A Special Number!

A weekend of b-day celebrations! 

Margot is six. That's entering the big league! 5 is usually considered preschool-age, but 6… 6 is the real deal. You're a kid now! :)

It's Tulip Festival time in Ottawa and we were thrilled to have Uncle J, Auntie Erin and cousin Lily visiting us.

It was a coldish weekend (for May), but we made the most of our day and headed to Dow's Lake and caught warm rays of early evening sunshine.

On the following morning, Sunday, Margot celebrated in style at the Museum of Agriculture. She invited 8 friends from her class and they had a fun-filled morning making ice cream and visiting stables.

Here's the crew!

Margot petting the alpaca

Special privilege of holding the bunny, Tango.

She chose her calf to brush.

I think that 6 is going to be a fabulous year! 

Turning 6 on the 16th in 2016. Whoah! 

My girl: spunky, affectionate, adventurous, brave, fun.

Changes

Exciting times for us! High fives all around :)

We celebrated a belated Earth Day by enjoying the Sunday sunshine on the Sugarbush Trail. 

Sometimes, the best remedy for getting things done (and, boy, do we have a lot to get done in less than 6 weeks!) is to head outdoors, breathe a bit of fresh air and unplug.

Spending time on the trail allows us to connect, clear the cobwebs and play!

It also permits us to be courageous. 

A Year of Courage

Celebrated my b-day in style at the Bowling Alley. Very classy :)

We had a lot of fun!

My word for this year is courage.
A lot is happening right now on the house front and these last few days have been exciting and unpredictable. It's keeping me on my toes. A new adventure is beginning!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

'cos nothing says "spring" like flying a kite!

An Easter weekend in Newmarket. Yes, there was chocolate. Yes, we went on nature walks. And yes, we watched Mary Poppins (Margot LOVED it!)

But the highlight was...

... Flying the kite!

 And that's me showing off my kite-flying skills :)

Spring is in the air

Happy Spring everyone!

We celebrated this new season by taking a walk on a new-found trail: Jack Pine Trail.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover bird houses:

The chickadees were more hesitant than on the last walk. The song birds were very present on this trail and we were graced by their melodies, but they kept their distance.

Margot found her entertainment by walking on the logs.
She walked and fell and then started over until she crossed the log without a slip of the foot.

It was a lovely walk to welcome the new season.

Piano + Ice Cream = A Perfect Combo

Here's my Margot at the piano.
Multi-tasking, as you can see:

She sits at the piano daily and plays a few tunes from her "repertoire".

On the Chickadee Trail

Hello faithful readers! Thanks for hanging in and being patient while I was on hiatus.

January was a busily crazy month! I don't really want to revisit it.
February has been busily crazy as well, but manageable…
I hope March is simply busy (minus the crazy).
And, by June, my life should be smooth sailing :)

I know you are all waiting anxiously to read about my Winter Manifesto. Alas! There is none this year. However, I'm hoping to jot one down for Spring (its content will probably be quite similar to previous ones).

Sunday morning, we enjoyed a family walk on the Chipmunk Trail (aka The Chickadee Trail). This was our first walk of 2016! I can't believe how long we've waited before hitting the trails!

We have treaded the paths of the Chipmunk Trail before.

I love revisiting familiar trails. There's something calming and comforting about knowing what to expect …and to not get lost!

Margot first started off putting bird seeds on her cat:

Can you find the Chickadee?
hint: the bird likes blue

Then, she placed the seeds on her mitt:

And finally, bravely,directly in her hand:

A chickadee in flight: