Buses, Trains & Automobiles....

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the girls and I tagged along with Brent to Ottawa for a mini fall get-a-way. I was not sure how we were going to make out considering we had a 6 hour plus car ride and Emily hates making the two hour trip to Barrie because it takes way to long to get there. Both girls did amazingly well considering it was a very dreary, rainy drive. I guess the anticipation of what lie ahead is what got them through the long drive. The original plan when I started planning this trip way back when was that we would stay at the same hotel as Brent but, it was missing one very important amenity....a swimming pool! So we booked ourselves into the Hampton Inn just so we could enjoy the pool! Hayleigh's comments about our hotel..."This is so much better then I expected."

I love Ottawa. It is such a beautiful city. We took the girls to the Canadian Children's Museum which I highly recommend to anyone visiting Ottawa with kids. The girls loved the place running from exhibit to exhibit and back again. There was so much for them take in. If it had not been closed on the Monday, I am sure we would have been back.

We had a great visit with my old roommates Sue and Colleen...and lots of laughs. The three of us had some great times at 210 Stewart.

We also visited Parliment Hill. Hayleigh wanted to go up the Peace tower and Emily refused. With some creative parenting (okay, I lied to the child), I managed to get Emily into the elevator and the first words out of her mouth inside the peace tower looking over the city......"This is so awesome Mom!" Monday was a cool day so our tour around the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill was not very long. Part of our Monday adventures was riding OC Transpo. I told the girls we could take the bus downtown and they thought it was just awesome.

We ended our trip by bringing the train home from Ottawa. It was the girls first time on the train.

I am now trying to sort through photo's.....Emily is patiently waiting for me to develop them so she can show her friends.

I am happy to have my computer (& pictures) back. I was in the process of deleting and editing last week when it quit on me. They did not find anything wrong with it so I am not sure what happened. It has been a busy week with skating, Brownies/Sparks and getting ready for our trip to Ottawa this weekend. I am trying to come up with ideas that will keep the girls entertained for the 6 hour drive. Brent has an AALP seminar so the girls are going hitch a ride. The plan is to take in the sights and hopefully catch up with some friends. Then the girls and I are going to bring the train home.

Emily has requested that I take lots of pictures on our trip so that she can share them with her friends at school. I don't think that will be a problem.

All is not lost.....thank goodness!

My computer is currently sitting in the repair shop. Last night as I was going through photos and deleting and editing, it died on me and it is not even a year old......good news is....what I like to call the blue screen of death means it is a hardware problem and no pictures have been lost.

A rare moment when Emily voluntarily posed for a picture....I really do have to treasure these moments.

Just a Sample.....

I am really trying to clean up the pictures on my computer and the awesome fall weather we have been having is not helping my cause at all. We had a great Thanksgiving weekend here. The weather was fabulous and I managed to get some work done around home. We had dinner with the Royce's on Sunday and enjoyed a walk through the local sugar bush as well. The colours were beautiful. I am so glad we took the time to enjoy them! Hopefully, I will get around to posting some more pictures and maybe playing a bit of catch up!

I need help.....

I have just spent a good chunk of my day editing & deleting pictures and I still have too many pictures, some of which I am now trying to upload and blogger won't let me.............ugh!

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Back into Routine......

Another summer has come and gone.....and this one went by way too fast! Summer's are always a busy time for us and this one was no different. Brent spent two weeks in Europe this summer and that pretty much put the rest of the summer of out wack.

Last week marked a big a change around here, besides the girls heading back to school, Emily also began daycare this year for the days that she will not be in school. Since she was baby, we have had the same childcare provider and I was really hoping it would work for another year until she was in school full-time. However, things did not work out and now she is attending a new daycare. The first couple of days were a big adjustment for us all, but after a few days we had all settled into the new routine. Emily had her first day of school on Friday and does not go back until the 15th. Don't ask me what kind of schedule she is on, as I have yet to figure it out.
Hayleigh started Grade 2! Her new teacher is Mrs. Hoover and she seems pleased with her new teacher thus far, not that Hayleigh is hard to please.

Now that we are back into a regular routine, I am hoping to post a little more often.