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| Steve's birthday... time for dessert! |
Happy Saturday! It's the coldest day of winter so far here in London, but the sky is blue and the sun is shining - and I'm inside! We went out for a short walk this morning and it sure was cold for this BC girl (wait, am I an Ontario girl now?). We are happy that it is finally a bit colder as it means we can skate on the outdoor rinks and go sledding. We didn't sign the kids up for skiing this year but will get them on the hill for a lesson or two. Unfortunately Jordan is in the middle (near the end? fingers crossed) of a stage where he doesn't want to do ANYTHING. Skating? Won't do it. Ball hockey? Nope. I asked if he wanted to do baseball this summer - hard no. What is the deal?! It's a bit difficult to go skating as a family when he just wants to sit on the sidelines (/continually ask to go home)... boo. We've been out with the big kids three or four times - to the Covent Garden outdoor rink and to some at-home rinks at friends' houses. We still dream about somehow converting our large pool into a skating rink, but have looked into it enough to know that it's not an easy thing to do. Oh well - we'll host in the summer and go elsewhere in the winter!
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| Hanging out in Liz's backyard tree |
We had the most amazing time in Bowmanville over Christmas break. It is the best to get a break from meal planning and grocery shopping (and all of the other tasks and jobs), and the kids love being there. We did puzzles and played lots of games (Apples to Apples, Shuffleboard, and, of course, Misplunk - a game invented by the kids), and we got out for walks and played driveway hockey too. Christmas dinner was delicious and incredible (of course) but we were missing a few key players - who are back in the game now! We're definitely looking forward to our next holiday with the family, whether it's in B-ville or up at the cottage.
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| Scored over 100! (106) |
We were home for New Year's Eve and did our best to duplicate last year's fun with a combo of puzzles, a dance party, video games and the BEST cheese / snack board EVER. The guys (Hendrik and Steve) were in charge, and they knocked it out of the park. Jordan went to bed around 9:00 so we felt a little guilty that he missed out on the fun... he'll get to join soon enough, right? Steve did an amazing job with the appleflappen on New Year's day - this is definitely a tradition I'm happy to continue, even if we're in London with our smaller crew. I also went for a run on Jan 1 (yay!) and had a great chat with a few friends I saw along the way.
The first few weeks of school were delayed here, so back to online learning we went. There are definitely pros and cons to the learn-at-home deal; pros = no mask, snacks/drinks/food when convenient, no making school lunches or washing lunch containers, no one has to get up as early, I can wear slippers, I see more of my family, no ridiculous behaviours from students... cons: no time to prep for school (only weekends and evenings), having to manage kid-demands whilst teaching isn't fun, students don't participate or come as often, and there's lots of sitting / standing in my office room. Oh, and no seeing teacher colleagues - it will be nice to see other teachers again.
And we are hoping to get going on a house reno here some time this Spring, but have lots of decisions to make. We've decided on kitchen appliances, and went to look at kitchen sinks yesterday with two kids in tow - fun fun! We did hit up London's best candy store before stopping at Home Depot, and we were blown away by the selection - we could have stayed in there for hours looking at everything! The kids did not feel the same about Home Depot, but we did spend some time looking at the kitchen setups and different cabinets etc as we need to really think things through before we get to the ordering stage - sooner is better than later, and the clock is ticking! And on the home reno note, GUESS how cold the tippy room is right now (one of the rooms in our addition)? Part of the reason we're replacing the addition is that it's sinking or coming away from the house (hence tippy) and it has zero insulation. Right now, it is FIVE DEGREES in that room! It is so so so cold. I can't believe that used to be someone's bedroom. Cold. Anyways, hopefully I can get some photos added to and get this thing posted. Hope all of you are doing well!
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| Knex has been super popular! Lots to make and create. |
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| Christmas Eve! |
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| "Resting" on a winter walk |
