Attwood Family

The winter break ended with a brief trip up to my parents.  They had some snow whereas we did not.  The girls were thrilled.  They broke out their skiis and explored the backyard.  We are hoping that the next time we go up there, we are hoping that there will be enough snow left for all of us to go skiing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was the last day that I was healthy.  Basically I welcomed in the new year coughing, miserable and SICK and stayed that way until the end of last week.  The only plus was that the girls had the chance to spend extra time with dad.  All I was good for was building Lego and watching as they did some of the new science experiments.  Simple fun.

Yup, that is where we went after the show today (thank goodness that there was no fever today).  Now this was a dinner.  Glenn had gone to this restaurant before with his brother so only Glenn knew what we were heading in to.  Oh, I am so very glad that he had us walk here post show.

They have sausages.  So many types of sausages and all are gluten free!!!  Okay now I do have to say here that as with most restaurants there is a risk of cross contamination because they offer non GF buns.  That said, how can you not get excited when given a choice of sausage.  Rabbit, kangaroo, vegan, venison, beef, pork, turkey to name a few.  Plus they had a bacon wrapped beef dog which was a hit with Elspeth and a mild coriander pork sausage that Katrine wolfed down.  Glenn and I opted for three types of sausage – wild boar, venison and pheasant- with a side of sweet onions.  The meal was topped of with hand cut fries fried in duck fat.  Can you say MMMMMMM.

 

Here is the rest of our Christmas celebration in a single post.

Church service on Christmas Eve was lovely with an adorable Baby Jesus and his extremely well behaved shepard brother.  The girls enjoyed the singing.  Plus, Grammy joined us making it extra special.  After church the girls got ready for Santa’s arrival with milk, cookies and veggies.  Elspeth actualy counted the carrots to make sure that there was one for each reindeer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oddly enough, they both slept in on Christmas morning until 8:15.  Guess that was a gift to us. :)  After checking to make sure that the cookies etc were sampled, they dove into their stockings.  As you can see, Santa even brought a treat for Elspeth’s penguin.  Unfortunately her penguin was very excited to get a stocking and in her excitement she pulled a bit too hard on her reindeer and his red nose popped off.  It is okay though, mama came to the rescue with some hot glue.  Once the stocking were emptied it was onto the gifts hiding under the stockings.  In fact, Santa brought the same shape and size of package to each of us and each contained a nerf gun.  Over the course of the day we were very greatful for them because they helped to burn off some excess energy.  Although if you ask Glenn he may have a bit of a difference of opinion.  I mean, he has the best aim but claimed that he was out numbered and ganged up on.  I have already dug up a new project for him – a target range for the darts built out of PVC pipes and hanging cups.  He has also gone looking for deals on darts.  A lot of laughs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took the girls outside to ride bikes and use their nerfs while Glenn picked up his mom because I knew that once they returned it would be present time.  I think that the small skateboard was Elspeth’s favourite gift (it became even more popular once Baba found some simple instruction videos online and she got faster).  Katrine was torn between her new cross country skiis and fleece lined skating pants.  Glenn cooked a succulent turkey and the girls helped me bake and ice Baby Jesus’ birthday cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boxing day we woke up to a child with a fever so we broke out the meds for our trip to my brothers.  It is amazing just how smiley and active Elspeth is once the meds kick in.  It really helped to make the trip enjoyable if a bit shorter than originally anticipated.  That said, fun was had by all as well as too much food.   Yesterday, she was doing better just in time for more presents with the rest of Glenn’s family.

Today was our final outing as we headed to Disney on Ice.  It was perfect timing that there was no fever left.  Phew.  Elspeth enjoyed the princesses while Katrine spent the time discussing the various jumps and spins as well as how each was entered.  My how times have changed since the first Disney on Ice she went to.

 

 

Of course, the test day did not mark the end of skating fun in our family.  I mean, what else is there to do in winter?

Last Saturday, Katrine had her skating show in which she looked lovely with all of her skating friends.  It was also Elspeth’s final gymnastics class and Mom A had to be picked up so Glenn was off to take care of that before the show.  Then I came up with the great idea that there was enough time for Katrine and I to get the groceries done before the event.  That went without an issue.  Then came the problem.  I had crashed the previous night and slept for at least 12 hours straight and then woke up with the bright idea of groceries so I failed to remind Katrine to double check the contents of her skating bag.  As a result, when she went to get dressed she had no tights.  I was just about to head home to pick some up when one of her friend’s mom came to the rescue with tights.  My hero!

