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