November in a Nutshell

Starting the month off with our trip to Brussels seemed to get November off to a pretty fast start. Once the kids got settled back into school, it felt like in the blink of an eye it was the 15th of the month and Grandma and Aunt Sheryl were arriving for their visit. My Grandmother has become a bit of an international traveller again in recent years. This was her 3rd visit with us in two and a half years!! On this particular trip they stopped to see us for 3 days on their way home from Zambia, where they were visiting my cousin Maureen (Sheryl's daughter). Of course I had to take them into the city so Sheryl could see some of the iconic London sights!! Though brief, it was a great visit!!

Gotta See Big Ben!

Buckingham Palace from St. James Park

An Enormous Stork!

Quite a Photogenic Chap!

Of Course We Stopped to See The Queen!

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One of my favourite things about where Mandy and Ryan go to school, are the assemblies, I am pretty sure that I get choked up at each and every one. I am constantly amazed by how talented, enthusiastic and well mannered the students are not to mention the pride that they have in themselves, each other and their school. It really does bring a tear to my eye ( not to mention hearing them all sing with the British accents!!!). So this month, Ryan and his class had their class assembly. They sang a few songs, performed a little skit and showed off some of their creative work based on the book Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake. Ryan has come a long way in a short time. He started school this year very timid and reluctant to participate, however as you can see by the pictures below, he is very much involved and doing a great job with it! Way to go Ryan!!

Showing off his cooperative project he did with Sophie

His Mister Magnolia Drawing

His Mister Magnolia Shoe!

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Well, it wouldn't be November without mention of Thanksgiving! This is always a difficult holiday for us to be away from home, simply because it is a non existent holiday here. The last two years we would have a little dinner with the four of us and skype with family back home. This year however, we had a proper Thanksgiving with all the fixings....on Saturday!!! Lucky for us, we have a great group of American friends here who helped make this holiday traditional and special! Thank you to The Walter, Wendel and Parshall Families for a great evening!!!

Molly, Mandy, Libby, Audrey, Molly, Aiden, Rory, Ryan, Liam and Cameron

Brian, Carol, Keith, Me, Katie, David, Erin & Daniel

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Here's a toothy smile of Mr. Aiden at 9 months!!  

So that is "November in a Nutshell". 

xoxo