Let’s start with an Elspeth-ism. See if you can guess what she is saying? I will give you a clue, it is something you eat: “hambagung” Have you figured it out? That is how she says hamburger. Too cute.
Hope that everyone has been enjoying our early burst of spring. The bulbs infront of our house are up so here is hoping that if it decides to snow again that it is just a flurry. We took full advantage of the weather this week after being cooped up inside the house for so long due to illness.
We visited the zoo and this time Elspeth actually enjoyed it. On our previous visits, she was very over whelmed by the crowds and insisted on being carried or riding in the stroller. This week our little girl tried to walk the whole time with her sister. She also got right up to the glass. We saw the bears, orangutans and tree kangaroo being very active and she was more interested than scared. I have to say that I love going to the zoo at March Break. Yes, you get camps and daycares but there is always something for the kids to do when you need a break from looking at the animals. This year there was a whole interactive section on bats. The girls made adorable bat clips. Then while Elspeth coloured, Katrine had a chance to actually talk with a keeper about bats. I think that she discovered that she shared the same wing span as a type of brown bat.
Another morning was spent exploring a section of the Oak Ridges trail. It was a nice day and a friend invited us so we tagged along. What a lovely trail. We spent about 2 1/2 hours walking in the sunshine, breaking the ice on the edge of the pond and splashing in puddles. Did Elspeth last that long? No, but her stamina is building every day. I figure that I carried her for about 45 minutes out of the walk so she did quite well. We left refreshed and then spent the whole afternoon outside playing with friends. Elspeth is getting good at peddling her trike….when going downhill! Oh, and as you can see, sometimes she even comvinces her sister for a ride.
One afternoon Katrine attended a skating workshop out in Scarboro. She had the chance to skate with Marina Zoueva who is Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s coach. It was an awesome workshop which challenged her to think about the artistic side of her sport. Did she enjoy it? Yes and no. She loved the workshop itself and the things that they worked on on-ice, but she was sad that none of her friends went. That can sometimes be a very big thing to a 7 year old; even one as outgoing as Katrine.
Then there were the playdates. I am so glad that we were able to schedule these. Katrine has missed so much school in the last few weeks. As much as she loves us all, spending countless hours at home is not the same as being with friends. It was nice to see her just having fun again.
Today both girls got some one on one time with a parent to wrap up the break. Glenn took Elspeth to the Home Show while I took Katrine to a dance competition. According to Glenn, the highlight of the show for Elspeth was the giant mushroom shaped water fountain. She came home with a sleepy smile on her face, so she must have had fun with her Baba. We registered Katrine in the dance competition back in January. With how ill she was,we were not expecting anything from her (I mean, she only practised one week out of the last 5). Boy were we pleasantly surprised. She got through all of the dances and walked away with three medals and another stamp. Only three more stamps and she is out of Beginners. Dance exams in May and no more dance competitions until June.
This week? Back to the regular schedule of dance and school. Highlights look to be Elspeth’s weigh in at the doctor’s tomorrow (fingers crossed that we are still in the third percentile) and then the Sweetwater festival this weekend. Wishing all of you a nice week.