There's a first Time for Everything

We've had some interesting firsts recently: fry-pan oil fire, Vicks smeared through Aiden's hair...

But there have been some good ones in the last few days too - ones that we'd like there to be a second and third and fourth time...

 

Following our Magi theme this Christmas, we dressed up and took cookies and chocolates to our neighbours along with a Christmas Eve service invitation... singing We Three Kings and giving a gift each.  Such fun!

We hosted a campfire cook out in our livingroom Christmas party... hotdogs and s'mores and loud silly fun games. When can we do it again?

Little boys and little cups = loads of giggles and serious play

Block stacking

Cut and serve chocolate with ski gloves on

Cookie from forehead to mouth (or off the floor with no hands)

Jumbled puzzle race

Get a floating pompom stuck on your nose

 

 

 

 

 

 

And an unfortunate first: 2 sick kids for Christmas Eve....

marshmallow bucket toss

Winter Wanderings

Discovering Canada

Yet again

is a strange mix of emotions

Working on 

Grasping the excitement and enjoyment

and

Pouring out the longing aches and uncomfortableness

Community Fun

Along with friends:

ATV hay rides and hot chocolate

An outdoor concert

In freezing cold weather 

(at least for us with Asian-thinned blood)

Childhood memories stirred

With Maritime music

Kids included in the fun

A free skate at the rink

Where the girls have to re-learn to skate

while kids 1/2 their size 

and twice their size

whiz and glide around them.

 A Christmas concert

for our school goer

This school has learned well:

only 4 class goups

sing this evening

short and sweet

and it's really all about

"My parents showed up and I saw them seeing me"

 A proper hard freeze

for discovering puddle ice

the joy of sliding

the delight in crunching

splintering

smashing

grinding

and

The pain of cold fingers and toes

 Discovering after-storm wilderness beauty

the relief of sun and blue skies

stretching legs outdoors again

Learning not to be too picky

with where you step

what you push past

The thrill 

of a bald eagle soaring close

deer hoof prints on the trail

 The patience of Imma

waiting while we explore some more

The long-suffering of tired Aiden

A long walk for little legs!

 An Undesired discovery

of Canadian flu

Jasmin laid low

3 days off school

wrapped in a blanket

celebrating Dad's birthday

from the couch

The misery of

good food undesired

always cold

sleepy and sick

The Beginnings of Christmas

 Christmas tree decorating - not at our house yet - and no, the ponies are not the decorations; they just went to see them up close and personal :o)

 It's a Wise Men Christmas for us this year.  Our three-paned front window just perfect for the Three!

 Mom outlined them and Grace and Jasmin painted them.

 And a season-long project of glittery paper chains....

asked for, cause for excitement, down-time filler, out of the way decoration.  Perhaps this time we'll manage to keep them for next year... gets tedious redoing them every year!

Better Late Than Never

Back in October, while we were helping prepare the family home for renting, Grace composed a song.  Since it was about Fall, Mom suggested that she film Fall trees while singing in and then we could post it here.  It took more than a few attempts to get it recorded smoothly, so Mom had to do some editing... and it sat waiting for said editing for over a month. 
Now, after winter has long shaken the Fall colors off the trees, and bright cheerful sunny days are much farther and fewer between cold, grey, wet days... enjoy Grace's happy little song of Fall!