Category: Katrine

Santa’s Village

Katrine is rapidly reaching the end of the line in terms of belief in Santa.  This past Christmas she began questioning the physics of Santa and hinting that she has her doubts.  It seemed like a now or never moment to head up north to Santa’s Village.  Now we live so very close to Wonderland that it might seem silly to head all of this way for less rides.  The difference is that Elspeth can go on ALL of the rides which NEVER happens.  And I don’t have to go on the rides with her.  Besides, I am a bit of a rollercoaster chicken.  Plus, they have climbing ropes, go karts, batting cages and mini putt which got Katrine excited.  Then there is how excited the girls were to be wrapped up in Christmas in June (have I mentioned that Christmas is a big deal in our house?)  Throw in a beach and a boat cruise on the Muskoka river and it is a fun outing.  It also gave us the perfect excuse to visit with one of Elspeth’s China sisters.

Upon arriving the girls were given elf hats.  Now I had to bribe Katrine for the photo with candy but it was worth it.  I love my two elves.

As much as Katrine would rather have been at Wonderland, as you can see we all had fun….well maybe neither Glenn nor I did on the Jumping Stars ride.  Him because he was squished and me because I hate falling from heights.  The very idea of choosing to fall from high up makes my stomach turn.  We are dedicated and Glenn forced himself on twice while I could only man up once (this was the soul ride that the wee one couldn’t go on by herself).  He also had to take both girls on the Christmas ball ferris wheel alone while I watched from the shade.  I mean, how is riding up high in a not fully enclosed ball fun?  You lean over to far and you fall.  (I am really not a fan of falling.)

Baba was in a festive mood and let both of the girls play one of the games.  They now have matching pink alligators in their rooms named HoHo and MoMo because Elspeth is heavily into copying her sister.

While Katrine and Glenn were off doing big kid things in the Sportsland section, Elspeth and I were hanging out with one of her China sisters.  They were so very cute together.  It was very funny because Elspeth couldn’t understand that she is a year older than her meimei.  “She big like me mama!”  Nevertheless, they had a lot of fun on the various rides, playgrounds and beach.

We topped the trip off with both families having dinner together.  I love seeing the girls together with their China families.  I know that Elspeth will grow to appreciate these connections from watching Katrine.  These are kids who get what it means to be different at school, to not be a matching set in a family, to have questions or worries about their pasts but also kids who are just wonderful kids that they can have lots of fun with.  Both of our girls have been truly blessed.

And she is off to middle school

Katrine’s current school is Grades 1 to 3 which means that she is entering her final week at this school before moving on.  The teachers and parent council put together a very nice ceremony to mark the transition.  I thought that it might be a bit hokey but there I was sitting in the audience tearing up as my daughter got her “transition” certificate.  Sigh.  The kids all looked sharp dressed in various combinations of white and black (for me this meant a last minute shopping trip to find something black that would be cool enough for June heat).  Katrine was super excited (as you can see).  Now it is off to middle school.

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.

 

A Field Trip/Playdate & BBQ

Have you noticed how busy the end of school can get?  Today was no exception.  A field trip for Katrine and I to Black Creek Pioneer Village.  A playdate adventure for Elspeth (thank you Ashley).  Topped off with a nursery school barbeque.  End result?  Happy kids who have already fallen asleep and a slightly rosey faced mother who got too much sun.

1. Black Creek:

In 15 years of teaching I have been on many field trips.  However, I have never gotten the opportunity to go on one as just a mom.  Today I got the chance.  I put on my mom hat, climbed aboard the bus and went to learn with a group of third graders.  It was a lot of fun because I had none of the stress!  I was warned not to embarass her as we left the house.  I tried to stay good all day but I may have pushed the limits when I gave her a quick hug.

We had a really fun tour guide in the morning.  She explained a lot of things to the kids and worked hard to make history begin to come alive for them.  I think that the highlight of the day for me was lining up with all of the students (and grownups) to learn a pioneer dance.  We all sashed, skipped and turned without crashing into a unruly pile which is pretty darn good.

I also learned how many children Katrine’s age already have their own cell phones and ipads.  It seems like we are behind the times in our house.  It was surprising to see almost 85 – 90% of the kids walking around snapping photos with their phones or using them on the bus.  Some of them aren’t even 9!  Heck, my cell phone is older than some of theirs.  Below is an example ot the type of photo that they were taking about half of the time.

