Cap off the year with a bonfire!

So we have these awesome new neighbors. Who, when we invited them to spend New Year's Eve afternoon at the river with us, quickly rushed out and chopped all this wood for us to burn. Oh yeah. Obviously they know how to win our affection!

Despite the fact that the temperature was hovering around zero, the kids all rushed off to the water to play.
We old folks stayed closer to the fire. And were eventually joined by the two littles who just couldn't resist snacking.


As you can tell, it was an amazing day.

Griff was sure he could see fish in the water (his dad kept throwing rocks to help further that belief!) So he and Lizzie decided to entice them out with some fishy crackers.


We roasted some marshmallows.

And then the kids used this decking as an ice rink. Home made hockey. How Canadian :)

SCORE!


I like fire.

The kids like having their pictures taken.

Then we went home for spicy meatballs. After David polished off four glasses of water, Uncle Rob got him a new and bigger glass of water.

More Christmas Break Playdates

When the snow won't come to you, and you can't go to the snow, you learn to make do. So our inventive kids decided that the very thick frost would make for awesome sledding.

Meanwhile, these two staked out the stairwell.


Eventually everyone came in for lunch time.

Well, everyone except these two who were too busy chatting.

Gingerbread Making

Every day Elisabeth gets a little more heavy handed with her makeup application. Here she is after she and Amy gave themselves makeovers.

The fantastic four go for a group hug.

I told her to look pretty. Maybe this is a model face??

The kids decided to have a dance party. We put on some tunes and they got down.


But then we decided it was time to go for a walk. We even found some snow...



That was fun! But then it was time to head to Dave's house for a gingerbread house competition.

Everyone got in on the action.

oh, except Alexis. Just kidding. She played too. But she also ate some very delicious looking/smelling curry.

My house. Note the artful use of shreddies for my roofing. And the pink and purple candies. AND the birdhouse like hole there? Beautiful no?

The beauty of making your own gingerbread houses, is that one batch of gingerbread will make three houses. I am so making them from now on.



Taking a break from decorating to make a phone.

The Lyth's house. Beautiful.

David, Elisabeth and my house. In that order. Notice mine got hit by a tornado? Yeah, so sad. next time the roof will not be quite so steep. In fact, I may go for a fifties flat roofed look...

The weather was absolutely beautiful, so we decided it was high time we head to the beach. We brought some friends and some snacks and found our favorite spot.

Andrew started rolling logs around, and the kids thought that this one looked like a great place to play.

Until the boys started rolling the log back and forth. Elisabeth (being the one furthest from the ground) got a bit freaked out.

So David and Nate decided to use it as a teeter totter.


And meanwhile, two very damp preschoolers decided to cozy up under a blanket and eat some snacks.


This is where Griffy kept kissy kissying Lizzie. And she, being her mother's child, wasn't into these public displays of affection at all. At least they both thought it was funny!

makeup

Remember that makeup kit Elisabeth got for Christmas? She's a bit addicted to that makeup.

We had some old friends of mine over for lunch and Elisabeth decided she needed to put some makeup on in honour of their visit. That's glitter all over her face, not scabs. And believe it or not, this is actually one of the more subtle jobs she's done lately.