Yup it is that time of year again.
Back to School
Category: Elspeth
Let’s go to the EX
It is that time of year again – the CNE is town so off we went for a day full of fun. And it certainly was a very full, aka long, day.
We started in the kiddie section. Big news this year, Elspeth (at 38″) could go on rides without an adult…well, at least some of them. She was thrilled.
From there we headed to the shows. As usual, Superdogs was amazing. Those dogs are really something. They never fail to amaze me. Elspeth enjoyed the cool air so much that she…fell asleep. Woke up in time to see the sand sculptures and floral displays before heading back to the show area for the acrobatic show which again was amazing. Elspeth would call it “daring”.
After some dinner it was time for the parade. Katrine was a superstar big sister because she gave a string of beads to a rather disappointed Elspeth. The highlight of the parade was the Elsa / Frozen float that blew out snow to the delight of the watching children.
Then we explored the displays (one of my favourite parts) before a few more rides. I got to ride the sack slide about four times. Elspeth would have gladly gone more but I refused to carry her up to the top. I love sack slides. Such a simple ride but so much fun.
We ended the day with a fireworks display. Glenn and the girls were on the Skyrider for the fireworks which was a treat. Where was I? Sensibly on the ground of course. I really don’t like being on things that I can fall from (yes I know it is not logical but fears rarely are).
Back to the Cottage
With a cottage this beautiful how could we resist stopping by for a summer visit? (Thank you Karen.)
This summer has been full of rain so mushrooms were out in full force. Katrine was thrilled to be able to share her interest with Elspeth. Last year Elspeth could take them or leave them but this year she began to get into it – the colours, the hunt, the spore prints. It was quite fun to go out walking with them. We had tried to go out geocaching with them earlier in the day and were met by a wall of bugs so this was a welcome change.
Even though it was a cloudy few days, we took advantage of the lake. Swimming, fishing, wading and riding in the paddle boat. The first time down to the lake the girls went prepared with their willies. Well, Elspeth is not so good on depth perception with water and she flooded her boots. Had a wonderful time nonetheless. Both girls actually managed to catch a fish so they were quite happy. On our final day a neighbour invited us down to his beach, much to the girls’ delight, and they dug and waded to their hearts content.
Then we topped it off with an ice cream stop. Loving cottage days.
Dim Sum for Everyone…including stuffies
The girls got a bit bored with the ordinary tea party so they suggested that we should do a dim sum party instead complete with food on carts. Â So we did; although it was a touch more picnic style than traditional restaurant style. Â Berries became dumplings, cheese stringers became tripe, crackers became taro cake. Â Their creativity was limited only by the number of small snacks that were available to fill the small plates. Â I was elected to be the server who refilled the teapot and pushed the chair, sorry cart, full of dishes for them to chose from. Â Even the stuffies appeared to enjoy themselves. Â One moment their little plates were piled high with dumplings, rice cakes and assorted goodies and the next they were empty. Â No one complained about the bill either and this here waitress got some hugs as a tip so everyone left happy.
With a Flourish
Elspeth has been enjoying her drumming and making good progress (says a proud mom). She was recently given a pair of snare drumsticks in addition to her tenor ones (the hot pink ones have gone away and she has moved on to real sticks). She has been having a lot of fun.
http://youtu.be/jDOcjj2DBO0 – just playing with her snare sticks
http://youtu.be/mEefJBBXOIo -doing some flourishing with the band
Making Bread with Grammy
This year we were lucky to have Grammy come for a visit on her birthday. While she was here, we picked her brain on making bread. Way back in my previous gluteny existence I could make cake, pastry, cookies with the best of them. I never made gluteny bread though. When I began baking gluten free it was a whole new ballpark for those things that I was good at previously so I never tackled bread. Recently I was asked by my sister in law if I knew of a good gluten free bread recipe as she was hoping to enter a loaf in the local fair this fall. My immediate answer was no but the girls and I have been having fun playing around with food this summer so I thought that I would give it a go….with some help. This is where mom came in. Unfortunately, even with her insights the loaf came out looking good but tasting YUCK. Oh well.
Climbing Sisters
This week Katrine got out of skating early so we decided to do something totally unrelated to ice – rock climbing. Elspeth has been enjoying it so Katrine wanted to give it a spin. Off we went for two hours of climbing with periodic ball pit breaks. Fun was had by both girls. Katrine tackled all but two walls in the place. Her favourites were the ones with over hangs. Elspeth finally made it up to the very top of the yellow wall and was able to ring the bell. She was so proud of herself that she then proceeded to climb the wall three times in succession. A delightful change of pace.
Third Gotchaversary for our Elspeth
A happy gotchaversary to our travel crew! Three years! What a difference it makes. Yesterday we celebrated with some mini golf, family time and treats at the park.
Today was Elspeth’s Forever Family day and the girls decided that they would bake cookies in honour of the occassion. A day of smiles which is a world away from this day three years ago. Time has helped to lay the foundation of trust and love.
Here are two cute mini putt photos to cap it off.
A cloudy with a chance of rain longweekend
How do you spend an August long weekend? Swim class, old friends and a bit of park time squeezed in between showers.
Elspeth is in the middle of retaking her current level at swimming. She is continuing to struggle with any skill that requires her to have her face in the water for any period of time. That is not to say that she hasn’t made gains. Oh no, she certainly has. At the start of the summer she wouldn’t even put her face in the water or jump in. So she is getting there but it is slow going. Her friend from the previous session is along for the ride once again so she has been having almost daily park playdates after swim class.
This afternoon we set out to try a new park. It has a really cool climbing section. According to Katrine it is quite a challenge as all of the various parts move. Elspeth was not as impressed with that part. Instead, she tried to flip herself over at the hanging rings.
It has also been a weekend for reconnecting with old friends. Today we shared a lovely barbeque meal with a friend who I have had from grade school. The girls had a blast sharing their latest antics with her and then while Glenn took care of dinner we had a chance to reconnect. Yesterday saw us out for Korean barbeque (which as you can see involved too much food of questionable glutenfree-ness) followed by dessert with a friend from Hong Kong. I love my new friends but it is also wonderful to spend time with those friends who  have seen you through stuff and just get you.
One month of summer holidays down
This will be a photo post.
