Continuing with our annual tradition of giving handmade chocolates for Christmas, I present the 2006 line from Chocolaterie Chez Henders.  For 2006 we invested in several professional polycarbonate molds and got a little more adventurous with the flavourings. 

Clockwise from top:

Almond Rochers Roasted slivered almonds, bittersweet couverture, and a hint of Kirschwasser Ginger Bites (squares) Ginger infused cream, crystalized ginger, and bittersweet couverture Mocha Diamonds Espresso, bittersweet and milk couverture, lightly dusted with cocoa powder Caramel Rum Drops (tear drop shells) Dry caramel shards, dark rum, and bittersweet couverture Gianduja Nougat Logs Gianduja and milk couverture on a honey nougat base Blood Orange Jewels Blood orange puree, Grand Marnier, and bittersweet couverture Whiskey Points (cones) Aged Canadian whiskey and milk couverture Saronno Truffles Amaretto di Saronno, bittersweet and milk couverture, and espresso in an Amaretti cookie coating Pistachio Shells (round shells) Pistachio paste, roasted pistachios, Kirschwasser, and bittersweet couverture

Only one week past the kids' second birthday and we seem to have already seen a dramatic increase in the number of tantrums per day.  I'm not sure if the kids have some sort of biological switch that just turned on or if I'm counting more carefully now that we've reached this fateful landmark. This picture of Matthew, taken this evening, gives me something else to wonder about while counting down the days until their next birthday.  His future profession: skyscraper architect, ICBM engineer, urologist?

Matthew and Calvin celebrated their second birthdays on Saturday with their friends in the afternoon at the Southland Leisure Centre and with their family in the evening.  Thank you to everyone who attended and provided such wonderful gifts for the kids.

While managing the logistics I had little time to take pictures.  I will post what I do have as soon as I run them through Photoshop.  If anyone else snapped some great photos please email me and I'll give you instructions to send them to me.  Until then you can download a short video from the party.

Our plans for Halloween involved 150km of driving and secret visits to three grandparent's houses and an aunt's house to show off our Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion, but Scarecrow hasn't been feeling well so we shelved those plans and spent a quiet evening at home. The kids looked so cute in their costumes that we had to take some pictures anyway.

Not-so-cowardly Matt giving a big roar	Scarecrow saying "Boo!"

Nicole provided ten more pictures of the kids from our trip.  They are the first ten you see in the Nanaimo 2006 section of the Gallery.