A month has passed since I last wrote and much has happened. The lovely fall sunshine I was writing about is now well and truly gone. We had about 5cms of snow yesterday, although today's rain has pretty much cleared that up already. Nights have been dipping below zero and there is a definite chill in the air in the mornings, which means that it is coat, beanie and mitten weather; so taking that little bit longer to leave the house every day. Daylight saving has finished too, which is great in the mornings (it was getting bloody hard to get out of bed!) but the afternoons are darkening fairly quickly. On the plus side, it's good weather for roasts, soup and the slow cooker which is always nice at the start of the cold season.
Thanksgiving weekend was mid-October here in Canada. (Apparently the timing is due to the harvest season; we harvest earlier in Canada then the US as we're further north, so Thanksgiving is earlier. It makes perfect sense.) Most people tend to spend time with families and eat turkey, as it's just us we made the most of the 3 day weekend to get out and about. We picked a sunny day to go back to the Agriculture Museum (Miss 4 had just had a field trip there the previous week, but we didn't get to see much); of course the twins are scared of animals so didn't enjoy it as much as we thought they might. ("Look at the baby goat!" Reply was an emphatic head shake "No!") Luckily they had a great tractor exhibit, with simulators the kids could ride in, they have an awesome playground and they had Thanksgiving themed craft activities. On a rainy day we hit the Aviation Museum (our closest) and the kids ran around all the planes and climbed onto everything they were allowed to. It's great having museum memberships here - they are relatively cheap and they mean you always have an activity for a quiet weekend or rainy day, without feeling like you have to spend the whole day because you've paid an entry fee. We also used the long weekend to get ready for winter - the kids all needed new winter boots of course and we managed to find a good quality brand on special, which is important when you need to buy 3 pairs!
The next weekend the wardroom had an Oktoberfest event. We'd arranged to go with another couple and friends of theirs, and it's always nice to get a grown up night out. It was great to catch up and eat the German themed buffet; they had also gone to the trouble of organising a German brass band in lederhosen and all! Of course the band was in such a tiny space that you couldn't talk at all over their music, so we ended up standing in the bar area downstairs. We also thought they might have arranged some German beers or steins, but no, just the regular drinks at the bar. Oh well. The next day Miss 4 had a birthday party (of course!) at an indoor trampoline park. She was super excited, and this time Dad got to take her and socialise with the other parents. We're getting to know lots of the other kindergarten parents through all these parties!
Next weekend the neighbourhood Halloween festivities began On Saturday, the school had a Halloween dance. I thought the twins might be a bit young to enjoy it, but knew that some of Miss 4's friends would be there so off we went. It was a fundraiser, but for $10 a ticket they had a hotdog and juice, a DJ with music and lights as well as a stack of games with prizes. My favourite game was eat the gummy work out of the open mouth of a papier-mache crocodile without using your hands ie stick your head in the crocodile's mouth. Miss 4 had a great time, even if her witch's hat kept falling off. (It was mine from last year so probably a little big.) We had a grown-up Halloween party that night which was also fun. We only really knew the host, so re-used last year's costumes (executioner and fortune teller). I probably should have had a glass or 2 less of wine, but otherwise a well organised night with some great costumes. The next day was Halloween Howl, a community event down at the local park (or I should say in the fieldhouse at the park). The kids all turn up in costume (Miss 4 gave last year's pirate outfit another go) and walk a block to the retirement home to show the residents their costumes. They gave the kids treats and it was a lovely experience for both groups - the kids love to show off and get treats obviously, and the old folks really enjoyed seeing them all; it was clear that lots have mobility issues so wouldn't get a chance to see Halloween celebrations any other way. After the parade, it was back to the fieldhouse for more games and Halloween themed craft activities. A fabulous volunteer-run event.
Halloween itself arrived and the school had parties in the classroom for the younger years - so I sent a witch and 2 bunnies off for the morning. Despite not wanting to keep their bunny heads on, the twins loved their costumes, and actually refused to take them off. Miss 4's class sang some Halloween songs and posed for photos for the mums and dads at the start which was great. We had a quiet afternoon at home before it was time for trick or treating. We had arranged for an Aussie couple to come over (they wanted to see what this whole Halloween thing was about) which was great as they held the fort at our house and handed out candy while we took the kids out. We weren't sure how the twins would go, but they kept their costumes, on bunny heads and all, and carried their little pumpkin buckets upright, not dropping a single treat. I think they were just excited to be out wandering the streets after dark to be honest! We only did one block with them (which was enough to fill their buckets!) before we came home, where I manned the fort while hubby, Miss 4 and our friends went to check out the Governor General's. He always has a haunted house set up, and although it apparently looked fantastic, Miss 4 wasn't game to go in. She may have been put off by the 'witch' she met outside who gave her an apple - when she arrived home she was most concerned and insisted I throw it straight in the bin - it came from a witch so it must be poisoned!! A great fun night - we'll never see Halloween like it again sadly.
After so many child-centered activities, it was nice to do some things for us the next weekend. We met 2 couples at the Chelsea pub for dinner on Saturday night. Chelsea is across the river in Quebec, and the pub is a lovely, cosy wooden building right on the edge of the Gatineau National Park (also where our closest skiing is). They are friends we know though the kids, so it was nice to catch up sans enfants for once. Hubby was given (through work) hockey tickets for the Senators game on the Sunday so we trundled out to the stadium for the afternoon. It was good to get out to a game, but it really is a nightmare getting in and especially out of the carpark, made worse by the fact the Sens lost in a shoot out after overtime. The goalie also had to be stretchered off the ice, although it turned out to be nothing serious thankfully.
So that's that. This weekend has been quiet. Hubby was away for work and only got back late Friday and apart from another birthday party (this time at a gymnastics centre) we mostly stayed close to home. Next time I write I suspect it will be to tell tales of snow and winter.......Where is the year going??
No comments:
Post a Comment