Where has the time gone? Since we got back from our holiday to the States, the weeks have flown by, and all of a sudden we are saying farewells and clearing out the house. We only have 3 more nights in our house before we move to temporary accommodation while we get packed up before flying out. While there is a part of me that is sad to leave, as we've really enjoyed our time here, we are now starting to really look forward to seeing our family and friends again, as well as another holiday on the way home! The past few weeks haven't all been about packing up though...
The weekend after we arrived home was a busy one. On the Saturday morning we headed to Rideau Hall for a 2nd birthday party. It was a beautiful, sunny day so it was fun to hang out, chat, drink coffee and watch the kids play. Friends came over in the evening for a catch up - we hung out, had drinks and ate cheese and snacks while the kids played. Always fun. The following day, Miss 5 was super excited to have a birthday party to attend at Cosmic Adventure (an indoor play centre). It was her first chance to see some of her school friends since the school year finished, and of course it's a very fun day out anyway. The only problem is convincing her to leave and go home.
It was an interesting week too; we had listed our car for sale on Sunday night and it turns out that Honda Odysseys are in hot demand. The first people to come look at it (on Monday night) wanted to buy it pronto for the full asking price. (She was overdue with child number 3.) Great for us, except for the fact that we'd imagined it would take a couple of weeks to sell and weren't willing to survive that long without a car. A last minute car rental it was - we ended up with a much smaller Kia Rondo and poor Miss 5 had to perch on her booster seat in the boot! Even with the car-related running around, we managed to catch up with friends too; and the kids were thrilled when our amazing babysitter took them on the bus to the fire station for a tour.
The next few weeks passed quickly. We had BBQ dinner at a friend's house, playdates, special shopping trips with the girls, a visit from Canadian relatives and a housewarming party. The other exciting thing (especially for me!) was summer camp. Miss 5 did a full week as a local dance school and loved it. Two of her friends also went, and they did a week of movement, craft and stories on an 'under the sea' theme. Friday afternoon all the parents were invited to watch them present a little show of what they learned during the week. She absolutely loved going off to camp each day, and because the weather was so lovely they took all the kids to the local splash pad after lunch every day. I also put the twins in for just a morning at their old school for summer camp that week; then couldn't get them to leave! As they loved it so much, all 3 girls did a full day for the next 2 weeks which they loved, and gave me some time and space to sort and clean at home in preparation for the move.
The last week has been busy too. We had a picnic lunch with friends, the annual game of cricket with the Australian High Commission taking on the British High Commission (and the Aussies won the Canadian Ashes again too!), hubby's replacement arrived and we hosted farewell drinks for friends. We've squeezed in some last playdates too. Unfortunately, Ottawa has not turned on it's best weather for our last week in the house - it's been raining most days. We are hoping it improves for the weekend, as the annual lantern festival (Lumiere) is on at our local park on Saturday, and our babysitter is planning to take the kids out of our way for us on Sunday while we pack our suitcases and sort our air and sea freight. Next week we'll be trying to squeeze in as many playdates as well as a bit of sightseeing around town while the house gets packed and cleaned. Although, with 5 days for the job it's the longest we've ever had to move out of a house!
It's hard to believe that our time here is over - it still doesn't quite seem real. Hubby had his last day of work today and even he can't believe it. Maybe we'll believe it when the house is packed. Given it's the end, I have a couple of lists:
THINGS WE'LL MISS
* Seasons - I love the changing of the seasons; the city really does look and feel different at different times of year.
* Winter sports
* Our neighbourhood - awesome location, great people and sense of community, very pretty
* The kids school
* Holiday destinations - being able to drive to so many amazing places in less then a day
* Ribs (that one's from hubby and Miss 5)
* Hubby will miss his short commute
* Halloween
* Range of family restaurants
* The people we've met
* Our amazing backyard
* Reasonable priced maple syrup
THINGS WE WON'T MISS
* -35 wind chill
* 'Summer' when it's 15 and raining
* The state of the roads, especially after winter
* Roadworks in general
* Getting 3 kids dressed and out the door in winter
* Fatty bacon, sweet bread and orange cheese
I'm sure there are others for both lists, but that's all I can think of right now. It's been fun Ottawa! Au revoir!
