the kwasnys

Six days, 4 truckloads, 1 piano and it’s all over! The kids have been spectacular, we couldn’t have pulled it off without the help of John and Cas but the bottom line is it is all over! Now comes the unpacking, renos and eventually, a glass of scotch in a finished house.

I’ll let Nard say thanks to everyone for her birthday wishes/gifts but we had a great time and an awesome dinner (thanks to Light of India!).

Amanda – hope you had a great birthday. Sorry we haven’t managed to connect on the phone yet but hopefully next weekend should be a lot more normal.

Picked up the 26′ Uhaul today at noon (Jack loved riding up front) and have been steadily loading boxes ever since. With a little luck will have 95% of it moved before John and Cas arrive – except the piano, we’re saving that one for you John!

Here are some pictures of the ice sculptures that we visited on my birthday.  We all hopped the bus downtown (Jack’s first bus ride – very excited!) and checked out the artwork….pretty impressive!  Next stop is to check out the ice slides in Gatineau.

Less than 24 hours before we take possession of our new house!

This year the “World’s Largest Skating Rink” will celebrate its 40th year of skating on the canal. I am all in favor of the improvements in amenities and services the canal provides.  As we found out yesterday during our first skate, there are heated washrooms, change rooms, nice dry huts to put your skates on. Yummy Beaver Tails, Hot Chocolate, Hot Dogs and French Fries. Also, skate and children’s sled rentals.

We didn’t get on the ice until about 4pm (I needed to shop for snow pants) but enjoyed skating even when it got dark. Dylan is doing really well on her skates, especially since we got her a skate bar. It has boasted her confidence and  she will soon be skating without it. Jack prefers the sled. He has skates but can’t stand up on them yet. Soon he’ll start using the skate bar.

This was the first weekend the canal was open, so the ice beckoned  all skate enthusiasts experienced and novice. What quickly became apparent to me was to avoid the newbies.  Unlike an indoor rink which has boards to hold up new skaters, outdoors its whatevers closest.  If your not paying attention you will become someones breaks or crash pillow.

Many people bring their strollers on the ice and push the kids up and down the canal. Or use a sled like us. The only thing you can’t bring on are dogs and hockey sticks. Hockey sticks? Doesn’t seem very Canadian does it?

Note: For our Aussie relatives, Beaver Tails are large flat doughnuts served warm with sugar and cinnamon. Very tasty.

Last weekend we hooked up with Dario, Nicole and Elio (who is the happiest and most well behaved child). Before dinner we went sledding. The the kids, big and small had a fun.

Elio ready for the North Pole Expedition

Elio is 17 months, Jack is 33 months.

Dylan hosted the best Hawaiian New Years party for Nardine, Jack and myself.  It was hands down the best party that I’d been to in years!  Hope you all have a wonderful 2010 and please take a moment over the next few days to think of all the families who have sacrificed so much in 2009.

Happy Holidays from Nardine, Dylan, Jack and myself!  We’ve had a great Christmas here in Ottawa and a big thanks goes out to everyone for the wonderful gifts you sent.  Dylan and Jack had an absolute blast Christmas morning opening the mountain of gifts that had accumulated under our tree.  Since then they have been going non-stop, forgoing food, water, sleep and sanity, in their quest to try out every new toy and craft!  Unfortunately our white Christmas has turned into an ice Christmas, with freezing rain over the last couple of days, meaning that the kids haven’t been able to get outside to play since Christmas Eve.  Thankfully, Nardine and I stocked up on lots of Christmas cheer before the start of the holidays and are managing to get by.

Hope you all are enjoying the holidays, next stop New Years!