Cynthia

This summer, we have had lots of visitors here in Ottawa and we have travelled ourselves to see friends and family. Cynthia's grandparents from Montreal came to visit early this summer and we all met for a wonderful dinner out. My mother came to visit for a weekend and Cynthia's dad and Nannette also were in town at the same. You can see some pictures at a park where many of us took turns on the swings.

A short distance from our new house is a great tobogganing hill. So, we picked up a couple of sleds and took the kids a couple of times this winter. It is a reasonable walk for Matthew and I from the house to the hill. The walk becomes unreasonable when you end up having to carry Samantha and pull the sled though. The second time we went, we drove if only to avoid a cold walk back when everyone is tired.

Months ago, Christmas Day came and went and although we took a few pictures I hadn't gotten anything up on the website. Until now. Matthew was very happy when he found a couple of Lego sets under the tree. But, he also got some other interesting toys like some Snap Circuits which lets you make simple electric circuits from some standardized snap-able pieces.

With Matthew's birthday past, Christmas was coming quickly. So, I took an afternoon off work and our plan was to take Matthew and Samantha to see Santa and pick out a tree. Thinking that getting to the mall early would beat the line for Santa, we arrived to find that Santa didn't arrive until after dinner time. So, instead we went in search of a Christmas tree.

In early December, we made our first trip since getting back to Canada to Montreal to see Cynthia's family and celebrate Chanukah. Many of the people there we hadn't seen in a very long time and it was great to catch up with everyone. Although the winter months aren't the best, being back in Ottawa and close to family and friends is worth it.

For Thanksgiving weekend, we travelled to St. Thomas to visit with my parents, my grandmother and my brother and his new family. We were able to be at Steve's wedding to Katherine which was about a year and half ago now. But, we hadn't yet been able to meet James, their new baby boy. So, we were very excited to make the trip to catch up with everyone as see James.

A couple of weeks ago, Cynthia's dad and Nannette came for a visit. It was their first visit since we moved back. On Saturday, they joined us at our house and we gave them the tour. The next morning, we went to their hotel to enjoy the wave pool with them. Matthew went into the deep water and made good use of his goggles. Samantha played in the shallow water, jumping over the waves and just having fun.

I have uploaded a few pictures from our move back to Ottawa. You can see the trucks come to take our cars, our place in California being emptied, some shots with us en route and then finally some pictures in our new home.

The truck with all our possessions came today. Unfortunately for the movers, the temperatures were in the mid-30's (Celsius for our friends in California which is in the 90's Fahrenheit). I made a few runs for supplies like large jugs of Gatorade and more to try to help them fight the heat. We weren't much better in the house where the temperature climbed to 31. We had to have the AC off most the day because the doors were open most of the time. So, we didn't do a whole lot other than direct boxes to their proper location. It was just too hot to start unpacking.

We were lucky enough to have moved back in time to celebrate Canada Day in Ottawa. We spent the day at Stefanie and Dan's house where I had to brave the cold water in the pool twice because Samantha wanted to go swimming. Stefanie is Cynthia's sister and it was our first chance to visit with them since we moved back.