Canada Day!

Well, we'd heard that Ottawa was the place to be on Canada Day - as the nation's capital there were lots of events planned. We'd also been informed by a local that patriotism was up since their involement in war in the middle east, and also hosting an Olympics in 2010 (where they actually managed to win some medals). We were excited about the weekend ahead.

A good omen appeared on Saturday - we managed to buy some cheddar cheese that was yellow (instead of a bizarre orange) and actually tasted like proper cheese! The humble ham and cheese sandwich suddenly tasted much better. Another exciting event was managing to get a phone contract - I've been feeling a bit naked without a phone. Back at the hotel, we could see everyone setting up for the festivities, and it was looking good.

Canada Day dawned warm and sunny. We headed off to a city park that was staging some child friendly events. The thing that stood out as we walked, was that we were the only people not wearing red and white. Thousands of people on the streets, and all wearing their nation's colours. Very impresive. We'll be sure to blend in better next year! First on the agenda at the park - face painting. It was all Canadian themes. So Miss 3 didn't get the tiger face that she had hoped for, but was a vision in red, white and sparkles, including red hair with a white maple leaf. Even I joined in - there were many adults with full face paint and coloured hair.

There was a giant dance class, blow-up horses to bounce and race around, as well as lots of other displays and food and drink. The twins were pretty good, just hanging out in the pram and watching the world go by. Apart from Miss 3 deciding that the ice cream I'd bought her as a treat was too cold (too young for the cold? Just too precious I think!) a fun time was had by all.

A quiet afternoon at the hotel was in order, and after some Timmies to recharge (as well as pizza and beer) we headed out to the free night concert. Optimistically, we took Miss 3, we thought she'd enjoy gettting out and there were fireworks at the end.But after 20 minutes in a crowd, with only repetitive dance music, she wanted to go home. Luckily for me, hubby took her home so that I could stay and enjoy the show. (He'd seen a shorter concert at midday when I was taking kids home.) I'm glad he did, the opening act was Sinple Plan and they were great. The other acts were hit and miss for me, so we left before the end to get a good vantage point for the fireworks.

Ah, fireworks. What is it about fireworks that makes you feel like a kid again? There we were, grown adults, surrounded by other grown adults, gaping open-mouthed at the sky. Ooh, aah, I like that one! A great end to the night.

But it wasn't the end of the weekend. With a public holiday, we headed to the zoo, as it was another beautiful warm sunny day. The zoo was quite small, but great for kids - it had a petting zoo area where you could feed animals, as well as being able to view other animals getting fed throughout the day. It was also great to see animals you wouldn't see at home; although the coyote looked nothing like Wile-E :)

And so ends the weekend! We are currently getting sorted out in preparation for our move into our house - finally! I'll let you know how that goes next week...