February Update!

Winter finally arrived in February just in time for our trip to Ottawa and skating on the Rideau Canal!

Jason and I went to the Capital City February 9-10-11 to take in Winterlude festivities. I hadn’t skated in over 12 years (and that was just once… before that, was Grade 5!), but I am happy to say we had a great time skating on the canal. Thanks Carolyne for lending me some skates! We took Brayden skating a few times in Oakville before we went to Ottawa so that I could practice, so I was ready to go when we got there. The weather was quite cold, but we were dressed for it. We stayed in a beautiful suite at the Minto Place hotel in downtown Ottawa. Very nice hotel, and we made use of the boardroom in the suite to hold ‘meetings’ to decide our itinerary for the day and recorded it on a flip chart - haha! We had dinner with my cousin Kimberly and her boyfriend Marc, wandered the city, checked out the ice sculptures, skated twice, took in one museum and had two fabulous dinners. It was a great getaway! Here are a few photos from our trip.

Brayden's Birthday!
February 16th marked Brayden’s 11th Birthday. Yes, ELEVEN. Funny how he is getting older and taller, but me, I am still 25 ;) It’s so true – time flies, and kids grow up very fast. Brayden started his birthday on Friday with gifts from Jason and I in the morning and a huge chocolate cupcake for breakfast. He spent the evening with his Dad, Amanda and his brother and then returned home Saturday for his party. My mom surprised Brayden by flying in on Friday night. It was really nice to have her there, it’s been awhile since she was able to spend Brayden’s birthday with us. We took Brayden and his two best buddies, Christian and Matt, to Playdium Saturday afternoon, and then back home for pizza and cake. Auntie went all out (as usual) with decorations, cake, balloons etc. The Frasers joined us too. It was a busy and fun birthday for Brayden. Thanks to everyone for the wishes and gifts!