Happy Halloween!

Akemi went to her friend Abby's house to go trick or treating. Many of the houses were all done up. It's in a town house complex, so it was very convenient to crisscross door to door. Tomorrow she wants to lay out her loot and sort them.

Preparing for Halloween

Unfortunately you won't be seeing this jack'o'lantern in front of our house on Halloween because it didn't last long enough.

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin and to have some fun. They had some games for Akemi to play, but it wasn't really a pumpkin patch - more like a big lot with pumpkins and stuff in it. She was really good at the ATV ride and maneuvered like a pro.

We picked out a pumpkin to bring home. Since she was sick on Monday, we carved it out. She made a selection of possible designs on paper and then chose the one with a heart on it's check. Before actually carving out the pumpkin she wrote down a check list - Step 1 - clean the pumpkin inside and out. Step 2 - draw the design on the pumpkin. Step 3 - carve out the pumpkin. Step 4 - Light the candle inside to test it out. She didn't actually write down all the words, she just wrote the numbers and put square boxes in front of them. When we were ready to do the step, she drew a check mark in the box.

She wanted to scoop out the guts with a spoon, but she backed out half way because it was too messy. She did a good job drawing the face on the pumpkin, and then I cut it out. The holes were pretty small, especially the one side of the heart, which made carving difficult. In the end I think I faithfully represented her design.

Today Silvina and Akemi made some spiderweb cookies to take to a Halloween party tomorrow. The jack'o'lantern had already become moldy and stinky, so I had to throw it out today before it could celebrate it's night in the darkness - it's hopes dashed at the eleventh hour!

Exploring Nature

For the Thanksgiving weekend we went up to Algonquin Park to do some hiking. Our practice excursions around our neighbourhood paid off because Akemi was an expert out there. We did six hikes over the weekend and she made it through with flying colours. At the end of each day she had more energy than us.

Baking, Skipping and Odori

The last little while we have been doing a bit of baking. Yesterday we made some ginger cookies. They were so good that they are almost gone already. About a week ago we made some cupcakes and ate them up immediately.

Today Akemi did what she claims will be her last odori concert at the issei day at the JCCC. She says that it is too "boring". We'll see what happens.

The video is of her skipping on a trail last week.