Life is a Picnic

If it's August, it's time for one of the best events of the year, the family picnic in Bradford! It's always an awesome time with great food, fun games, a perfect venue and most of all, great family members to spend the day with. This special day has been going on every year for as long as anyone seems to be able to remember, and we expect to see it continue for years to come. Catherine, Jason and Kyla are such tremendous people and do a fabulous job putting together a fun day for everyone. Seeing Isabelle and Oliver move right into the perfect age for the competitions will be such a joy in future years. We can still remember Isabelle attending her first at 11 months, and each year we see the kid contingent grow and grow, soon they will outnumber the adults! The weather was perfect again this year, relaxing in the shade catching up with everyone and watching Isabelle and Oliver running rampant with their many cousins was a perfect way to spend the day. They racked up their share of prizes in the various feats of strength and even watched Mom and Dad achieve respectable placings as well. Someday we plan to sweep the awards but this wasn't the year. Jeremy, the expert chef and expectant father, grilled up some super steaks for lunch and as Isabelle and Oliver were hoping, there were no shortage of treats. We retired back to the farmhouse for snacks and conversation afterwards, while the kids made full use of the play structure and Jason offered tours of the property on the riding mower. Oliver could not get on fast enough! Sadly, the day had to come to and end and we piled in the van for the drive back to Toronto. Amazingly, neither child felt the need to fall asleep during the ride! That didn't last once we arrived back at the condo, though, as they soon succumbed to the Sandman within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow. Another family picnic in the books and it is never disappointing. We are already counting down the days until next year!

Mommy gets into the spirit by sporting some dress-up clothes herself.

Oliver was very possessive about this toy that came in the dress-up box. He corrected many people that called it a horse. "No!  Zebra!"

Couple of dudes hanging out at the picnic

Isabelle continues the family tradition, a star in the hammering contest

Isabelle completely spent after all her effort. It was hilarious to watch her let out such a big sigh and let her body go limp. Such a hard worker!

Oliver hammers like a future champion

Isabelle displays great form in the shoe kick competition

Batter up! Pinata time!

Our little slugger takes a swing

Uncle Jay was tireless. Not one kid went home without a ride. Super guy.

Nothing runs like a Deere. Oliver agrees!

A Wonderful Visit

We set off for Toronto with an assembled chair in the back of our van, ready for delivery to Isabelle and Oliver's Great Grandma, affectionately referred to in our family as GG. We arrived at her apartment and met up with Aunt Martha for the delivery and installation of the comfortable new seat for the patio. We were solely the delivery agents, the gift was from Halifax and was a big hit on her spacious and airy balcony. From there we headed to Aunt Martha's for a chance to get caught up and visit with GG and Aunt Martha, as well as cousin Elizabeth and her husband Peter. Isabelle and Oliver loved the chance to run around the apartment, snacking away on popcorn and breadsticks the whole time. Then the dessert tray came out and Isabelle grabbed not one, not two, but three chocolate eclairs as her parents chatted away unknowingly. As an nice addition to the pleasant conversation, we were also treated to the arrival of Lawrence and Natasha direct from the plant in Mississauga. We weren't expecting them and it was a nice surprise for all of us. The kids had a super fun time as always and Isabelle has a great memory for the last time we visited around Christmas. We were glad to build some more memories this time around and look forward to seeing them all again soon. 

Oliver, are you in a rush to leave? We just got here!

All smiles with G-G

Working on princess dolls with cousin Natasha

Mommy and Oliver, chatting and snacking respectively

Big hugs for "Grandpa's brother"

Isabelle and Aunt Martha react to the sound of Uncle Lawrence's voice

So nice to see each other...and Happy Birthday, Peter!

Meeting Elliot

Back on June 30, just before the calendar turned over to Canada Day, our good friends Alli and Sean welcomed a bouncing baby boy into the world. We were so excited for them and couldn't wait to meet little Elliot in person. Luckily enough, we were headed to Toronto this weekend and made a stop along the Danforth to see the newly created family of three. We remember those early days as tiring times so we made it a quick visit filled with conversation, take-out food and a group walk over to the Taste of the Danforth. Little Elliot is a real charmer, his big eyes just draw you in and don't let you get away. A cutiepie if we ever saw one. His Mom and Dad are doing awesome and are managing the transition to parenting like total pros. In addition to the basic baby accessories like a stroller and change table, they also picked up their first vehicle too! Busy times indeed and it was fun to be in the middle of all the excitement, bringing back memories from when we had Isabelle and everything seemed so overwhelming. Alli and Sean are already showing how great a set of parents they will be and we look forward to many more visits and playdates in the future. All the best, guys, little Elliot is a real treasure, we are thrilled to be able to watch him grow up!

Mommy admires Elliot while Oliver measures his tiny feet

Pizza delivery team returns with dinner 

Relaxing while everyone else eats solid food

Blonde hair makes it hard to be camouflaged!

Ex-University roomies, now Mommies on the Danforth

This dessert totally hits the spot

No better job in the world. We love you guys!

