It's Cooking Time

Gramma and Bunka, aka - Pat and Marion, have been busily teaching the kids different recipes to cook and techniques to use! I may soon be able to move out of the kitchen once we're back in NZ and let the kids do the cooking. Theo has learned how to make Cannelloni which is stuffed pasta. They were incredibly yummy and a lot of hard work went into them! Theo also made tammatilo sauce which is super yum with corn chips.


Madeline learned how to make a Canadian favourite...poutine! It is french fries, cheese curds and gravy. She made the gravy from scratch and it was beyond yummy!



Cohen has been wanting to make dumplings. When Lesley was here we were planning a big roast dinner with yorkshire "dumplings" (aka...puddings) You can see a video of some of he process by clicking here. 
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152271559052035&l=9106762673356298766


Todays creation was cheeseburger wontons for an appetiser for a dinner we are going to tonight! Again - yum! 
  Keep up the cooking lessons! Well done Fale kiddies! xx

Our budding Scientist

Cohen decided he wanted to make slime. He researched a lot of different videos on the ipad and came up with a favourite. He likes EvanTube - a young boy who makes lots of videos, so he thought it was his turn.

I hope you enjoy his video and his creation of a polymer!

Science with Cohen from The Fales on Vimeo.

Theo's Cannelloni

Today me and my Grandma made cannelloni and salad.
First we got the raw meat and started to cook it in a big pan.
Grandma looked after the meat while started on the bechamel sauce.
The sauce looked like pancake batter and then it started to thicken. Then we added cheese and it tasted nice and smooth.We saw that the meat was almost done and started to make the salad. In the salad we had white onion (left over from Theo's swag tomatillo salsa) lettuce, sweet peppers (yellow and red)  and mushrooms. After that we started to stuff the cannelloni shells.We put the cannelloni in the oven and waited... Then it was dinner!

Washing up! 

Chef Theo and Chef Gramma 

Table full of yummy food

Stuffing the shells

Theos SWAG Tomatillo Salsa!

.1 1/2 lb of Tamatillos 
.1/2 a of chopped white onion 
.1/2 a cup of cilantro leaves 
.1 Tbsp fresh lime juice 
.1/4 teaspoon of sugar
.2 jalapeno peppers or 2 Serrano peppers 
(jalapeno work best with the seeds out)
. salt and pepper to your taste
.a slice of sweet red or yellow pepper for colour


                                                                What to do
Peel the husk of of the tamatillo then boil for 5 minutes.Slice your white onion and jalapeno or serrano.
Then start picking off half a cup of cilantro.
Put the 1TBSP of lime juice and 1/4 teaspoon of sugar in a blender and put the white onions in the blender with the jalapeno peppers (or serrano) and mix.Take your mix out of the blender and put in bowl. 
Take your tamatillos and slice all in half and mix in blender. Dice the slice of sweet red (or yellow) pepper and put in bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
Finally take mixed tamatillos out of the blender and put it in the bowl with the other mixed vegetables and mix with spoon.

Add salt and pepper to taste. 

By Theo

<---------MAKER 

Fishing

Yesterday I went fishing and only the boys came. I only got nibbles.    

Cohen

Meanwhile in the B.C.

So the teachers are still on strike here. What it means for The Fales is...disappointed kids. Who would have thought?

 School is more than a place where you hope learning happens...it's the social mecca for children. We, as parents, can hope for and teach all the social graces we want, but school is their playing field. They won't be properly socialised at home being schooled by their parents. 

This is not a blog on homeschooling vs the classroom. Homeschooling your children is as much a viable choice as sending your kids to school. We're not typically homeschooling. We're doing school work in our home. BIG DIFFERENCE! 


 Our mornings our now routined. Wake up...moan....have your breakfast and then get out your table and chair and do some work...moan...then morning tea...YAY! Back to work...moan! Then an outing of sorts and some physical activity! The afternoons are typically their own. It's hard on them though...their friends are all in the same boat, but they're mostly off in daycare or being looked after by grandparents so there aren't a lot of friends about. It's not bad at all. Just different. Comox is beautiful. We go out to beaches, walks, up a mountain, play sports, pick wild blackberries or plums off the tree in the backyard. There has been science experiments, cooking lessons and fishing trips. It's a whole family approach - Bunka and Gramma lending their expertise when needed. 

What this all adds up to for me as a parent? I will never accept the excuse that they "just don't want to go to school today." 

What we're looking forward too? Autumn colours, pumpkin picking, Canadian Thanksgiving, carving a jack-o-lantern, Hallowe'en, and visits from Uncle Kieran. Life is good. Enjoy the slideshow of the normal stuff we do everyday when we're not "on holiday!" The last slide is Bunka learning how to take a selfie! 


xx Hanging out in Comox on PhotoPeach

The Roads we Travelled

The Great Canadian Landscape on PhotoPeach

Day 9 - The Last Day

After a yummy cooked breakfast, we packed the van, for the last time. We packed the children in, for the last time. We handed over Gravol pills, for the last time and we hit the long, long road, for the last time.

Today was a big one. 

GO HARD OR GO HOME!