2. Playdate Adventure:

Elspeth was a super happy little girl today because she got to spend the whole day playing and interacting with a close friend.   To top it off, they went swimming!!!   Who wouldn’t enjoy being the center of attention? Apparently she also ate her weight in watermelon today so we know that she is well hydrated.

3.  BBQ:

Our second last BBQ function of the month (the last one is tomorrow).  Yet another round of burgers could have been redundant but it was in actual fact quite fun.  The fact that there were apples hanging from trees, even more watermelon and ice cream cones may have greatly influenced the evening.  As usual, I did not get to eat there but it is always nice to have an excuse to chat with Elspeth’s teachers and her friends parents.

Then the cherry on the cones…we saw a baby bunny on the way home.

Exciting accomplishements to start the month!

Elspeth has been scared of going up inside of indoor playgrounds.  We recently went to two of these places in one weekend.  I must admit that I was a bit nervous going in that it would become a cling – on weekend instead of one full of play.  I was delighted when Elspeth allowed herself to be led into the bowels of the playground.  At first it had to be Baba or her sister (Did I mention that they are both awesome?)  but then friends were okay and then she actually tried it out by herself!!!  So very proud of her.

Katrine got to get yogurt again today and it is all the fault of her coaches. (Yes, I blame them.  They are simply too good at what they do!)  She landed her double salchow and immediately started signing to me that it was to be a frozen yogurt night.  Only this time it had to include her coaches too.  Proud of her too.

Happy Garden Season!

It is that time of the year again…garden time!  The girls were really into it this year.  They actually planted the soil around Katrine’s tree baby (with minimal parental help on spacing the seeds).  They decided that this would be a good location to plant the pumpkin seeds.  Then they used the left over room for sunflowers.  Right now, all you can see is a nice crop of weeds waiting to be pulled.

The large bed?  Cukes, tomatoes, carrots and onions.  Nothing fancy but the girls can’t get enough of home grown cukes and I am hoping for a bumper tomatoe crop because I want to try my hand at home made salsa again.

And now for just cuteness.

Our pretty eldest.

Our cute youngest now has enough hair to put into a ‘bitg girl’ ponytail.  Along with her ponytail she has also figured out how to blow the fluff off of a dandelion.

The Pandas are here

Okay, I thought that I would take a moment from uploading photos of our trip to bring you up to date on our return to reality.  Since arriving home we have tackled the normal chores (cleaning, laundry, shopping…), bought new skates for Katrine and ordered her next skating dress, planted our garden and gone to the zoo.  The last was our effort today to exhaust Elspeth so that she would maybe sleep through the night.  Katrine is mostly back to normal but the rest of us are suffering.  You see, Elspeth seems to be on an inbetween schedule which has her waking up repeatedly through the night and in the process waking both Glenn and I up.  Fingers crossed that the zoo, gardening and then outside playtime will do the trick tonight.

Anyways, the pandas are now at the zoo where they will stay for the next five years.  The girls were very excited today and danced their way in to the zoo.  Elspeth broke into fits of giggles when she saw the display of panda poop.  “Wow mommy!  That is a BIGGGG poop.”

There were a number of informational displays and interactive displays in the Panda Experience section that led into the panda enclosure.  One that amazed Katrine focused on the size of a adult panda’s hand.  “Mom!  Come see!  Baba’s hand is about the size of a panda’s.”  Who knew that I had a husband with panda sized hands?

Then it was the main event.  Their absolute cuteness did not disappoint.  I mean, just look at that face.

On the way out, the girls saw the zoo’ new panda mascots.  I was sure that Katrine would ask for a photo give that here was a walking, giant stuffed bear but Elspeth has always shyed away from any ‘character’.  Not today though.  Both girls asked to have their photo taken.  Plus, when Elspeth was done she declared, “I like the panda.  He patted my head.  He was nice.”

The Ears are Pierced

On our first full night home from vacation we got Katrine’s ears pierced.  Of course, it did not run smoothly.  We decided to have them pierced at our local tattoo and piercing parlour.  I mean, that is all they do for a living so they must be good.  Plus, they have their certificate of health posted on line and when you walk in the door it smells of cleaner.  They also use needles and not those silly piercing guns. (Bad experience with one in grade school where it miss fired and their was a lot of manual shoving to get the earring through my ear.)

