Category: Mom & Dad T.

Thanksgiving Birthday Weekend

Yup, we combined many fun things this weekend.  It was busy and lots of fun.

We started the weekend with some leaf fun.  It is really nice that my parents get so many leaves at their house because we don’t have that many at our place.  Plus my parents got free labour as the kids raked and raked…of course all of it was for nothing after they started jumping into their pile.  Fun!

That evening was our family Thanksgiving dinner.  Mmmm, turkey and all the fixings meant full tummies.  The next day we took the kids to the Marsh so that they could work off the previous evening’s dinner as well as work up an appetite for more food.  You see, October is a double birthday month for our family with Elspeth turning 4 and my sister in law 40.  We finished the weekend with dinner with Glenn’s brother and sister in law where there was more cake and a brand new calico house which is being used with the new sweetie cart, train and rowboat also received over the past few days.

Here is how the sugar shack looks without all of the snow.

More leaf time and some net fishing with her uncle.  All any of the kids caught was weeds.

Pre-dinner gifts.

My mom had made up some adorable cupcakes.  Coupled with the 4 candle we had one delighted kidlet on our hands.
Okay,  random cuteness to end it all.

Elspeth made a Thankful tree at After School Care.  Apparently she is thankful for us and candy. (Hence the sweetie cart for her calicos)

Plus, Katrine landed her double toe which meant a trip out for frozen yogurt.

Glencoe Fair

I just realized that I am behind in my posts so it is time to catch up. (I was sick this past week and acutally had to take a day off of work!  Guess that I no longer have a school grade immune system.)

Last weekend was the family’s weekend to celebrate Charles’ birthday.  That meant that Saturday monring saw us climbing into the car and off to Glencoe.  One big difference this year was that I was able to join the family in getting Tims as they now carry a gluten free option (Yippee!!!).

We arrived just in time for the parade.  Both kids were thrilled.  Elspeth was once again blown away by the size of some of the tractors.

After lunch we went to visit an egg farm much to the girl’s delight.  We are big egg eaters.  Well, all except for me that is.  Elspeth learned  the word silo and “big machine” while Katrine got a chance to ask every possible question about the machinery carrying the eggs along.  There were fresh eggs to top it off too.

Then it was off to the fair itself.  Sarah’s pies looked as tasty as usual and she did pretty darn well.  This year’s theme was the Fifties.  One category was a decorated pumpkin.  My particular favourite was the Elvis pumpkin.  I thought it was smashing.  We decided to save the rides until Sunday as it had poured and the following day was suppose to have nice weather.  Well the forecast was wrong.  It rained Sunday so we missed the demolition derby and the rides.  Instead we spent a little while longer with the family.

Overall a great outing.

 

Canada Day and a Family Reunion

What a weekend! We began by driving up to my parents bright and early on Saturday morning so that we could get things set up before the parade.  We got done just in time and enjoyed the parade with family.  My dad and his group the Loyal Order of the Pumpkin were back in the parade.  The girls were super pleased to cheer on their grandpa.  And as you can see in the photo, he was thrilled to have so much family support for his efforts.  Oh, and did you notice my nails?

This is the second time that Elspeth has celebrated Canada Day but the first time that she has done so as a citizen.  We went all out to celebrate these two occassions at once.

As the parade and community barbeque were over, we headed back to my parents’ house to welcome even more family.  The last time that we got together as a group was about 7 years ago and that was without our family from Florida.  This weekend, however, saw all of us (minus 3 second cousins and spouses and their 4 children) together.  I love my family.  We are an entertaining bunch.  When I think back on my childhood, Christmas eve comes to mind.  Driving in a car squished between my Nana and brother driving to a family party.  As soon as we walked in there was my great aunt and uncle to greet us along with the rest of the family.  I remember visiting another great uncle and dancing for him while being scared of his yapping dog.  I remember funerals, weddings, birthdays and showers.  At each one I felt safe, loved and happy.  I wanted that to gift that sense of belonging to my two so when my cousin suggested a reunion I jumped on the band wagon (Thank you Gil).  I am so very glad I did.

While I visited and organized (because no reunion is without it’s hiccups), the girls ran around with family.  They played fight the zombies, tag, frisbie, bury our cousin in the sand…pretty much, you name it and it was played.  Most importantly they smiled and laughed.  This afternoon after we got home and had unpacked Elspeth asked where her friends were.

Elspeth was lucky enough to find people who were willing to let her “tie” their shoes.  She never got it quite right but boy was she focused.   

Today? Actual Canada Day? After a bit more playtime and some clean up we headed home amidst the traffic. Neither girl wanted to leave. However, their sadness was short lived as once we had unpacked there was a knock on the door. The girls were invited to go just down the street to a friend’s house to pick cherries. Even though we didn’t make it to the fireworks tonight, cherry picking ended the day on a high note.

Meow!

There is not a lot that our girls truly need for their birthdays.  We have been blessed with a lot of hand me downs from our older cousins – both clothes and toys.  Sooo, what do you get a nine year old for her birthday when she has a lot?  This year the family went in on theater tickets for her birthday and then did the same for mom and my niece. 

Cats is the perfect first trip to the theater.  It is fun and lively with beautiful music/singing, fabulous dancing, fun stage decorations and great costumes.  The fact that it was my first musical might also have affected the decision.  Well, both girls had a wonderful time and throughly enjoyed the whole experience.  My mom and I were honoured to share the experience with them.  Oh, and to make that little bit better the girls got to go up on stage and meet Old Deuteronomy during intermission.

While we were at the theater my dad, brother and family went swimming.  Elspeth and Glenn decided to take advantage of the sunny afternoon and go for an extended playdate at the park.  Of course she had to take her stroller with her.

