A whole lot of bakin' going on....

 

Have you ever made hedgehog buns?

 Pretty fun and uncomplicated.

 

When they are baked, this is what they look like.

 This year, for a cookie exchange, I made a large number of chocolate truffle cookies. All were the same except for their toppings.

2011 Pageant

 Bertha was an angel, as usual.

 Maya was the head angel.

Aidan was excited to be a wiseman.

Christmas-y Pictures

 Maya's friend from school invited a few close friends for a fun photo shoot session - with a Christmas theme.

 I think Maya's holding a potato with tacks for eyes.

 Thank you Wanita (friend Mel knows through book club) for going out to take a few pics this year!!

Wanita brought props (namely hats and glasses).

Taken with Wanita's extension (like an extendible cane with your camera on the end)...for fun angles.

November 2011

 Aidan loves to build and watch a good fire.

Bertha got to bring home Corduroy (from school) for a night and write/draw about their activities.

Trip to Labrador

 I (Mel) had a last-minute trip to Labrador this fall. One day, I packed up the car with Tim Horton's donuts and their big rental coffee thermos and drove to Sheshatshiu (about 30 minute drive outside of Happy Valley-Goose Bay) for a day of meeting some very lovely people.

I took this with my phone. Not sure why I didn't smile....

Aidan's New Roommate

 So, Aidan's persistent window leak was successfully (and FINALLY) fixed. 

Since he was going back to having a room to himself (which one might celebrate), he was sad to be alone so, after a lot of thinking, we (meaning Mel & Scott) decided to tell Aidan he could have ONE low maintenance fish.

Meet "Sola Ringo Goldie" (a beta fish). "Sola" for the blue colour of the sky (in Japanese), picked by Aidan; "Ringo" for the beta fish named Ringo Star that suffered a tragic classroom death last year in Maya's class, picked by Maya; and "Goldie" was Bertha's suggestion for a name.

October pics being posted in December

 I seem to recall that someone gave the kids these glasses in their halloween treat bag.

 So, can you tell that is was a cold night? Bertha has 4 layers on, I think.

 Any guesses on what Maya is?

 Scott and Aidan worked on this costume (awkward for carrying a bag of treats for a long period of time).

 Bertha - a fairy princess (or something like that)

In our backyard.

First Day of School 2011-2012

Excited to *finally* start kindergarten.

Outside the school doors on Day 1.

Walking to school on day 2.

Starting their way to school...

I asked them to stand holding their new lunch bags that I sewed just in time for school.

Bertha turned 6!

Bertha wanted to bowl for her birthday this year.

Bowling in style.

A violin card - very creative (Kerry!).

A few snaps from Japan this summer...

Aidan wanted this pose while holding 3 "fish" pencil cases from Grandma & Grampa.

Bertha's a star with chopsticks now.

Ninja attire in the ninja village.

Bertha practicing her ninja skills (blowing a pin at a target).

Hmmmm....

A cute frog on Maya's shoulder.

Aidan's favourite meal - zaru soba (with tempura sometimes).

We moved around THAT much that we traveled between cities with these suitcases in tow.

Lunch on the bullet train.

On the shinkan-sen.

Aidan buying train tickets with Grampa (in Tokyo).

One of several shrines that we visited.

A cool dessert on a hot day in Tokyo.

Hiroshima on Memorial Day.

Miyaji-shima: notice the non-symmetrical vertical posts (they are real tree trunks).

Up close...you can only walk out that far when the tide is out.

You'll have to ask Scott and Bertha how cool they were trying to be.

I didn't buy it.