We got off at Young/Bloor and the party was in full force – We actually hitched a ride with a young couple from just south of Young/Bloor to College Street and walked down to Queen – past the pandemonium at Dundas Square and back to College – Here’s a video of our walk!

So many people stopped to take a photo of Elina and pose with a photo of Elina – she even met a new little friend – walking with her mom!

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Here are a few snapshots of the trip and as you can see, a great time was had by all – despite 1.5 days of rain – the rest of the days were nice and 30C, great company and fun family vacation.

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I’ve just been busy, here’s a recount of the last month, yep, its been that long:

Here’s another Christmas photo of the 3 of us ( I’m not wearing a ruby red skirt – it was an apron over a pair of nice dress pants)

The Last Month – in a Nutshell

• Dec 25 – Dinner at Maliks
• Dec 26 – Rest – and oddly, Elina wanted to go “BOX” shopping
• Dec 27 – A few friends over – Heather from Michigan here
• Dec 29 – High Tea at the King Edward with Elina and her school friends and their moms:
• Dec 30 – (gets kind of dismal here) – Start to feel a little fatigued
• Dec 31 to January 2 – Sleep for nearly 40 hours straight with the flu – no champagne yet for me this year!
• January 4 – Back to work
• January 4 – Poor Herman gets the Norwalk Virus – ikkk!  I know!
• January 7 – Slight sore throat from flu turned into a cold
• January 8 – Fly to Phoenix Arizona Stampin’ Up for the  regional conference – what a fabulous time (stuffy nose)
• January 10 – Fly home  – fatigued and really really stuffy when I returned
• January 11 – Come to work despite feeling like the flu was returning but this time  with a stuffy nose and headache/sinus pain -  visit the doctor that day
• January 12 – Start of extra strength antibiotics for a sinus infection – Start of sleeping again for 2 more days

Herman just finished his first week of on call – and we are all looking forward to our break

Elina has started gymnastics again and is happy to be back at school – she has grown about 10cm since Christmas 2008. She had a stuffy  nose for a few days but trudged right through it.

We will be leaving on Feb. 1 for some fun week in the sun – Manzanillo Mexico – the Barceló Karmina Palace Deluxe!

I look forward to getting all sicknesses over with and another great year for everyone!

Here’s a quick photo of Elina:

Ultra 4 – Development of breath control, entries, deepwater techniques, survival skills and front crawl. Introduction to back crawl, combined stroke swims, water, descent and ascent, under water swim. HELP position and self-rescue. Continuous swim 25 metres.

She’ll be in Ultra 5 in January – Development of front and back crawl, treading skills, simple rescue techniques and deep water abilities. Introduction to surface dives, front dives, eggbeater, whip kick, primary assessment and basic lifesaving skills. Continuous swim 50 metres. Must be comfortable in deep water.

She’s enrolled in swimming and gymnastics again this fall and in the winter, we shall try to squeeze in some skating lessons.  She’s also wanting to start music lessons but we’ll see how we can manage that.

Elina in Oslo – October 2009

This is taken in front of Bogstad Gård in Oslo

Here is Cecilie, Elin (Cecilie’s sister), Dina (me) and Elina.

We are just adjusting to the fall weather and from the death of a few close family and friends.  We are so happy and greatful for our simple family life!

My Stampin’ Up hobby is still in a bit of a cocoon but they’ve released a new Digital software, so I compiled a few of year 4 photos and made the following, with Elina’s natural beauty, it wasn’t hard to make this:

“I’m a little apprehensive about starting Grade 1″ today”

Elina started asking “what does “____” mean when she hears a word and we would try to define the word.  She does sometimes use the word in conversation.  I was pleasantly surprized about her apprehension this morning and I know this has nothing to do with the fact that she is in a Grade 1/2 split class.  Everything I’ve been able to find online regarding how kids are chosen to be in the lower end of a split class doesn’t fit in Elina’s case (birthdate of child, size of child (height), only child (ok..that one works), works independently (I think this may work as well).  She will still attend the same “after school” program where she will see all of her friends she was missing from her class and have “play-dates” with them during weekends, etc.

I dropped her off this morning.  Took some photos and tried to find out where she had to stand in line and who her teacher was.  Since she was with Grade 2 kids, I was amazed at the height of some of the Grade 2 boys in her class – (she’s always been one of the taller ones but not this year).  I had no idea if she got a morning snack, I had no idea where or how they would enjoy lunch together, I hadn’t confirmed the pick-up of her after-school program – and had a back-up plan (for another mom to ensure she was connected somehow!).

Elina started Grade 1 today!  16 more years of hard core learning has just begun! (This doesn’t discount the last 6 years of learning she’s done at home, daycare and in kindergarten)

Elina and I spent the day at the Canadian National Exhibition.

We ran into Lori & Shawn (& Stella and Conner) and then Uma and her family.  We ate alot of junk food and I even went one one too many spinnnnney rides with Elina.  We saw the Superdogs Show and the kids enjoyed the day!  Perfect way to spend the last day of summer vacation.

As you can see, Elina is 49 1/2 ” tall (125.75CM).  I love the cool shot of the cityscape of Toronto.  It was a blind shot take of the people as we were walking back towards the kids area.  I got the CN Tower, a Canadian flag, the city view – and ALL THE PEOPLE!

Tomorrow Elina starts Grade 1 at school tomorrow!

First is the  video:

Then some photos..

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Soon she will start Grade 1 – a full day of school (from 8:45 to 3:30), then she’ll continue with regular daycamp.

As usual, she’s a complete joy to be with and we love her to pieces: