Winter cheer

We had a couple of big events this week. We started things off with the Santa Claus parade. It was just right. It started on time and lasted less than 30 minutes. There wasn't too much candy this year, but that's just fine with me.



It was a nice warm night for the end of November but I still made the kids dress up in snow pants. They didn't see the need for it, but were thankful by the end.



Then on Wednesday we had our first snow storm of the year. The kids spent a bit of time outside playing in the snow while Kaylin and I spent some time outside shoveling.




It's a good thing Kaylin and I started early with the shoveling. The snow became very wet and heavy. But we did it. The first snow always brings out smiles. We'll see if we're still smiling in March.

We love to go to the waterfront to walk around and play on the nice dangerous sharp anchors. Actually they have torn down the old playground there and are replacing it with a bright shiny orange submarine playset. I thought it would be finished and so Gaëlle and I headed down to see.



It wasn't open to the public yet, so Gaëlle amused herself with all the other fun objects just begging to be climbed on.



Of course there was the huge wave to try and conquer.



She didn't quite make it to the top without the help of her father.



Then there was my camera to play with. So I had my photo taken a few times. Great fun.

Flashback photo

This summer my sister, her 2 kids, and my parents all came to NS for a visit. I don't think I ever uploaded the photos which is too bad, because we had some great times. Anyway, when I first saw this photo I couldn't believe it. My little niece and my daughter are the same height!!! How did that happen? There is a 5 year difference but you would never know it from this photo.



Another photo from the same day where kids are just being kids and having fun playing at the ocean's edge.

Birthday girl

Well, I had a birthday this week. All the kids were able to come over for a family meal and celebration. It was a great time with lots of laughs and just fun being together.



Kaylin made the entire meal and cake for me. Spinach quinoa soup with home made bread and chocolate cake. Yum. Love it.

Kids mimic what they see

I've already mentioned how Gaëlle is consumed with cell phones. We went to the Bell Aliant store and the sales person offered to give her a display phone. It feels and looks real but it doesn't work. This morning she was changing the password to her phone. And she brought her phone over to Robin so he could add her number to his phone.



So he added her cell phone number and her home number. He called her cell phone number and it was "out of order". We told her she must not have been paying her bill or maybe she moved. Then Robin called her home phone and we let her answer. So a conversation ensued.



The other night as Josh was looking something up on his phone, Gaëlle ran to get hers because she had to "check the weather for tomorrow". It's a good reminder to us all that little eyes are watching everything we do.

Cell phones today.

Who knows what tomorrow?

A week late

Peter and Gaëlle were very excited about Halloween. Peter had huge elaborate plans for his costume but his parents wouldn't cooperate. But he's so easy going, he settled for a pirate and I'm pretty sure he still managed to have a great time.



Checking out their loot at the end of their evening. It was a nice night but still just slightly cold. The kids were bundled up and were only out for about 30 minutes but by the time they came back, Gaëlle's hands were frozen. They poured out their stash and had some hot chocolate. By the time they were warmed up it was time for bed to which Gaëlle said, "We aren't going back out?"

No, the way she obsesses about candy, I think she had more than enough.


Our church had a "Trunk or Treat" event in their parking lot. Emily and Kaylin dressed up and drove over to participate. There was a judge looking at all the cars and a prize for the best decorated car. I only had a few things for them to use on the car, but it sounds like next year they will go all out. They had a great time and think it's a perfect event for the family.

Playing catch up

The kids were quite anxious to carve the pumpkins and we didn't bring out the carving tools until the weekend before Halloween.



The big event took place in the middle of hair styling but that didn't stop Gaëlle. She is very intently drawing the face she wants to carve out of her pumpkin.



As you can tell, she is quite proud of her achievements.



Peter did a great job and really took his time. He pretty much did the entire thing on his own. Peter and Gaëlle just love all things crafty and they were both eager to be very detailed on their pumpkin. We managed to keep it simple but I see great elaborate jack-o-lanterns in their future.

Pumpkin shopping

Gaëlle has been excitedly waiting for the day to pick out pumpkins. We finally made a stop and allowed the kids their own choice. As you can see, the large pumpkins were too enticing.



Peter managed to haul the one he wanted out of the bin all by himself.



Gaëlle needed a little help to snag the pumpkin she wanted. Dad was more than willing to go for the big one. You do know who is going to be helping with the carving, don't you? There's going to be a lot of scooping going on.

Thanksgiving thoughts

It’s so interesting to see how over the top excited Peter and Gaëlle get about Thanksgiving. We really don’t do much to ratchet up the energy level.  We are not a family that goes over the top by nature. I haven’t spent hours decorating the house. I haven’t spent days and days preparing food. We don’t have  a lot of company. And yet, for the 2nd Thanksgiving in a row, Peter and Gaëlle can barely contain themselves with the joy of Thanksgiving. Gaëlle, Emily, and Snickers just hanging out waiting for the meal. I did get Peter and Gaëlle to help me make little boxed turkeys. I have managed to hang onto a few old Pack-O-Fun Magazines and this was one of the templates  in one of them. Right before it was time to eat and not a moment sooner, Gaëlle and Josh filled them with candy. Needless to say, Gaëlle was a bit fixated on that the entire meal.None of us are master carvers, but we do our best.  Kaylin took the pictures for me this year and so I don’t have a single one of her. I’m going to have to watch out for that next time. But at least she got us smiling.

Peter and Gaëlle have discovered the game UNO. So after we ate, we all sat around and played a couple of hands. It was a gorgeous day, so we didn’t stay inside too long. But we did have some laughs.

 

Not quite sure what was going on in Gaëlle’s mind, but I’m sure it was something mischievous.

We had amazing weather all weekend so it was great to be together as a family and also to just celebrate the many blessings in our lives.  We just spent a short time going around the table sharing our blessings. Gaëlle had already told us that she was thankful for the sky and the ocean and she stuck with that. On such a beautiful day, it was easy to be thankful for the beauty in God’s creation.  It was also easy to be thankful for the blessing of family and being together.

Open house

After the earthquake Robin was on a LOT of news programs. One of the people who interviewed him was Elizabeth Chiu from CBC news. Last Saturday we went to an open house at CBC and one of the first people we ran into was Elizabeth and she remembered the kids and their names without any introduction from us. So we took a picture and then we moved on. 

No offense to anybody in the news department but we were there for the kids programs and activities. We waited in line for the balloon creatures. A ladybug and a parrot. And who should we see but SUPER WHY.  CBC has some clever shows for children and this is one we like. But to tell the truth our all time favorite show is ARTZOOKA! Jeremie is the host and every morning for 15 minutes he shows the kids how to make easy and fun crafts. Peter especially loves it and is always making things that he would like to show Jeremie. So at the open house they had several tables of craft supplies. Gaëlle was focused and went right to work on a paper plate. She would finish doing something and she would tap Jeremie on the shoulder, “Artzooka, look at the mouth I cut out.” And he would ooh and aah. It was kind of funny seeing as Peter is the big fan and it was if he had stage fright. He started and threw away 3 different projects before he settled down to something.

Jeremie was right there in amongst the kids watching them put things together. It was a great afternoon and I was so impressed with his energy and enthusiasm.