Thanksgiving Weekend....part 2

On Sunday we were once again privileged to go to Church. We were reminded in our Thanksgiving Service of all the blessings we have - so much to be thankful for. How true it is - when we look around we see so many things God has given us - wow - how good we have it here in Canada!
Although we didn't visit any family today - we enjoyed some time down at the Tugboat Park at Pier 4 with some good friends of ours. On the drive down the mountain, we noticed that the bay was covered in very low-lying clouds. They were lower than a lot of the apartment buildings - it was kind of eerie looking (but in a cool way!). By the time we got down to the tugboat park, we were pretty much surrounded by fog - and it was getting heavier by the minute! The kids enjoyed throwing and skipping stones in the water till about 7pm as it was getting pretty dark already. After we left the park we stopped in at our friends house to enjoy some yummy hot chocolate before the night was over. Another enjoyable day for us!

We only just got here...not much light left!

Looking over the edge - at "nothingness" - the fog was getting thicker!

Alvar skipping stones

A few shots of the lights reflecting on the water

Thanksgiving Weekend....part 1

We just finished a great Thanksgiving Weekend with family and friends. Lots of visiting, hiking, eating and socializing - couldn't have asked for a better time!

I'll break down the weekend into 3 parts...as we went somewhere different each day (we'll start with the first day...and I'll finish more in the next day or two as it's getting late already - so stay tuned for the rest soon!).

Saturday

Saturday we headed down to Alvar's parents in Fergus. On our drive there we took the usual way - through the back roads. There's one hill which the kids look forward to every time - it's one of those hills that gives you butterflies in your stomach because of the steepness (mm...not sure if that's a word - but that's the best I can do!). The kids always give a great reaction, although this time Anna seemed a bit nervous until the other two started laughing after the butterflies were gone. Below is a video of their reactions to that very cool feeling!

We typically spend the whole day in Fergus when we visit, and this time was no exception. The weather was beautiful and we were able to take great advantage of that by taking a hike around the area. The kids LOVE the freedom of running/walking without us worrying about traffic or other things like that in the city. Here they are able to be the leaders, explore and just have fun! We took a ton of pictures (ok...I took a ton of pictures!!) and here are a few of what we saw.

Overlooking the beautiful view

This is the face of freedom - Anna can't get enough of it!

Tw0-toned tree

Bugs are still out enjoying the weather too!

Love the reflection of the building/trees on the water

Fall colours are the best!

Oma enjoying a little swing :)

A few flowers still blooming too

After the hike we went back to Alvar's parents house for a turkey and "all the fixn's" dinner. We had a great time there as usual - not getting home till after 10pm! It was a nice quiet ride home as all the kids slept and Alvar and I enjoyed some quiet conversation together.

One last picture for today. You'd think this was taken after turkey dinner...but alas...we were pooped from the hike! So we took a before dinner snooze (it was lovely!)

Sunday Hike

Yesterday we enjoyed a hike with my parents at Crooks Hollow in the Dundas area. We were going to go to Tew's Falls & the Dundas Peak, but as we approached the parking lot, we saw that they now have people making sure that the fees are paid (we were going to park outside of the parking lot, but even the "walk-ins" were getting nabbed!). So, Alvar remembered that several years ago there was another trail near by - that might just be free! Sure enough, his memory served him well (wish I had that kind of memory!!). We enjoyed the trail that followed the creek - the colours are just beginning to turn, and the weather was perfect to be outside (I do love the fall season). Just a few pictures of our walk...

Our fearless leaders once again :)

Wow, who would have thought a caterpillar could be so interesting!

Climbing the wall - say the word "climb" and the kids are all over it!!

You'd really think I like spiders!

Family Shot

Yeah! Something to blog about!

We had a very enjoyable day today. We spent some nice family time at Dyment's Family Farm right around the corner from us in Dundas. We were really hoping to do a corn maze this year with the kids - and found this place online. It has a corn maze plus a ton of other things to do with the kids (a highly recommended place to go!). Below are the pictures of all the stuff we got to do...

Cool caterpillar thingy that the kids could run thru

Ride em cowboy horse swings...very sweet!

I'm pretty sure after every activity we did today, Caleb asked to go back here - this was most definitely his favourite thing to do today!

Esther and Anna enjoyed a short turn here and there too ;)

What's a farm without a tractor!

Went for a wagon ride too

Can't resist taking these shots!

Entrance to the corn maze

Anna's slightly less than thrilled to be walking thru the corn - at least she got carried!

Esther and Caleb were our fearless leaders - could they lead us to the exit??

Yes they did! The maze was fun (and a good "kid-sized" one too)

The ball-silo was pretty cool - love Anna's expression (biggest smile all day!)

There was a neat ball-bouncing track - Esther caught on very quick...

Caleb and Anna needed a little help ;)


Alvar worked very hard today with the kids, I'm sure he will sleep well tonight!

Anna in the little park area - didn't stick around here too much, it was a tad muddy!

Pictures are a bit fuzzy, but the swinging rope was fun to hang around on

Little tunnels made of straw-bales

There was a track for these over sized trikes (and very heavy trikes at that!). The kids enjoyed the race!

Anna enjoyed the little tractor - and Caleb soon joined her with one of those (much lighter than the trike!)

Kids were able to see a few animals there too...

Say "cheese" were our favourite words of the day!

Mini putt was sort of fun too...sort of meaning that it only lasted a few holes.

Anna got tired of using the putter...sitting on the course was much more fun!

I think though that the zip line took the cake for the events of the day (even Anna held on!).

All in all we had a great day out - the weather was good (no rain), the kids had fun (and mom and Dad did too!). We look forward to maybe going again next year!