The Ballerina

After a full year of dance lessons, our five-year old took part in her very first ballet show last Friday. Alice in Wonderland was brought to life by over 100 dancers. From 3-year olds to professional adult dancers, the choreography was awesome.

Our youngest was a "little card". She was worried that she would be forced to wear a large cardboard card over her dance leotard, and she was reassured once she donned her dress.

We were not allowed to take photos during the performance, but here are a few before and after photos:

A Busy Week at School

 Last week proved to be a busy week at school for Mama. I volunteered not once, but twice on the same day! Thursday morning, I jumped onto the school bus with my 9-year old and her class as they headed to a race on Mount-Royal. The grade three and four students ran a 1km race, and the older kids ran for 2km. It was extremely well organized. Several thousand students from different schools lined up, a few hundred at a time, the girls and boys alternating races. My daughter finished the race in 5th position out of almost 200, the fastest of the grade three girls from her school. She said she was close to tears during the race...then I realized she was racing in an unfamiliar area, surrounded by students that she did not know. Its a good thing that Mama was there to help out!

A few hours later, I was back at school for the Kindergarten Vernissage. Some 60 students were displaying their artwork, and parents got to bid on the larger projects (three masterpieces, one per class). It proved to be much fun, although my 5year old, wanting all of the attention, did not let me speak with anyone else!

Here are the photos:

Our class's masterpiece

Posing in front of her art

Van Gogh, Kindergarten style

Keeping busy while waiting for the races with some friends

The finish line

Lining up for the races

5th place!

The Girls go to Top Cup

A 10 & under swim meet called "Top Cup" took place last week-end in Etobicoke, and we headed there for the occasion. The two oldest competed over three days. And while they didn't return home with any medals, they had a whole lot of fun. They enjoyed a visit with their grandpa, aunt, uncle and cousins who live nearby.  Here are a few photos of the week-end:

Posing with a moose at a rest stop en route

A great view of her sister's races

Down time during races

Grandpa and his 5 granddaughters

The races

At the hotel pool

The Cutest Little “Boucle-d’Or”

Three years ago, we watched my oldest daughter perform in a kindergarten play. She was in “Jack and the Bean Stock”, but several other plays had been performed, including “Goldilocks”. It was then that my youngest daughter, only 21/2 at the time, decided that she would one day play Goldilocks. Last year, we watched my second daughter perform in a similar kindergarten play.  She had not played the role of Goldilocks either, but our youngest confirmed that she wanted to “be her” when she was in kindergarten.

So you must understand her elation, when, a little over  6 weeks ago, she got the role! We had almost two months to practice her lines, and to pick out a costume. The wig and dress were the easy part, the lines much harder. But she persevered, practicing almost daily until her lines were perfect.

She spoke mostly at the beginning of the play, and her lines were:

“Oui Maman”

“Ah, la belle maison. Ça sent la bonne soupe. Ah! La soupe est trop chaude! Ah! La soupe est trop froide! Ah! La soupe est parfaite!”

“Je vais m’asseoir  un peu. Cette chaise est trop haute. Cette chaise est trop basse. Cette chaise est parfaite. Oups!

“Je suis  fatiguée. Ce lit est trop dur. Ce lit est trop mou. Ce lit est parfait.”

“Oh secours!”

Just three nights ago, play night finally arrived. We rushed over to school after her swimming lessons,  and we were the first ones to arrive. We practiced her lines one last time, but she was more than ready. Her play was the first one of four, and she was absolutely adorable (in my opinion)! Not only did she remember all of her lines, but she was so proud to finally play Goldiolocks. She seemed completely unfazed by the large audience of parents, siblings, and grandparents. The excited chattering of her classmates (who weren’t in that particular play) while she recited her lines did not bother her. She stayed focused, even when a late arrival actually walked through the scene as she was performing!

Here she is, in full costume:

Posing outside the school before the play

The cover of my custom programme; hand-drawn by Goldilocks

With her classmates before the play

Goldilocks with her "mother" and best friend 

The three little bears

Taking a well-deserved bow

A Warm Week-End and a 5km Race

Spring weather has finally arrived. With Papa away at a conference and Mama at work, the girls spent some time with their grandmother, aunt, and uncle. There were few organized activities as we are currently between ringette and soccer seasons. In fact, the girls enjoyed hanging out at a variety of parks, and my sister even entered them in a 5km family run/walk organized by a local school-board. Here are a couple of photos of them relaxing by the water with their aunt and uncle...

The Runners and a friend 

Post-Race

The Girls do the Jeux de Montreal

For the first time ever, the two older ones attended the Jeux de Montréal. They swam, received free t-shirts and a few ribbons as well...Here is a photo of their team making goofy faces:

Spring is Finally Here!

After a seemingly endless winter, spring weather has finally arrived! Today, with weather in the double digits, we headed over to the Ecomuseum. We visited the inhabitants, including arctic foxes, caribou, and a black bear. We played in a park, met the local "Easter Bunny" and our 5-year old got her face painted. Later on, we even got the bikes out of storage. We ended the day with a barbecue, also a first this year!

Here are a few photos of our fun-filled day: