Ski School is a Success

Our 4-year old learned to ski over the last 5 days. We had signed all three up for 5 days of ski school. The younger two skied from 9-10am, and our 7-year old ended at 10:30. Thanks to hand and foot warmers, our girls did not complain of the cold weather. On the third day of ski school, it was so cold (-24 degrees) that the chair lifts were not functioning, and all three girls spent their class on the bunny hill. I did not take many photos as I stayed huddled in the cabin overlooking to hill. By the fire, of course...

Our 7-year old on the left with her cousin before the first class

Our confident 5-year old

Our adorable 4-year old in pink!

School Has Ended!

School ended yesterday, and I am looking forward to the two week break from packing lunches and homework. The last month has been filled with Christmas-themed activities at school. From concerts, to wreath making, to ginger-bread houses, the children did it all. And even though we do not celebrate Christmas at home, they certainly do at school!

Not singing much

Making a graham cracker house

A math activity

Our 7-year old made this out of garbage bags

First Snow Storm

Our first snow storm occurred 5 days ago, and the clean-up crews are not yet done. I shovelled the front walkway three times in a period of 24 hours, but luckily I had the three cutest helpers:

Family Room Update

At long last, our family room has received an update.  A new sectional to fit all our family members, a storage and display area for the lego, and two soft ottomans that double as toy storage. And if you can fit into the ottomans, why not play in them too?

The Girls Attend the Holiday Fair

Bedtime last night was relatively easy. I simply convinced them to go to sleep as soon as possible so that they could attend their school's holiday fair the next morning.

This morning, they ran around the school, from room to room. There was a different activity everywhere they went. From face-painting, to arts and crafts, their morning flew by. After their weekly skating lessons, they raced home to decorate their house with their art work.

First Indoor Swim Meet

Our 7-year old competed in her first swim meet of the season last weekend. The previous year, we had signed her up for one indoor swimming competition, but she refused to start both of her races. This time around, she was far more prepared, having competed in a number of summer swim meets. She even learned to successfully dive off the starting block in the last month.

She swam in two races, 25 metre freestyle, followed by 25 metre breaststroke. For her freestyle swim, she finished 41st with a time of 27.40 seconds in a field of almost 60 (8 & under female) swimmers. And for her breaststroke race, she finished with a time of 35.22 seconds, and came in 21st out of 41 swimmers in her age group. But most importantly she had a lot of fun and didn't seem the least bit nervous...

In the furthest lane

In the foreground

All in a Week

The girls had a fun-filled week. Our 4-year old received her first pair of skis, a new helmet, and some goggles. She was so excited that every few minutes she would ask when it would start snowing...

Our 5-year old lost her third tooth, but first one while at school. She received a lovely necklace to carry her tooth in:

The girls also received a new game from their preschool friend. They enjoyed setting it up and dropping marbles through it. However, within a few minutes they had found something to fight over!

And finally, or seven year old is gearing up for her first indoor swim meet of the season. It takes place Sunday morning, so more on that on next week's blog...

The Best Way to Eat Pasta

The best way to eat pasta, according to my 4 and 5-year olds:

Three Trick-or-Treating Trolls

Our girls dressed as trolls this Halloween. A talented woman named Brigitte knitted three warm troll hats inspired by the recent troll movie. Our youngest was Princess Poppy, our 5-year old was Harper, and the oldest dressed as Moxie Dewdrop. The weather was chilly, and we even got a little rain. The trolls lasted about an hour. And for the first half, our 4-year old said "Trick or treat, give me something good to eat, not too big, not too small, just the size of Montreal". Then suddenly she tired, and announced that she wouldn't be saying anything at all.

Along the way, the trolls ran into some policemen and firefighters handing our treats, and advice: "Stay Safe". Upon our return home, the girls, now out of their troll costumes, enjoyed some of their treats. They alternatively ate, and ran to the door to hand out treats. On one occasion, our 4 year old insisted that the parents come to the door to receive treats as well. This left one little boy very excited. He eagerly told his parents that he would "keep the treats" in his bag for them.

All in all, they had a great evening, and our 7-year old asked that we dress as a superhero family for next year...And so starts the search for warm superhero costumes.

First Kindergarten Show

On Friday, the parents were invited to an early afternoon kindergarten show. We did not know exactly what to expect. Upon arrival, the parents were seated, while the children were hidden behind a large curtain. Each parent received a custom programme, with their child's drawing on the cover:

We were then enchanted by almost 20 5-year olds singing about owls, butterflies, and Halloween. Our 5-year old is very shy, so I was not certain that she would participate. Surprisingly, she sang every song. At the end, the wonderful teacher told a story about a mouse and her piece of cheese as they built a house that magically turned into a pumpkin. The children seemed genuinely dazzled. The kids then enjoyed festive snacks provided by the parents. Our kindergartener has been looking forward to the show all week, and now continues to sing the songs daily.

A Lovely Visitor

My auntie Ivy has been visiting from British Colombia for several days. Our girls have really taken to her, with my youngest one asking me why I did not live with her! What I didn't know was that my auntie Ivy is a great photographer, and she captured the essence of my goofy kids with these photos:

To The Pumpkin Patch

Our five year old headed to the pumpkin patch with her class this week. They had asked for parent volunteers, and while I hesitated briefly as I would be working later in the day, I decided to join the group.

After a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch, the kids had a scrumptious and healthy snack; fresh pressed apple juice and an apple muffin. Next, we headed over to the corn labyrinth where the kids solved a "mystery". While they weren't too interested in the mystery, they did enjoy running through the fields of corn. They walked along a drawbridge, and finally headed to the field to pick their pumpkin. My 5-year old was the last to choose her pumpkin, as she simply kept changing her mind. Finally she found the pumpkin that was the perfect shape, size, and colour...

And just before departing, they played in a park and enjoyed feeding a few animals. I suspect the most enjoyable part of the trip was the bus ride, although as the parents weren't allowed on, I cannot be certain...

On the tractor

Unable to choose her pumpkin

Mama is the Mystery Reader

Last week, I was the "mystery reader" in my five-year-old's kindergarten class. The children guess whose parent is visiting, based on a few clues left by the parent. (In my case, my daughter guessed it was me with the clue "I have three girls").

I read them a book about monsters, and then led an arts and crafts activity based on the book. I chose two activities, one that they could bring home, and the other that they could eat! They placed a few googly eyes on a paper monster corresponding to the number written under the monster:

And by far the most popular activity of my brief visit was decorating cupcakes to resemble monsters:

My daughter asked when I would be returning to be the mystery reader again, and I explained that each parent gets one turn only...

Our Girls at Their First Terry Fox Run

Many years ago during a trip out west, our family stopped at the Terry Fox memorial statue in Thunder Bay. I remember my father telling me about this national hero. Never would I have guessed that my own children would one day participate in the Terry Fox run in their grandfather's honour. And never would I have guessed that my girls would never meet my father...

Our 7-year old with her aunt

Kindergarten is So Much Fun!

One morning on the second week of school, our 5-year old refused to enter into her class. She was encouraged, bribed, and gently pushed, but to no avail. Finally, the kind kindergarten teacher came to the gate, whispered into her ear, and carried her off into class...

She hasn't experienced any difficulties since, and has spoken non-stop about the fun daily activities. One day, a biologist visited with some birds of pray. On another occasion, they helped cut up veggies, which they formed into the shape of an owl.

And most recently, they watched caterpillars transform into butterflies...