Livin' the good life

Hi again all,

Well, we've been so busy lately we haven't had a chance to update this blog. So we have lots to tell you. And lots of pictures to go with it.

Firstly, the big news around here is that we are now able to eat tomatoes. You have no idea how happy we all are about that. All of the kids are pasta lovers, and it's tough to make any kind of pasta (or pizza for that matter) without tomato sauce, particularly since we're still off dairy so that takes out all the cream sauces. We've been making due with butter, or oil and garlic, but we're all thrilled to be able to get back to tomato sauces.

To celebrate, one of the first nights after we introduced tomatoes back into our diets we made our own pizzas. It was really fun watching them make their own pizzas. Their personalities came shining through... E was very methodical about it, carefully spreading out the ingredients to have an equal distance between each piece. A on the other hand was much more a grab-and-scatter kind of gal. B wasn't quite sure what to make of it. And all three of them ate many of the ingredients off their pizzas before the pizzas ever made it into the oven. I guess they were hungry.



This past weekend we made our annual trek to the Proulx Family Farm to pick out our pumpkins. (Incidentally, we need to find a new pumpkin farm... Proulx is just getting too expensive.) The kids had great fun picking a pumpkin. There was only one rule... whatever pumpkin they picked they had to be able to carry themselves. As you can see from the pictures, they had a great time running through the fields looking for the perfect pumpkin.



In the end these were their choices..



They all ended up picking fairly small pumpkins, but they still had fun climbing around in the bigger ones...



Of course you can't visit the Proulx farm without also participating in the other activities at the farm...

And, of course, we took our pictures next to the "How Tall This Fall?" sign, as we have every year.


(They haven't really shot up since last year, have they?)



Okay, I've now spent most of the day trying to also upload a short video for you, but blogger doesn't seem to want to let me do it. So I'll end here. If I'm able, I'll add the video in the coming days.

Have a happy Hallowe'en everyone!

Thanksgiving Update

Greetings DoT here - I couldn't miss out on a rare chance to write something in English (I am entering my 7th month of full-time French training -I will need English training when I am done). This past weekend we travelled to visit Grandma and Grandpa G. It was a busy weekend as you can see below. We had a family Thanksgiving get-together/karaoke party (see photos below).

We also went to see each of our nephews play hockey. The girls found the arena too loud and held their hands over their ears for most of the two games. This despite the fact that they scream like banshees at our house and don't even seem aware that they are doing it. In spite of the noise, they were always excited to see cousin M or J on the ice and A screamed their names when they played a shift. E also told me she wants to be a referee (they watch games with me on tv now, just to see how many referees they can spot - I think they are fascinated by the man in black and white giving "time-outs" to adults for being naughty). I'm not sure how she thinks she can signal the penalties (time-outs) with her hands over her ears, but I'm sure she'll figure something out.

On the way back to Grandma's from one of the games, I managed to run over a speed bump a little too quickly. Mom and E thought this was funny and laughed. This was, however, quickly followed by a grouchy comment from the backseat "Super A is not laffin'!" Apparently superheroes who need to get around in minivans have high expectations of their drivers...

We survived the trip back home (even though Mr. B was a tad edgy from having missed 4 naps this past weekend and didn't want anyone else singing or talking along with Dora in the van).

Last night we had a cake for me (I turned the big 4-0 yesterday). The girls sang Happy Birthday but E then informed me with a pout that she would blow out the candles (we ended up sharing that responsibility).

You'll see below some heartwarming pics of the girls feeding their younger brother - until you realize they are doing it to get rid of the food in their bowls (not big breakfast eaters). If you can't have a dog, you need a younger brother.

Finally tonight the kids were playing at McDonald's Playland and we sat back and watched as the girls helped pull B up each level and then we saw A guiding B onto the big slide so that they could come down together (screaming and laughing) - there may be hope for my kids yet. All in all, a good week with plenty to be thankful for.

Pics below:

23 days 'til Hallowe'en

We're starting to get excited about Hallowe'en...



K... (who is really looking forward to the girls going back to daycare next week)