What's up with Glenn, Heather, Katrine, and Elspeth
It was Glenn’s turn to celebrate on Monday…well celebrate somewhat. With Katrine being sick and Glenn wanting ice cream cake (really a block of ice cream coated in delicious toppings…oh and candles of course). He did manage to mikl the day for tons of hugs and Baba love. Then the girls just had to give him their gifts.
Friday saw us dancing in the rain. The girls simply had to take out their umbrellas and break them in.
Yesterday we were busy balancing getting the house ready for Katrine’s party and enjoying the outdoors. Glenn and Katrine whipped up the cupcakes and then she and I got down to icing them while Elspeth practised her flourishing (she is getting much better). The girls also went about creating the decorations and loot bags for the candy movie extraveganza. Then it was time to get outside for some much needed fresh air and exercise.
I love Katrine’s cloud raining down meatballs.
Her smiling bathroom sign got a few comments from the girls.
Doesn’t it look like red Easter eggs hangining in mid-air?
This morning while Elspeth played with Baba, I put Katrine to work on prepping some of the healthier snack options and organizing things.
Craft zone in case guests got bored with the movie.
Yup, had to put some veggies into the mix. They even got eaten.
AND….CANDY
After all of the guests headed home, we headed outside (for Elspeth it was back outside because she and Glenn had biked over to the park and Tims during the party to escape the squeels and chatter). It was a beautiful afternoon.
What a great weekend it has been so far. Only one day of rain and the rest of sun! A nice spring day.
On Friday, we started the day off with rain. It led to some great puddle splashing in the afternoon. Then, we had a great Easter dinner with my parents. Turkey, the fixings and bunny shaped birthday cake.
The girls decided to dress up and surprise their grandparents with their Easter finery.
We finally got to see my mom’s latest craft project – Easter Bonnets! They were adorable and loved by all.
On Saturday, we started the day with the Lion’s Club Egg Hunt. The girls got to meet the Easter Bunny (a big deal to Elspeth and Katrine was game and humoured her sister), faces painted and balloons. Katrine was in awe of the field full of eggs just waiting to be found. Elspeth was excited to get to sit in a fire truck (although she still insists that she wants to fly like a bird). Then it was time for the hunt. The buzzer went and the race for an egg was on. The girls gleefully filled their baskets full of eggs before we headed to the local legion for cookies and hot chocolate before claiming our giant chocolate bunnies from Grandpa.
After the excitement of the hunt we headed back to my parents where we let the girls run off some of that sugar energy in the backyard. We also had Katrine’s present time. One of her favourite gifts was her Great Nana’s easel. After running around, she took the easel outside for some art time. I think that she is already planning her next big art project.
Sigh, snow still. At least it was fun to jump off of.
The moment that she saw her easel. Happy girl.
Her doll was her very first model.
This morning dawned with Easter baskets followed by an egg hunt. Giggles, smiles and happy girls. I think that the big sheep pillows and fleece blankets were among their favourite treasures.
When we got home this afternoon we had some outside time, finished up some homework before our final birthday/Easter dinner. BBQ’d burgers. Delicious. Made even more yummy because Grammy joined us. I love how much the girls love their grandparents. Katrine had asked for the bunny cake as well as an ice cream cake. Well, we had my version of ice cream cake. A block of ice cream with a variety of toppings. Tons of toppings.
It is that time of year again…maple sirop time. In other words, time to head up north to my parents and celebrate that the sap is running. It is always a fun time and the girls always have big smiles. (and they learn something too).
Pancake breakfast
Getting our names burned into wood for necklaces.
It was a perfect day for listening to the presentation in the sugar shack while sucking on maple taffy. This year’s batch was super delicious.
To top it off, all of the kids got to help their grandfather collect the sap from a many trees. They were so excited.
The morning finished up with face painting, crafts, a wagon ride and some bannock making. Smiles were worn by all.
(Masks were the craft.)
My mom’s birthday is this week and Katrine’s is shortly thereafter so we did some present time in the afternoon. Katrine loved the earrings she got from her aunt, uncle and cousins while mom rather enjoyed her strawberry shortcake.
Okay, so it is officially spring…even though it doesn’t really feel that way yet. Elspeth however, is chock full of excitement over it being “almost summer”. As a result, on Friday night we broke out the sidewalk chalk. If only it could get just a wee bit warmer. I mean Aleigh didn’t seem to mind watching Elspeth draw from the comfort of the car but it was a bit chilly for me. Then again, maybe I am just getting older. 🙂
(No, we did not leave Katrine out of the fun. She was visiting with a friend down the street.)
I have fond memories of going to the Science Center with my family as a child. Today I took the girls and one of Katrine’s China sisters. It was a verrry long day but amazing. All three kids left with big smiles on their faces. You will notice that there are less photos of Katrine. That is because she is in most of the photos with her China sister.
Time for some experiments and crafts.
My little looking super proud of herself. She kept up with the biggies all day.
I love how malls have free things for kids to do over the break. It gives you that extra something to do. Plus, it is free (one of my favourite words). This year a local mall had an animal display in and the girls loved it. They got to see tons of different animals and touched quite a few. The highlight for each was holding the alligator (I think that is what it was). Elspeth needed some help as she only out weighed the critter by about 7 pounds. She also observed that his mouth was taped shut so that “he couldn’t bite me ’cause it would hurt but they open it later so he can eat”.
