Cinderella's tea party

Last week Lucy had some girlfriends over for a playdate. The girls ventured into the dress-up box and came upstairs dressed as princesses ready for their tea.
I knew just what to do: Bibbity-boppity-boo... I made some very special chocolate tea in white teacups and saucers.
The girls had a great time... though I haven't asked permission to post the other princesses pics, here's my lovely Lulu.

Da kids...

Life has been pretty busy around these parts, but I keep forgetting to bring my camera along to chronicle our days.
Thankfully, Papa (my dad) snapped some pics of the kids last week. Here is Lulu lounging in Papa's chair at their house.

And some before and after clips of Joshua's haircut. Josh thinks he should keep his hair long to keep his ears warm (really! so funny!). You may also notice how many teeth this boy has lost... the worst is when the tooth-fairy forgets to stop by. My child is going to have so many issues to deal with!

Unexpected purchase

A few weeks back I wrote about Mark's siblings + families coming up from Seattle for dinner. I really love cooking and having others over, and was excited about the recipe my friend Marianne had recommended. But, as sometimes happens, dinner wasn't quite as exquisite as I had planned. My meal cooked way too fast - and I burnt a loaf of bread I was warming up, at 200F for 10 min!
Something was clearly wrong with the oven. For the bargain price of $83, a repairman came and told me the thermostat was gone, and would be $300 (+tax) to replace. So, we went stove shopping... and voila! My new ceramic top stove! It is much easier to clean, and is cooking more accurately! And, as always, it's the little things that make me smile... when I open the door, the light pops on. (sigh)

Autumn and Remembrance Day

Our yard is a pretty decent size, surrounded by many large trees. As we had a brief reprieve from the rain on Saturday, all of us went out back to rake together.

Look at those smiling faces - my kids LOVE helping out with the chores. I'm saving these pics forever as evidence! Despite the work involved, I really love fall - I love looking out to see the browns, oranges, yellows and just a touch of red that covers the landscape. Monday even brought a touch of sunshine to our week.

Although I didn't have a camera with me today, our family did enjoy taking the time to head to the Remembrance Day ceremony held today at City Hall. I was so impressed to see hundreds of(maybe even a thousand?) people gathered around the cenotaph, with the RCMP in their Red Serge, Firefighters, Corrections officers, cadets and of course, veterans, all in uniform to honour those who have served our country, and remember those who died.

The rain poured on the crowd, and a light breeze shook leaves from the trees, but it did not dampen the pride I felt in my community that came together to remember. I am always touched by the hum of bagpipes, and later the trumpet that sounds the last post as we take a moment of silence to pause and remember.

At one point, Lucy complained that she was wet and cold. I said that was okay, the soldiers who fought in WWI, that ended 90 years ago today, lived in mud trenches for weeks at a time. They were pretty cold and wet - our 30 minutes of discomfort is a small privilege we can share with them.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:... a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b-8

An evening with friends

The day after Halloween, we went to our friends' home to celebrate Andrew's 6th birthday. Lucy and Andrew are very good friends, and as their big brothers are "best buddies", Andrew and Lucy share their own special friendship. Cheryl says that Lucy is the only girl that Andrew will play with. From a young age, these two have been plotting ways to trade James from Andrew's family to ours so that Lucy can move in with Andrew's family. "Can I take my bed when I move there?" Lucy used to ask. Uh, no.

It is always very relaxing to spend time with Cheryl and Richard. This is one of the friendships that I describe as "refreshing" - I feel better after having spent time with them. Mark, as seen above, also finds it easy to relax with Richard!

The kids and dads enjoyed setting up Andrew's birthday presents (games and lego) and watching a bit of SpongeBob together.

Halloween - October 31/08

I can't believe how long it has taken me to post these pics... Anakin Skywalker and Cinderella were the costumes of choice this year. They were both really excited about dressing up. Well Lucy was.... Josh got all weird at lunch time at school, and had to be really persuaded to put his costume on. I can remember being that stubborn when I was in grade two, as does my grade two teacher, who is now the principal of my children's school!

As I was helping in Lulu's kindergarten class this year, I dressed up as her fairy godmother... I love my mom's 40 year old peignoir sets; they've been a favourite in the dress-up box since my sister and I were kids!
The kids sang French Halloween songs with their classes, had a costume parade through the school, and healthy choices of food for their class parties.

Unfortunately I was struck later by extreme dizziness, (some weird virus floating around) but Papa came to the rescue and carved the pumpkins with Josh and Lulu before trick or treating with Daddy.