Well well we have made it to March and the countdown to spring. Of course with it being slightly warmer I had to take advantage and photograph the kids! I have been lax in doing this of the whole group.

It was nice enough that we were able to photograph a couple of my completed crochet projects outside! Again check out Kristen’s Kords HERE!! She rocks!!!

Tinker Bell!

We had the Schwartz kids over again to watch while their folks were busy. Visits with them with parents or not have become a highlight of our weeks!

Miss Echo has totally embraced all sorts of creative imaginative play. Tea parties are so exciting for the stuffed critters and dolls in this house!

We finally opened our Chinese New Year lucky candy holders. That yummy strawberry candy is a family favourite.

We also have a new family member… Hugo Bear Dog generally known as Bear Dog… he joined us thanks to Amy Sue, the amazingly talented seamstress who is creating dresses for Shandai’s wedding! He is an instant hit and has become Echo’s new favourite snuggle buddy. I have to share her page HERE. I absolutely cannot wait to see how Shandai’s dress and my own turn out! They are going to be spectacular.

School has continued on swimmingly. I am so proud of the kids for trying their best to expand their knowledge and try to face the hard stuff with less and less whining and complaining.

Don’t forget about Dr. Seuss’ birthday! We had a added experience for the girls – Dr. Seuss themed activities at Lakeshore.

And food that suited our theme… red and white fruit to represent the Cat in the Hat’s hat… One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish jello with gummy fish… and eggs and ham (trust me… GREEN eggs does NOT go over well). I also had each of the kids write their own RHYMING book. Ken, Karyn and I worked out our own book. Talk about fun. Though the kids struggled a bit. You can find our resource post HERE.

Snow…

The igloo

Home Depot…

Lakeshore Saturday crafts…

A brief foray into pet ownership with the short lived TRIOP!

Movie night with popcorn at the YMCA! (101 Dalmations!!)

Don’t forget St. Patrick’s Day lunch (we did a minor unit this time… previous years have burned us out a little on that theme) but any chance to have a themed meal! You can find our resource page HERE.

Leprechaun escaped our trap once again!

Themed craft

End the month with… EASTER EGG HUNT!

And it was a well rounded month. March is always that little bit more packed when Easter is early April… Let’s see… Dr. Seuss, Home Depot fun, St. Patrick’s Day, early Easter activity… I think we can say we kept good and busy!

Yup July 1st has come and gone and we got our full Canadian groove on to celebrate!!! In fact, the kids felt that this was our best year… outside of living in Canada (of course) to date! Each year we are becoming more and more aware of the differences in our countries… of the hole not being back in Canada has made in our hearts… so it is absolutely wonderful to be able to spend a day holding tight to our traditions, memories and favourite things!

So we started our day with some fun worksheets thanks to Activity Village. We have done up crafts and other fun activities from their Canada section other years. I absolutely do not know what we would do without their amazing site! Check out their Canada printables and more HERE and stick around and peek through the rest. it is worth it!

Of course we decked out the front yard this year with our Canadian flags.. augmented once again with great thanks to Aunty Karyn! Dollarama how I miss you and your cheap but awesome things!

I also did up the little opening by our front door. I love that area for seasonal and holiday themed decorating.

We took tons of pictures.. sadly the boys are down to red and white but the girls and myself pulled our themed shirts out for another year. Proudly Canadian!

I gave them some down time for our holiday. It is hard to have a tradition fall on a week day that is not observed by the country you reside in. Everyone else goes on about their business while you want to scream THIS DAY IS SPECIAL! So we made it special.

Next we packed up a picnic snack, the kids, our art supplies and a blanket (oh and a flag) and headed of to the Walker Sculpture Garden. (talk about affordable fun.. 3.50 parking for the day and we were able to pass our still active parking pass along to another couple to use for them to continue the day) This is a place we have been multiple times and always enjoyed. Our plan: find a shaded corner, spread our blanket, pull out our Canadian Flag, art supplies and books and enjoy! And it was a total success!

Not only did another pair of Canadian stop by and say hi due to the flag but we also met a homeschool mamma who was so sweet about our set up. She totally recognized a homeschool family and was funny and kind. She even took a picture for us to remember our day. What a pat on the back that we would be so readily recognized as homeschoolers and for all the RIGHT reasons!

SNACKS!

The Sculpture Garden is a definite favourite for our entire family. So much beauty.

Add in dinner at Wendy’s where we got a SUPER deal on the kids’ meals since there was a mistake about how long a promotional price was on for and it was a capper to an awesome day. We even got our favourite cashier who has twin grandkids… non identical boy and girl as she describes them.

And now I will leave you with the extra images and one of my all time favourite vingettes…. Log Driver’s Waltz. I dare you  to listen and not want to sing and dance! I know I can’t do it!

And now for the overflow of images of our Canada Day!

Looking back at February with its chilly weather and indoor activities now that we are facing warm rain and hot sun has been a fun challenge… so sit back and enjoy my extra photos!

Puzzling Puzzles

This sweater was Aunty Karyn’s when she was a young girl!

Indoor snowfight!

Talking to Grandma after her brothers were done their birthday calls!

Absolutely styling

Princess Echo

Art!

D!

We got some sweet mail from Gammie as well!

And Aunty Heather!

New hats from Gammie

IKEA trip!

Not sure WHAT the reasoning would be for guns in IKEA???

Lasagna with the Schwartz family.

Home Depot WITH FRIENDS!

Keep on reading with BOOK IT!

And our Chinese New Year

And the best combo of Chinese word and fortune ever!