I always end up doing some craft projects with the girls over the break. Some are great and others are flops. This year’s new favourite was Painted Toast. You basically mix food colouring with some milk and then apply to toast. I suppose you could get really fancy and break out brand new paintbrushes for the task but we simply used the “paint” by the spoonful. Painted, toasted it, slathered on some butter and it was apparently delicious. That said, I am not sure that tie dyed bread is everyone’s style but it certainly made for a psychedelic breakfast.
It has been an interesting break weather wise with a touch of spring followed by a blast of winter. On the plus side, the girls have had the chance to get in some more snow play while also trying out their new wellies!
I spent two days up north with the girls visiting my parents. En route we were able to squeeze in a all to brief visit with one of Katrine’s China sisters (although Elspeth was waaaay over tired by the time we got there) which is always a treat. Our visit began with dinner by the harbour were the girls admired the lone fishing hut and then goofing around with the pirate who Elspeth affectionately named Captain.
The next day brought some shopping and then outdoor time (They both soooo needed to burn off steam. As much as I love having a week off from the arena, Katrine is missing all of the activity.) Splashing in puddles and climbing snowbanks were the activities of choice all enjoyed in glorious sunshine and polar fleece.
Well, back home today saw a snowstorm just to remind us that it is not yet spring. On went the winter clothes and out we went to play. Bury each other in the snow, build a snow village for the ponies, climb more mounds…until we were all thoroughly forzen and knew that it was hot chocolate time.
Elspeth managed to craft some snowblobs and bricks but not the desired Olaf-like snowman.
I am going to do something different and just let the photos do the talking. Happy day full of great memories for us.
9 years ago in Nanning:
Now:
Someone asked how Katrine feels about this anniversary. This picture she drew a few years ago sums it up nicely.
We have been really enjoying the Olympics and Valentines Day has been no exception. What a treat it was to watch the men’s long program. I even did not do my traditional Valentine’s nails because of the Olympics. Feeling really proud of the atheletes.
Enough about that. Time for some valentines. The day began with a nice breakfast. My favourite part were the heart shaped eggs. I found the pan tucked away at the back of the cupboard last month and today provided the perfect opportunity to use it. The girls informed me that I am to now make heart shaped eggs each year. They both loved their pillows. We almost couldn’t get Elspeth to leave hers at home when it was time to head out the door. Yup, no candy on the table for them. They seem to get plenty at school either during class or after care parties or with Valentines. The last thing they need is even more.
When I picked up the girls we headed out for groceries. We were planning on having chocolate fondue for dessert and I wanted the fruit to be nice and fresh. Apparently, celebrating Valentines Day can be hard work. As you can see, Elspeth had to lay down in the cart.
Katrine contributed a special decoration to our dinner table. She had made a small beeswax candle at school. Of course we had to light it because “it makes it more romantic” (giggle, giggle).
Neither girl could believe that they were going to be allowed to shove their fruit into a pot of warm chocolate. Elspeth, of course, ended up with chocolate everywhere. It looked like she had fingerpainted with brown paint. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture before we cleaned her up. I did manage to get a picture of Katrine fishing a strawberry out of the chocolate. She had some difficulty keeping the fruit on the fork…not that she was complaining about having to eat a piece of fruit dripping with chocolatey goodness.
And lastly some random cuteness. Elspeth’s aftercare has been learning about space. They have made a few different solar systems and have a simple telescope for the kids to play with in the drama corner. They also made an astronaut cut out. I couldn’t resist. Here is Elspeth the Astronaut.
Happy Valentines Day!
She really doesn’t jump quite as well as it appears.
My happy birthday girl.
My beautiful mom
Waiting for gifts.
Ooh, pastels….
Mint chocolate chip “cake”
We began the day with some dancing in the big hall. Circles on a floor apparently send the signal “Let’s dance!”
There was a special Sesame Street and the Body exhibit on for the Break. All of the girls seemed to actually enjoy it . I had expected more resistance from the older pair because of how it was presented but they got right in to it. The digestive track with simulated poop was a big hit all around as were the interactive sink hygene display. Who knew that hand washing could be so much fun without real water? Elspeth was happy to see Dorothy in Elmo’s world but surprised that it was not real water. As you can see in the final photo, Elspeth’s hands are exactly the same size as Elmo’s.
Time for more experiments!
Elspeth’s favourite two stations. Her first reaction at the red peg wall was not to make the animal prints with the provided supplies but to make a face print. She did manage to start a trend with another three kids following suit. I prefered the hall of mirrors.
Katrine really enjoyed the water table. They put in various combinations of walls in order to direct the flow of water in certain ways. Very cool.
I rather enjoyed the black light puppet show. Not only was it great entertainment but I got to actually sit down for half an hour.
One last thing; Happy Pi(e) Day!! The girls were happy to indulge in mini butter pies (okay tarts if I have to be specific) in honour of Pi Day.
Katrine didn’t want to be buried but was more than happy to help bury the two of us and be the officail photographer.
Katrine spent a lot of time digging suitable houses out of the snowbank and ferrying the ponies between them in open air style.