a great folk group that are more popular in Europe, but usually come back to perform at Lang for this event. Sadly, they didn't attend this year. Seeing them perform and lead the Christmas carols is what I was most excited for, but, nonetheless, we still sang loud and proud!

Once we had sang hearts out, we headed over to the school where they have "story time". For the past two years the story has been "Twas the Night Before Christmas", but this year is was a story called "The Flying Canoe". The story was accompanied by music and visuals that were created by using a piece of yarn twisted around the storyteller's hands. It was impressive! Once the story was over, we ended our night with a ride on the horse-drawn wagon before heading home. I didn't have to work until noon the next morning, so Paula stayed over and, even though we had spent the better part of 2 days together, we stayed up late chatting before we all crashed and went to sleep. The next morning, Paula and I tried out the Speak Easy Cafe in Peterborough for breakfast (it was...basic) before we went our separate ways.

It might have been a crazy busy weekend, but I loved every minute and it was a great way to start off the Christmas season!