Winter, Again, In Canada

There are so many things I am overdue to tell you about! Above, a picture of my friend and neighbor Paul's backyard ice skating rink. It is cold today - 10 degrees F - so finally cold enough to freeze the rink. I think we'll check it out tomorrow or the next day.  Because in Canada, they build rinks in their backyards.

Canadians also give delightful gifts. I urge you to take a few minutes and watch the video based on the book The Sweater.  Watch it until the end, otherwise you will not love the story as much as it should be loved. It is about a young boy who lives in rural Quebec, and needs a new hockey sweater. His mother writes to the department store to send him a new one. Is it the one all the other boys wear? What happens?  

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"Have you ever done this before, E?" I asked, knowing she hadn't.

"Why would I have cut down a Christmas tree? I'm Jewish!" she responded emphatically.

J suggested in the spirit of Canadiana, and in our first holiday season away from our families, we should cut down a tree at a tree farm about an hour north of the city.  They had a tractor ride out to get our trees, a sleigh ride if there was snow, and a bunch of other holiday activities. We did none of them. The place was packed. We arrived at about 9 a.m. on a Sunday, after keeping our kids up until 11 p.m. the night before, and were able to get on a tractor pretty easily. By the time we were leaving, there was a police person directing traffic outside and the lot was full.  We had our tree, though, that J/Paul Bunyan/Clark Griswold chopped down all by himself. 

Since S was so tired, blankie and paci also helped us pick out the tree. We got to carry S and the tree back to the pick up site. That was really fun! 

Mom has all of our stockings in a box in Arizona, with the guns, of course, so we had to make some. We didn't have any ornaments, so E and S went crazy. We had many ornaments with Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman stickers. 'Tis the season for superheroes.

S was also a reindeer in his school concert. He sang traditional Christmas songs with lyrics like, "Heigh-ho welcome baby Jesus," (it is pretty catchy) and the Santa cheer, "5-6-7-8, fill our stockings, don't be late, GOOOOO Santa!" This is actually fairly hilarious coming from a bunch of three year olds. If you have not been to a preschool concert lately, I urge you to find one and attend. It will restore your faith in humanity.  

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We also held our traditional latke Hanukkah party for our neighbors on Boxing Day, the 7th night of Hanukkah.  It was super fun and we (by we, I mean H) peeled 15 lbs of potatoes and I fried them up. We also made Renee's brisket and had lots of other yummy treats. We were even able to find Loonies and Toonies for our Canadian Hanukkah gelt bags!  

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We wish you a happy holiday season and a joy-filled 2012! There will be more to come as we celebrate E's birthday, begin skiing, skating, and enjoying our second winter in Canada.