Friday was the John Deere Christmas party, and it was so much fun! The party is for all employees and their families, which was something different for Jared and I! This year the party was in Lethbridge at the Holiday Inn (formerly the Ramada!), dinner was served at 6:30pm, and was so yummy! We had prime rib, caesar salad, carrots, broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes! There was an unlimited amount of pop or juice to drink (plus alcohol for those interested!) and cheesecake for dessert! I think I heard that the price per plate was $30! Each kid got a present, a John Deere tractor set (how fitting!), and the best thing was that each set seemed to be unique to each child! Emry was given a truck with a horse trailer and two horses! Since she was the only little girl I thought it was really thoughtful of them to give her something close to what she really likes! The adults had a chinese gift exchange and as always there were lots of laughs! The group of guys Jared works with are so fun to be around, they all get along so well and seem to have a strong bond!
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| Calum playing with his new toy! |
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| Darwin, Vulcan's Parts guy, opening his Chinese gift exchange present! (toy guns!) |
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| One of the techs in High River, got gorilla slippers! |
The hoptel has a swimming pool complete with a water slide so we took the kids swimming that night at 9 when the rest of the party seemed to wind down! Calum was so excited he started to take his clothes off in the banquet room, oblivious to everyone around him it sure got us moving faster! They had a blast, and by 10:30 that night they were purely exhausted! Thankfully because Calum actually fell asleep on the way to Lethbridge that night!
John Deere also paid for everyone to have a room at the hotel that night, and since we had kids with us they gave us a suite! The kids thought our room was the best thing ever! Emry went all around the room and listed off everything we had, an ironing board, a fridge, even a coffee maker! Her and Calum also had their own room each with their own queen size bed! We haven't stayed at a hotel since Calum was one years old, so he thought it was so cool! Our room was on the fourth floor and it overlooked the water park, another thing the kids thought was so cool!
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| The 'kids' room! |
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| Purely exhausted! |
The next morning we laid around until 9 when the pool opened again and down the kids went with daddy in tow! Another great day and even more exhaustion! All Calum talked about for the week leading up to the party was when we were going "simming"! Jared took him on the slides and held onto him around his rib cage and every time Calum would grab onto Jared's thumbs for a little extra support, but don't think he was nervous...!?
Jared's boss, and really good friend, also has three kids...a daughter who is 13, and two sons, one is 10 and the other is 7. Calum and their seven year old made a real connection and played together all friday night and the next morning. Calum kept calling him friend instead of by his name, and their little boy got the hugest kick when Calum told him he loved him!
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| Calum insisted on carrying his bag in his mouth! |
It was amazing to me how much John Deere did for the Christmas party! It was so much fun, we haven't done something like this as a family since long before Armin was born! I am so thankful for Jared and for the time he takes to 'play' with our children! He doesn't do things with them because it is his duty, he does it because he truly loves them and wants to be around them all the time! I am so happy he is working at John Deere, a place he finally feels like himself, there is no tension! I love seeing him giggle and joke around with true friends! It was a wonderful weekend, and I know the kids will remember it for a long time! I am also thankful for this Christmas season, for the birth of our Savior, and for the extra time we take to give of ourselves a little more freely!
What a fun idea! Is a chinese gift exchange like a white elephant?
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