Once the show was done it was time to say good bye to Grammy and get ready to skate with Santa!!  At first Elspeth was not to sure of the idea of Santa being on skates but eventually the chance to get a candy cane won out and over she skated with her big sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next afternoon following church it was off to LEGOLAND to meet up with one of Katrine’s China sisters.  You will see only photos of Elspeth at play because I didn’t manage to get a single photo of Katrine without her “sister”.  They were pretty inseparable which is awesome.  I love seeing these kids bond.  After lego it was time to meet up with some more China family for dinner.

 

I have been told that I am too far behind in my updates so I had better get cracking.

Two weeks ago Katrine successfully passed her Senior Bronze free skate test. Yeah!!!  She skated beautifully and felt very proud of her.  More importantly, she is proud of herself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Katrine was skating, Elspeth was off with her Sparks group to decorate gingerbread houses.  She was delighted with the house that she created and had fun with her friends.  She is already asking when she will get to go back to Sparks in the new year.

This weekend’s outing was to Casa Loma for their 100 years of Christmas celebration.  Again, not a new outing but we have not done this one since before Elspeth came home.  It was also a first for Glenn and his mom was able to join us again.

Each holiday season there is a show for ths kids.  This year’s show was the Ice Queen; the Hans Christen Anderson tale on which Frozen was based.  This year’s show was also a ballet.  Both girls and mom ended up with smiles on their faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there it was off to visit Santa and of course, crafts.  The Santa was awesome.  His elves really listened when the girls said their names and then he called them clearly by name.  No Catherine and Elizabeth this time!!  From the crafts we headed up into the Scottish Tower…well, Glenn and his girls did while mom and I waited.  They came down smiling so it must have been fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was not freezing cold this time so we headed down to the basement and took the tunnel to the garage.  Now those were some nice cars!  I also rather liked the antique gas pump.  Elspeth was thrilled, not with the cars but with meeting the giant penguin three times enroute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trees…oh the trees.  Gorgeous!  I mean, you judge for yourself.  I think that my parents should add the bird feather tree to their house next year (hehehe).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year they also decorated the grounds.  It was lovely.

 

The second weekend of advent was marked by the penguin movie and a family outing to Christmas on the Farm.  We have been there before but it is definitely a family favourite.  To top it all off, the weather this year was wonderful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, we had to stop and do crafts. This always brings a smile to their faces.  This year both girls got their nails done…with pink sparkles.  That was a highlight for Elspeth.  Katrine really enjoyed walking through the farm house.  I suppose that she liked seeing the variety of decorations and hearing the Christmas story told in connection with the traditions that we ourselves do.  For me the live nativity scene is my favourite feature.  It really brings the Christmas story to life for the kids.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top it all off with tons of lights, a crackling bonfire and wagon rides.  Plus this year they added food trucks which we passed on because we were getting chilly and thought a sit down dinner would work better for mom and the kids.  Definitely an outing that put smiles on everyone’s face.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  Elspeth and I celebrated by attending our church’s fabulous advent kick off event.  An evening of Christmas crafts, friends and dinner (yup even gluten free).  Followed by a candlelight service.  Where was Miss K?  At a birthday party.  That said, we both had a fun night.  A wonderful way to mark the official countdown to Christ’s birth.

We chose a perfect night to go to St Marie for their First Light celebration.  It was mild so there were no cold noses or toes; only happy smiles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have never been to St Marie for First Light it truly is beautiful.  Thousands of candles and bonefires lighting up the night.  Musicians all over.  I really loved the native drummers.  It was neat watching Elspeth get into the drumming. “How do they do that?  How do they play?”  Oh, and then there were the crafts.  Both girls loved them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A great night was had by all.

 

Headed up to my parents  for some holiday fun and were greeted by snow.  This was awesome because it helped to fill in the afternoon while we waited to head out to our evening plans.  It was a mild day so the pair of them had a blast without freezing.  Unfortunately it got even warmer over night and there was some snowman tragedies.