Work Visa and Job Secured

Today we went to the border where Andy was granted a work visa.  Turns out that in his professional he is eligible for an exemption to some of the bureaucratic stuff so it was quick and easy - ha ha (Jesse didn't think so).  Jenna also got her work visa sorted so we can all stay.  The only down side was that they refused to give me one (oh dear, how sad).

Andy has secured a job at Sirius Satellite Radio.  He starts on Monday.

Jenna is still looking for work but there are some possibilities so keep your fingers crossed.

What all this means is that we can stay in Canada for the next year - whoopie!

Ice Skating

Yesterday we went ice skating.  It was fun and much easier than we thought it would be.  Our friend Mike took us to Nathan Phillips Park.  Once we got our skates on we managed to stand (a feat all of it's own) then it was onto the ice - gosh that step down onto the ice seemed very high!

Once on the ice there was lots of giggling - Jenna and I were holding hands - not sure who was holding who up.

We quickly got the hang of it.

Jesse did very well and did better when he was not holding onto anyone.

Andy enjoyed it too and managed to get his head around it quite quickly.

It's really hard on the ankles and legs - my quads are quite sore today so we kept having to stop to rest.  I sat down on the edge and couldn't get up.  Had to ask a nice Asian man for a hand up in return for which I took some photos of his family for him.

After about an hour we'd had enough - we couldn't feel our toes anymore as it was -10 so we headed off to the pub for lunch and a warm up.

Ice Rink

I think Jenna's having trouble standing up.

Jenna and Jesse.

Mike - How it should be done.

All in all, we had a great day!  Thanks Mike.

Lindsay Lights

Last weekend we went to see the Lindsay Lights - one family who decorate their home every year.  Thought I would post the photos for you to look at and the website where you can see what they've done in past years - Lindsay Lights Website.

The lights were beautiful.  Check out the website.

Also on Saturday, the Olympic torch runner passed our house.

Merry Christmas

Well, it's Boxing Day in Canada and I'm exhausted.  Not that we did a great deal for Christmas but there seemed to be such a rush leading up to it.  I think everyone in the Greater Toronto Area left their Christmas shopping till the last minute - me included.

For Christmas I got:

• A lovely cookbook from Jesse - Giada's Kitchen (she's one of my favourite TV chefs but does not come close to Sophie)
• A pilates mat  from Jenna- now their's no excuse not to put that DVD into action
• Tickets to Guns 'n' Roses concert from Andy (a date) 
• A beautiful pair of the paua shell earrings from my sister, Dawn, to match the necklace the she bought me for my birthday

I also got to spend the day with my family which is always great.  Jesse and Jenna got a PS3 with Rockband so you can imagine what they did all day.  The PS2 that we brought from NZ not working has been a continual frustration.  Unfortunately, none of the PS2 games we own work on the PS3 so we're stuck with Lego Starwars, some other random game that came with it and Rockband.  I'm sure the collection will grow soon enough.

We invited our NZ friends Layton and Nadine for dinner.  It was nice.  We served the traditional ham and a slow cooked chicken with a spicy paprika rub - divine, roast veges, green beans and brussell sprouts.  Dessert (not that there was any room left) was of course trifle, steamed carrot pudding with custard and fruit salad.  I didn't manage any of the trifle but I had it on good authority that it was good.

Must admit to being very homesick right now.  Speaking to my sister yesterday, she's camping at Bland Bay which is where we would be if we weren't here.  She admitted to hiding in the tent because it was too hot outside.  The thought of sitting at the beach with a bottle of Bundaberg Lemon Lime & Bitters in my hand is a good one.  Unfortunately, not likely any time soon.  I also always miss my Dad at Christmas.  This is Andy's first Christmas without his Dad too.

Well, heading up to New Year fast and Jesse will be back at school in just over a week which seems very odd.

Andy has a job secured, at Sirius Satellite Radio - http://www.sirius.com/.  Turns out that his profession is exempt from some of the dramas of hiring a "foreigner" so all we have to do is cross the border and get the work visa.  Hopefully, we'll be doing that this week.  I get an open visa which means I can do anything I want, much less stressful than Andy's situation.  We will also activate Jenna's visa at the same time.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have exciting plans for the New Year.  May all your New Years resolutions come true!

