Scenic Nova Scotia

Just taking a breather from packing suitcases to say we are headed to Nova Scotia for the next week. Keep your fingers crossed we can manage our 4:30 wake-up call. Thanks Air Canada for screwing up our flight time! Oh well, we get there that much quicker to enjoy it all.

The other night I finished a project to take as a boredom buster for the airport and our travels. Thought I'd show it since it was fun and easy to do. I used a lid and traced circles from felt and matching fabric then sewed them up and trimmed with pinking shears for a fun finished look. The idea is to have it be a matching game.

When I showed my completed work to Hubby he guessed they were coasters! Well I guess if we loose some or get bored of them then that will be their purpose in their next life!

One more shot showing the fabric and felt side together.

On our Sault Ste. Marie to Michigan to Ohio trip I made these clothespin dolls and they were a hit with little hands. My son kept saying "Take me to your leader" with the robot one!

While we were in Ohio Auntie JB gifted us with these adorable finger puppets and let me tell you they are the bomb diggity! They have come in handy at a doctor and a dermatology appointment and several grocery shopping trips as well as our trip to Buffalo, NY.

I also love the dollar store for some good travel finds like these little miniature animals. We have some other stuff like stickers and I print off tracing and coloring sheets for them as well. Next time we travel I hope to make some crayon rolls as those would come in handy. I'd love to hear what travel activities your kids like!

Oh... Canada!

This mural is in the area we live in. I love driving by it and seeing all the detail and the rich history of this country.

When we move back home I plan on having a family tradition to celebrate Canada Day on July 1st. Plus it is just a good reason to have a party! Of course we will have donuts and pancakes with maple syrup. Kraft dinner, smoked meat and poutine. Followed by butter tarts! Oh my!!!

Would you like to see one of my favorite reasons we live here right now? Here you go.... Moose Tracks ice cream ~ a fancy way of saying chocolate and peanut butter swirl (find you some and put your own Moose Track label on it, then you can have Moose Tracks too!) Or Maple walnut which is heaven in a bite and so sweet you'll think your teeth are falling out!

Now if you wanna get real fancy schmancy turn the container around for the French side and pretend you are in Paris!

Rainy day play and a bento lunch!

Yesterday we had some rain. I wanted to let the kids burn some energy off. So I packed us up a bento lunch and headed to an indoor play place. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so it was pretty crowded. Still we hung out for a couple hours and had lunch there before leaving to squeeze in a shopping errand.

This facility is peanut free as is the rule for our preschool here. It is challenging to pack lunches that picky eaters will accept with those restrictions. I ended up doing beef hot dogs and catsup, fresh fruit and some organic cheese puffs. Young Master ate all the meat and fruit and left the puffs. It was the opposite for Miss Stuntwoman who loaded up on the carb tummy fillers followed by a little sampling of some fruit and meat. I also had some veggies and dip but the dip spilled and he wouldn't eat it, Sigh! Note to self ~ pack veggies and dip more securely in future!

I fit quite a bit into my bento. I wish I had reversed the salad in the smaller layer but know I know for next time. I put blueberries where you might usually put chopsticks or a napkin. I would even try beef jerky or dried fruit or nuts in that space. There are some homemade mini muffins and veggies with baba ganoush. Baba ganoush is similar to hummus except it also has roasted eggplant along with the chickpeas and a smoky flavor. Costco had both available and I got to sample some and liked it. The salad was a blend of two some leftover kale salad and I added that to some spinach lemon couscous. It was all suprisingly filling and I only made it through half of the food.

Buffalo Baby!

I'm sure you can figure out why you are seeing this first picture. Mmmmm!!!!!

Please forgive me as this is a long post with lots of pictures but I just had to journal our weekend events in Buffalo.

We stopped along the way at out favorite winery for a stretch. It is a really beautiful place.

We ended up having a quick lunch there as well.

Some fun with bubbles. Oh my look at those white chicken legs!

I had to show this cute stream which is by a japanese garden. The grounds at this winery are beautifully landscaped.

Collecting leaves!

A boy's gotta climb!

We finally made it to Buffalo and here are all the kiddos from 4,3,2,1! It was a busy weekend!

More pictures of the crew.

Much of the artwork in the house has been painted by my friend's Mom. I was blown away by this portrait she did when my friend was 16!

On Sunday we went to Genessee village. It was an hour drive from Buffalo. It was a neat working historic village with many interactive experiences.

It was fun to see the old mercantile. I admired the old kitchenware. My son was really hungry and kept asking me to buy a snack at the store! Hah, I don't think they have goldfish here honey!

I was looking at the fabrics and sewing notions and imagining sewing my own clothes. I don't know if I would have been able to do that!

This garden was beautiful!

Lions and Tigers and Longhorns. Oh my!

We had a lovely picnic lunch near this grassy pavillion. The kids had a good time running around.

Picking flowers!

An unexpected summer storm left us on the porch waiting the rain out. Tasting the raindrops!

Monkey see, monkey do!

Going home we had a really long drive because traffic was miserable....it took double the time. Aside from that we had a great time. I'm so glad we could see our dear friends. We have experienced a season of newlyweds to newborns and I hope and pray that our friendship lasts a lifetime whether near or far. We love you guys! Hope we can visit you soon in your new home in Chicago.

Saturday July 18, 2009

This is a story about Saturday July 18th even though you see a picture of fall colors! To further explain, last fall Dear Hubby had to go to a training course for leadership back in Austin. Here I was still getting newly aquainted with our Canada home and feeling sorry for myself and homesick for where he was. However the fall colors were peaking and I decided to go explore and photograph the sights.

We discovered a cute little apple orchard and stopped for a short visit.

Don't the babies look so young here?

I had no idea where I was going. I just drove and knew that GPS was handy to help me get back home.


On a totally random country road I spotted this tree and had to take a picture.


I came across these horses and was just amazed and blown away by the serendipity and awesome splendor of the day. It was like God had given me a special gift. I really needed my spirits lifted.

I never really journaled about the experience but it leads to what we did on July 18th. Hubby had a golf event for work. I didn't feel like hanging out at home so decided to find something fun to do.


I took the kids back to the orchard. They loved the little play fort there.

It was a nice way to spend a saturday afternoon.

Dandelion wishes!

We finished with a ginger molasses cookie and.....

a rocky road brownie!!!

I am so glad I went out of my way to get lost last fall. It makes me realize that sometimes you need to get a little lost to get found.