Two Years!

I wanted to mention that yesterday was the 2-year anniversary of this blog! I never thought I would enjoy blogging as much as I do. I am proud of the history that I am recording for my kids. Who knows, maybe they won't want to read about every, single, cotton-pickin' thing that they did in their childhood. Or, maybe they will be like me and truly be interested in what they did as kids. Either way, I enjoy doing it.

Here are a few snaps from today:

We made our "Monster" hopscotch.

My bike dude worked on my bike for me.

I noticed Lauchy very carefully & deliberately
parking his bike right next to mine against
the house. It was the cutest thing!

Another tooth on the verge of falling out! Sheesh!

I went out for a bike ride with my friend C and it felt fantastic to be out riding again. I forgot how much I enjoy riding my bike. And even though my bike is quite old (1992 or so), it is still so light compared to my mountain bike. I am really looking forward to the next ride.

Tomorrow I am competing in a 10K race. This will be the 2nd time I have run 10K in over a year (the first time was last Sunday). My goal for tomorrow is simple - finish the race without my foot snapping! I am not going to worry about time whatsoever. I have to be realistic about the race and remind myself that I have hardly been able to run for the past year so just completing the distance will be a huge feat for me! Back tomorrow....

Some Recent Cuteness

The new play structure at a familiar

playground was a big hit with the kids!

I don't know what made them think of it, but the
girls sat down to make these on their own.
Heather says her arrow went in on an angle.

Addie is looking pretty ill (they got this idea from
an episode of Mister Maker that they saw ages ago).

"The pee comes out of a small hole and
the poop comes out of bigger holes"
(in case you didn't know).

Whistle While You Work

She did all this work...

...just for this!

She didn't ask for any help, all she wanted to know was where the broom was. It is most comfortable to jump in your fleece PJ bottoms, I might add!

Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns

These cinnamon buns are to die for!

Cinnamon buns after rising overnight.

Cinnamon buns after being baked.

Cinnamon buns after being turned out. Now just
pull a piece off and enjoy! Try to have just one!

Ingredients:

• 20 frozen dough balls
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding
• 1-2 tbsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup melted butter

Method:

The night before, grease a 10'' bundt pan and add frozen rolls. Sprinkle with brown sugar, pudding powder, cinnamon and raisins. Pour melted butter over all. Cover with a clean, damp cloth (leave out at room temperature).

In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 25 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then turn out on a serving plate. Enjoy.

Note: When I lived in BC I made these all the time using the below frozen dough balls from Safeway.


Once I moved to Ontario I searched every grocery store I could find for something similar with NO LUCK! The closest thing I could ever find was frozen pizza dough in one big lump which just won't work. So for 8 years we have gone without our beloved and easy Sunday morning treat (maybe that is not a bad thing!). However, I was given a tip from a friend who said that if you go to the bakery counter at a grocery store and ask, they will give you frozen dough balls. The bakeries use the frozen dough balls to make their dinner rolls. However, they apparently charge what they would normally charge for a dinner roll, so if you go that route you will end up with an fairly pricey set of cinnamon buns!

Thanks to my sister and brother-in-law who wrapped up 4 bags of frozen dough balls in newspaper and brought them from BC in February. The dough balls never thawed out on the trip over!

Recipe is from The Best of Bridge "Aces" cookbook.

Belated Easter Craft/Gift

I painted these egg carton bottoms ages ago and then put them in the basement and forgot about them. When I came across them today I figured I might as well finish 'em off and dole them out to the kids and their friends.

I did a version of these last year for Heather and Addie where I glued tissue paper on the egg cartons instead. I thought painting them would be much faster! But still...

...too much time on my hands, perhaps?

I think they do look pretty cute though!

The Bandwagon...

Yup, I'm on it, and I will be cheering for the Canucks tonight!

I dug out my Canucks jersey today!

It is true, I have not watched a lot of hockey since having kids. In general I don't watch as much TV as I used to. But I am a Vancouver fan at heart and used to watch every game way back in the day. It helped that Trevor Linden was playing then, but still, even without him I will watch tonight and hope they win!

Here are some stats for you (courtesy of my bro):

They are playing last year’s Cup champs the Chicago Black Hawks. Vancouver was up 3 games to none in the series…and then Chicago has won the last 3 games. Tonight is the deciding game. Vancouver was number one all season long, so, they are favored to pull it off…but, then the Hawks are still the champs. If Chicago does win…it will be only the 4^th time in hockey history that a team has come back from 3 games to none. Lots on the line for the franchise…and to be quite honest…for the province! The game is on at 7 our time…so, at 10 your time. And yes…you should wear your jersey…especially when heading out. Remind everyone there that there are Canadian hockey teams in the playoffs outside of Ontario!

So there Toronto fans! Now is the time to cheer for Vancouver!

Easter

We had such a nice day!

There was an egg hunt indoors...

...and another hunt outdoors later on.

We spent lots of time hanging out with friends...

...and we were pleasantly surprised to receive this lovely Paska
from our friend N. It is delicious and such a nice addition to the menu.

