Happy Thanksgiving

Friday Meg stayed home from school to make homemade pumpkin pies with Grandma McLaughlin. It started off slow but Meg quickly got into it and was a good little helper. She was also a good taste tester! 
The pies look amazing and Meg had a great day with grandma. 

Grandma showed Meg and mommy how to strain the pumpkin after it was cooked

Meg learned how to roll out the dough

There was enough dough left to cut out shapes for the top of the pies and f
or Meg to make her version of dough cookies

Meg cracked the eggs and did a great job!

Pies made with love!

Voila! Now we just have to wait to eat them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

It wouldn't be Fall without an annual trip to the pumpkin patch - it was a beautiful day for it!

Back to School

Meg had a great first week of school. She was really excited to see all her friends and teachers and super excited to be in the group of the oldest kids in the Montessori class. This means that this year Meg doesn't have to have rest time, she gets to do big kid jobs like set the table for lunch, pull out the cots for the little kids to sleep and help the younger kids with their learning. She is over the moon excited with all the new responsibility and is already talking about the flowers her teachers will give her at graduation at the end of the year :) 

This week Meg also got glasses. She has been complaining about headaches so I took her to the eye doctor where they told us her eye muscles have not fully developed yet so she should wear glasses when her eyes hurt and that she should outgrow it. Meg was allowed to pick out her own glasses which of course are purple and pink :)

Meg all dressed up and ready for her first day of Senior Kindergarten at Montessori!

Meg at the eye doctor trying on her new glasses for the first time

Meg with her glasses fitted and ready to go!

Visit with Elsa and Anna

Every little girl on the planet is in love with Frozen right now and Meg is no different. Tonight Elsa and Anna came to Playfit for a sold out party and Meg and Claire got in on the fun! Both dressed in Elsa dresses they ate pizza, played on the inside park, had Frozen Kinder eggs, did crafts and got to meet them. All in all one of their best days I can imagine.

Claire and Meg enjoying their pizza supper before Elsa and Anna arrived

Meg and Claire watching the show intently. They sang along to all the songs.

Meg definitely thought they were the real Elsa and Anna but could not understand why Elsa
wasn't wearing gloves. Her magic should have turned everything to ice when she touched it!

Frozen Kinder eggs!!!!

The meet and greet with Elsa and Anna was what the night was all about

They really were the best age for this!

Claire posing with her Olaf craft

Meg and Claire both posing with their Olaf craft, however Meg had hers half eaten

Summer Vacation in BC

Meg, Maxx, Nathan and I spent 10 days in Whistler and Vancouver in July, spending lots of time with family. We arrived on the day of Grandpa Gibby's 65th birthday and went immediately up to Whistler. Spending 7 nights there we spent lots of time at Auntie Marnie's checking for eggs in her chicken coop, swimming in the hotel pool, spending time on the rides at the bottom of Blackcomb and just spending lots of time together in general.
The weather was a bit on the chilly side but we made the most of it. 
Meg and Maxx had a great time with their cousins!!! 
Here are some pics from the trip.

Regan feeding two of the chickens, the third chicken Pumpkin is not as friendly as the other two

The three chickens live in a coop but Auntie Marnie let's them out each day to run around the backyard.
Surprisingly neither her dog or Uncle Zacc's dog scared them away!

Meg's job was to check for eggs every day. We were all able to try fresh eggs and they were delicious! 

On this trip we also met Auntie Marnie and David's new dog Josie!

Maxx and Regan were brave enough to hold the chickens!

Lots of fun in Auntie Marnie's yard! Regan had a personal best with the hula hoop - 1 hr and 9 minutes constant!!!

Spagetti and meatballs family dinner at the place we rented. Delicious!

Meg, Uncle Zacc and Uncle Zacc's dog Monster

One one of the nicest days we got outside and went canoeing and kayaking.
The water was perfect and the scenery was beautiful!

Meg and mommy in the canoe...

...and Maxx in the kayak. He was a master in it after all those lessons at Camp Wabanaki!

Our plan to spend lots of time at the beach was not a reality. Maxx, Meg and David jumped in the lake once. Immediately after this photo was taken we went right back to the hotel and the kids got in the hot tub. They were freezing!

In Vancouver Uncle Tyler was determined to get the kite up!

Meg was an eager helper and eventually this kite and another kite were flying high!!!

Meg poses for a shot in Steveston while she waits for her lunch...

...a gourmet oceanside lunch of fish and chips!!! mmmm! 

Daddy and Meg at the beach. All in all a great trip and it was great to spend time with everyone!

Last Day of School...Already!

Tomorrow is Meg's last day of school, year one (JK) complete. Where did the time go? We cannot believe how much she has learned, grown-up and changed in the last 10 months. She loves school, her teachers and has made some great new friends. All in all I would say it was a very successful first year of school for her and a great experience. 
We were happy to find out this week that all her teachers will be back at the school next year and she will be in the same class with the same teachers and the same kids, minus 3 who are 'graduating'. 
Today we also received the schools yearbook. The teachers asked the kids four questions:

1. What is your favourite job/task at school?
2. What is your favourite food?
3. What do you want to be when you grow up?
4. What country do you want to visit?

Below is a copy of Meg's yearbook photo and her answers to the questions. Adorable. 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads! 

We had a great day but we did miss seeing both Grandpa Gibby and Grandad today. We will be seeing them both soon.

Meg had a plan for the last few days for her daddy and could hardly contain her excitement. She made him a gift at school that she wouldn't even let me see and was really excited to make him breakfast in bed. Meg also decided that today was the day she would sleep in until after 8am. That would have been a gift any other day but seeing that we woke up at 6:30am, it was a long wait for Nathan lying in bed to make sure he didn't ruin Meg's surprise :)
But the presents and breakfast were a hit. Her present was homemade nuts and bolts mix as well as an old tie that she is insisting he wear to work tomorrow. Adorable. 
And what would Father's Day be without a gift for Meg! We started the day with a bike ride on the trail with Meg in the bike trailer. We realized pretty quickly that she is getting too big for the bike trailer so we went to the bike shop and bought a new attachment for the bike instead. She caught on immediately. We are looking forward to many bike rides in the future! All in all a great day.

Happy Father's Day to all! 

We love you daddy, Grandpa Gibby and Grandad!