The loot from Santa...

... or so they say.
I am not quite sure about the big guy anymore. There are rumors at school that it is all a made up story. One of my best friend is pretty sure it is made up. So 3/4 parts of me believe that and 1/4 still wonder if there might be a Santa.
To be safe, I put the cookies and milk next to the fireplace and it seemed to work its magic since the tree was hugging some presents when morning came.

I asked for 2 things and Santa delivered.
And then, I got more stuff and Santa was quite good at guessing what I would like because they all made me happy.
Here is my lucky loot of the year:

A cat. The Ps will not get me a real animal so I settled for a fur one. I immediately loved the fur ball and although I am still debating on his name, I went from cuddly names such as Fluffy, Fuzzy, to what I think is my favorite but that my Ps are not excited about: Bloody Barf. Yeap, it sounds great. That one might be a keeper... Maman is rolling her eyes.

Ticket to ride: very fun game recommended by my cousin Malo. We were so caught up in playing it that we forgot to take a picture but believe me, it's great fun.

A subscription to a French magazine, A DVD of Wall E, the book of Zita the space girl, the book of Jedi Academy and a game called Shapeometry were also very much appreciated.

A Perplexus ball: "I have always wanted one",  I exclaimed when I opened the present.

A Simon says game: fun game! Apparently the Ps are worried about my ability to retain a sequence of imformation... It turns out that playing with it for the first time, I could already remember 13 colors in a row. Ok, well Papa beat me by one point but I will try again!

Papa got a gift that did not look too exciting to us but he seemed happy with his key looking chromecast.

Maman was lucky to have Grandma as her Santa so she got all decorated with a beautiful original knitted scarf and, of course, her favorite as always, a new bracelet!
Photo courtesy of Noah:

The end of 2014

Where did the year go? Wasn't it a few weeks ago that we were putting the tree up?
And it will sure feel like it would have been only a few days ago that we indeed put it up when it will already be time to take it down.

As Christmas day approaches, the lights inside are certainly adding warmth compare to the gloomy rainy gray days that we have outside.

In November, we went South to see Tina, Casey and Lilian and it was another fun day of playing card games, going to the park to fly the remote helicopter I got from Tina and of course eating at Red Robbins, my favorite destination...
Don't we look cute?

Then it was time to think about writing down cards for my teachers and make cookies. I did all my cards and helped to make some of the cookies but would have been more interested in eating them than putting them in bags!

And now it's finally the break and I have already had friends over for a party,
gone to OMSI,

had a friend over for a playdate

and gone to another friend for another playdate. That's what vacation should be about.

This is also the last stretch before the big guy drops some presents under the tree. To tell you the truth, I am not quite sure there is a Santa. I had a long talk with one of my friend and I pretty much agree with him that this is all made up. Although, after watching my yearly "Polar Express" movie, I am not sure anymore.
Hey, as long as there are presents under the tree, that's the best right?
I am not quite sure what I will get since I have changed my list just about everyday. Yesterday again, I announced what the top 2 items on my list are and it sounds like I had never mentioned those before. Weird.
I might put my gingerbread house under the tree for Santa though. You never know.

Well, I have already planned to have a "gift-I-don't-like" exchange with one of my friend... Maman says that it sounds like I am being too spoiled... spoiled brat that is!

As is customary at our house, I have 15 little boots hanging on the mantel and I get to open one every day. As the years are progressing, the loot I find in the boots is getting different.
First I was finding treats. Then last year, Maman had hidden the treats somewhere in the house so I had to read the clues I found in the boots to be able to find the treats.
This year, there were math problems in the boots and Maman thought that they would be a challenge for me. Every time I solved one, I got to choose between a treat or 15mn extra of screen time. I will let you guess what I have been choosing!
Anyway, I usually opened the message, read it once and just gave the answer. Or I frowned, looked puzzled and then, light bulb moment, I found the answer!
It sometimes took Maman longer to tell me if the answer was correct because, even though she had prepared the problems, she had to make her brain work to find the answers.
Here is an example of what I found and figured out as I was reading:

Amy, Bart, Connor, and Doug raced to the oak tree.

It took Amy 16 seconds to get there.

It took Bart 4 seconds less than Amy.

Connor 3 seconds less than Bart.

Doug was the slowest.
It took him twice as long as Connor to get to the tree.

How many seconds did it take Doug to reach the tree?

Of course the day Maman recorded, I didn't get it right away. Although, in the evening, Papa read it and did not get it right away either..

I guess math is my thing too!
There were actually two championships in my class this last term: one for reading and one for math. I was quite proud because I got Gold medal for both.

Well, Papa is on a break also and since he is nearly done with all the remodeling projects in the house, we will be able to play a lot of board games!
Here are the latest pics from the kitchen. Some with the 4 soups ready for the soup party and one of the spread for our Christmas Eve dinner... It's for the 3 of us so it should last us a while!

