Winter Wonderland!

This weekend was weird since winter arrived way too early. Middle of November, and we were stranded because of a snowstorm. Snow fell to about 4 to 6 inches where we were, and the kids went crazy. I loved watching their wonder and feeling their excitement as they watched the flakes fall outside of the windows. Even better was hearing their shrieks of fun and laughter once they got all of their winter gear on and went out there to play in it! The first morning, we all woke up early, and I am positive we were the first family outside, and for sure the first to build a snowman in our yard! Warren tried to make them wait, but there was no keeping them in the warm house. On Sunday, Madison spent a solid SIX hours outside! Jacob was keen in his warm winter clothes, especially to eat the snow, but he didn't last as long as Mads did outside. After all of the fun, we warmed up with hot chocolate and whipped cream. Here are some photos from our first weekend of winter - a full month early!

Wild and wacky "W" week 2

This week, we listened to classical composers such as Wagner and ate walnuts and wings. We paid lots of attention to the weather and Jacob played with his truck named "Whopper".

The kids had fun reading our "Where's Waldo?" books:

We finally hung the magnetic bars that make up the kids' art walls:

We walked in the woods:

And visited Walley Creek:

Madison made a sugar crystal in science class this week and spent a lot of time watching and waiting:

We ate watermelon:

Madison and Jacob painted with water:

We made a wax paper leaf creation:

We read lots of "W" books:

And of course, coloured lots of "W" pictures:

Madison and I started a weaving craft kit:

We borrowed a scale from school and had fun weighing things around the house (here Mads is weighing the whole world!):

I bought the kids whistles ages ago, and just pulled them out this week. Jacob was terrified to even try his, but Mads was keen, and it quickly became an "outside toy only":

I baked white chocolate raspberry muffins:

Jacob and I read some of this book:

And Mads and I read lots of this one:

Jacob created this woodpecker:

He also wore his wood turtle shirt this week:

Madison worked hard on a project:

She also wrote a "W" poem in the shape of a worm:

Grandad played Playdoh with Jacob and made this worm family:

And Madison worked on a reading lesson all about worms:

Our paper plate "W" web craft:

Our Sabbath school craft this week was wreaths of plants of the Bible:

And finally, these "W" treats helped me through a very stressful week:

"W" proved to be busy and full! There were many things on our list that we didn't get to do! We didn't ride the waterslide at the local pool, we didn't take any pictures of our local wildlife (deer and rabbits), we didn't visit Westwood Lake or Wild Play, and we didn't watch any "W" movies (such as Willy Wonka, Free Willy, or Wall-E).

Week ONE of "W"

In this first week of "W", we drove on roads with names like Wellington, Wills, and Wakesiah. We washed dishes, clothing, toys, floors, and ourselves. We walked, worried, wept, wondered, and worked. We drank water and wine, and ate waffles, wheat, and Werthers. We started off the week waking up in Washington state. We went to the Wellington branch of the library. We talked about reducing waste.

Once home, the kids really got a kick out of the book "Wacky Wednesday":

We ate wafer cookies:

We drove by Walmart:

Nana styled Madsy's hair in waves:

Madison bought herself the Webkinz Pet of the Month:

We went for a wet and windy walk to our favourite beach to watch (and wade in) the waves:

Jacob and Madison had a Webkinz tea party:

Only in a house with a truck-loving kiddo would you find a bin of random wheels:

While on the ferry home from Washington, we saw these signs:

While on the ferry, we ate burgers from here:

One of the favourites in our playroom is the big whiteboard:

For Friday night dessert, I baked white chocolate cheesecake with wildberry sauce and whipped cream:

We went to Winners...:

...which is in this mall:

For Sabbath school this week we learned about "Who is My Neighbour?":

Madison did a bunch of word-searches:

We learned of ways to worship God, one of which is wearing our best clothes to church:

As always, we coloured:

This week also marked Remembrance Day so we wore poppies, watched the ceremony on TV, read a book about World War I...

... and made poppy wreaths: