Have You Ever Eaten a Dinosaur?

A strange question you ask? Perhaps. But then perhaps not.

We recently visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. We were very happy with our last minute decision to join a free guided tour of the museum. Our guide was fabulous and really engaged the girls during the visit.

During our visit to the dinosaur exhibit, we learned that dinosaurs have a hole in their hip joint in which the leg bone hooks into. In order for an animal to be called a dinosaur, it must have this feature. Birds today have this same feature. Hence they can be labeled a dinosaur!

T-Rex: Yes, he was a fierce predator!
Just look at those teeth!

Hole in the hip = dinosaur

Our tour guide Wayne showing us an early non-dinosaur.

So the next time Thanksgiving or Christmas rolls around, you can inform your guests that you will be serving roast dinosaur with stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes!

March Break in NYC

We are back from our road trip to New York City. The whole family had a fabulous time! We did a lot of walking and saw many famous NYC landmarks. We were glad to park the car for the duration of our stay and let someone else do the driving!

So many choices at a local NYC diner!

Hanging in out in Times Square! So bright, you would think it was daytime!

Our hotel was a short walk from Times Square, which meant we were close to everything. The day it was raining we took a cab.
Things we did during our 3 days/4 nights in the Big Apple:
- visited the top of the Empire State Building (movie reference: An Affair to Remember, Sleepless in Seattle)
- walked up Fifth Avenue from 34th Street to Central Park
- visited the public library at Bryant Park: glad to walk up the main steps and not have huge waves rushing towards us or a massive tanker floating down Fifth avenue! (movie reference: The Day after Tomorrow)
- had a coffee break in the atrium behind the Trump tower
- danced on the big piano at FAO Schwarz
- visited the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- visited to American Museum of Natural History (saw some the characters, including the Easter Island head from the movie "Night at the Museum".)
- strolled through Central Park on our way to visit the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Saw some interesting Egyptian artifacts there.
- saw Disney's The Lion King on Broadway. Fabulous!!!!!
- walked around Rockefeller Centre and visited the Top of the Rock at night.
- ate cheesecake at Juniors and chili dogs, pretzels and knishes from street vendors.
- cruised around the tip of Manhattan by boat, saw the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn bridge.
- let the cab driver do the driving!

At the top of the Empire State Building

Disney's The Lion King on Broadway! Hakuna Matata!

"There are a lot of taxi's in NYC and not a lot of cars and trucks."
(comment overheard from Kyra's conversation with Mana)

La chorale chante

Voici le vidéo de la chorale d'école qui chante à Radio-Canada samedi dernier.

Radio and Hot Chocolate!

Yesterday morning, the girls were singing with their school choir at 'Un air de fête', hosted by Radio-Canada (CBC). It was a fun morning with a visit with Santa, a bite to eat, a visit to the arts and crafts table and of course singing on the radio.

We had lunch at Quesada (Que-quoi-quoi? as Kyra first inquired!) It was delicious but had a "sweat" attack with the habanero sauce and the salsa roja!!

On our way out of the downtown core, we saw the signs for Toronto's Winter Market. I've heard the advertisements on the radio and wanted to check it out. Also on the way in to town, we saw the ferris wheel and huge Christmas tree in the middle of the Distillery District. I didn't realise how popular this event was! I couldn't believe the extra 'event' parking down by the lakeshore. "Nah, it can't be that busy!" "Yes it is!" After driving around the block and almost giving up, we ended up in the overflow event parking. 

I wish we were a little more dressed for the event. But since it was a last minute decision we made the best of it (including warming our toes in Soma, the chocolate store with a couple of hot chocolates!) I would definitely go back another time, dressed in extra layers. I am sure it is also pretty in the evening with all the lights. 

Taiko Weekend

This weekend was a taiko weekend. 

I spent all day on Saturday at Sugino Studios taking part in the filming of a promotional video for Yakudo. What an awesome and interesting experience. Seeing the behind the scenes of what goes into shooting perhaps a 5 minute song. We spend most of the morning standing on the set as the crew set the lighting and camera angles. We played through the song a couple of times. Then they filmed some people playing sections of the song so that they could get close-up footage and different angles. 

While I was at the studio, Eric and Kyra took Alia to her riding lessons then they went to McDonald's for lunch. I'm sure it was almost a free lunch because Eric cashed in all his Monopoly winnings!! They then came home and raked up the leaves and 'winterized' the yard.

Sunday, Alia and I spent most of the day at the JCCC for Road to Asia. Today was Alia's taiko debut! Her taiko class wrote their own song and performed it twice today. They did very well! After dropping us off this morning, Eric took Kyra to piano lessons and then they did the groceries. They came back to watch Alia perform with her taiko class and then went to rockclimbing lessons. Alia and I packed up the drums and went back to the studio to unload all our instruments and taiko. 

Now to sit and relax. 

A Family Monopoly Game!

Over the last two weekends, our family has been involved in a game of Monopoly. Not the new electronic version where everything is done for you. One doesn’t push a button to buy property or shake the iPad to roll the dice. Two weekends ago, our family pulled out the game board. 

It was the first time we played the original version as a family. Our family has been playing the Jr. version for years but this was the first time we played the original game from a box. How fun it was to watch our 8 and 10 year old mentally calculate prices of properties and make change for rents.

Our game lasted over two weekends (about 3 actual playing days). The final result: Our 8 year old cleaned up! We could no longer afford rents and had to negociate giving her our properties as payment. In the end, she owed the whole board! 

BTW, I also love the electronic version. More compact and easy to transport. But it calculates and adds funds into players’ accounts automatically. No thought required. No math skills required. 

Alia a.k.a. Barista Jr.

It's Sunday morning and all is quiet. I'm awake but not in a real rush to get out of bed. I hear noises coming from downstairs. 'That sounded like the coffee machine. Alia's making me a coffee!'

Part of me (over-protective mom) wanted to go downstairs and supervise. The 'anti-helicopter' parent in me said: Jo, wait and see. Be ready to run if you hear a scream but if you go downstairs now, there will be more disappointment than joy because the surprise will be ruined.

Sigh! Just another sign that the girls are growing up so quickly. Last night, Alia made delicious cookies all by herself. The only thing I did was get the bowl down from the top shelf of the cupboard, put the cookies in the oven and take them out and, I think most important of all, explain the difference between plastic wrap and parchment paper!! The cookies were a success!

I am proud to report this morning that the coffee was delivered to me in bed successfully and was delicious! Alia was very proud and pleased with her accomplishment and Kyra got a hot chocolate out of the deal. (There was extra steamed milk leftover after my coffee.

What a awesome way to start a Sunday morning! Thank you Eric for training our jr. barista!