Funny! We were doing both today. That statement describes our attitude as well as the roads ahead - the Coquihalla! What goes up...must come down...and whoever said coming down a "hill" is easier than going up, is giving Pinnochio a run for his money!

My mantra, inside my head, as I was being brave mummy today, was nothing short of the Little Engine who Could. I think I can, I think I can... and I never said, I know I could...until I was on the ferry going over to the Island. 

Our poor Dodge Caravan got a work out...bumpy brakes... dreaded downhills...followed by a wee climb only to go downhill again...then into a thrilling tunnel (hold your breath)...around a curvy bend...down  few more "hills" ....through more tunnels...more curves...gearing down to 30 to make it safely...and... we were on flat ground. 

Joyous at the sight of the highway...traffic didn't bother me as we were all on a level playing field, and I mean LEVEL!

We made it to the Ferry Terminal and waited in line...we had all our fingers and toes crossed that we would make it onto the next crossing or it meant a 4 hour wait...I don't think there are enough Skittles and chocolate for that...these kids wanted out...they needed out! We needed them out! haha!

Our line began to move and we excitedly stop-started our way...closer to the front...with each car that made it on...was another chance we wouldn't, until...we were at the front of the line. This was it. Will we make it? He starts with lane 1 - we were at the front of Lane 5. One by one he let the fist car in each lane on...stopping just enough between each car to keep us all guessing. Lane 4...they got on and the girls in that car all whooped with joy! Our turn. There was a pause, that seemed eternal, and then the wave you hope for...proceed! I almost floored it...just in case he changed his mind...and with one last bump...we were on the ferry, heading back to Comox. Almost home.

The 2 big kids walked around the ferry...the freedom to be moving forward and being able to move at the same time...what a wonderful invention! They were so pleased to not be in the van! The ferry ride was smooth, sunny and had just enough movement to relax  me - to ready me for our last jaunt in the van. 

I felt like the meanest mother ever putting those kids back in the van. It was only a 90 minute drive...but they just wanted it over.

We were pros now. I could do this drive with my eyes closed! We were halfway home when we noticed other cars diverting and driving over the grassy median - even though there are signs clearly stating the opposite! What could it mean? One person driving over the median means they made a mistake...2...well it's conceivable...but this many...accident. And...it was. A big one. Luckily we could see nothing as we waited for our legal turn to cross over the highway...go back about 2 kilometres to the next off ramp, and take the old highway. At least there was an old high way! 

We headed home, once again. We turned the corner to cross the bridge into Comox. 

Driving along the Dyke road felt familiar and it was all I could do to not speed...but, as you could tell from my earlier statement, I am a law abiding citizen, so I stuck to the speed limit despite the lead, weighing my foot down onto the accelerator. 

5 minutes and we would be there. Gramma and Bunka would be there. Our toys would be there. Our own beds would be there. We would no longer be, on the road. We would be still. 

We turned down Cooke Ave and we saw balloons. Lots of balloons, welcoming us back! Then the excited faces of grandparents and I swear Cohen was out of the van before it stopped! Theo and Madeline peeled out next and then the parents. As Cohen said..." hugs, kisses, cuddles, toys then sleep." And it happened in that order. Except we snuck in some home cooking in there.

And that, my friends and family, is our Fale Family Road Trip, in a word or two! 

It was an experience. It was a trip of a lifetime. It was amazing.

Still Driving....

Day 5-6 was another border crossing day! We were heading out of Manitoba and into Alberta. We had planned a 2 day stay in Drumheller - The Badlands of Alberta...with it's magnificiently wierd land formations and dinosaur bones, who wouldn't want to stay? Our drive was another easy one. I love these straight roads! What a concept! We veered off the Trans Canada to head into Drumheller. We drove by odd shaped hills and browned and blackened earth. It was driving onto a movie set. We had booked an inn which was a nice change from the chain hotels. We felt like we were staying with our grandparents as the hosts were lovely! We set out to see the World's Largest Dinosaur but as we lined up, the skies blackened and filled with flashes of light! Forked lightening streaked across the skies as a major storm rolled in. As the dinosaur is made of steel, it was closed down for the night! Ah well. We headed to a fmily restaraunt for dinner and set our itinerary for the next day. Our stay in Drumheller was filled with dinosaurs, reptiles, fossils, rocks and canyons. What an awesome adventure.

Touching a real footprint of a T-Rex!

Looking out the mouth of the World's Largest Dinosuar!

