Do they do any work?

The kids got home...they played a lot of games today and Susies class watched 'A Bugs Life' this afternoon...next week they have Fairytale day where they have to go dressed as a Fairytale character and they are having a party lunch provided.....

They finish school before 2pm on Wednesdays....they rarely get any homework.....

What with that and field trips and movies and swimming lessons and everything else they seem to do....they don't actually seem to sit and do 'work' at all......its very different from their other schools....much more like we did at home really.....maybe thats why they like it so much and why they are doing so well.....

They love it there...and thats the main thing :)

Easter....

Last year we had a party on Easter Sunday.....50 friends came along and each brought a dish to share...we hid 400 plastic eggs filled with candy and little toys and the children had a blast walking through the woods and our fields to find them all......

Lots of drinking, eating, chatting and playing and everyone had a blast! We decided it was our first ANNUAL Easter egg hunt and party.....

So Easter is a few weeks away.......and I am really not in the mood to plan a party.......I think maybe it is all the snow still on the ground and the cold temperatures and the forecast of more snow.......even if it starts to warm up next week we will still be mid-thaw for Easter which means flooded woodlands and severale small lakes on our land......and very muddy and boggy everywhere...

This year we don't have any baby chicks to meet either........

So I am not sure what we will do for Easter this year...I think maybe we will wait until nearer the time and decide......

Here are some pictures of our Easter last year! Oh and the table is before everyone arrived......this is the table I set up ready for everyones dishes.....but they brought so much it didn't all fit on that table :) Lloyds friend Darren made the most incredible meatballs in a creamy mushroom sauce......delicious! There were cream cakes, shrimp rings, potato salads, chicken, all kinds of dips and other delights.......VERY yummy :)

Sam starts preschool

Sam is doing so great at preschool with the bigger children that they have said he can start for real in the Fall so long as he is out of diapers......officially he shouldn't start until he turns 3 in January but he is doing great :)

Its lovely to see himn joining in with the other children and he looks so grown up sat at the table having snack with them or painting etc...

These pictures show him painting, drawing and gluing a shamrock at the St Patricks Day party yesterday.....oh an dplaying Lego which he sat and played for ages :)

I spent the morning there helping with the party....hiding gold coins for the children to hunt for and helping with the crafts and everything...I had so much fun! I got to wear a Leprechauns hat all morning and the food was good :)

Oh and YES I did get permission from the parents for these pictures :) and the preschool teacher!

Lady Leprechauns.....

I made some green Jello Jigglers this morning....in the shape of Lady Leprechauns.....the kids can have them when they get home :)

The children took St Patricks Day lunches to school based on the snacks we had at preschool yesterday......Leprechaun sandwiches, apple slices with Leprechaun dust.....and chocolate gold coins from the pot of gold :)

Leprechaun sandwiches are easy and although they sound disgusting, they are DELICIOUS!!!

Make up some thick green icing (icing sugar/ confectioners sugar a little water and some green food colouring. Sandwich together two Ritz Original crackers with the green icing......DONE!! :)

Leprechaun dust is just green koolaid...the powder is almost white, but when they roll the apple slices in the powder it 'magically' becomes green :)

Abigail and Sam had their hair sprayed green this morning as did my older three......but Sams seems to have all come out!

My little kitchen helper....

Here is the new little vacuum we got...it sure saves carting the central vac upstairs all the time.....

Birthday cake!!!

http://www.wowfactordesserts.com/index.html

Lloyd is picking up his birthday cake this afternoon....he thinks he is going to get the Key Lime Cheesecake.....

I chose the Arametto one last year.......

If you were choosing a Wow Factor cake or cheesecake...which would you go for?

And anyone in the Edmonton area...Wow Factor cakes are THE best Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Bye bye snowman!!!!

Not much of him left.......and his arm fell off!

Free at last.............

Amber and Rosie were cooped up in their crates for much of yesterday....so they were very happy to be out again when I got home.......they ran around like crazy before deciding it was time to head off for a walk :)

I spy GRASS!!!!

Grass I tell you!!!! :) little patches around each tree.......

For those of you not in Canada, the grass turns brown through the winter because of the cold and dry snow......it will stay brown until the snow has gone and then normally within a couple of weeks it greens up beautifully.....amazing really that it can survive such cold temps......oh and the worms we get go down below the frost line for winter and only come up to the top once the ground thaws....

Ice Ice baby!!!

Yesterday afternoon I took the dogs for a walk with my camera and thought I'd show how icy our driveway is because the snow melts during the day and freezes again at night.....slippery!

The sky at sunset

Last nights sky was pretty last night......the sun has moved round now and sets behind my neighbours rooftop which doesn't make for such nice pictures...but the sky to the left of the sunset was pretty......

Sunrise.....

This mornings sunrise for you taken from Samuels bedroom window!

100 years young!

The University Hospital (Now the U of A) is 100 years old.......they have been talking about it a lot on the news in the last few days.....and have shown some wonderful exhibits and photographs.....

I love the history of Alberta...perhaps because the history is quite short, it means you can learn in more depth and its easier to feel you have a real grasp on it...compared the England which has a vast history....

I prefer the history here and we have several books full of old photographs and stories of the Pioneers and the native families and Fort Edmonton etc....

When the hospital first opened, it was simply in a two story house and had 5 staff members. The first patient was a railroad worker injured on the job...but when he arrived at the hospital they had to lift him in through the window as the doors were locked! Because the hospital had no other patients, all the staff had gone out for lunch together!

The U of A hospital now treats 700,000 patients a year!!!! So you can say it's grown a little in 100 years :)

Easter colouring

Abigail found a picture of an Easter egg to colour this morning and then asked if I'd like to take a picture of it :)

Happy Birthday baby!

I'm expecting the phone to ring any minute! I just emailed all of Lloyds colleagues and asked them to forward it to anyone who will see Lloyd today...the picture above and a message about it being his birthday today and how he LOVES to have a fuss made of him...

He'll kill me!!!! Hahahahahahahahaha!