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

Who's Who in the Zoo

Last year the day before Isabelle's birthday party, we met up with our cousins and had a great afternoon at the Toronto Zoo. Why mess with a plan that worked out perfectly?  This year we got to do it again except we were lucky enough to be joined by Jeremy, Sarah and little Benjamin. The weather was absolutely perfect for hours of strolling and checking out the wildlife. With so many little kids to keep an eye on, all the parents had their heads on swivels trying to keep track of them all! Really it wasn't that hard to keep track of them because they were always hanging out together anyway. The parents and grandparents had a chance to get caught up with each other as well. It has been a busy summer for all of us and a difficult one for some, so it was good to see Chris especially up and about and in good spirits. Everyone was looking forward to the big party tomorrow, most of all the birthday girl herself, as she happily held court as the elder statesman amongst all the cousins. She fancies herself a ringleader but soon discovered that kids don't always follow the leader! We hope to maintain this annual tradition, it will be so amazing to see the kids get bigger and bigger every year. We've had a lot of opportunity to connect with Carys, Peter, Matthew and Benjamin over the past few months, and we could not be happier to see the bonds start to form. No rest for the wicked though, big party coming tomorrow!

Hand-in-hand with Gran

Carouselling cousins

Beautiful Benjamin

Best pals share a camel ride

Hanging out with the twins

Oliver in his favourite play area

Wow, 6 cousins?! Who would have imagined this 6 years ago when Isabelle was born?  What a great extended family this has become!

Tired Out in Toronto

When given a chance to weigh in with respect to her birthday party, Isabelle chose to forego a local party with all her friends and decided she wanted more than anything else to have a family party in Toronto with her cousins and aunts and uncles and her beloved Great-Grandpa. So off we went with our massive planning and preparation, only to load it all in the van and bring it to Toronto. With the party scheduled for Sunday, we decided to pack the Saturday with a trip to the Toronto Zoo with the cousins. Lots on the agenda for the upcoming weekend of festivities, for now we just all need a good night's rest!

Happy Birthday, Grandmaman!

With Isabelle starting her school year and really working hard on her French skills, it's perfect timing that her Grandmaman's birthday come along. Isabelle loves to show off her newfound language skills to her Grandmaman, and we expect to spend many hours on Skype showing how much she (and then Oliver too) continues to improve over the years. We were lucky enough to have Grandmaman here for Canada Day this year, a real treat for them to see what Ottawa is like on such a patriotic day! Little did Grandmaman know she would have to join Isabelle on a swing-ride. Happy birthday, Grandmaman, we love you so much!

September Stroll

We couldn't think of a better way to entertain Grandpa, in town for business, than with a walk along the lake. With the sun setting, it was the perfect spot for the kids to spend some quality time with him. 

The requisite feeding of the ducks. By this time of year, they are almost like domestic pets, walking right up and will even take food right out of your hand if you offer it to them!

Oliver can't get enough of this setting. He loves to run along the path, wave to the ducks, check out the boats. Summer's don't get any better than hanging out by the lake.

First Day of School!

What inevitably comes with the end of summer is the beginning of fall, which along with the dreaded cooler temps also means it's time to shop for a new backpack and lunchbox and get ready for the school year! Isabelle was much more excited than her Mom and Dad were to see the summer close out. She was looking forward to the excitement of meeting back up with her friends and getting to see her new teacher, as well as experiencing a full day of school for the first time! Grade 1 seemed so far off back when she was born (even when Oliver was born!), but here she was, taller and more grown up and shuffling off to another adventurous year at school. She was most excited that her Mom, Dad and brother were going to walk her to her first day, which included a stop at Starbucks for a yogourt parfait snack en route! She was very shy to meet Madame Nadine, her new professor, but quickly bounded into school, happy as can be. Of course we know that days 2, 3 and beyond will not be met with nearly as much enthusiasm but for now it was great to see her so excited, even if it hurt us a little inside to watch her go. We still had Oliver and his first day to contend with! A little bit more familiarity for him as headed back into daycare, but only part-time this week as Mom will be able to pick him early each day. Slow transitions are always easier, and with a new teacher for Oliver too we are sure it will help him to know Mommy isn't far from coming. It promises to be a great year for both of them and we can't wait to hear all the new things they learn each and every day, and to hear Isabelle speak more and more French!

All prepped and ready to go!

Summer's Twilight

What better way to close August than a sunset cruise in the kayak?

As sad as we are to see the final day of August arrive, we can look back and say we had a great summer, full of friends, fun and family. The weather was sunny and hot, just like we like it. We hosted visitors and we went visiting. We worked on our house but we also stopped to smell the roses. Every day was different but every day was special to us. Mommy had an extra special extended time to spend with Isabelle and Oliver, not only hosting what seemed like daily playdates for two weeks, but then heading off to Halifax to share in the family cottage and reunite cousins for some fun in the sun. These two kids will only ever be this age for one summer, and we made sure to enjoy it. Next summer will surely be just as fun as they continue to grow. Each season is important to us for so many reasons, but we do love summer best of all.

Oliver and Mommy chilling out

Cruising into September...

Happy to Be Back!

Although Halifax was fun for everyone and Dad had the chance to enjoy some quiet time to himself, there is nothing better than having everyone back in Ottawa, together and enjoying the tail end of summer. Isabelle and Mommy were off to get Mommy/Daughter manicures, so Daddy and Oliver went to check out Rideau Falls! Lots to get caught up on, we missed each other so much!