March Break Saturday

This is it. The final March Break Post. Of all our days, I think Saturday ended up being the busiest.

We started off first thing with Max's 9:00am hockey game here in town. Next, we headed (along with LeeAnne) to the Kitchener Market for a surprise visit to see my parents...

We stocked up on some fresh fruit and veggies, popcorn, yummy runny honey and some pussywillows. After a "little" detour at Laserquest we arrived back home to drop off LeeAnne.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Keith's brother's sugarbush being edjumacated on the intricacies of boiling sap down into maple syrup. I haven't been around the process of making maple syrup since I was a kid. I'd forgotten the amount of work that goes into the process...it's seriously impressive!

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It doesn't look like it in the pictures but it was ch-ch-chilly! (See the frozen sap in the bucket below?)

There were lots of taste testings and samplings going on...

These two little boys were having a blast. I overheard them talking and figured out they were re-creating and playing "Wipe Out" based on their favourite TV Show...

More taste testing...

All the steam was awesome.  It was sooooo warm and sweet smelling. I think I'd enjoy a "Boiling Sap Into Maple Syrup" scented candle in my house. Think Yankee Candle makes one of those? LOL!

Apparently it's not just about the syrup. Oh no. Marshmallow roasting was also on the agenda.

(Isn't the steam/mist/fog awesome?!)

Getting near the end of the process...

(The master-sneaking-taste-tester caught in the act!)

The final product. Worth it's weight in gold I'm sure. I don't know exact numbers of how many gallons of sap it took to make this much syrup. Or how many hours it took to boil all those gallons of sap to get this syrup. It's safe to say, "A LOT"!

Get out there and buy some fresh maple syrup...it will make your french toast and pancakes sing in your mouth!  If you're feeling adventurous - the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival is coming up this weekend - that will give you lots of chances to indulge and enjoy the sweetness! :-)

Special BIG THANKYOUS to James for letting us hang out and be a general nuisance (That would mostly be me with my camera!) and to Donna for taking the two little wet and soaked "wipeout" boys back in the house. ;-)

Sunday was a very quiet day. Intentionally. We went to church in the morning. And that was it. We came home and relaxed and relaxed and relaxed...getting back into the "school" mode with an early bedtime for the Maxter's early Monday morning back-to-school wakeup call.