And to finish this end of the year post, Maman did a little compilation of things I have done or said in the past two months. She wishes she had memorized all the other stuff I say!

While walking around the house and farting intermittently:
- Hum, I think there is a problem with the reactor. 

While in Sciences class, having to choose a snack to chart nutrition data:
Sciences teacher: "What snack did you choose Noah?
Noah: "Boogers... I am just having a hard time figuring out what the serving size should be."

As I was kissing him goodnight after having a hard day where he was caught no being so truthful...
-Noah: "Life is like a road trip with a rocky mountains."
- Me: "Rocky mountains?"
- Noah: "Because there are obstacles along the way."

That same evening as I said goodnight:
- Noah: "Wait until tomorrow; I'll show you something. You'll see how generous I can be."

Talking about the upcoming evening where we had a party and the kids would get to watch a movie:
- Noah: "Maman, when we watch Home Alone tonight, can you act as our servant and bring us chewing gum?
- Maman: "Pff, I am already your servant everyday!
- Noah: "Well, yes, but a reluctant one."

Playing with kapla blocs and trying to make a bridge while i am cooking:
- Noah: "Hum, if I put this bloc here, it could fall. I have to rely on physics here."

Happy Day to Papa

Hi Papa,

Made a little something for you. A little video and some yummy stuff you may get to eat!

PS: How do you all like the new red paint to go with our new kitchen? We are getting used to it. Papa seems to think that it's a primer before the tiles, but we think it is warm and festive for the season...

Halloween and animations

Yes, it was Halloween!
I think I wanted to be a Ninja.
I started the day as a Ninja.

Then, I went to school. Saw my friends. Got asked questions about my costume and gradually morphed it into the Grim Reaper's costume. It's called peer pressure...

But the big Halloween story of this year is that for the first time ever, I went trick or treating. Yes, maybe you don't believe it, but yes, it took me 7 years to realize that I did not have to just hand out candy, I could get my own!
I was super excited and even came trick or treating at my own home! Fun!

 I got a LOT of candies... That's when Papa told the story of the Switch Witch that comes at night to get your candy and leaves a toy at its place. NICE, I thought... and soon I was putting away enough of my stash to get some legos from the Switch Witch. We'll see if she comes!

I kept the fun going during the week-end by playing with my legos and with a cool app called istop motion. Maman helped me a little but I created the stories. Sure those are two short stories but it's just a start. I will make more!
Enjoy!

Away from School in October

The weather has changed and it definitely feels like Fall now.
For my week off from school, we decided to go to Depoe Bay on the Pacific Coast.

I am of course being a pain in the derriere as usual: Ha, the P's thought it would be relaxing for them! Come on, they should know that they could count on me to keep them entertained.

Sure they entertain me too but I think it's my job to not make things too easy for them.
But here are some pics of our little trip:

- Enjoying a snack on the deck while watching the sun set. 

 On day 3 of our trip, snack on the deck: not such a good idea:

- Reading and playing games.

- Making up stories with Maman about what we saw in the clouds: do you see the man with the long nose? What about the cat lying down on the second picture? We had fun making up what had happened.

- Walking on the beach; from what I have been told, Papa told me not to walk too far next to the water since the tide was coming in. Listening is not my strongest skill though so right after the second picture was taken a wave sneaked fast towards me and before you know it I was flat on the ground soaked from head to toe, the inside of my boots making a nice sloshing sound after that. I still walked an hour after that though.

- At the condo, after a fun pool swim time with the Ps, Maman and I worked on  paper origami. My brain got really tired... it seems that anytime I need to work with my hands rather than my head, I get tired.
Well, I am happy to talk more about what I made but why don't you watch the video to see for yourself. Oh, and there might be a part about me singing on the beach. There was so much wind that you cannot hear anything... and Maman says it might be better... being appropriate is, again, not my forte.

- Going to Depoe Bay and missing the aquarium in Newport would be a shame. So we drove to the aquarium. I was about 4 the last time I went there. I probably ran through the aquarium that time, barely stopping to see any fish or ocean creatures. I had been so excited to go but was more impressed by buttons and displays. But, that was 3 years ago so, of course, things were very different this time around: first I am taller, making it easier to reach the buttons; I run faster and I have added to my vocabulary so now I can look at a fish, stick my tongue at it and say " Hey big farting fish."
See, much better. And, come on, once you have one fish, you have seen them all right?

 Fishing fake fish with Papa. Yes, the fake fish were FUN.

 Kissing a jelly fish

 No. It's not a tantrum: I am looking down to try to spot what was swimming over my head...

Whale watching and getting soaked with waves:
On the last day, the skies cleared a little and I went for a walk in the village. Ok, well, Maman forced me to go on a walk because, really, who wants to go for walks E-VE-RY day!
Sure, once again, I was glad I went... I saw whales, yes, whales! and with the waves hitting the rocks and the jetty, it was a cool spectacle.