We had a wonderful time at the FCC Toronto New Years Banquet tonight. If you have been following us for a while, you know that this is an annual event. Katrine has been checking the calendar regularly for the last two weeks to make sure that we were not going to miss it. It is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and get caught up. All of the girls are so busy, there is a lot to get caught up on. Plus, it gives the girls yet another chance to just bond between chatting, eating and running around like crazy.
This year was even more special because we filled up 4 seats not just 3. It was fun watching Elspeth join in the general craziness of the evening by twirling, jumping and dancing on the stage. She was also spoiled rotten by her various Aies and managed to consume vast quantities of chocolate from her red envelopes (we usually do chocolate coins instead of money). Then she had Glenn working over time cutting up items from various dishes. She couldn’t get the food in fast enough – duck, mushrooms, chicken, more mushrooms, beans. I don’t think that she slowed down until we were on about the 6th course and then by dessert she barely managed a bite of her almond cookie.
This year there was a Chinese folkdance troop for entertainment. The girls dance well and put on a really nice show which was made even better by the fact that one of Katrine’s China sisters danced with her Chinese folkdance troop. Watching them made me wish that we had more money and time so that our two could give it a whirl. Oh well, only so much time and mental and physical resources. At least we got to enjoy their performance.
The evening drew to a close with the lion dance. Katrine was right in there. Touching, dancing, playing the cymbals. Elspeth was not so fond of the chaos and noise which accompanied the lions. At one point Glenn had to take her outside because being held was not enough to help her feel safe. Once the lions stopped walking around the restaurant she was able to relax enough to come back in. Katrine reacted much the same to the lions when she was two and now you almost have to pry her away from them. Hopefully next year it will be easier for Elspeth.