Summer Staples

What would summer be like for kids without two of the biggest staples of the season: ice cream and fireworks. These little ones got their first taste of the latter on Canada Day and had mixed reactions, Oliver thought it was too loud, Isabelle thought it was too short. Always looking on the bright side, these kids, aren't they!?  As for the ice cream, they agree wholeheartedly, they have been fans of that for a while. They have moved on from Dairy Queen to fancier tastes, gelato from Pure Gelato on Elgin Street. No matter what they had for dinner or how full their tummies are, they seem to always find room for dessert like this. Oliver's even has a favourite flavour: white! Isabelle's tastes changes from week to week but one thing is for sure, she is not tired of having to pick. We zoomed home from dessert that night to have a quick bath because tonight was the Rideau Canada Festival's fireworks show on Dow's Lake. We packed some snacks for the long voyage across the street to the show, both kids were super excited, primarily because they were staying up late, secondly because they were going to see some fireworks. The show started and Isabelle was loving it. Oliver immediately clung to his Mom and was wanting to go home. "Too loud!", he cried as he and Mom walked back. The remaining crew stayed to check out the rest of the fireworks, which didn't last too long. Isabelle was devastated they were over so quickly and trudged home, tired out from such a hectic day. Must be so tough to have visitors in from out of town to play with you all day long, then have a nice BBQ, then go out for dessert and finally finish the day with fireworks. La vie c'est dur, belle fille, la vie c'est dur.

Hanging out on Elgin Street. Same thing 17 years from now, likely at a different type of establishment!

Exactly how much of that do you plan to take, Mom?

Good to the last drop

They were so excited to have fireworks on the lake, they ran almost all the way there. Oliver's excitement from this picture quickly turned after they actually started.

Holiday weekend, chilling out with Grandmaman watching some fireworks. Who could ask for more?

Awesome Start to August!

A fabulous weekend of weather and fun times has finally come to an end. We finished things off by spending the holiday Monday in Quebec on a return visit to Lac Leamy, with its beach beckoning to keep us cool and Isabelle wanting another crack at conquering those pesky monkeybars. The weather was perfect, sunny skies and warm temperatures the whole day long. We found a nice shaded bench to set up camp for the day, close enough to the play structure to keep an eye on the tireless Isabelle's quest to master her nemesis, but close enough to walk over to the beach. After some snacks and some failed monkeybar attempts, we spent most of the afternoon in the water, Isabelle's second home. She never once took a break, happy to just float and swim back and forth, staying busy, smiling and cool all at the same time. Oliver patrolled the shorelines, wading in to get rocks or scoop some sand and pour it out, even dropping to his hands and knees to mimic swimming. These two will be back in the pool in no time, but for now are taking full advantage of the outdoor version of this activity. After convincing Grandmaman to get them an enormous freezie, they hopped in the van and we headed home, where the busy times continued. A crew of bakers put together some cookies for dessert, putting Isabelle's new apron to good use, and then we hit the park to let off some steam before bedtime. Isabelle and Oliver were tired after such a long day, almost as tired as their parents were! Hopefully everyone is well rested today, as things get somewhat back to normal. With so much planned for August, September will be upon us in no time!

Blondies head for the beach

Cap-tivating cutie

Treat-deprived kids head for the snack bar

Baking buddies

Putting on the final touches

Sibling smooch in the park. Cutest kids ever!

Showtime on Sparks Street

If you were in downtown Ottawa yesterday, you could have seen a skateboarding busker jump through a flaming star. Don't try this at home, especially if your name is Oliver or Isabelle.

The annual Sparks Street Buskerfest was in town, a great spectacle of street performers, bouncy castles and all things kid-friendly. This crew of festival goers was all in as soon as they arrived. Within minutes of hitting the street, they were watching The Fire Guy perform his death-defying show of juggling, eating fire, and making everyone laugh their heads off. He was awesome. Meanwhile, Oliver shuffled off and snagged a balloon animal, prompting Isabelle and Logan to follow suit shortly afterwards.

As we bided our time for the next show, we had lunch and hung out in the shade, then happened upon a face painter. Oliver was napping and even if he was awake, he would have wanted nothing to do with her, but Isabelle and Logan queued up for their turn. Meanwhile, the remaining busker viewers were gathered to see Bendy Em, a contortionist that we saw last year and loved. She didn't disappoint again this year, as her crowd participation antics had everyone in stitches. Still amazing how she can twist and bend so easily, even stuffing herself in a tiny box no bigger than the ones Oliver's diapers come in!

As we wound down by visiting the bouncy castles and the giant slide, Buskerfest 2011 came to an end for us. Isabelle had actually been twice as her school took her the previous day too! It's an event we always enjoy and have now been able to share with both sets of grandparents over the past 2 years. It's outdoors, family friendly, relatively inexpensive and never fails to disappoint. Seems foolproof in our eyes. Can't wait to see what they have in store for us next year!

How do they learn to do this stuff?

Lunch break with Logan

Why not juggle fire and champagne, plus balance on a skateboard on a tube?

Face painting fans show off their fancy designs

Looks like those yoga classes paid off!

I'm getting in here anyway, why not bring a basketball too?!

16 inches on each side. Amazing.

No less than 5x she went down this slide. It never gets boring!

Chilling out in the heat with a nice cool beverage