Day 7 meant one more long drive to get us closer to the border. It was another grey day. Heavy clouds hun overhead which made the mountains seem ominous, rather than welcoming and grandiose! We popped into Banff one last time and got some gas and made our way to our rest stop of Revelstoke. The name has a western town feel to it and I imagined cowboys and tumbleweeds! The day got increasingly grey and rainy which dampens the mood of travellers. The roads are tricky enough...add rain and it makes it an adventure...but at this stage of the holiday, my adventure tank was on low. Who am I kidding, It was empty. Tapped out ages ago. I was faking it for a long time! LOL! After a long stop at the scene of a car accident...not unnerving AT ALL...where we watched a car being towed up the side of the cliff...more fun...we headed into Revelstoke. The entrance into Revelstoke is cool. I will give it that. Big stone pillars with grizzle bears on them. Yes! It was cool. Revelstoke was grey. I think I need a new word...ashy. Revelstoke was definitely ashy. The weather didn't help, but as we walked the streets, in search of food, I couldn't help but think, "who actually lives here? Like, who made the conscious decision that this was their home and why?" It wasn't horrible, but besides skiing, which doesn't happen in the summer or Fall, what do people do here? Again...maybe I was overly influenced by the disgusting weather which turned the skies the colour of a lead pencil tip, smudged against the white of a well worn notebook, and made the mountains look like jagged lumps of coal, jutting out from the ashen, green grass. Yes. I think the weather ruined Revelstoke for me. Sorry Revelstoke. I am sure you're not half bad...on a good day!









Day 8 and we were heading for our last Canadian border crossing! British Columbia, here we come! I had this funny feeling that the moment we saw the border, we'd almost be there! Well...not so! This was the drive I was dreading I think I may have said this a few times now. Don't misunderstand me. I love that we drove this amazing distance and country, but it's ok to dislike things during the process of doing them. If not, then it's not real life and it's some cheesy soap on American Tv where collagen filled lips smile the fake smile that let's everyone now everything's ok and if it's not it doesn't matter because there can always be a re-write later! Today's destination was Kelowna. Mum and Dad shouted us a fancy, smancy hotel where there were the choice of pools and fun for the kids and time for us parents to sit and relax and NOT DRIVE! The Manateo Resort was fun and relaxing and worth it. It was the prefect last stay in a hotel room as it was POSH and clean and resorty...if I can say that! haha! We had the famous Okanagan fruit - blueberries that tasted like lollies and juicy apples! We had the best rest and were ready for our last drive. Our last day of packing lunches for the road. Our last day of avoiding that question, which, luckily alluded us...."How much longer?" Well I can answer that question - 1 MORE DAY!!!!

The Long Drive Back

Our time in Ontario had come to an end so it was time to "hot the road!" We had planned our trip back and planned on 8 days to drive the 4568 kilometres. Our stops were going to be pretty similar to our stops heading East with a few exceptions. Day one was Toronto to Sault Ste Marie. We entrusted our trip to our TomTom. He decided to take us on a tiki tour around Lake Simcoe. This added another 2 hours of scenic, small town scenes to our journey. Lucky it was Day 1 or the scenic little town would have felt our wrath! After 5 hours of drivng, our first stop was in CopperCliffe to see our first house we lived in when my family immigrated to Canada 44 years ago.

After that short reminice we headed to The Soo, as they call it. It was a long day and we knew the windy, Northern Ontario roads were still ahead so after a feed and a splash in the pool, we headed to bed. Day 2 was from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay. The roads were slick black and the skies were grey. Just as I remembered it from the last trip. There was quite a lot of road construction which added to our time but all was good. On our entry into Thunder Bay we stopped at the Terry Fox Monument. This was one of the most important roadside stops of our trip. My kiwi kids heard about Terry Fox in passing and had been training for the run but had no real idea of who he was and why. When we got to the monument we were in awe of how beautiful it is. It had a real presence about it. We met an older couple who had actually met Terry on his run and they had shaken is hand. They were so proud to have met some kids from New Zealand and that my kids now knew about "their" hero. As we walked away we could hear the older man say, "Wow. All the way from New Zealand!" What a day.

Day 3 saw us heading out of Ontario and ending up in Winnipeg. This was the leg of the trip I was dreading. These turns and rocky ridges were the things of nightmares...especially in the rain. We started off, in the rain, and were well on our way. The traffic was heavy coming in the opposite direction. Long, speedy logging trucks barrelled down the hills past us while I silently prayed for the driver to maintain full control of his truck at all times. I knew these guys knew the roads, but they sure looked like they were going a wee bit too fast for my liking! We crossed the Ontario border and I felt a pang of sadness...perhaps realising that this was probably one of the last times I will be in Ontario, but definitley the last time I will ever drive the length on Ontario! HAHA!

Day 4 took us from Winnipeg to Moose Jaw. We didn't want to revisit Regina so we thought we'd give Moose Jaw a try. Who knew that it would be slim pickings for a hotel in Moose Jaw...I mean...why were there all these people here? Filo drove today as it was nice and straight and I could be a non-carsick passenger. The yellow canola fields and the green fields juxtaposed with one another were beautiful and I was so thankful to be able to take it all in. A lot of people pitied us for having to drive through the Prairies as they're boring and the roads go on forever...well the Prairies are beautiful and the only road that doesn't go on forever is a dead end one! I loved the poetry of the long road ahead and how you could see your journey ahead of you as opposed to the windy, North Ontario road, or the mountain roads, where every corner holds a surprise...not bad, just different! We spent the night in our budget hotel but at least our room had a door that led directly to the pool. We had lots of suggestions of what to do and see in Moose Jaw but when put to a vote, the kids just wanted to get home. We had hit the halfway mark and just wanted to make the last leg home a fast one.