A Highly Unusual Game of Battleship

Snowshoeing Expedition

No, we didn't just work... we also went for a beautiful snowshoe hike this afternoon. The littlest two just walked along in normal boots after the trail was broken.

Winter Hazard Removal

Here are the before, during, and after photos of removal of several downed birches that were hanging over the power lines at Ste Em. Neal and his nice German chainsaw got a good Canadian winter workout.

Skating with Jonathan

There was no snow in Montreal, but we had lots of fun skating the first week. Portia and Jonathan both learned to skate. Wiley re-learned and Graydon is an old pro. They also got to "drive" the Zamboni!

Watching the Zamboni

Granddad and his No 10!

There's something about the connection between Granddad and the really little ones. Welcome to the club of 10, Elliott!!

Fun in the Snow

Here are a few catch-up photos from our first week in Montreal. Sneaking them into the blog while it's still 2018...

Watching the Zamboni

Portia at Olympics Day!

Tante Nise’s Mesquite Bean Brownies Revival

Apparently Nana stored away some of Graydon's mesquite bean flour from last year, and now that Portia is having a couple of days with Tante Nise, Nana, and Gramps at the lake, it has resurfaced for an encore performance in brownies. Looks like Portia thinks the batter is yummy!

Claudia’s Christmas Concert!

We all attended the Christmas concert put on by the community orchestra Claudia has been playing with for a couple of months now. We really enjoyed the music - they even had a short song-along segment!

What IS that thing???

Graydon's hair has been getting so long that I joked we could braid it. Turns out not quite... but the effort took a turn for the hilarious and once started, Claudia and I couldn't be stopped. Graydon left it in most of the day, even to the end-of-year party for his soccer team!

Fall Leaves!

Thanks to Claudia for getting this great photo!

Christmas is Coming!

How do we know? It's not the weather!! In a German house, you can always tell Christmas is on the way when industrial-scale cookie baking commences. Claudia (and Portia) have been busy!!

Gooey gone just a little too far...

Graydon has finally crossed the line from "gooey in the middle" to "it's blueberry cobbler, not blueberry bread." We swapped out plates for bowls and spoons and enjoyed it nonetheless!

Trampoline-Induced Static!

This exemplar puts our tree-wrapping efforts to shame...

It did look quite beautiful, though!

YTD growth totals

Graydon: 2.5"
Wiley: 2.5"
Portia: 4.0"