As you could tell from my previous posting, we actually did a family vacation this year to Ottawa (mixed with some business meetings for George). It was just the four of us and a whole lotta site seeing, so follows a few posts on our adventures.
Our first stop on Monday (besides the wave pool at the hotel) was downtown Ottawa, including the impressive war memorial and, of course, the parliament buildings.
We went in the evening so we could see the light show that the National Capital Commission puts on each night over the summer. But, it was a perfect time to see the capital buildings. Not too hot. Not too crowded. Perfect light for picture-taking. And, lots of space to run around for the kids. (Even for Blake, which is saying a lot.)
A few things we noticed:
> They have a very cool monument to the "Women are Persons" decision. I had Faith pose so I could take a picture of her, and was very happy that we had some kick ass predecessors to fight this battle for us.
> The library is still the best part of the Parliament Buildings...even from the outside.
> The racoon hanging around the dumpster...not a household pet. Please don't try to pet him. (Although thank you dumb people for providing a good teachable moment to my kid who got to hear all about animals and rabies. And, being my kid, we had to google rabies when we got back to the hotel to find out all about the signs and symptoms.)
> Yes, they do have mosquitoes on parliament hill. Lots.
> No light show about Canada is complete without music from the Tragically Hip, a quote from PET (Pierre Elliot Trudeau), and mention of "the first practical email pager"(yes, this is what they called the Blackberry....huh?).
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Conversations in a hotel room
We're doing a family vacation in Ottawa this year, just the four of us. Part of the fun(?) of family vacations for us is fitting into a hotel room for three days straight. (Our idea of roughing it is a hotel room without a fridge.)
This morning, after being out until 10:00 last night watching the light show on Parliament Hill, I overheard the following conversation from the pullout couch next to us. (Note: We told the kids we'd see the Mythic Creatures (i.e. dragon exhibit) at the Museum of Civilization today.)
Blake: I see dragons tomorrow. Roar!
Faith: No, we're seeing them today Blake.
B: Rrrroooaaarrrr!
F: They're in a museum Blake. You have to be more gentle.
B: Rroarr. I kill the dragon!
F: You're my hero.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Going into withdrawal
Faith has had the busiest summer of all of us. She was at my parents for 12 days (10 without us!) and is now at our friends' cottage for a week. Living the good life. She called us the other night, and talked for about two minutes. I think Karen made her call...not sure about that.
Anyway, George and I keep telling ourselves that this is great! She's becoming so independent! She's breaking out and doing new things! She's gaining confidence! Woohoo! Girl power! Blah, blah, blah.
Of course, this is really just a partial truth. What we'd really like is to have her sitting on the couch with us asking to watch the Family Channel. (OK...maybe we haven't gone that far off the deep end.)
Blake's taking it pretty well though. He's getting lots of attention, doesn't have to fight for the TV, and just asks for his sister once a day to make sure he still knows where she is. He's the kind of kid who rolls with whatever life gives him. (OK...except for last night when he had a total meltdown in our backyard over what we think was a swing, a ladder, and a measuring tape.)
But, we will all be reunited, and driving each other crazy, this coming weekend.
Anyway, George and I keep telling ourselves that this is great! She's becoming so independent! She's breaking out and doing new things! She's gaining confidence! Woohoo! Girl power! Blah, blah, blah.
Of course, this is really just a partial truth. What we'd really like is to have her sitting on the couch with us asking to watch the Family Channel. (OK...maybe we haven't gone that far off the deep end.)
Blake's taking it pretty well though. He's getting lots of attention, doesn't have to fight for the TV, and just asks for his sister once a day to make sure he still knows where she is. He's the kind of kid who rolls with whatever life gives him. (OK...except for last night when he had a total meltdown in our backyard over what we think was a swing, a ladder, and a measuring tape.)
But, we will all be reunited, and driving each other crazy, this coming weekend.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Day 5 - it's finished!
Brian and his crew were just finishing up this afternoon when I got home. I surprised them in the middle of "staging". All I can say is Woohoo!
As a special treat, Brian and Josh made us a little table out of the cedar scraps, topped with some very nice tile. It's very lovely and was totally unexpected. It will provide a convenient spot many glasses of wine, and juice boxes too.
I took this picture of the final product this afternoon, in between storm clouds. This pretty much sums up the week they had to work outside, and our summer in general---cloudy with a hint of sun. But, at least you can see the shadow cast by the cross-pieces on top of the pergola.
The next project is outdoor curtains for the pergola. It just needs to stay sunny long enough for me to figure out where to put them for maximum shade effect.
As a special treat, Brian and Josh made us a little table out of the cedar scraps, topped with some very nice tile. It's very lovely and was totally unexpected. It will provide a convenient spot many glasses of wine, and juice boxes too.
I took this picture of the final product this afternoon, in between storm clouds. This pretty much sums up the week they had to work outside, and our summer in general---cloudy with a hint of sun. But, at least you can see the shadow cast by the cross-pieces on top of the pergola.
The next project is outdoor curtains for the pergola. It just needs to stay sunny long enough for me to figure out where to put them for maximum shade effect.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Day 3 of construction
Looks like we may just have one more day of construction left if the rain holds off tomorrow. We've been lucky so far as it's looked like rain all day the last two days. Yesterday, the rain didn't start until around 4:00, and today it's held off for the day. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Day 2 of construction
The rain held off until about 4:00 today, so they made some great progress on our backyard project. But, wow, is it ever big! I'm not great at seeing a design on paper and then visualizing it in reality. As Brian said when I got home, "We're building a super structure out there."
We're really happen with how it looks so far. And a great side benefit is that my yard and garage smell like a warm cedar chest.
For more pictures, check out the sidebar, or go to the pergola set on Flickr.
We're really happen with how it looks so far. And a great side benefit is that my yard and garage smell like a warm cedar chest.
For more pictures, check out the sidebar, or go to the pergola set on Flickr.
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