the loot

dinner at kelsey's, then a drive to see the Christmas lights

CNE

it was a 'kids free' day so we headed to the CNE for our usual indulgence with auntie adele...
here's what we sampled:
chicken waffle on a stick - coated with hot sauce, maple syrup, and icing sugar, this was quite the plunge for the first sample of the day. the sweet and hot went surprisingly well together but the chicken was dark and sub-par
fried rice puddling balls with custard dipping sauce - they smelled like fresh, warm donuts and tasted good even to someone who doesn't care for rice pudding (me!). pepper's favorite
poutine - not an especially adventurous thing to 'try', it was the first time the kids had true cheese curds. my complaint is that curds don't truly melt the way cheese will, but that didn't stop anyone from globbling them down. bosco's choice.
S & M burger - love the play on words as this is really a spaghetti and meatballs burger. took a long time to make (turns out it's actually the only thing freshly made from scratch at the CNE) i was too timid to try it as rob opted for the 'kinky' version, ie: hot
fried cheesecake - weird to eat something that is meant to be cold. dipped in chocolate, it was more like a solid ice cream. fine enough, but i won't have it again.
chocolate brownie milkshake - surprisingly light and delicate flavour for something that says cheesecake in it. my fave of the day.
bacon wrapped grilled cheese - i expected the bacon to disappoint me with it's chewiness but it wasn't that bad...it was crammed with cheese though, which spilled out everywhere. this place that the longest lines, hands down.
onion blossom - they looked really good, but for me, the onion wasn't soft enough. it was the only item we sampled that we didn't finish

my dear flash-mobbers

an open letter to maya, pepper, collen, karen, reilly, marley, rohan, bosco, avery, quinn, fierce, sacha, gagan, rob, neil & wade

you committed.
you came.
you danced.
you were AWESOME!

you turned a 'party' into an 'event'.
you made a memory that will last a lifetime.

I deeply thank you - all of you - for learning the steps, and being such good people to come out on Easter Saturday and make my mom's day.
And although our success came from EVERYONE's participation, I still want to send a special shout-out to the men:

rob, gagan, neil, wade: my heroes!!

the loot

you'll notice that pepper refuses to be photographed without full make-up. so long to the traditional christmas morning photos. sigh

christmas morn

and of course,
another handmade ornament from rob

hooping
AND
electioneering

what a combo :)

christmas eve

halloween

scouts is having a halloween party so dress-up time comes early.

obviously bosco is johnny depp's pirate of the carribean

and
this would be hell boy

we're hosting another japanese student, and yes, his costume is very see through. he brought this costume from home in preparation for halloween (they don't celebrate it in japan) but we got him something else to wear for the 31st (going door-to-door in our frigid fall)

that's rob as cheech
or is it chong?

he went to work like that on the 31st

christmas morn

my first attempt at buyinh clothes for a teen daughter.  she likes it; hey mikey!

bosco made me this hat