Feels Like Spring!

The girls are playing with the basketball on the driveway, the garden clean-up is done for the day and nothing left but to put our feet up and relax!

Still can't believe how many yard waste bags we go through. The garden is very over grown and so little by little, we are trying to clear away the dead branches and prune the hedges. I think I filled a bag today just of dandelions.

This morning we went shopping for Alia's 1st communion outfit. I am very grateful for the fact that the kids will be wearing robes for mass next week. Hence, no need to go super crazy with the fancy dress and all. We found a nice sundress that Alia can wear this summer. Found shoes too. We were about to leave the mall when I realised that she didn't have any appropriate footwear to go with her new dress! The sandals we bought last week are too sporty and her school shoes are starting to show their wear and tear. Kyra was a good sport to tag along. We stopped at the Disney Store to buy t-shirts for our vacation and some extra sunglasses for Kyra. We also stopped to play on the computers at the Apple store (gotta love them!) and used the girls' Tim cards for a snack at Tim Horton's.

All in all a very good day!

Swimming Lessons and so much more!

We are just back from our Thursday evening swimming lessons. Both girls were swimming back and forth with their instructor. Alia even started doing 'catch up' front crawl arms. Kyra jumped into the pool at the end of class without holding on to the teacher's hands. It is impressive what they have been able to accomplish in just three lessons! Can't wait to see them swimming after their set of ten lessons.

Safety First!

The girls started swimming lessons last Thursday. They haven’t been in a while and Eric and I both felt they needed to learn how to swim properly. We found as small private pool nearby that offers semi private lessons (4:1) for a reasonable price. They focus more on swimming skills and technique, which is what we want. Other programs offering a water safety component is not necessary for we can cover that as parents. Both girls really enjoyed their lesson and are looking forward to next week.

Several weeks ago, Kyra asked to play my guitar. I let her sit on the couch and strum away. I asked her “Would you like to learn to play the guitar?” “Yes”, she said. “But I want to do swimming lessons first.”

“Ok”, I answered. “What about the piano?”

Kyra thought for a moment. “First swimming lessons, then guitar, then piano, then taiko, then flute.” There was a slight pause. “And then I would like to learn how to climb a tree.” She looked at me with a serious look and added, “but only after I ask an adult for permission!”

April 9th! Already??

Don’t know where the time has gone. All of a sudden, it is April. March Break is a distant memory. Easter has come and gone. And now we are heading into the mid-April weather blips, ranging from shorts and popscicle weather to “oh my goodness, how are my tulips and daffodils going to survive the overnight freezing and snow! “En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil.” I googled the expression to find a translation. One version gave me “don’t put your umbrella away yet”. Forget the umbrella, we use those year round. It should have read “don’t bother washing and packing away the winter jackets just yet” or “keep the mitts on hand” (especially if you are on morning yard duty)!!

This year, we invested in a family membership at the Ontario Science Centre. It is relatively close by and the deal was too good to pass up. The temporary Harry Potter exhibit opens this weekend. Don’t think we will be going on opening weekend but we will definitely visit the exhibit during it’s stay. From the news coverage, it looks really interesting. We have until August to find a time to go.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to the OSC and visited the Kidspark area and watched the IMAX movie Hubble. It was really interesting to learn about how the astronauts had to go up and fix the famous telescope and what kinds of information and pictures scientists are now receiving. Seeing a space shuttle liftoff on the big screen is pretty impressive too! (Maybe not as much as seeing one live but that’s a little harder to organize!) On our way home, we stopped by MacSushi for the end of day sale. Kyra had requested sushi for supper that morning and I was not sure I would get around to making it (especially after a day out). However, the price was right, and the sushi is fresh and very good for “shopping-mall-food-court” sushi. The Spicy Dynamite rolls are fabulous and usually my first choice (spicy salmon and shrimp tempura maki) however, ‘end-of-day-sales’ are usually ‘take-what-you-can-get’ and there was enough great selection to choose from. We brought our sushi home and I made a quick batch of inari-sushi to add to our meal (Alia prefers them over maki rolls)

It was also Earth Hour that evening, so we let the girls stay up a little later, unplugged everything, and played Clue Jr. but oil lamp and flashlight. Must say, that it was challenging to read the clues by candlelight. I don’t think it was as big of a success in Toronto as it was in 2009 (participation was down, according to news reports later) but we had fun.