Giving Tree for Christmas

Brooklyn's school is doing a giving tree where a student chooses a leaf off the tree which includes a request for an item for a child who needs it. Brooklyn chose to give a leaf requesting a hat and mitts set. We bought a pair of gloves, a pair of mitts and a hat.

At Peyton's school, they have a similar program.
We chose a boy who is 2 and a girl who is 4 to match Erin and Peyton's ages.
We bought the boy a noisy tow truck, a pair of pants, 3 tops, underwear and socks.
We bought the girl a Furreal Purse Pup, a pair of jeans, a pair of pants, a t shirt and a fleece reversible jacket along with some socks.

We are very fortunate so we thought we could help someone who may not be so fortunate this Christmas.

Black Friday

Some of our Canadian company wanted to participate in a US tradition called Black Friday. It is the day after American Thanksgiving where all the retailers promote great bargains to get shoppers attention. Many of the sales started at midnight and some started around 4am. The Semplonius' and Todoroffs' were up for 3:30am to shop at Kohls and Walmart. They arrived back around 6:30 and 9am with GREAT deals in their minivans.

Bargains included:
Cricut Expressions system for $188.00 (scrapbooking tool) regularly $399 in Canada
Roomba - vaccuum for $100
Griddles - $10
Mini appliances - $4 & $10
Leapfrog activity table - $20
Ladies Winter Coats - $17
Children's Winter Coats - $10
Bath & Body Works - $15 for a $100 VIP bag

We are hoping this will become a yearly tradition and family will visit us around US Thanksgiving every year.

More feathered friends...

We have a bird feeder with sunflower seeds in it. We have many guests visiting each day. The feeder is empty before lunch time.

Thanksgiving Dinner

We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (in Canada or the USA). We had turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, buns, and stuffing/dressing along with pumpkin and apple pie. It was great to celebrate with everyone.

Thanksgiving guests - new cousin

The kids' new cousin Ainslie was here to celebrate Thanksgiving. She got a lot of love over the weekend.

Merry Madagascar!

One of the kids favorite movies is Madagascar. A new Christmas version (Merry Madagascar) came out so we invited 5 of our friends over to watch it.

More info on Brooklyn's school celebrations

In the last week, Brooklyn has celebrated the 50th day at school and Thanksgiving.
For 50's day, she had to dress up like they do in the 50's.
For Thanksgiving, they read an acrostic poem. Both videos are on her classroom blog.

www.misswilliamsclass.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving crafts

The girls completed turkey crafts as well using their handprints. The same verse is on each of them.

This isn't just a turkey as anyone can see

I made it with my hand which is a part of me!

It comes with lots of love especially to say,

I hope you have a very happy Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peyton made a turkey at school to wear. How cute!

SUPER Grover!!

Peyton LOVES Sesame Street and we watch it daily. Last week, Super Grover was on and the kids laughed the entire show. Afterward, they tried to be Super Grover. Remember he is quite clumsy when he lands.

Enjoying the Birds

We have put out some sunflower seeds for the birds and have seen many feathered friends. Cardinals, Blue Jays, Red headed something and chickadees. The kids are enjoying watching the birds come and go.

Singing in the Choir

Brooklyn has joined the Church Choir and sang for Saturday's 5pm Mass. I am sorry I missed it but look forward to the December performance. Papa, Daddy and Erin were able to enjoy the singing. They said it was great.

Mom's weekend away

On Friday, I left for Erie Pennsylvania with some friends and family - well, there were 50 of us. My mom and I have organized a bus trip for about 10 years from Canada. I met the bus at the hotel. Brad brought the kids and I so they could visit with their aunts and all their Grandmas. Papa Duguay came and stayed at our house in Ohio while we were in Erie.

Friday night we shopped at Kohls and Walmart. Saturday morning we went to Kmart and Cracker Barrel. Saturday afternoon, we went to the Millcreek Mall. We went out for dinner on Saturday night at the Quaker Steak and Lube. Sunday morning, we went to Target and Babies R Us. Brad met us there and we headed home to Ohio, only after buying a new washer and dryer at Best Buy.

We got some amazing deals on clothes and fun stuff for the kids. Christmas Countdown is on.

Practice makes almost Perfect!

Brooklyn has been working hard on her sight word list from school. The teacher gives the children a list of words to memorize and then they are quizzed on them monthly. Brooklyn made HUGE improvements this last month going from 28 out of 50 to 67 out of 75. Great job!! Our goal was 80 out of 100 by the end of the calendar year and now we know that won't be hard to do!

Erin's School Pictures

Her school pictures arrived.

Things you can't get here...

