Winter Adventures - Part 2

December was jammed packed with activities! Road trips, concerts, birthdays and Christmas parties, seasonal crafts and decorating, and then Christmas! Christmas with a 5 and 2 year old can be pretty intense but overall it was a fun, memorable time. 

We started off the month with a road trip to Saskatoon to see the live stage show Mickey Mouse Music Festival.  We made a couple stops along the way to see some sights, hit up the pool at the hotel and the morning of the show we visited the University of Saskatchewan to see some replica dinosaur bones! The girls had a blast at the show, dancing and singing along. 

Largest pysanka in the world, Vegreville, Alberta

Historic Delta Bessborough in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Museum of Natural History, a free self guided exhibit in the Geology / Biology Departments of the University of Saskatchewan 

Then came another highlight - going to see the Nutcracker! We had registered for tickets through our homeschool board, with the cost coming out of funding (bonus!).  I have never seen a live performance of the Nutcracker and Chloe was so excited to be dressing up and going to a ballet! Since the theatre was on the other side of the city, we took the LRT (Light Rail Transit for folks not in Edmonton, think above ground / below ground subway).  On the way there a young lady boarded the LRT and commented on how lovely my daughter looked and asked where we were off to.  Chloe excitedly exclaimed we were going to the Nutcracker! As it turned out, when she was younger, the young lady played one of the party girls, so her and Chloe talked dance till she got off at her stop.  As she was leaving a young gentleman was also departing but took a moment to talk to us.  He said he had overheard the conversation and just wanted to say what a bright, well mannered little girl I had.  Proud mommy moment right there!  

Riding the LRT to see the Nutcracker

When we arrived, we got some snacks, explored the theatre and then found our seats.  Chloe usually talks a mile a minute but she sat through the performance with a smile on her face and her eyes gleaming!  During intermission, we discussed the orchestra, instruments, and Russia and the Kremlin as it was on the backdrop.  Such a wonderful night!

The next few weeks were filled with a choir recital, birthday and Christmas parties, baking, decorating and playing in the snow! Mid month I made a batch of gingerbread play dough, it was a hit!  I found my recipe on Pinterest, so many great things on there! We still have it and it comes out once a week.  We keep it in an airtight glass container.  The girls helped make a few homemade presents, decorated some ornaments for the tree and on Christmas Eve, we went for a drive around the city and took in the Christmas lights.  

Cookie cutters and Gingerbread Playdough

Ready for a movie on Christmas Eve

Christmas Day was full of excitement.  Fun in the morning followed by family visits later in the day and a relaxed dinner in the evening made it a memorable one. We took in some more Christmas lights on an acreage outside the city after Christmas, quite a beautiful sight. 

Beautiful Christmas Lights display outside of Leduc

January flew by! It took a little while to unwind from the holidays but the girls had lots of time to catch up on sleep! I took some time to get the house organized again - the decorations put away, the basement playroom reorganized to accommodate some new toys, the bedrooms that were neglected during the holidays. Coming up this month I need to sort through kids clothes and sell or donate the toys and books the girls have outgrown.

For the girls, their month was filled with coloring, painting, lego, puzzles (had a late Saturday night working on a 300 piece together), play dough, sands alive, pretend play, sledding and a couple workbook sessions in math and language arts for Chloe. It was also time to go back to choir, dance and 1 more drama class at the homeschool office.

Late night collaboration on a 300 piece Frozen puzzle

Lego!

The end of January is a special time in our house, Chloe's birthday!  It's hard to believe she's 6 already and it's been great to see her creativity and skills grow so much this school year at home!  

February is full of interesting field trips and activities.  Throw in some house organizing and the regular scheduled activities and it's sure to fly by too!  What's on your calendar for February?