Thanksgiving Dinner and Mt Baker!

This week was short week in that there were only three days of school and then we had Thanksgiving break on Thursday and Friday. This also acts as the end of Term 1. 

Sunday we visited the host family, Jan and Rianne. Our girls got on well with their girls.

Shantel and Mya reading books!

 Thursday we had church in the morning and then in the afternoon we headed off to Henry and Corrie for dinner. We played games, enjoyed croquettes and then we had dinner. We were joined by Matt and Fio and what a feast! A huge turkey (!), mashed spuds, veggies, salad, hash browns and good old Aussie meatpie. Later we had dessert with selections being apple pie, pecan pie, lemon meringue, pavlova and rice pudding. It was really an enjoyable evening and we could reflect with thankfulness on the blessings we could experience in the past year, in particular, the last 4 months. Friends, house, employment and the opportunity to experience life in another country!

Henry cutting up the turkey!

Dinner is served!

Vincent

Jaclyn, Alec, Stefan and Hannah

 Since Friday was also a day off school, Steve, Jaclyn, Stefan, Elissa and Craig went up to Mt Baker to go snowboarding, skiing. We were allowed to borrow gear from different people so all decked out, they hit the snow. Initially they practiced a bit on the bunny hill, and then got on the lifts and headed for the slopes. Steve was quietly impressed by the way Stefan and Jaclyn caught on and they put it down to their skills on the ripstik. They come home tired and exhausted and Saturday morning they woke up sore! Stefan had a basketball game with a team from Canada but somehow he still managed to play!

Jaclyn

Steve

Stefan

Saturday was busy with the usual baking. Here's Shantel grating potatoes for the soup.

There's nothing like the fresh smell of bread and buns!

Taleesha

That's it for this week. Thanks for visiting!

Wreaths, anniversary and dinners!

Well, it was a busy week again! Monday we had Emily and Sophia for the afternoon. Bernice was looking after the girls but since she coaches girls' basketball practice after school, they came to our place and played with Shantel and Taleesha. They had a ball!

Sophia did the cooking and serving while Taleesha sat in the diner

A tea party with fruit and M&Ms. Yum!

Very busy drawing pictures!

Wednesday and Thursday were wreath and swag day making. I went on the Wednesday. It was done in the Veldman shed which is nicely decked out with the wood heater in the centre, tables throughout one side, a kids corner, a bunch of chairs, and a kitchen area with microwave and stoves! The ideal setting for lots of cuttings and mess. We had orders to fill for approx 70 wreaths and just under 20 swags. So with Debbie Faber as my tutor (!), I was taught how to make my very own wreath. The first in my life!! There was cuttings/branches of fir, cedar, spruce and no doubt a few more and from that, you get bunches and lay them on a ring with spikes which you hammer down to secure. They need to withstand the 'shake' test because when the 'north westerly' wind comes howling your way, you don't want your wreath, or parts of it, to go with it!!! I managed to get three done. Lunch was soup and buns. It was a very enjoyable day with lots of chatter......and work!

The Shed. Woodfire on the left bottom corner behind the lattice

 A wreath almost completed 

My tutor Debbie on the left!

A stack of wreaths waiting the final touches of cones and a bow. Sorry it's a bit blurry.

Enjoying lunch

A completed wreath and swag

The wreath I 'earned' for getting more than 8 orders!

Hanging at the front door

And on Thursday we celebrated our 21st wedding anniversary! Where has that time gone?

God has richly blessed our marriage and through happy times and sad, we know He is ever near and we pray for His continued blessing in the years ahead, also being away from Anthea and family and friends. Thank you for all the well-wishes and phone calls we received! Certainly different not having any family around! We had a roast dinner at home as Jaclyn had an early game of indoor soccer in the evening.

Roast dinner at home

1992

2013

In the evening Bill and Hester came for a cuppa, and later on Marvin and Bernice which was very nice. 

Friday was the scheduled bi-annual event of Dine and Dash. This is done in the spring and the fall. Everyone chooses to host either appetizers, mains or dessert and then you also go to the other two. So we hosted appetizers and had prawn cocktail, spring rolls and mini quiches with 3 couples. We started in prayer/devotions and then had our starters and then headed off to the next couple's place for mains. And at every place, we met up with a different group. We had gourmet (self cooking) at the Harvey and Lisa's which was great fun. And then our desserts was at Henry and Shirley with another bunch of couples. It was a great way of meeting up with people, most we had already met but in very relaxing setting. Great work organizers - it would have been a lot of work to make it all happen!

