TGIF

Another whirlwind week of gymnastics, school, and dance!
Ending the school week is report card day - Mika's first first grade report card. She's not concerned about it whatsoever.
We finally received her school photo CD. The quality of the prints last year wasn't great, so we opted to just get the shots and order prints elsewhere. Worked out well!
We will be attempting to get xmas photos done at the legislature building on Saturday. Send co-operative kid vibes our way - we'll need it.

Next week is Mika's English student-led conference, the following week is her Mandarin student-led conference and Christmas concert.

Declan's in-class ballet recital was fantastic, despite him being so tired he almost fell asleep. He's just too cute in his black and white outfit in a sea of pink. Mika's ballet class didn't have one because she was the only student present that day. We did get to peek in on her having a private 40 minute class and it was sickeningly adorable. She and Miss Ellen worked on their Christmas dance together. Watching your beautiful little girl dance along perfectly with her beautiful dance teacher can really tug at the old heart strings. Mika's jazz/hip-hop recital was great too. She swayed, leaped, kicked, and grooved her way through it. The kid really loves these classes. I am dying to see what they're doing in her Chinese dance class - I think I may have to wait until Chinese New Year to see anything though. I know that the kid has been working very hard on her splits and bridges/back bends.

Meatballs are almost done - gotta go!

Happy Hallowe'en

The kids had a fantastic Halloween this year. They always do. :)
Mika wanted to be a bunny this year. I sewed a felt patch and fluffy tail onto the tummy of her old ballet leotard. Painted her face white with a pink nose and some whiskers and she was good to go. Declan went as Spiderman and a glow-in-the-dark skeleton. He dresses up regularly and, as such, there was no need to buy or make a costume.
Mika had her school party on Friday. Declan wore his Spiderman suit for that. The kid who sits to the right of Mika was away, so the boy even had a desk to sit in. We read stories, played musical chairs and graveyard, had some healthy snacks, went on a parade around the school, and generally played around the classroom.
Saturday we carved jack-o-lanterns after gymnastics and had a picnic supper. Picnic suppers mean we sit on a blanket on the living room floor and watch a movie. Mika chose The Wizard of Oz as our scary halloween movie.
Sunday the kids wanted to start trick-or-treating at 8am. Mika decided to wear her fun-fur suit out instead of a jacket. Declan decided to be a skeleton instead of Spiderman again. 10 hours later we met up with our friends John and Conner. Conner was on our soccer team last year and his Opa lives next door. We wandered down the block to Mika's friend Logan's house and added Logan, his parents, and a set of grandparents to our parade. Within the hour, we added Abi, Mylo, and their Mom and Dad too. The kids took the neighborhood by storm. It was a beautiful evening and we had a great time spooking the 'hood. Tonight is the final halloween party for the year: Mika's Sparks party. Whee!