 

Thornhill Fun Skate – Part 2

Today it was back to Thornhill Community Center.  This time to cheer on Elspeth.  She woke up super excited that it was her day to skate.  That excitement lasted until about 10 minutes after she got off the ice.  Then she was tired (as you can see in the photos).  Once her snack kicked in she was back to her happy self.  She was also quite pleased to have a new ribbon for her board…although, she did object to the fact that it was not pink. She also competed in a new skating outfit because she actually grew out of the one that I made for her (see post on Winter Glitters from January).  I think that she looks right cute in this dress though.

 

Thornhill Fun Skate – Part 1

Our first visit to the competition was Friday for Katrine.  So, this is her post.  She had a lot of fun and came in fifth.  We were very proud of her (as you can see in the photo).

At dinner, she drew a picture of herself skating in her dress for the judges.  It was pretty cute.

Back to the arena tomorrow morning for Elspeth’s skate.

Lions Club Egg Hunt

Saturday dawned to two girls ready for another day of fun at their grandparents.  My dad is now a Lion and his group had organized a community event in the form of an Easter Egg Hunt.  Last year we were unable to attend but this year we were up there, dressed and ready to go.  The event did not disappoint.  Both girls had an excellent time.  As you can see, they not only spent even more time building memories with their grandparents but they got face painted, met the Easter Bunny, hunted for eggs and got a huge chocolate bunny each!

My dad and two of his girls

He and the other Lions had placed 4, 000 plastic eggs in the field.  Within four minutes all of the eggs were claimed!  Within those four minutes, there was a lot of smiles and giggles as the kids tried to fill their baskets.

Grandpa and Katrine played a little game of basketball….sorry, eggbag with the eggs.

One highlight for Elspeth was finding two “peachy” eggs (That is now her favourite colour.  She insists that anything orange is peach and will stand her ground when told that they are orange.)

My two little bunnies

As you can see, Katrine was much happier meeting the Easter Bunny than Elspeth. Elspeth did happily accept the chocolate mini eggs and then promptly asked her dad “Who inside the bunny?”

 

I would like to say a special thank you to the Victoria Harbour Lions club for a well run and extremely fun event.  The girls had a wonderful time.

Good Friday in the Sugar Bush

This year we had the opportunity to spend a chunk of Good Friday helping my dad at the sugar shack.  Both girls enthusiastically helped but I think that Katrine’s level of excitement was a bit higher given that she actually understood what they were doing.  They are already on me to whip up a batch of GF pancakes so that they can use the maple sirop “that they made”.  Let me take you through our afternoon.

1. We arrive at the bush and are greated by rows of tapped trees.

2. Stop in at the sugar shack to get the fire started, take a nice close look at the equipment without the usual layer of steam and collect our buckets.

3. Okay, the troops are ready to go.  Off into the bush to check which buckets are full, collect the sap into our pails and the haul it back to the shack.  In total we collected about 13 gallons (45 litres) of sap.

Katrine tried to do it all by herself but then the red pail got to heavy and then mom had to lug it about while she continued to fill it up.

Katrine took her big sister duties quite seriously.  At every stop she would check the various buckets and leave the one with the smallest amount of sap for Elspeth.  As you can see, Elspeth still needed help but she gave it her all.

4. Then we went to look at the swans, geese and ducks while it was being boiled (not the actual sap we collected but shh don’t tell my girls).  By the time we came back there was some sap ready to be poured off.  This is the first time that the girls have ever got to see this part of the process.  Usually when they visit, Grandpa is boiling water for tour groups so that they can see the process regardless of how the sap has been running. Anyways, they got to see how it is poured through a strainer into a large container and then bottled.

That is my dad filling the sirop bottle.

5.  Topped the whole experience off with some hot chocolate and a homemade turkey dinner.

 

 

World Figure Skating Gala in London

It was AWESOME!  I had an absolutely fabulous time with Katrine and my mom.  The skating was…well, the best in the world.  The company was great.  And then to top it all off, they even had a gluten free consession stall!!

First time that I have ever had a lot of choice at an sporting event.  Hopefully it is sign of things to come.

From the time when we turned off of the highway until we reached the arena there was great signage.  Katrine was almost dancing in her seat as we drove along.  Her excitement reached fever pitch once she saw this sign and ice sculpture. This is the sign which greated our arrival at the arena.

I was told by my brother that there were no bad seats in Budwieser Gardens.  He was right.  This is the view from our seats.  Every skater looked fabulous.

Last night Katrine made two flags for our trip.  One for herself and the other for her skating mascot “Skatey Bear”.  Both flags got quite the work out ever time a Canadian skater took the ice.

At the end of the gala all of the skaters came out for a last hurrah.  What a bunch of talent.  Their skills were fabulous.  The show was a joy to watch.

Elspeth, Glenn and my Dad?  They stayed home and played at the park.  I came home to another happy girl who had basked in her father and grandfather’s love and undivided attention.  All around a wonderful day.

Happy Robbie Burns Day

As usual, we went up to my parents this past weekend to celebrate Burns’ birthday.  Highlights:

 

1.Elspeth likes haggis. (ugh) So does Glenn but Katrine is wise and refuses to touch the stuff. 🙂

2. Both girls danced.  Unfortunately there were technical issues so we have neither photos or video of them.  Katrine did two dances and was awesome.  I have worked with Elspeth on a little routine of basic moves and between that and her overall cuteness she got some cheers and left the floor with a big smile on her face.

3. This year I managed to find Burns colouring pages and I doubt that he ever looked quite so…interesting.  Elspeth even gave him an extra ear complete with an earring.

I will end with a family photo.