The Room Was Filled With Miniature Michael Jacksons

Today was Northstar Montessori's Winter Concert - a Tribute to the King of Pop.  I tell you, it was simply an overdoes of cuteness.  They started with the toddlers and went to Junior High.

Jesse was the star of the show with his Dangerous dance assisted by Gregory.

I have uploaded the photos to the MobileMe Gallery.  Username is friends password is karls1234.

This link is for the video of Jesse's dance.

He rocked the house!

Dressed for the Snow

Snow boots, snow pants, snow gloves, a good jacket and woolly hat - I'm ready now!

I'm just heading for that big pile of snow over there - need to bring some in the car to school!

Outside at 5pm last night.

A snow penguin???

Having fun in the snow.

This morning awoke to more snow (surprised?).  It was different today though as it's not raining, just light fluffy snow.  Much more dangerous on the roads this morning as there's a layer of ice under the snow.  Not sure I'm happy to drive today.  I guess I'll have to get used to it.  Where's the summer when you need it.

More Snow Photos

I took these on the way to drop Jesse off at school.  After the first few Andy wouldn't let me wind down the window anymore so some of them are taken through the wet window.

Steps

Our street

Lewes Crescent

Maple Ridge Drive

Fieldgate - you can see how dirty the snow is once the cars have driven on it.

You can't see it but these trees have their winter coats on - they are covered with hesian.

Thought the school bus looked funny with the snow on top.

Pile of snow ploughed from the parking lot at Jesse's school

Jesse's school

Snow - 7am This Morning

We were woken this morning to excited screams - "Mum, Mum, it's snowed".

Out the window we looked to see a good dumping of snow - 5cm. These are the photos I took at 7am whilst Andy was shovelling the driveway.

Jesse has been here.

Need some serious clearing before I can drive that!

First snowball.

Bigger snowball!

So much for nice serene snow! Jesse's been here too.

Andy shovelling - it's gonna get old really quick.

Our letterbox.

Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

Ok, so I thought it was time I got in the Christmas mood.

Went to Ikea yesterday as they were advertising $20 trees and I knew they also had cheap decorations.

After wandering through the entire store (oh the hardship) I found myself at the checkout where they were displaying a few stands with decorations. I picked a few and wondered where the trees were.

I asked and was told you pay at the checkout and they will direct you. So I dutifully paid my $20 plus tax of course and was directed outside which I thought was kinda strange.

It was only when I rounded the corner that I realised that I had indeed purchased a real tree, tied up with string and what the hell was I going to do with that!

I selected one from the hundreds available after seeking advice from the man who said that a fatter one with long bottom branches was best. I struggled to get it into the trolley (or buggy as the Canadians call them) and pushed and tugged it all the way over to my car. I'm obviously not smart enough to take the car to the trees like everyone else did!

OK, what now???? I opened up the back and put down the seats of this car which Andy had so lovingly cleaned yesterday (waste of time when you have pine needles dropping everywhere). I hiffed it up onto my shoulder and plonked it in the back of the car and it promptly stuck out. Mmmm too big I thought so I gave it a push and it went between the front seats and hit the steering wheel. That will do! I jammed shut the door before it decided to jump out and got in.

Changing gear (thank goodness for automatics) was difficult but I managed to get home driving for the first time in the snow.

We hummed and haa'ed about what to do with it now. Eventually a friend rang and Andy enquired what one does with a real Christmas tree of this magnitude. He was told you can buy a special Christmas tree holder so off to Canadian Tire he went to purchase one.

Well, long story short. The tree is now up and decorated. Learned many lessons today not the least of which is not to wear a knitted cardigan whilst buying a Christmas tree.

Click here for photos.

Images of Toronto

We were in Toronto on Sunday, came home about 4pm. These are some photos I took from my phone on the way back in the car - sorry quality not that great. Click here to see more photos.

Was trying to get photos of the sunset (yes it sets that early) .

Jesse's Birthday

It was Jesse's birthday on Saturday - can you believe he's 9 already. It seems like just yesterday ....

He kindly informed us on Wednesday that he had invited some of his friends to play LaserQuest with him and then they were coming back here to watch a movie and eat pizza - thanks for the notice Jesse.

Anyway, notes were sent home and it was all organised.

Here are some photos: