March break pix

Okay, I know March break was like 6 weeks ago, and I've the pix for a while, but only now am getting around to posting them.

Monday we had a home-day. We did some cooking/baking to prepare a meal for a friend who had purchased it as part of our church youth group fundraising for their Service Trip. Every March break the youth go somewhere to do a week of service. This year it was New York to work with homeless people. It takes money to make these trips happen, so they do fundraising throughout the year, such as hosting chili lunches at church. For a few years they've had an auction of "goods and services" where people in the church donate things they can make or do and others buy them, with the proceeds going towards the youth service trip. My family donated a "take-out meal" for sale, and it was purchased by JH. So on Monday of March break we made some buns, cupcakes, and a pot of tomato curry - then delivered it later in the week, on Thursday. So here are the kids making buns with Laolao - and trying out some out-of-the-ordinary face decorations in the process.

Tuesday we went skiing. A teenage friend (who wasn't on the service trip) joined us and accompanied Mustang on the slope. I paid for an hour of private lessons for Button, but we couldn't get a teacher until about 11:30 so for the first few hours I ran up and down the bunny hill with him as he got used to his skis. When the instructor joined us, he'd gotten the feel of sliding already, though needed work on technique. He had some trouble turning his feet in to make a snowplough shape, so at first she attached a rubber thingie to the front of his skiis so the tips had to stay together, and after a run or two that way he got the idea a bit better. They stayed mostly on the bunny hill, but she did take him down the big hill for one run, and he did okay.

After skiing, we drove up to a friend's house in the Gatineau hills and had supper, then stayed for the night (as I was too tired and stiff to battle the trail down to the road where the cars were parked - his steep driveway was blocked owing to the previous week's snowstorms that dumped 50 cm of snow in the area). Here Mustang and Button are doing some artwork on his living room coffee table.

Wednesday morning we drove back to town, heading right to the museum and spending the day there. When we finally got back home, I took a few pictures of the snow piles around our house.

Thursday we went to the local huge indoor playground with a school friend of Mustang's. Then on Friday, we visited the Farm in the morning, painted some ceramics in the afternoon, and at supper went to Mustang's favouritet Chinese restaurant to celebrate her third Family Day. Wow! Three years already! Here is a picture of Mustang with a bunny at the Farm.