I know a lot of Canadians come to the United States to buy things you can't get in Canada. Well, the same is true, as there are things you can not get here (that I know of) that I enjoyed in Canada. Here is a start of a list.

• Ketchup Chips
• Tim Hortons (none in Ohio yet)
• Diana Sauce for sweet and sour meatballs
• Kraft Dinner (they have Kraft Macaroni and Cheese - it is not the same)
• Skor Bits (for baking)

We do have many other benefits like 1 gallon of milk for $1.99 and turkeys for as low as $0.40 a pound. Can you imagine that in Canada?

Getting ready for the Colts game today

Since Daddy is at the game in Indy, I thought I should get the kids ready for cheering on the Colts.

Family Portraits

We finally had our family portraits taken today. We haven't had it done since Peyton was 6 months old.

Brooklyn's First Grade Report Card

We met with Brooklyn's first grade teacher as the first grading period is complete. The teacher had very kind words for Brooklyn and mentioned that she is always willing to cheer up her friends when they seem down or unhappy. She will go to the person who is alone and offer them a friend or a smile. We were the most proud of these characteristics.

Her report also indicated she is outstanding at the following:

• respects the rights of others
• respects authority

She is doing well in Math and Language and is working hard on her reading and writing. She is really enjoying Art and Music as well.

We are very proud of her transition to Ohio and a new school. She still misses her friends in Tavistock and talks of them frequently.

She has been selected for school picture retakes so let's hope for a great smile!

Peyton's Progress Report from Young Explorers

On Thursday, Peyton brought home his progress report. Here are the highlights.

"Peyton is a bright, happy and unbelieveably sweet child. It is a true pleasure to have him in our class."

The teacher is very kind.

"He is inquisitive, capable and eager to learn...Peyton is doing a great job sharing and getting along with the other children in the class."

So glad to hear he behaves at school.

He knows all of the letters of the alphabet and 7 of 11 of the colours. He knows most of his shapes and the most important of the body parts. He has mastered puzzles - this is his favourite/favorite thing to do right now.

Peyton's school picture

His school picture has arrived. A typical smile for our little man.

Our new niece - Ainslie Marg Todoroff

Brad drove to Canada on Sunday to surprise his family and see our beautiful new niece. Baby Todoroff has arrived. She was born on Friday November 6th and weighed 6 lbs 7 oz. I can't wait to meet her! Congratulation Denise, Darrell and big brother Logan.

Raking Leaves

Raking leaves is like Chinese food - you could do it again in three hours. Brad has worked really hard to try and keep up with the leaves. I think we are done raking for this season.

Canadian Company

My friends Stacy and Patty came for the weekend and we had a great time. They arrived in time to meet Brooklyn off the school bus. We had a family dinner and then we headed out for some later night shopping at Target and Walmart. On Saturday, we went shopping some more and then hit Steak N Shake for a late lunch. Brooklyn and Erin went with us. We shopped some more and then came home for dinner. Stacy and Patty brought some colouring books and a painting project (a piggy bank) for all the kids. We also played outside on the play centre. It was really great to have them come - the kids loved it. I hope they will come again.

School Fun - Dads and Donuts

On Tuesday, Brad went to school with Brooklyn at 7:45am. It is called Dads and Donuts. They can have a treat of donuts and other breakfast food and then can show their Dads their classroom etc. Here is a picture.

Birthday Party invitation

Erin was invited to a birthday party for a friend from school. It was a Princess party and she had to dress up as a princess. The children had their hair done, their nails done and then did some dancing. To her surprise, a "real" princess came to the party. Here are some pictures.

Erin's Skeleton

Using macaroni - a skeleton. Teachers are so creative.

Brooklyn's Bat

She made this from tracing her hands to make wings.

Pumpkin Completed and House ready for the kids

Grandma was dressed as a Ghost at the doorway - the kids thought she was an Angel. How nice.

Trick or Treating

Daddy and Peyton went with the kids for the first few houses - Curious George and Ron Duguay.

The kids had fabulous costumes - Tinker Bell, Sharpay, Hannah Montana, Power Ranger and Dorothy (her shoes were red sparkling too!).

New Flag at the Duguays

With the Colts record at 7-0, the American Flag has been replaced. Brad is looking forward to going to see the Colts play.

Pumpkin Carving

I have these kinda out of order. We got a pumpkin on Saturday Oct 31 and carved it in the afternoon. Some of us liked it and some did not.

Time with Grandpa

Peyton loved spending time with Grandpa when he was here. He was never far from his side.

Sleeping..

Brooklyn and Peyton went to lay in our bed and watch TV. When we came upstairs, this is what we found.

Baking Cookies with Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa were here for the Hallowe'en weekend. We spent some time baking as well.