Playdates All Around!

October seemed to be the time for playdates, we have had quite a few of them this month for some reason. One reason could be Isabelle's penchant for planning them with her friends then notifying her parents about those plans at the last second. This appears to be something she enjoys doing with her friends during the school day or at daycare. In any case, it seems like almost every weekend this month there was a playdate on the agenda, which is great for getting things done if you aren't hosting them, but as you can expect quite the opposite if you are. We did both this month, and Isabelle even has one more tomorrow as she has been invited to her first Hallowe'en house party. It's great to see both Isabelle and Oliver making so many friends and such good friends that they even want to hang out on the weekends. Now if only Mom and Dad can keep track of how busy all 4 of our schedules are!

Road rally with Gabby and Michael

Dance party with Logan and Kayla

We were also lucky enough to have Halifax and New Smyrna friends Martha and John in town with their little grandson Evan from Montreal. It was great to have the little guy here, especially since we had heard so much about him over the past couple of years. He is a complete francophone, which gave Isabelle and her Mom both the chance to speak French. As for Oliver, he and Evan spoke the universal language of Cars movies so they got along just great. We hope we get the chance to see the little guy again soon, it's always so nice to see his grandparents, they are such kind people.  We all adore them!

Isabelle holds court at the kids table

Martha and Evan, much more impressed with each other than the picture indicates!

The Spooky Season...

...always starts at Saunders Farm. We've been coming here for years, even came here once before the kids arrived! But now with 2 of them in the prime age for the Hallowe'en season, this is the perfect place to come and get them in the Hallowe'en mood (not that it's so difficult for kids to get excited about Hallowe'en!). It's an awesome place to come in October, the place is completely done up and just packed with families having a good time. The Haunted Hayride is an annual tradition with Logan (and now Kayla), with Logan going from a crying kid a few years ago to one that is now too cool for school, shrugging off what he used to find scary. Isabelle, the budding drama student, likes to play afraid so much that she convinces herself that it's much worse than it is. We were lucky enough this year to be joined by Matt, Rhiannon and Madoc for their first time. It's really cool to see the pictures every year as the kids grow up and they keep adding attractions to make it fun. It goes without saying that the jumping pillows are a huge hit, it's impossible to get the kids off them! Now that we've had our fun fall day at Saunders Farm, we are super-pumped for Hallowe'en festivities at school, daycare, the community centre and of course the big night itself. Dentists beware, Hallowe'en is almost here!

The rulers of the pumpkin patch

Zooming down the slides

Kayla first Haunted Hayride

Brave big sister?  Not today!

Rollin' with the boys

Snacktime for Madoc

Safe to say he likes the jumping pillows

Air Oliver takes flight!

The Pumpkin Prince

Pigskin Playtime!

With Isabelle off at a playdate with her friend Brynn, Oliver and Daddy headed downtown to the Byward Market to check out something called the NFL Experience, an interactive display of cool football-related activities that was visiting for the weekend. No shortage of fun stuff to do for kids (and Dads!), including uniforms to try on, kicking field goals and even obstacle courses for youngsters and armchair athletes. Luckily we were there early enough that there weren't many lines to wait in. Oliver rocked the kid's course and Dad even took on the big course, including having to dive for the final pass in the end zone! Needless to say he hauled it in for the points, he had to or risk letting down his fan club of one in the audience.  Oliver was as thrilled as could be with the mini footballs they were handing out as prizes, making sure to grab one for Isabelle and for his friend Michael. It was a fun kickoff to the weekend and of course we all know Dad was more excited than Oliver to have taken it all in. He's doing his best to create some NFL fans in the family!

Currently, he's only big enough to be a kicker!

Super Bowl MVP 2035!

Giving Thanks

Rarely are we home for the Thanksgiving holiday, but this year we decided to enjoy the fall colours here in the Ottawa region. Also, Mommy took on a big task and decided to cook her first turkey! It was quite an undertaking, making sure we had all the right ingredients, cooking utensils and the requisite thermometer, but ten final product turned out absolutely perfect, juicy and tasty for everyone to enjoy. She was very proud of her accomplishment and carved it like a pro as well, must be from years of watching her parents make some stellar holiday dinners. Add to the turkey some great side dishes and we had an awesome fall feast to celebrate the holiday. As an added bonus, plenty of leftovers for the coming week! We had so much to give thanks for this year, we are fortunate with so many friends and family we can't feel more loved than we do. We are looking forward to the upcoming holiday season but we also hope the nice weather we have been experiencing continues for a bit longer!

Two thumbs up for a wicked Thanksgiving dinner!

Fall Frolic in the Gatineaus

There are few places in Canada as nice in October as the National Capital Region, especially the amazing colours on display in Gatineau Park. Every year, literally thousands of people head up on the first couple of weekends in October to see the reds, oranges, brown and yellows that populate the hills and trails of the park. After what seemed like an interminable drive in heavy traffic to get up there, we finally parked near Mackenzie King Estate and walk the Waterfall Trail and Lauriault Trail. It was a very up and down stroll but the kids loved it and toughed it out, with a few trips and falls along the way. Oliver loved to whack away at the leaves with his hockey stick, while Isabelle brought along her baton as her walking stick. It was nice to talk a long walk and get some fresh air as we prepare to head home and get started on plans for a great Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. We finally made our way back to the car and drove through the rest of the park. This is one of the first Thanksgiving weekends we have spent on our own as a family, having the chance to enjoy some outdoor fun along the way made it even more special! Now, time to cook the turkey!

