As You Like It!

And so the great days arrived. The ESA MainStage production of As You Like It. Seb had poured 100 hours or more into rehearsals and really enjoyed himself. For the most part he had kept the production a secret. We knew that it was staged in Las Vegas in the '80s. We knew he had no lines but that they all sang something as a closing.  But let's just say that we were not ready for what we saw. Wednesday night was Jo, Gramps & Nana and dear Carrie. Thursday night was Dad and sis and no friend (I mean, who wants to sit through Shakespeare?!?)

The set was fantastic. The live music was energetic. The acting and how they bit into the script was inspiring. They managed the wit and the serious undertones. What a show! 

And then Nana continued our new tradition of a homemade treat every time Seb performs at ESA. This one clearly is inspired by Easter and Spring (non-existent yet). It's colourful and one of a kind!!

A few catch up photos from March break

Our annual tradition of heading to Mabel's to grab a good read for the school holiday

Mr M had the week off and had suggested we have a jar of tasks for him - so we did

Bouncing, bouncing bouncing - March 2018

Since I still can't seem to upload videos, many stills of Seb's trampoline competition will have to give you a sense of the heights he jumped and the twists he did.

March Break - Grades 6 & 9

March Break had many lovely moments. Seb had agreed to try out Dungeons and Dragons and spent a splendid 5 days at a new "camp". He may have found a few people to play Edge of the Empire (Star Wars) but he did sincerely enjoy D&D.

But Mr Dad deserved some down time, so we tried to find something fun for Sophie. Enter Hogwarts camp for 2 days with her friend Nuan. Chocolate frogs and slime goo were made and consumed - only the frogs...

Look what Sophie (and her dad) got up to one morning. The latter was quite pleased with his success in putting in the bobbin etc and guiding Sophie in threading the machine. She has done a little practice sewing using extra bits of fabric from the famous medieval dress that Jo wore to Grade 8 history night.  

The houseman also managed to sew a torn seam in his burgundy cords. So now to of the household know how to use a sewing machine.

Another games night underway

The lads came over on Friday for a night of mucking about without screens

Yup, this...

Family date night #3

 We had hoped to go to the free temporary curling rink at Nathan Phillips Square but the warm weather meant it had been cancelled. So we headed to Ontario Place for their free winter programming

We brought smores for their campfire - and Darwin for extra fun

We went skating on the outdoor ice rink

Showed off our moves to some great 70s disco tracks

All with TO's lights as our backdrop

Sophie made some new friends

4 in the frame (one of us always had to be off ice with the dawg)

It was a very very weird surface - plastic "artificial ice" - look at the "shavings" 

Then it was time to explore the abandoned amusement park decked out in fairy lights

Before heading home as some very happy Torontonians (who seem to be caught in a music video shoot) 

Les amies!

And that's it. 3+weeks later, our dear friends headed back to France. In a blink of an eye, it will be a hot summer's afternoon and we will be together again in le petit village  re-living the highlights of their trip. They had the best of this Canadian winter. Only a day's rain and lots of snow and sub-zero temperatures!

We have been busy hosts...

Our friends from le petit village arrived January 30 for the trip of a lifetime - a Canadian winter holiday!

Day 1 was sledding at Christie Pits with Sebastian

Alice gives it her best try

Day 2 was Niagara Falls

Day 3 was exploring Toronto - including China town

Day 5 was skiing with us at Horseshoe and then stopping for a Tim's experience

Joao approved

Eva appreciated it too

Thomas was less convinced by a double-double 

After 10 days of travel, the friends returned and bravely tried Ethiopian cuisine with us

Let's just say that Joao has a limited palette 

Followed by Ed's ice cream - which Joao did approve of

Alice insisted on returning on their last day in the city (it is only a block away from home!)

The final weekend was Family Day and we rented a cottage and even took the dog! Mr M managed to disconnect from all his craziness and enjoy the great winterlude with us. There are no photos of the excellent toboggan run that Seb and the other kids created. Sadly Darwin was leashed or banished because he just wouldn't let them zoom down the track without chasing after and grabbing the sled or worse - them!

We headed to Arrowhead provincial park one day - where the ace skater (Joao) and his dad did the skate loop over and over and over again! The rest of us skied and tobogganed; it was gorgeous day!

Clearing a skating rink on the lake beside the cottage

in his Canadiens gear

a little shinny

Taken from my snowshoe trek onto the lake (that's the cottage behind)

A few days later, the girls had an hour alone in Dufferin Mall - where they ate popcorn and discussed how they are not allowed to wear makeup or leggings without a tunic top, etc.