A little Maple Sugar treat

Last Monday the Maple Man came to my kids school. He showed a video about his Maple Sugar Bush, how he collects sap from trees and makes it into Maple Syrup.
This talented man also showed the kids how to play the spoons, and played for them the violin, accordion, a bowl, and the wooden puppets.

After some traditional French-Canadian dancing it was time for the sweetest treat: Hot Maple Syrup poured on snow, then rolled around a popsicle stick. I was really glad I was present, and got to have a bit of Tire myself!

I'm really looking forward to my next visit to Quebec when I'll be visiting an Erabliere: a Maple Sugar tree farm. Yum!

Afternoon Tea

Last Saturday I stole away from my family for the afternoon, and spent it with some lovely ladies. Cara Lee, Staci, Heather and I took Anne out for an early secret Birthday party at the Secret Garden in Kerrisdale. Anne is expecting her firstborn right around her birthday, so it seemed prudent to celebrate early.

Now I had mentioned to Anne's brother about this idea, and he (mischievous brother) suggested we drive by some of her favourite places to keep her guessing about our destination. However, with construction on one of the roads, and then a missed turn, this turned into a tour of some lovely old neighbourhoods! Poor Anne - many of the roads are bumpy and in poor shape, and she thought I was trying to induce labour!

The 5 of us had the wonderful chance to catch up - we were Anne's 'maids last year, and I don't think we've all been together since.

The Secret Garden is a lovely tearoom - we enjoyed the most delicious sandwiches (roast vegetable and roast chicken croissants, smoked salmon blintzes, egg salad roll-ups), cranberry scones with cream and jam, banana-coconut cake, ginger chocolate cheesecake, lemon tarts and pumpkin rolls with maple icing. Yummy!

Their selection of teas is unbelievable! It was such a lovely warm atmosphere - it felt like an escape to get out of the fog! I highly recommend this cozy restaurant.

Hanging out

Not a lot going on around here... this winter weather has not been pleasant. Our January 4th snowfall has not yet melted (in our parts, snow lasts only a few days before the rain washes it away), so there are gray piles everywhere. We've also been socked in with fog forever... there are some amazing photos from the top of Cypress Mountain being circulated by email, but down at sealevel, it's thick and depressing.

On a happier note, my babes are getting along nicely these days. This photo is last weekend - after Lucy fell off the couch and got rug burn on her nose. It's much better now.



Today I took these monkeys to the pool as it was a professional day and there was no school. We had a lot of fun jumping through waves, going down the water slide and playing tag. The worst is after swimming - trying to negotiate the change rooms (the family change rooms were packed): Lucy, her friend and I in the women's, Josh alone in the men's. He's 8 now, I really don't like letting him go alone...

Bowling Birthday Party

Tomorrow, my boy turns eight... 8 years old! That really went way too fast! For Joshua's birthday we had a party at the Bowling Alley - during a snowstorm. I highly recommend this, as we pretty much had the whole Alley to ourselves, and only 2 friends were unable to make it. It was cool having some of our Seattle family join us too!

Top scorers: Josh D. and Uncle Blake. Poor Brandon got the lowest score, but he was bowling with the adults, and didn't have bumpers. It was also his first introduction to canadian style bowling.

Snow in Lotus Land

Yes, it is winter, and in most parts of Canada, winter brings lots of snow. However, in my little corner of the country, winter means lots of wet, dark, even gloomy days.
This year is different... this year we've had a lot of snow.

And Millie Twinkletoes LOVES it!

She's standing at the base of the tree in this 2nd photo.

Happy New year!

This New Year's Eve we went to Anne and Stephen's house for a casual gathering of friends. Greg & Steph, and Andrew & Heather were there too.
We were very excited to tour the newly renovated kitchen (WOW!), and enjoy some good eats, like Stephen's homemade Ginger Beef.

The most impressive change since Anne met Stephen is that she now plays games! (None of us could make her play with a smile on her face before!). And us Caldwells toned down our competitiveness for the evening to ensure everyone enjoyed Taboo.

The children had a lovely sleep over at Nana and Papa's; which allowed Mark to sleep in until 12:30!

Resolutions for the New Year? I need to get back running - even if all my running buddies keep moving so far away! Mark is resolved to eating better (lots of fruits and vegetables, grilled chicken and fish, low carbs) and exercising regularly.

The long drive home

We spent every Saturday in December on the road: to Whistler, Seattle, Prince George and home again. I will never plan so many road trips for my family again - but it was all very fun!

I snapped this first pic on our drive home through the Cariboo. There is not much snow (the area is pretty arid - lots of ranch lands), but it is so beautiful!

Here's us stopping for lunch in 100 Mile House. Aren't our kids sweet?

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When we arrived home, there was 2 feet of snow lying in our driveway. Mark and Josh shovelled for 45 minutes before we could get our van in. This is our back deck - poor Millie couldn't walk outside until we shovelled a path for her!

Christmas in Prince George

Christmas this year found us in the Great White North of Prince George, B.C., for a week at my sister's house. My parents flew up, and we drove about 800km north and arrived to -34C weather. We did, however, miss the record breaking snowfall at home! Tara and Dave were great hosts, and Noah and Zach were very fun. We especially enjoyed day 4 onwards when the boys made friends with Millie Twinkletoes and weren't afraid of her anymore. Millie had a hard time when it was so cold, trying to balance on 3, and even 2, paws at a time when doing her business. Once it warmed up (still below freezing though), she spent a lot of time playing in the snow.

What is especially fun is that Tara's boys are the same age as my kids. Josh and Noah played hockey for hours in the basement, stopping occasionally for Zach, the Zamboni driver, to clean the ice with his truck. Mark and Dave eventually got the boys outside for a game of road hockey when temperatures warmed up to -10C. Lucy, not a fan of the cold, spent a lot of time drawing and colouring pictures.

After heading to their church for pancake breakfast on Christmas morning, we opened way too many gifts and then we enjoyed a wonderful, warm Christmas dinner for 10.

Although we had a great holiday, I don't think we'd want to spend a lot of time in such frigid temperatures!

Making a Gingerbread House

The last few days before Christmas break always means lots of activity - at home and at school. I was really happy to join Lucy's kindergarten class for a morning of gingerbread house building.

Lucy has a delightful class with a super teacher.

Instead of everyone doing the exact same house, each child brought a small milk carton to use as a base, and we glued graham wafers to the sides with royal icing.

Each child also brought candy, pretzels and assorted goodies to decorate. It was so cool to see the variety homes!

After the gingerbread, the kids started to sing and jump "Vive le vent" - which is to the same tune as Jingle Bells. It was a great morning!