Wednesday, November 29, 2006

More Snow!


As I type, it's snowing yet again - they are predicting another 10-15 cm tonight. However, they're also saying it will start raining tomorrow and the snow will disappear over the next few days. Although I'm happy to see it gone for driving reasons, I'm not sure how I'm going to explain to Amanda that they snow is gone - I think she figures that now it's "winter", and the snow will be here throughout! It has been much more fun having snow on the ground with a 2 year old to share it with, that's for sure.

In other Amanda news, she is totally thrilled with all the Christmas lights that are starting to pop up in our neighbourhood. Every time we pass a house with lights up, she says "look at the pretty lights!" and we have to comment on all the colours. Although we haven't put our own lights up yet, we do have some light-up shapes (a snowman and snowflake) hanging in the front windows and she loves them. We can't wait to see her reaction when we put up all the lights! Jeff has gone a bit crazy this year so we could be one of "those" houses where you wonder if the people inside have gone insane. Will post photos when the decorations are up...

Monday, November 27, 2006

Random Pictures

And a few other random pictures from the last few weeks...

In the bath:
Beautiful

Bangs

29 month picture:
29 Months

Sharing a quiet moment with Dora:
Reading to Dora

Just looking cute:
Red Dress

An adorable Little Red Riding Hood, trick-or-treating for the first time:
Getting Ready for Her First Trick or Treat!

And hanging out at the pumpkin patch:
Pumpkin Patch

Lots more pictures on the Flickr site...click to see!

Santa Claus Parade

(OK, we're a week or so late...better late than never, right?)

Last weekend we went downtown for the 3rd Annual Santa Claus Parade. This was the first time we'd made it to the parade - Sunday morning isn't the most convenient time for us. This year they moved it to 1 pm, so we were able to get down in time to get a good spot.

We decided to add to the adventure by taking the West Coast Express. The train usually only runs on weekdays, but they run two special Christmas trains every year - one for the parade, and a second for a shopping day in early December. It was great. The ride was free if you brought an unwrapped toy, and Santa made a special appearance on the train!

We walked from Waterfront Station to the corner of Georgia and Howe - right where the parade turns - and found a prime spot right in front of the Art Gallery. We were there early enough to get a spot right on the street, so we could sit on the curb as the parade went by. The only downside - we did have to hang out for a couple of hours before the parade started. But the weather was great - only a few minutes of light sprinkling, then the sun came out - so it was fun to sit and watch all the entertainment. We did get a red nose and a pair of antlers just for fun.

Oh, and one other downside to being in the front: the woman who brought her daughter right down to the street and stood in front of us about 10 minutes before parade time. We thought they were just there to see something that was happening, but when they didn't move afterwards, we asked whether they planned to stay and they said yes! I felt awful having to say "sorry, but we've been here for two hours and we don't want someone standing in front of us", but I can't believe people are rude enough to put others in that situation in the first place. Put a bit of a damper on things, but oh well!

The parade was great, although by the time it started Amanda was pretty tired. Being in the front you get all the free stuff they are handing out - lots of candy canes, chocolate (even some from Purdy's!), and other miscellaneous stuff. Amanda also got her picture taken with Rudolph as he walked by!

After the parade we wandered back to the train, where they were even handing out eggnog at the station. All in all, a great day (although I'm not sure if we would have said so if it had been pouring rain!). We will definitely plan to make this an annual tradition.

Snow!

Yes, we have been very delinquent (yet again) in posting to our blog recently. Sorry...will try to do better!

We've been in the midst of a rare heavy snowfall here in Vancouver. Since Saturday evening, about 10 cm or so has fallen by our house. Although it's a PITA when it comes to driving and getting anything done, it's fun to see how Amanda has reacted to the snow. She was so excited when she woke up on Sunday morning and spent ages just staring out the window.

On Sunday afternoon we headed over to the park and did some sledding. OK, this wasn't as easy as it sounds, as Jeff had to spend about an hour driving around looking for sleds. He got the very last one at Canadian Tire after trying about a half dozen other stores first. However, it was worth it as Amanda loved the sled (even though she only went down a few small hills), and it was easy for us to pull her home on it so she didn't get too wet. Yes, we are bad, unprepared parents, and hadn't even bought her snowpants or boots yet! Something we will have to do in the next few days, I guess.

Jeff's school was cancelled today and I was home sick with a nasty cold, but things will probably be back to normal tomorrow, so we're hoping the roads will be pretty safe.

A few photos...

Uphill

Snowman

Snow Bunny

(You can see more pictures by clicking on any of the photos above).

Sunday, November 05, 2006

A Word to the Wise...


...if you have one of those drain thingies in your driveway? And it's been kind of plugged up ever since you moved into the house? And it drains slower and slower as time goes on? And a heavy rainfall warning has been issued, along with a forecast of steady rain for the next several days?

Call a plumber. Just a suggestion...not that we have any personal experience or anything.

(The plumber should be here tomorrow...and we expect our bank account to be drained even more than the driveway. Bleh!)



Bailing
Bailing into the Wheelbarrow