Where did November go?

Where did November go? Or should I say how is December almost over!? I realized that I haven't posted anything in awhile and I couldn't help but wonder...have we not done anything exciting or post worthy? Have I not taken any pictures? A quick look at photos proved that yes we have just been super busy since the last post....

At the end of November we enjoyed our first snow much to the girls delight! It lasted all of four days and both girls are eagerly awaiting more snow!

 We had our last ballet class of the fall season for both girls. Next up for the winter season is skiing lessons for Anna, swimming for both girls and a strong focus on potty training for Matilda!

 We've been exploring more of the trails near our house...the girls love running through the woods...

 and often stop to marvel at all the tall trees!

 We've had lots of silly days....

 And no December is complete without a letter to Santa....

 personally delivered to the man in red himself!

Raincouver

When we lived in Toronto we had 567 posts (slight exaggeration) about the snow. Walking in the snow, playing in the snow....Now that we're in Vancouver we will probably have plenty of posts about the rain. And after many weeks of walking in the rain I think I would rather walk Anna to school in subzero temperatures in the snow and ice instead of the rain (those of you that know me have probably fainted after reading that sentence). The good news is the girls love walking in the rain - puddles to jump in! The bad news is my bought more for style than rain from our drought stricken California days umbrella does not hold up well here in Raincouver. Note to self: Buy. Really. Big. Umbrella.

Two Ballerinas

The weekend wasn't just about pumpkins it was also all about dance! Both girls started their ballet classes. Not sure if either will be professional dancers but the classes sure are fun!

The Great Pumpkin weekend

This weekend was about about pumpkins! In two days we went to 3 pumpkin patches!

On Saturday we went to the annual pumpkin patch fundraiser at Anna's school.

Where there were bouncy castles and slides...

 And where we got our first of 5 pumpkins...

 And where Anna got her face painted!

On Sunday our first stop was the pumpkin patch at our real estate agent's office. So many pumpkins to choose from....

 And they were all free!

Our next stop was to the Laity Pumpkin Patch in Maple Ridge...where there were animals to see and where Matilda quickly learned not to put your fingers too close to the chicken coop!

 Goats to feed....

 Silly animals to pose with...

And even sillier cutouts to pose in!

There was "gold" to mine for....

And of course thousands of pumpkins to climb on!

Finally!

After three months of a teacher strike and 8 days on vacation in Maui Anna finally had her first day of Kindergarten this week!

A yes and no vote

Last night was a unique night for us. There were two votes taking place....a vote on Scotland's independence from the UK and a vote to end the teacher's strike here in B.C. The unique part about it was both results were being announced at the same time so needless to say Alastair and I were both on our computers at 9:30 pm anxiously reading the news (I think it's pretty obvious which results each of us were following!)

The good news came for both of us - Scotland remains part of the U.K. and the teachers voted yes to ending the strike. The great news is school starts next week....the bad news is we leave for Maui tomorrow so Anna will miss the first day/week of school....though I guess going to Maui isn't really a bad thing! Aloha!

Too Cool for School

All across Canada today is the first day of school! Unless you live in British Columbia. Which is where we live. Where all across the province the teacher's are on strike. 

Today I would have had Anna take a picture with her first day of school sign, her hair perfectly done, her first day of school fancy dress on....instead our hair is a bit disheveled and we're relaxing in our play clothes. Welcome to our endless summer with no anticipated school start in sight.

Our Endless Summer

It's what is typically the last week of summer...you know that last week before kids go back to school. But due to the ongoing teacher's strike the start date of Anna's school year remains up in the air. We've had a very busy summer and it looks like it's not over yet! Here are some summer highlights....

Before we left Toronto we took a road trip to Georgian Bay where we found beautiful caribbean blue waters...but the water was Canadian cold!

 We've had lazy afternoons reading in bed

Some silly stroller days... 

 Drinking wine out of snack cup nights because all our glasses were packed!

Slides, slides and more slides!

 Fun on the swings

 Trips on the sea bus to visit Daddy

 Afternoons enjoying snacks in the backyard (this is the view I see from our kitchen window -LOVE being able to see the girls playing outside while in the kitchen!)

 Dance camp - Anna's favourite camp this summer!