Map love

Our new edition (complete with the newest country, South Sudan)

Inside play space

Its too cold to play outside now - except in the snow - so we are making the most of the inside play areas close by.

Christmas time

Its starting to feel very festive here. There's snow and lights outside, the house smells like christmas tree (yes a real one!), the nativity scene is made and we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
 
 
There's even a bright star in the evening sky (alright, since my mum's an astronomer, it's Venus).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Ice hockey

Its the national obsession so we decided to find out what its all about. We went to a local game of the McGill Redmen vs Waterloo (a team from the neighbouring province of Ontario). Claude and Asha both loved it, cheering for the red team, dancing when the band played and eating popcorn. I have very little idea about the rules at the moment but we're learning and I do know that our team won that night!
 
 

Its snowing!

We've had snow for the last week or so. Its quite beautiful, covering the ground in a fine dusting of white, but its amazing how much colder it feels outside now (even though its actually warmer than last week).

 Claude loves playing in the snow. This photo was taken at about 5 o'clock but its already dark by then.

Birthday love

I had a great day celebrating my birthday. Feeling very blessed to have lived the life I have so far, looking forward to the year ahead and seeing what God has in store for us all.
Dinner: roast pumpkin stuffed with Guyere, Emmental, apples, mushrooms, raisens, white wine sauce and bagette - yum!

Birthday cake - a family effort:
 
 

My present - a fabulous teapot - used every day since with yummy Rooibos tea.
  

More pumpkins

We had a look at a display of pumpkin varieties (called squashes here) in one of the historic gardens in Old Montreal.

Mosaicultures at the Jardin Bontanique

This is an old post from Omi and Opi's visit but its too beautiful to miss out. We went to the Mosaicultures exhibition at the Botanic Gardens. Some of the creations were really magnificent (and we picked a fabulous day to be there!)
 
 
Asha and Claude loved the edible garden too - the cabbages were a big hit!

Chihuly glass exhibition

We went to see the Chihuly glass exhibition (actually I went a second time with some friends too). Its amazing what you can do with blown coloured glass.

Pumpkin time!

Claude turns 3!

Yes, we're into dinosaurs! (And trains still too).
 
 
Claudosaurus!

Autumn leaves

The trees have turned, and its spectacular seeing the colours on the mountain. A real reminder of the changing seasons.

Traffic light trees
  
 
 

My little kitchen helpers

We have a great staircase built by our landlords (for their now older kids) for helping in the kitchen. Both kids love to climb up and contribute to dinner prep or washing up, or simply make their food on the floor.

Asha ready to hit the town

Its getting cold now!

Montmorency Waterfall

On our last day in Quebec city, we drove out to see the beautiful Montmorency waterfall. There is a lovely view from the suspension bridge over the falls all the way back to Quebec city across the St Lawrence river.

Aquarium

We had a great day at the Quebec Aquarium. Asha loved watching the large fish of the St Lawrence seaway and Claude enjoyed the walruses. They even had polar bears (who presumably can stay outside all winter long!)