Ambrose dancing at Auntie Des and Uncle Emile's wedding

July 2012 - Planes, trains and automobiles

In July we boarded a plane and headed to Ottawa to start our whirlwind vacation. First stop was second cousin Claire's house (Moog and Janine).

We had a fabulous time enjoying their new home and the amenities (read: backyard pool!). We had a great time with the Andersons! Thanks for the hospitality and the yummy meal!

Next stop was Gatineau and for a quick visit at Auntie Des and Uncle Emile's new house. Nana and Papa were there waiting for us. We then got into our cars - rental or otherwise - and 'caravaned' it to Dunham in the Quebec Eastern townships. We were there to celebrate Desiree's and Emile's wedding. And celebrate we did. It was a beautiful and magical wedding made even more special with the announcement of Desiree's pregnancy (we knew ahead of time but we were now able to share the news!).

We rented a cabin close to Emile's parents. Ambrose had fun with his cousin Emma and new friend Jack. Emile's parents were generous hosts and we loved spending time at their enchanting property including their cozy home and swimming pond! The pictures of the wedding may speak for themselves: outdoor, big tent, fabulous food amazing performances (including members of the Geoffroy family). And dance party! Ambrose started us off by gallop dancing around the stage. He LOVED dancing in front of the crowd.

Post-wedding, we drove back to Gatineau and spent the night at the newlyweds home (sans the couple, it was just our small family). We left the next morning on a train headed to Toronto.

Upon our arrival,  we headed immediately to my friend Sheryl's where were stayed the night with her family. Again, wonderful hospitality and delicious food. Ambrose was well taken care of by Eva (yet another beautiful older girl in his life in addition to cousins Jessie and Emma). It was great to see my good friend Sheryl and tootle around Yorkville catching up.

We then took the train home from Toronto to Winnipeg. Ambrose loved traveling by rail and quite capably demonstrated that he has 'train legs'; no issues navigating the bumps and jumps of the train going down the track.

My Birthday weekend and Canada Day weekend

For my birthday, I bought myself a new bike. It's quite pretty and Dave calls it my pony (as only Dave would).

I have since bought a second hitch for the Chariot so Ambrose and I can go for bike rides when Dave is  on the train. Ambrose loves bike rides, especially when the destination is to get ice cream (or tee-team, as he calls it).

Hold on, just putting the seatbelt on by myself

LOVES playing with Papa's truck

We visited my parents both weekends and enjoyed their beautifully landscaped yard. It's nice to not have to cook, too!

Discovering the St Vital play area.
We were on a mission to buy dada
a new suit for Auntie Des' wedding

Ambrose and I stayed clear of Osborne during the street festival. Perhaps it's because we're inhabitants of the Village, that we tend to avoid the drunken revelry of this annual event. Or perhaps it's because we're half a block away and can enjoy (?) the people watching from the front porch. Either way, we were no-shows.

At nana and papa's. Step 1: Locate rocks

Step 2: select some rocks
that need to be cleaned

Step 4: Give the rocks a
good washing

Step 3: Drop rocks into
the pail

Father's day weekend

We bought Dave a Mexican citrus press for Father's Day. He put it to quick use the next morning.

Ambrose got his first official hair cut Friday night. You might recall us talking about cutting his bangs a few times and then we shaved his head and left a layer of hair overtop while we were in Mexico (I don't think we ever got around to posting a gallery of pics from our trip...). Here, Kathleen is working her magic to allow this child to see (his bangs were really long) and to fix the craziness happening in the back.

Ambrose and I spent a lovely day with Christy, Karel and Samuel (and we snuck a quick visit with Viv et al earlier that day as well). Check out Ambrose and Samuel pretending to be frogs! 

We had an impromptu Father's Day dinner at my sister's house. Ambrose got to meet my babysitter Mary or "Dunnie" from Calgary. She was more like our nanny; she spent the day at our house and made sure we were fed and cared for while my parents worked. She was with us for many years.

Ambrose and i drove out to Mitchell after dropping mom off at the airport.  the day eventually became nice.  A storm snuck up on us on the way up and i had to white knuckle a bit....Ambrose had a two hour thunder storm nap.

photos while mama is away.

well. here are some moments from Lunas' second birthday.

 a dinner party with Luna. watermelon madness and bath time.

RIP Sadie

Dave's parent's dog had to be put down earlier this week. Ab and Shirley are quite heart broken over the loss of their canine companion.
Dave's brother Gody has put together a nice gallery of pictures of Sadie here