Easy as pie

Apple pie anyone?
Step 1. make the pastry, then roll it out.
I sprinkle a bit of flour on the bottom pastry to prevent the crust from getting soggy.
Next step, slice apples. My super-duper-apple-peeler-corer-slicer was being moody - a bit like a teenager. One moment it was awesome, cooperative and hard working, the next moment it was refusing to peel the apple, getting all jammed up, and just being a pain in the neck. Sort of like an eyeball rolling, door-slamming, dramatic teenager. But, after a stern lecture, the super-duper-apple-peeler-corer-slicer had no choice but to listen to reason and peel, core and slice the apples as any other well behaved peeler-slicer-corer would do. *phew*

Where was I? Right. The pies. Sprinkle apples with sugar , spice and everything nice, then put the apples in the pie thingy.
For every 8 apples I use
1/3 cup white sugar,
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp flour
some cinnamon, I don't measure it, but maybe 2 tsp? more?
Dash of nutmeg and cloves (if I can find it in my cupboard)
Roll out the top pastry, making some slices in the top. I used a small cookie cutter to cut out a star shape in the centre. You can freeze the pies now and bake them later, which is what I did, or you can bake them right away. Wait. Before baking, brush the top of the pie with an egg wash. (1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp of cream or milk.) This just makes the pie shiny.
Bake for 10 minutes at 425* then turn the oven down to 350* and bake for another 30 - 40 minutes of until the pie is sort of bubbling and nice and golden brown. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven. mmm.
I also made 4 pecan pies.
See?

Heather's (non)gingerbread house

Heather made a sweet (get it...sweet? *groan*) gingerbread house at school. Actually, it is made with graham crackers, not gingerbread, but still...sweet.
Oh, hi Trinity! Heather was kind enough to share her house with all her sisters, and Tom, too.
Grace's gingerbread house was completely devoured on the way home! Yum.

Jana and Christie

Our friend Jana came over last week for dinner. Jana isn't able to visit too often as she lives in Whistler, but it is always great to see her when she comes to the island. The kids absolutely love Jana, too. Jana also introduced us to her friend Christie, who is great!
Here we are around the dinner table. Christie, Jana, Felicity, Eva, Heather, Thomas, Trinity, Mary, Grace, and me.You guys are so funny! But, seriously, I am trying to take a picture here, ladies.Thank you, Christie. Thank you, Jana. Good times... good times...

We had a yummy Greek feast, with roast potatoes, spanakopita, pita bread, tzatziki sauce, lemon oregano grilled chicken (Jana & Christie are vegetarians, so no chicken for them.) grilled eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and a Greek salad. It was so fun to have some (more) girls in the kitchen, washing, slicing, and chopping the veggies. Thanks so much for coming over, Jana and Christie!
Christie--I was telling you about the jade plant getting flowers, well, yesterday I was watering them and ...ta da! Flowers!

phonics for (ADHD) kids

Trinity loves playing games on the computer. She is so good at them, too. Well, Gregory bought this seemingly cute , educational game for Cin-cin to play. It is called 'Phonics for Kids' and is for ages 3-8. It is the most bizarre (not to mention difficult) computer game for 3 year olds I have ever seen. It starts off fairly innocent, then it just gets...weird.I can just imagine the guys who developed this game.
Jim: "So... we've got a cuddly little raccoon, that collects letters and fruit in a maze."
Bob: "Whoa, Jim! What are you, some sort of sissy? Ya gotta add a few ADHD dinosaurs in there, too. Jeez."
Jim: "Oh, man, that would be so cool. And the dinos EAT the raccoon!"
Bob: "Yeah, ha ha ha ...totally."
Jim: "Ha Ha. What do you think about adding a mental case skinny dude in a cape with a sawed off shot-gun that just randomly pops up and shoots the Raccoon in the face?"
Bob: "Awesome! ha ha ha."
Jim: "What should we call this crazy- insane game?"
Bob: "um....Phonics for Kids."
Jim: "Perfect!"
Bob & Jim together: "ha ha ha ha ha ha ..."