Katrine has been actively asking to get her ears done since March Break when she saw some candy earrings that she simply had to have.  We dragged our feet as I didn’t want to deal with it while on vacation and we knew that there would be some tears.  We were right.  Katrine sat on the bench last night, clutching her stuffies (only the second ones to have ever set foot in the shop), tears rolling down her cheeks while saying that she was ready so get to it.  When they were done she literally danced about with glee exclaming “That didn’t hurt.”  She is still dancing today calling herself “all grown up with my earrings”.  Funnily enough, she and her sister have pretend pierced at least four stuffies ears today.

The final day

Yep, all good things must come to an end.  Today was a sunny and windy last day with a more relaxed pace.  We spent the whole day at Loch Lomond.  Glenn drove us up the west side of the loch to Firkin Point.  We walked along beside the loch and watched the waves.  Then the girls went splashing along the shore.  That is when we discovered that they haveworn holes in the soles of their rainboots.  I am looking at it as less to pack.  It also meant unpacking in the middle of a parking lot in order to find the dry socks and shoes.  At least they had fun while getting wet (as opposed to getting wet falling in).  I have to say that the scenery was beautiful.  It left me greatly relaxed.

After lunch we went to the Loch Lomond aquarium and thenada centplayground.  The girls loved the aquarium.  Their favorite parts were the touch tables and the tunnel tank.   We managed to see a few feelings which made it all the more interesting.  It was topped off by long play stints at the park.It  didn’t rain until we were almost at the airport.

It has been a wonderful vacation but I miss bed home, more specifically my bed.  Up early tomorrow morning .  Night.

 

Busy, busy, busy

Isn’t it funny how two girls who area falling asleep in the car are now wide awake?  I am currently hiding in the bathroom waiting for them to fall asleep so that I can start packing.  You see tomorrow is our last full day in Scotland and we will spend the night at the airport so it all has to go somewhere but I don’t want to waste time tomorrow doing it.  Sigh!

okay, yesterday morning we went to Wallace’s monument in Stirling.  While Elspeth and I worked our way up the hill looking at various plants, Glenn and Katrine not only climbed said hill but also all 246(?) steps to the top of the tower. I opted out of the climbing given that it would have involved carrying a child up the winding staircase.  We took the long way down the hill through the woodlot and were luck enough to cross paths withwe rabbit enjoying the sun.  Then we drove to the Falkirk Wheel to meet my cousin Helen.  Upon arriving Elspeth walked into the bottom of a metal sign (I thought she could see it and realized my error but not soon enough forhere to compensate).  I can now say that the Wheel hasunquiet a nice first aid room.  A bit more of a production than necessary but I understand their caution.  Once we had some ice, all was right in our world and we hit the play zone.  During lunch, the girls were super excited to see the wheel in action lifting a boat from one loch to another.  Some ice cream in the sunshinebred ore more playtime.  This time at the giant water zone (more like a giant water table than splash pad).  All of the playing left a lot of time to get caught up.

In the evening it was more family time as we celebrated a cousin’s birthday.  I think that the kids played on the trampoline for almost two hours!  Lots more smilesandbonding.  I love my family.  Have I said that before?  I am truly blessed.  My cousins wife went out of her way to make a large plate of GF sandwiches and even got me muffins so that I wouldn’t feel left out!  It was an awesome surprise and just goes to show how wonderful they are.

This morning we drove though the Trossachs.  We stopped in Aberfoyle to see rare sheep breeds for Elspeth.  Turna out that the real live sheep scare her.  She much prefers her blanket sheep.  Next stopafter a a rather lengthy yet scenic wrong turn, was Loch Katrine.  As you can guess, Katrine was beside herself with joy seeing HER loch!  To be honest, it is rather prett.  Then to see some Hei’lan Coos before lots of park time.  While the girls were at one of the parks playing with Glenn, my uncle took me in to see my grandmas house one last time.  Brought back so very many memories.  Spent many a happy visits there.

Finished the day with dinner with my uncle, a drive through town, a visit with one of my moms school chums and then another trip to the park.  I am tired writing it all down yet the girls are still wide awake”. Oh well.