Science!

Paige got a Big Bag of Science for her birthday...over 70 experiments! Yikes. We've done quite a few but Gravity Goo remains untouched. We also have the Mentos and diet pop experiment on the list. Since this kit is from my in-laws, I'm thinking that sounds like a really fun one for Grandpa to do with the kids out at the farm. 

The first experiment we did was to make "quicksand". Really, it's just cornstarch and water but it was neat to feel that it was liquidy on top but almost solid underneath. As you can see, both kids loved it.

 This just showed us how quickly these colour tablets dissolved in warm vs. cold water.

Using a pipette to make different colors of water. This was the point where Paige had quite enough "sharing" with Wyatt.

Adding super absorbent polymers to our colored water. Super absorbent polymers look like sea salt. Add water and they turn into jelly crystals! This is what they use in diapers.

Making "worms"! No idea what the actual chemicals were, but it was "worm goo" squeezed into "worm goo activator." Regardless, it was Paige's favorite experiment.

We also made snow! This was another experiment with super absorbent polymers. My favorite was the Garbled Marbles. Pin head sized coloured polymers. You could add water, watch them grow (to about a marble size), let them dehydrate and start again. That was fun until the dots of mold formed. 

We've had a ton of fun with the kit. I'm glad she's interested in hands on stuff like this!

Paige is 4!

Well, now she's been four for almost a month. We're still talking about it here like it happened yesterday, so I could probably post these 6 months from now and Paige could tell you everything that's happening in the picture.

This was the set up. This year's theme was Peppa Pig but the big deal was that it was her first "friends" party.

I hired a face painter for the girls - they loved it! Never have I seen toddlers sit so still.

Peppa Pig!

Blowing out FOUR candles!

Playing with the science kit she got from my in-laws. She'd been asking for it for a while, and was pumped. I'll do a separate post with some of our experiments.

Out cold on our way to Altona for her birthday supper (Pizza Haven!). Parties are hard work!

The Zoo!

It's been a while since I've posted about a zoo trip - mostly because we haven't been in a while. We had a membership about a year and a half ago, then it expired and admission fees doubled so our trips are few and far between.

We went last Sunday and it was totally worth it. The animals were out and they were playful. And we finally got to see a bear in the water tunnel! It was great. Definitely debating shelling out for a membership again.

Cakes

In the last few weeks, I had a handful of requests for cakes from (or for) people I really liked, so I actually agreed. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed every single one. Probably because it was a short lived gig. :) I'm not looking at taking this up again, but I may find myself saying yes a few more times this year. I

think the Jets one was my favorite! The topper is gumpaste, all cut by hand. 

Dino Adventures

A few weeks ago, we visited the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (aka dinosaur museum in our house). We went several years ago when Paige was just a few months old and all Wyatt cared about were the Hot Wheel cars used in a dig diorama.

They showed slightly more interest this time, I think I probably got more of a kick out of it than they did.

Kitchen Renovations

This summer, Josh and I decided to bite the bullet and get a loan for some much needed repairs on our house. Early fall, we had the shingles replaced (hired that one out, neither of us was keen to attempt that ourselves). Then in October, Josh and I redid our deck (mostly Josh, but I did help a bit, and critiqued a lot). Those two things needed to be done - the shingles were literally falling off in pieces anytime the wind blew, and the deck boards were rotten in several spots.
We've wanted to redo the kitchen ever since we bought the house 7 years ago, but it wasn't a priority since the cabinets were well built and everything was functional. But we had money left over from the other renos and IKEA was having their kitchen event ($200 in gift cards for every $1000 spent). We bit the bullet and ordered our dream kitchen. Just kidding, it was nowhere near that easy. Took us about 2 weeks of measuring and measuring again and second guessing and struggling with their planning tool online and not being able to check out online, etc. It was actually incredibly frustrating and at one point I almost called it quits.
But I didn't, and here's the pictures to prove it.

Before.

Another "before" view.

Getting the demo started.

Disconnecting the sink - the moment the panic set in.

Everything is out!

New floor in - which means the cabinets can go in!

Cabinets going in.

Yay! Cabinets in, doors and drawers on.

One month later! 99% done (just need to deal with that light fixture).

I am so glad now that we went ahead with the renovation, but there were certainly some moments when I was not terribly happy with how things were going. Not having a sink for 2 weeks was frustrating. It wasn't an easy month for the kids either, that's a lot of chaos for young kids to deal with. Doing it ourselves was difficult - thankfully my dad helped us out for two days with the labour, but the planning and layout was all up to us (okay, me). And I'm no interior designer, so we had some issues like the wrong sized cabinet being ordered (thankfully just one), a pull out cabinet that couldn't actually pull out because it hit the handle of the corner cabinet next to it, a countertop that ended up 1/4" too long (and Josh ended up sanding it down for 3 1/2 hours), a sink with no clamps to attach it to the countertop, a pantry door that's 1/2" too big for the opening...okay, the list just goes on. And to do this during December, which is a busy month no matter how many Christmas gatherings you have...I can't say it was fun, but I can say it was totally worth it.

Christmas 2014

Visiting Santa at the Civic Centre...his throne is a bit lacking.

Elfie paid us another visit this year.

Matching pjs for Christmas Eve!

Paige and her doll - managed to find her a matching outfit!

Went for a walk on Christmas Day on the creek.

A new Lego set!

Enjoying The Book With No Pictures - thanks Grandma!

Our December was pretty much full of kitchen renos (another post to come on that) and not much else. We only had 2 gatherings (one with my family and one with Josh's) and both of those actually happened after Christmas. It was nice not to have too many gatherings, but having our Christmas as a family and then the other 2 three days in succession was pretty overwhelming for the kids.
We were all sufficiently spoiled, as we are every year. It seems gratuitous to post pictures of everything we received, but I was so excited about everything I got this year! My in-laws went the gift card route this year, and we happened to be in the city while the boxing day sales were on so I got some really great deals. Including enough soap from Bath and Body Works to last me through the apocalypse.
Tomorrow Wyatt is back to school and Paige's friends will be back at daycare - it's been pretty lonely there for her over the last two weeks with most of the kids being gone (where do their parents work that allows them the luxury of 2 weeks off over Christmas?). Looking forward to us all getting back into our routines!
Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday as well!