I had to get a picture to show just how insane this game is. Look at that creepy guy! Purple tights? A cape? Really? Splotches of blood around the raccoon's head? This is so wrong. I can't stop laughing about it though.

Queen of Angels Christmas Concert

Another great Christmas concert! This one was the school's Christmas show, and definitely one of my faves.Grades K to 6 put on the show, which included poems, songs, and short skits.
I'm sure there are a few of our kids there... somewhere! The pictures are not great, or even good.
Trinity had to sit on Daddy's lap as we were only able to get 2 tickets. The show was completely sold out.
Mary Margaret is an *angel.
*(or at least plays one at Christmas concerts.)
This was a great dance performed by the grade fours. I really had to look hard for Thomas and finally saw that he was wearing a beard, purple hat and a red jacket. The boys and girls actually had to dance together! *how icky!*
This was my favorite dance! Heather is the on the very far right hand side. The girls were all 'Suzy Snowflakes', dancing and skipping around together and then the boys came in with their shovels, and the little 'snowflakes' ran away. ohmygosh it was so cute!
I don't have any children in this play, but it was so sweet and nice to have a Christmas concert that actually has something to do with the birth of Jesus.

show time

The kids were very excited to dance on Wednesday night. The highland dancing was great, and the music (Cowichan pipes & drums) was awesome.
Heather (yes, your shoes are on the right feet!), Amanda, Grace, and Trinity are all in a dance together.
The little dancers are supervised downstairs until it is their turn to dance. Hi Cin-cin!
Grace and Trinity, colouring. Grace is already starting to look a wee bit messed up.
Hi, Heather. Having fun with your friends?
After the performance. Yes, Grace is definitely messy and totally wild! Heather is *perfect*.
Backstage with Heather, Grace and Trinity. Trinity is so pleased with herself! The girls were wonderful dancers. I am so proud of all of you.
The girls were very thirsty after all that jumping around under the spot lights.
Mary Margaret also did a fantastic dance on stage. I wanted to get a picture of her in her costume, but by the time I got down to the change room, she was already dressed in her civvies.
Here is Mary in the very messy change room!

fun in the snow

The chess men look frozen.
Hi Eva...uh oh, look out for Thomas!
He has pretty good aim with a snow ball....just ask Eva!
Awww! Trinity decided to wear the hood from a bear costume instead of a toque. Too cute.
The kids are out again in the evening. Mary Margaret is building a snow fort and I think Grace is looking for trouble in the form of a snow ball fight!
Hey, Heather! want to make a snow man?

Forget the sled

Greg goes out on his dirt bike in the snow!
There was no traffic at all (not even a snow plow) so there was lots of room to ride.
doughnut, anyone?
It was amazing how deep the snow was!
Cool.

Vegas, Baby

How about a game of poker, Greg? Good idea, Kelly.
Add some wine and Bernard Callebaut chocolate bars, and you have a great idea!
Whoa! Gregory is really raising the pot! Felicity is in, and I totally folded. O.K, Greg, whatcha' got?
What the..? A Royal Flush!!?! That is the highest hand you can get in poker. Truly amazing!
What do you say, Greg? Vegas? I hear they have a Hermes store at the Bellagio.
Right, I'll start packing.

snow day

Wow! It was snowing pretty much all day today, which was kinda cool. The kids played outside for a bit, but were soon inside again, getting warm.Here is a picture of the backyard. It is still snowing. Brrr... Miss Mary Margaret was busy making chocolate chip cookies. Delicious!
Gregory put on a pirate story for the kids to listen to, as they all cuddled up nice and cozy with some blankets. Oh, and we all enjoyed some caramel chocolates, too.
Heather found a warm spot by the little fireplace, to sit, eat chocolates, and listen to the story.

whistle blower

Last week Grace went an a field trip to visit a ship. HMCS Whitehorse. The next day, the whole grade one class was given whistles. How cruel can you be to the poor teachers? Can you imagine 25 six year olds with whistles? ***shiver*** Of course, the first thing Gracie did when she woke up was...you guessed it...blow the whistle!
Well, that's one way to get everyone up in the morning.