I am so grateful for my family and for fantastic friends. Wishing you a happy Easter!

What Have I Done?!

Just got this e-mail:

Payment has been received
Tricia Orchard is Registered for
Trisport Subaru Triathlon Series Duathlon

Now I am shaking and petrified! Sometimes I can't believe that I used to do triathlons/duathlons on a regular basis. I even did Ironman Canada once - the experience of a lifetime for me and something I hope to do again one day (much to Jeff's disbelief).

Wow, that seems like a lifetime ago! I have always been a regular runner and have been running ever since my triathlon days. It is the biking and swimming that I don't do on a regular basis. I have been doing a spin class once a week since October so I hope that little bit of cycling will help. I guess it is time to dust off the old tri bike, and by old, I really mean old. The hot pink and black Trek was already 4 years old when I bought it and that was in 1996! I am sure that I will have one of the oldest bikes out there. I will just have to prove that it is not the bike that makes a difference, but the person riding it! Right?! Gulp!

Thanks to my friend C for her inspiration. She is embarking on her own athletic journey, completing her first half-marathon a few weeks ago, this duathlon in May, and a triathlon in June. She has also signed up for The Toad, something I am dying to complete again. I think I will forgo that 25K trail run for one more year until I know my foot can handle it. Anyways, if it weren't for C, I am certain that I would not have signed up for this duathlon. But it is nice to know that I will have someone to train with for the next month and it is always a great feeling having a friend in the race.

Speaking of races, I am also doing a 10K race in one week. Another GULP for me! I actually ran 10K this afternoon and it was the first time I have run that far in over a year. I still can't believe I have been dealing with this foot injury of mine for a year. I felt fine during the run, but my foot is still a bit tender. Even as I type this my foot is throbbing and that is even after stretching it and icing it. I guess I will ice it some more tonight.

I also want to mention that it was warm enough for me to run in shorts and a t-shirt. Wahoo!

So, anyone else out there want to join me in the duathlon? Anyone? Please?

Our Eggs

We tried a new egg-decorating technique tonight. Instead of using one of those egg dyeing kits we just used vinegar and food colour.

Splash vinegar on egg and then add
drops of food colour to eggs.

Swish egg around in colander.

Lay on paper towel to dry.

Some of our finished eggs...

The egg on the right reminds me of outer space.

I saw this technique on this blog.

Luck of the Orchards

The Museum had a "members only" Easter egg hunt this morning so we decided to check it out. On our way there I told the kids that I didn't know how many other kids were going to be there or how many eggs were going to be hidden. I warned them that they might only find 1 or 2 eggs each.

Once we got there all the kids were told that the eggs were hidden on the 2nd and 3rd floors. They were told that the kid who found the most eggs would get a prize and the kid who found the special "M" egg would win a 6-month extension on their membership.

The kids all crowded at the bottom of the stairs and then they were off. It was chaotic trying to get up the stairs but once we got to the 2nd floor I was surprised to see almost all the other kids go to the 2nd floor. We decided to go to the 3rd floor and we were the only people up there for the first few minutes.

The kids proudly showing their eggs.

Not only did Addie find the "M" egg...

...Heather also won the prize for collecting the most
eggs. She found 23 eggs in all - without any help from us.

While we felt really proud of the kids, I couldn't help but feel guilty at the same time. There were many kids who only collected 2 or 3 eggs and here our family is walking around with a combined 44 eggs (Heather - 23, Addie - 14, Lauchy - 7). As I said above, we didn't help the kids at all. I think it was just lucky that we went straight to the 3rd floor rather than stay on the 2nd floor with everyone else. And then for Addie to find the "M" egg...I guess it was our lucky day!

As usual, we spent a lot of time making towers.

Heather's tower is just about to collapse.

Now my tower is taller than Heather.

Now it is taller than I am.

When I could no longer reach the top of the tower
we let the kids knock it down. I was also a little
worried about someone else getting hurt by falling blocks.

Heather participated in an egg-drop challenge.
This is the design that she came up with for her egg.

Heather's contraption mid-fall.

Nope, her egg did not survive the fall.

Finally, we ended our stay at The
Museum with some face painting.

What a great way to spend time together! We all had a blast.

Happy Earth Day

We had some family drawing time before bed tonight and we decided to talk about ways that we can look after the earth. Here is what we came up with:

Put litter in the garbage can.

Walk places.

Use re-usable mugs for coffee and tea. My
Contigo mug is one of the best I have used - no joke.

Turn off electronics.

Put yard waste to the curb.

Use the green bin for kitchen scraps.

Plant trees (we have planted 8 so far).

Use re-usable water bottles. We use
our Klean Kanteens religiously.

Use cloth bags at the grocery store
and insulate your house properly.

Recycle (sorry for the shadows).

Here, Addie is expressing concern about global
population growth leading to a pandemic. Smart girl.

Install double pane windows.

We Love Our Earth!

I linked to my friend Jana's page in a few places. Her web site, Fenigo, is dedicated to products which help our environment and for those in KW, she is local! Check her out! Thanks for all your hard work Jana!

Happy earth day!