Sammy's birthday

Sam made her own birthday cake tonight (Saturday 25th October), she chose the recipe and made it and iced it with some help from Mum. T'was fun :-) Mum wanted to help more but Sam enjoyed being the creator (and having the control!).

Tomorrow we will celebrate her 12th birthday with 12 friends at Galaxyland (at the West Edmonton Mall). Just think, Sam has been 3 ages while in Canada, she arrived aged 10, turned 11 three weeks later and is now turning 12!

Sam has made lolly bags for her friends, with loads of candy (some contributions from our recent Aussie trip) Redskins and Cherry ripes. Hope the kids appreciate this offering.

Here are some photos from blowing out candles at Galaxyland.







On her actual birthday Sam went to school and we had another little celebration with home made lemon meringue pie... this photo is of Sam blowing out her candles with Scott, Clare and Suzanne on Skype. They LOVED the lemon meringue pie!

Happy Birthday Sammy xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Thanksgiving in Canada

In Canada Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October. We arrived on Thanksgiving weekend last year and therefore did not participate in this cultural festival. This year was completely different.
We came to understand the significance of this very important family day where Canadians take time to eat together and be thankful for the bounty of the harvest. These days the harvest is not the focus but people recognize that it has become more about taking time out of your busy schedule to spend time with family and friends.

For us the lead up to the day was very similar to Christmas, with everyone setting this time aside to be with family and wishing each other a "Happy Thanksgiving". Students returned home to their families across Canada. We were treated to a beautiful meal with our friends David and Lois around the corner from us. Turkey and home made cranberry sauce, mashed potato, roast sweet potato (in maple syrup), turnips, brussel sprouts and Dessert was Pumpkin Pie.