A Trip to the Matzah Factory

Yesterday at school Sydney's class went on their long awaited first field trip of the year to the Matzah Factory!  The Matzah Factory is set up once a year, around Passover, by the Chabad Lubavitch and children are invited to come and learn to make their very own Matzah.

What a fun time we had!  We all got special hats and aprons to wear:

Then each of us got a stalk of wheat and learned how to get the grains out and blow away the chaff.

Then each of the children got a chance to grind the grains in a flour mill and watch them turn into flour.  Sydney especially loved this part!

Then the race was on, with the help of the master baker we had exactly 18 minutes to mix the flour and water together and roll out the dough, poke holes in it and bake it in the oven before any leavening took place.

We also had to scrub down the rolling pins to make sure that all the dough was off in the same time period, the kids worked fast and furiously!

The matzah is baked for a mere sixty seconds in an 800 degree oven.

It was such a special treat to take the matzah that the kids had made back to school for a snack.

What a great time!  The kids loved it and it was such a fun and memorable first field trip away together!

Erin's 40th

I have written many times before about my precious group of Dunbar Mommas that I met way back when Syd was a newborn at the community centre while listening to the public health nurse prattle on about what seemed like common sense.  How ironic that from something I felt I didn't need to attend, came some of the most dear and precious friendships of my life.

Erin is Mom to Bea, who is Sydney's age, and baby Henry.  Last week she turned 40 and we decided to ring in her milestone birthday with a Champagne brunch which I hosted yesterday afternoon.

Just to give you an idea of what an incredibly selfless and loving person Erin is, here is a picture of the beautiful basket of spring flowers that she brought for me to thank me for hosting her own birthday party!  Sweetness beyond words!

Syd just couldn't decide where the beautiful basket should go!

We enjoyed mimosas and a fantastic brunch together along with a beautiful chocolate angel food cake, lovingly made by our friend Sally, for dessert.

Each of the Moms took home a box of Cupcakes to share with their families as a takeaway from the party.

Erin mentioned a few months back that she had always had a desire to learn quilting, so we decided that for her 40th we would purchase her a membership in the Vancouver Quilters Guild so that she could learn a new craft and fulfill a lifelong desire.

She was moved to tears when she opened the card (handmade by Liz to look like a quilt, we have a talented group I tell ya) and read about the quilting membership.  I can't wait to see one of her creations in the months to come.

It was such a special afternoon of celebrating Erin, who she is and what she means to us both individually and as a group.

Happy 40th Erin, may this be the beginning of a beautiful decade ahead! 

April

At the beginning of this month I looked at my daytimer and had a feeling somewhat akin to what I feel when I look at the schedule for the month of December.  There are more social activities, a major holiday or two, a trip away and outings than I can shake a stick at!  I truly do love it but alas, it leaves little time for blogging on a daily basis.

Here's our week in a nutshell:

Riding Lesson

Sydney's love of horses and riding is growing week over week.  It is such a joy to watch her learn a new skill and how much happiness she derives from it.

This week we got to ride Sprite again, went for another long road walk down the 'secret trail' as Syd calls it.

Sydney's buddy Emma has also started taking lessons right after Syd so we can hang out for a while together at the farm after both girls have had their lesson.

Blooming

Every year when the Camelia bush blooms in our front yard Paul picks me a single bloom.  They are so gorgeous and last for such a short time but I was thrilled to get this one perfectly at it's prime.

The cherry blossoms are still out in full force, Syd was so thrilled to see the cherry trees blooming in front of her school when we jumped out of the car the other day.

Bellingham

My sister and I have been talking about doing a day trip into the states to shop together for months and I was so thrilled when it finally became a reality this week!  We spent the entire day on Friday in Burlington and Bellingham shopping, finding some great deals, having lunch and enjoying each other's company.

My sister is an avid reader and was thrilled to see a free library set up in somebody's front lawn.  We just had to stop to take a look and grab a book to enjoy!

Pedicure

Sydney and I enjoyed a little girl time together this morning as we went for side by side pedicures.  This is fast becoming a wonderful ritual that we share together and I love the memories that we area building in so doing.

Swap Meet

We also hit up a swap meet this morning at the Marpole Oakridge Community Centre.  It was a small one with a ton of wee baby stuff but we still managed to come home with a few things that Sydney will enjoy.

Happy Birthday Lori

By far the highlight of my week was celebrating my friend Lori's birthday together with my precious Dunbar Mommas at a wine and painting night at 4 Cats Art Studio.

We each brought an appy and bottle of wine to share and had a great visit over treats before we snuggled up with our canvases and tried our hand at painting Monet's Bridge.

What a blast we had!  Such lovely conversation and laughter and poking fun at our artistic talent.

Michelle decided to make an abstract, I loved it!

We enjoyed ice cream cake together,

Before heading to the back room to make a splatter painting together that Lori will get to frame and keep as a souvenir of our evening together.

There are many things that I love about Lori, she is a strong, loyal, determined, incredibly capable woman and friend.  She is an outstanding Mom to her two kids and she and I have had many great memories together over the past several years since meeting when our kids were babies.  It was so special to take some time out to celebrate Lori and all that she means to us.

If the first week of April is any indication of what the rest of the month is going to look like we are in for a whole lotta fun!  Can't wait!