Gourmet for mains

Coffee and dessert

Saturday was our last session of bootcamp. Oh, getting up at 6:45am on a Saturday morning when it's 1 degrees outside, is hard! And an hour of jogging, squats, pushups and pushing weights along the gym floor makes a hot shower when you get home very relaxing! 

Today (which is still Saturday) Jaclyn and myself did lots of baking. Tomorrow DV is baptism and coffee social for  John and Janice's little girl, and so being on the roster for setting up and baking, I needed to supply 5 dozen of baked goods! So we made koek, brownies, muffins and boterkoek. I also experimented with my raisin bread and did half choc chips. Looks pretty cool and tastes okay too!

We celebrated our anniversary with a chinese dinner and then headed to church for a organ concert. 

Lovely way to finish off a busy week!

We continue to enjoy sunny but very cool weather! Very deceiving! We had rain one day last week and with the clear but cold nights, it turned into ice! So we had ice puddles, ice in the ditches and ice in the bottom of the tyre swing!

Do you remember this picture taken late September?

Here's another taken last week. Notice no leaves!

That's all for this week. Next week we have Thanksgiving and by the sounds of it, it's a BIG thing!

Thanks for visiting!

Mt Baker, a snowman and little Charlie!

Well, it's been another busy/eventful week!! Monday was a holiday for the teachers and students due to Veterans/Rememberance Day. We did a few jobs around the house, one of them raking the leaves around the tree and garden bed on the front. Stefan came with the atv and cart, and Shantel jumped in and packed the leaves! Stefan then hauled them away.

We then headed up to Mt Baker. Some of us had thick jackets, beanies, mittens and snowpants and so we were ready to test out the snow.

We went as high up as we could go (Heather Meadows) and after donning our warm things, headed for some snow. We soon learnt that 1. your hands get cold without mittens, 2. Without waterproof shoes, wet socks feels terribly cold and eventually very cold, 3. everyday runners have no grip and 4. kids boots instead of snow boots also lets snow in and consequently you get wet socks and cold feet!

Despite all that, we now know what to get! And we still had fun! We found an area that was level and Steve made a snowman with a little bit of help from the girls! Shantel just couldn't work it out. She asked, "but where's the snow?". I think she meant snow means it's snowing ie falling snow!!

We had a great time but Taleesha did not like cold and wet feet. We had taken a thermos of hot water and made hot chocolate and coffee to warm up again.

Then one Tuesday, the 12th, my sister Teresa and Alex had their long awaited baby, a boy, Charlie Adrian! So Connor has a brother! You certainly feel the miles being so far away and not being able to give a cuddle! He looks like a Selles to me!

Charlie Adrian!

We had women's study society again this week as well as wreath and door swag ordering for another school fundraiser. So Shantel was our little sales lady and she wooed her customers with a very convincing little speech and then hands them the order form and pen without any possibility that they might not want one. But everyone is very keen and generous, and so we got orders for 9 wreaths ($15) and 12 swags ($8). Next week Wednesday and Thursday we hope to make them in someone's shed all decked out with a fireplace and all. Should be very cosy!

It's steadily getting colder. Weather forecasts keep predicting 'possible' snow or snow rain but weather in Sumas is very unpredictable due to the mountains and valleys etc (or something to do with that!).

A new book, The Adventures of Curious George, arrived in the mail, so after her bath, Taleesha wasted no time in checking it out!

Saturday (today) Steve was doing some marking, and these two little monkeys thought they'd come and help him!

Stefan got this set for his birthday when he turned 4 years old and it continues to be a highlight. The girls happily hammered away for at least half and hour!

That's it from us. Thanks for visiting!

America is big!

For a while we've been observing how everything in America is big! Big cars (trucks), motorhomes, and even food packaging. So here's some pics of what we've come across so far.

A huge jar of Nutella

Jam, gerkins, 5 litres of disinfectant, and dishwashing liquid

Coffee anyone?

Bulk buys - from flour to rice to cereals and nuts. This is one aisle, there were four!

Crane fly against a 20c coin

Float plane

Halloween pumpkins

XXL bag of M&Ms

Tortillas - not 12 to a bag but 40!

Loo paper - 30 to a bag

Milk - one gallon (3.78l)

A truck or dually: from the back they look like a frog with the car
 body extending outward due to dual tyres on either side.

Motorhome/coach

Photo's a bit blurry but they're hard to catch! It's a truck with a loooong hitch

I thought it was just very interesting how so many things come in big packages! Stores such as Costco and Winco specialise in selling bulk and of course, it's more cost effective too, as long as you know your prices!

Hope you enjoyed this post! Thanks for visiting!