Peyton's class

Here is a picture of Peyton's class at school. He is one of the oldest in the class.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is some artwork from Peyton and Brooklyn. Peyton was painting with a Green Pepper - how creative. Brooklyn painted a leprechaun.

Ready for the Rain

Spring is coming quickly and we already had some rainy days. Peyton is all ready for them with his bright yellow rubber boots and raincoat.

More Maple Syrup running today...

The Maple Syrup Man

Recently, we had friends here from Canada who have made maple syrup from trees on their farm. Brad picked up some 'taps' when we were in Canada at the beginning of March as we have 4 maple trees in the backyard. Last Monday, Brad 'tapped' the trees. He used the bright orange Home Depot buckets to catch it. It was a very cold night but the next day was beautiful - great for collecting sap. Brad flew to Minnesota on Tuesday so I was on 'sap' duty. He left me a 2L Tupperware container to put the sap in and then I was to put it in the fridge. On Tuesday after school, I checked on the sap buckets. OH MY!! We had almost 10 gallons of sap in less than 24 hours. I found more buckets and buried these full buckets with the lids on in the snow to keep them cold.

Our experience intrigued the neighbors. A couple doors down, the family also tapped their trees.
You know you live near Canadians when.....

Brad arrived home on Friday and proceeded to boil the sap in a propane powered turkey cooker in the driveway. Almost 3 days of boiling and we have about 2L of maple syrup in the fridge.

I am very proud of Brad's work and it was a great experience for our kids too!

Peyton's Spring School picture

When did he get to be such a big boy?

Formally five...

We had pictures taken for her fifth birthday and here is one of them.

Happy Birthday Erin!

This week, Erin turned five!! We had cake and she got this cool shirt from her brother. She also got a DS from Mom and Dad, a Wizards of Waverly Place DS game from Brooklyn and a camera, lots of clothes and games from the rest of the extended family.

Ohio Driver's License for Laura

I put off this task since August when we moved here. In February, I finally went to the Dept of Motor Vehicles and wrote my written driver's test. This is something I had not done since I was 16 years old. I studied more this time because I had to keep converting the speed limits and measurements into miles and feet.

You are able to get 11 wrong and still pass - I got 5 wrong so I passed. One of the questions was about how long a suspension would be for not taking a breathalizer..24, 36, 72 or 96 hours. I still have no idea and don't plan to find out.

After the written test, I had to do a driving test with the state trooper. I passed the road test with only 2 sharp left turns. You are allowed to get 26 marks against you. I had 6. I was proud of my extra careful driving. Then, the maneuverability test ( I can hardly spell that!). I had to pull the card into a lane with pylons on each side and then pull to one side. The trooper then asked me to back up through the lane I just came through. I drove Brad's Toyota as I can see much easier in it for backing up. I thought I was clear and WHACK!!! I hit the pylon - therefore, I failed! I couldn't believe it. Twenty years after doing parallel parking, I failed my driving test. The really funny thing is - I was still able to drive home. I have a valid Ontario driver's license which is good here for at least one year. The following week, I went back and passed the test. Thank Goodness! It was one of the most embarrassing things to happen to me. Brad called me Crash for a day or so. All I promise everyone is that I won't park their car or at least not close to anything. I don' t mind the walk.

Fighting Unicorns pictures

Here is the team photo and Brooklyn's trading card for basketball. The team has four coaches and there is some significant height differences. Brad is the second shortest at 6'2".

Cheerio O's

Erin is working on her letter O. Here is some art she did at school. It is a close second to my favorite macaroni art. In class, they had oranges, black olives, and green olives for the kids to try.

Canadian cuties

Before the Olympic hockey game, we dressed up to support our Canadian athletes. We also put Canadian flags on the front of the house to celebrate the win - probably the only house in Ohio.

Peyton loving the snow...

Peyton always wants to go out in the snow when all the kids are outside. He keeps up with all of them.

Canadian snowman

Daddy made a snowman who is Canadian and HUGE!

Snowmen

We made some snowmen.

The kids enjoyed the sunshine outside and worked hard with friends.

Dr. Seuss' Birthday

At Erin and Peyton's school, they celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday. The library here also had a celebration. Here is some art Peyton made with his foot to honor Dr. Seuss.

Visitors on the weekend

More Tavistock friends came to visit and the girls had a blast. They played lots of dress up and did some colouring on the new whiteboard to show the Moms and Dads. Pictures to come.

Basketball - Fighting Unicorns

Here are a couple pictures from the game on the weekend. The girls played much better than the first week and are learning new skills all the time.