Hockey star Oliver

Balancing Belle

Single file stroll

Fork in the road

Checking out the view

Backyard Bash

With the warm temperatures waning and the sun going down earlier and earlier every night, we wanted to take the opportunity to share our backyard cinema with some of Isabelle and Oliver's closest friends. We hosted a Saturday night screening of Despicable Me, an awesome kids movie that is just as entertaining for boys, girls and even adults! We had 12 kids, 6 boys and 6 girls, ranging in age from 14 months (Kayla) to 9 years old (Jonathan), all of whom had an awesome time snacking away from start to finish. Popcorn, a fully-stocked candy table and even marshmallows for roasting were all on the menu and with many of their parents not in attendance, it was a night to load up on sugar!  With a great turnout and a positive result, it's too bad the season is coming to a close, but we have a prefect template for next summer! Watch out neighbours, we may be having many more of these in 2013!

From left to right: Logan, Amelia, Gabby, Oliver, Jonathan, Isabelle, Michael, Eva, Jack, Kayla, Jeevan and Amara!

The inevitable aftermath

Bathroom Buffoons

Isabelle and Oliver recently received a couple of fake shaving kits, one Spider-man themed and one NHL-themed. They decided to give them a try in the bath tonight and to no one's surprise they had a total blast. They are such goofballs!

Happy Birthday, Logan!

We wish Isabelle's younger (by 6 days!) friend Logan a super happy 6th birthday!

His official kids party is next weekend as we are all going to see Hotel Transylvania, but he had a family house party this weekend and we were thrilled to be in attendance. It was fun to hang out with him and Kayla and of course he was thrilled to open his presents. In fact, he was sufficiently tricked by his parents into thinking he wasn't going to get a Nintendo DS until Christmas, but lo and behold guess what the final gift was? Isabelle and Oliver had a grand time doing crafts and dressing up as pirates. Too bad we can't have a birthday party every weekend!

Cuddling up with Patrick's little dog

Surrounded by Spidey

Chilling out with Uncle Blue

Avast ye landlubbers!

Pirate pals

The birthday boy celebrates (as Kayla looks on)

Afternoon at the ROM

With an extra day in Toronto after Isabelle's big bash, we took the opportunity to do something that would be right up her little brother's alley, but still good for a curious 6-year old girl. The Royal Ontario Museum has an amazing dinosaur exhibit on this fall, so we headed down Yorkdale to get a closer look at these enormous creatures. It was like going back in time for Mommy and for Gran, harkening back to school field trips from years ago, now seeing this place through the eyes of Isabelle and Oliver. Even before we reached the main exhibit, there was a huge dinosaur skeleton in the lobby that captured the kid's attention. It was a good preview of what we were about to see downstairs, which ended up being a great, interactive exhibit, including some neat features like screens depicting dinosaurs that moved when people walked by, iPads with tons of information on each dinosaur and some huge skeletons that the kids loved. Oliver was surprisingly not as excited about it as his big sister, perhaps it was the dark setting because once he got into the main section of the ROM he was much more his normal self. It was a great finish to a fun-filled Toronto weekend, one that we won't soon forget. We headed home with a freshly-minted six-year old and a little boy with a car seat full of dinosaur toys. Thumbs up from everyone!


Amazed at how big these things are

Beware of T-Rex

Junior paleontologists

Girl vs Beast!

Trying to get a closer look

Sundae Sunday Social for a Six-Year Old!

Finally, Isabelle's birthday wish of having everyone together in Toronto came true. She's been excited to have this party pretty much since last year's fifth birthday party ended! The theme this year was a Sundae Sunday Social, complete with a fully-stocked sundae bar that was sure to please young and old alike. She was surrounded by many well-wishers and had a fantastic time. Family parties are always a blast, especially as there seem to be more and more kids every year. Isabelle enjoys playing the elder statesman to her cousins, leading her many friends around the courtyard, at the craft table and guiding them through their face painting. Oliver was happy to tag along as the younger brother, loving his Spider-Man face paint and using his swords to joust with any willing participant. Everyone had an awesome time and people were more than generous with not just gifts but their time. It was a real treat to have everyone together and we already can't wait to see everyone again at the New Year's party. It has been amazing to watch Isabelle grow over the years from this tiny little baby with a million possibilities in her future to this sweet little girl with such a big heart. She is a great daughter and an awesome sister and we couldn't be prouder of what she has become. We know that in year seven she will continue to show us what a special little girl she is. Happy birthday, angel, we love you with all our hearts!

Wow, we can't believe she is already six!

Wicked posters courtesy of Auntie Meggie

Oliver, first in line!

Art table was a big hit

A fine feast

Isabelle, a work of art

Even Spidey stops to have dessert

Smiling with her Wales-bound cousin Kayla

Oliver hard at work with his buddy Kayla

Cozying up with Mom to do some unwrapping

Celebrating with Great-Grandpa, one of her favourite people ever