Celebrations

And finally it feels like Spring. The weeks have flown by, with the weather teasing us a little (sunshine one day, cool and rainy the next) but it has settled down, and we're seeing some lovely sunny days and gardens of green and flowers. We've just had a long weekend, so it was nice to get outside, but lots has happened between then and since I last wrote; 2 birthdays and Easter just for a start!

Just after I wrote my last post, I celebrated my birthday. As it will be my last birthday here in Canada, I wanted to do something a little special, so I organised to go out for high tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier with a group of my friends. It was actually another friend's birthday the day after mine, so we ended up having a combined celebration. It was great fun. The first sunny warm day all year and we had a table right near the window. The food was delicious and (as with most high teas) you feel you can sit there all afternoon chatting, relaxing and enjoying the ambiance. In fact quite a few of us did - I only just made it home in time for dinner! It was also fabulous to catch up and really talk with my friends without being interrupted by children as so often happens when we catch up.

On my actual birthday, hubby arranged a great surprise - an afternoon at Le Nordik with a one hour massage. Le Nordik is a spa/retreat in Chelsea (across the river near Gatineau park, Quebec) where they have a number of thermal pools (cool to hot), saunas, and steam rooms all set in a beautiful location. Although it was a little chilly to follow the recommended method of hot, then cold (just getting out of a hot tub was cold enough!) it was a beautiful, relaxing afternoon. It was followed by a dinner out at a family restaurant which the kids loved too.

Easter was two weeks after my birthday and much more fun then last year (when there was still snow on the ground, which made some outdoor fun difficult). We visited some museums (becoming quite a common long weekend activity for us!) and caught up with friends for drinks while the kids all ran around like crazy. The best part though, was the Easter Egg hunt on Sunday. A whole group of families arrange to have a mass hunt in the grounds of the Governor General's every year. The parents bring 12 eggs (the plastic, fillable ones) per child, and one parent (typically the dads) go over a little early and hide them in a section of the 'woods' which is just among the trees and undergrowth near the fence. At 11am, the kids were 'released' into the woods to find the eggs. They all absolutely loved it. Miss 4 found more then her fair share and once they realised what they were doing, the twins had great fun tramping around finding eggs too. Of course getting to eat what they had found was great fun too - at least they'd earned their treats with all the running round in the fresh air.

The weekend after Easter, Miss 4 became Miss 5. Yes, someone was super excited to be celebrating her birthday. She is very friendly and sociable, so we had lots of trouble narrowing the list for her birthday party. (The old, "Well, you can just invite that friend next time" trick wasn't going to cut it as it was her last birthday in Canada.) She invited 16 friends and we thought that surely a few would be unable to attend. The end result - 15 of her friends descended on our house on Sunday afternoon to celebrate with a Spring Picnic themed party. We were crossing everything for fine weather (so we could send the kids outside) and thankfully it was. Not quite warm enough to picnic outside, but we pushed couches out of the way and set up a great picnic area inside. It was a little crazy, but on the whole the kids all seemed to have lots of fun and thankfully a few parents stayed to help with supervision. I must confess to breathing a huge sigh of relief and pouring myself a drink once they'd all gone home!

Two weeks after that, another celebration - Mother's Day. I wasn't all that fussed about making a big deal of the day, as I'd just been spoiled for my birthday. It was still a lovely day though. The girls had all brought flowers home from school for me at the end of the week (including some pansies that the twins potted themselves) and I got to sleep in and then have pancakes for breakfast. Miss 5 was very excited to give me a gift she'd chosen and bought at the Mother's Day sale at school; some beads, which aren't really my style, but, oh well. It's the thought that counts :) It was also good to be able to go into the city and buy myself some new running sneakers. As it was a lovely sunny day, we also wandered down to the park for a while in the afternoon.

As well as all our own celebrations, the kids have also had parties of their friends. A friend of Miss 5 had a party the day before hers; a pizza making party, which ended with cupcake decorating (always a big hit). And the twins had their first birthday invitation too, for  little girl in their class who turned 3. It was just at their home, but they had a balloon man who was great. Once he'd made one child a ladybird, everyone wanted one! They also came home with a blue dog and a yellow cat. There wasn't much he couldn't make  he even made a miniature balloon version of one of the dads at the party. Hubby and I also went to a wedding celebration dinner for some Canadian friends. It was at one of Ottawa's most highly rated restaurants and the food was delicious. A special mention to dessert - chocolate 5 ways, mmmmmm.

As I mentioned at the start, the weekend just gone was a long weekend for Victoria Day. Along with the rest of Ottawa (at least it felt that way!) we went to the Tulip Festival. I think I mentioned it last year - during WWII Canada provided a safe refuge for a Dutch princess. Since then, every year the Netherlands sends thousands of tulip bulbs to Ottawa as a thank you. It is very picturesque; huge displays of tulips all around Dow's Lake (just south of the city). We also visited the Agriculture Museum. Our membership is nearly up and we've been meaning to go for ages, they also had a special event weekend about sheep and wool. The best bits were the sheep herding demonstration and the sheepdog agility demonstration. The sheepdog display was particularly entertaining. Members of a border collie club ran their dogs around an obstacle course; what made it funny was the varying levels of enthusiasm and proficiency among the dogs. Their characters were all pretty clear to the audience! The twins are a little scared of dogs, but they seemed to enjoy it too as the dogs sped by right in front of their noses.

Apart from that, it's been same old, same old. School, playdates, book club and the busyness that comes with being a family of 5. One new thing in our schedule is swimming lessons. We realised that it's really not all that long until we are back home in a house with a swimming pool so it was time to get something done. Miss 5 is doing really well; I think her early lessons from her toddler days, as well as a summer with a pool back home have helped, even if she can't really remember them. The twins...not so great. They are very keen to practice blowing bubbles etc in the bath at home, but tend to get shy and grumpy at the lessons.Hubby and I are in with them, trying to encourage them as best we can, but ultimately, you cannot force a 2 year old to blow bubbles on cue! Fingers crossed they start to improve more rapidly.

It will be another busy few weeks ahead too - a dance recital and loads of end of year school events. Speaking of the dance recital, I have some costume accessories to create! By the time I write the next post, it will likely be summer. Bring it on!