Waiting desperately for snow

Well, here we are -it's almost December and still no decent snow storms!  All thoughts are turning to Tobogganing; Sledding; Skating; Skiing, Snow Forts -anything....we just need snow!!!
In the meantime -it's pretty chilly (often around 1 walking to school -Pete does that job!!) and here's some snaps of a couple of activities that have kept us busy while we await the snow!!  We have been watching quite a bit of ice hockey -a fabulous fast paced game of skill and pace and a fair bit of aggression!!
Here, Dan is with friends Ben, Jake, Trish and Rob -who will be visiting us in Australia in January.  They are watching a Guelph Storm game.

And a few more beautiful shots of late Fall...

The walk to school gets chillier each week!  Halloween night was about 1 degree celcius!  But, when the sun is out it is very pretty.  Leaves galore -almost all on the ground now.

Fall plants with a dusting of frost!!

The Elora Public School yard with the first light covering of (now melted) snow!

 One of the many churches in Downtown Elora with the last of the Fall colours.

Halloween!!

"SO.... let me just check that again -

We dress up as whatever characters we like, put hair and make up on and wait till it's dark.

We put candles inside the pumpkins we've carved and set them outside our house, so kids know we have candy for trick or treating.

Then, we gather some other kids in the street, and run from house to house.
We knock, say Trick or Treat (if we remember) and THEN neighbours and complete strangers give us TRUCKLOADS of candy and maybe even scare the living daylights out of us just for fun.
We only come home when the bag is overflowing, right????"

"SURE that sounds AWESOME!! Why doesn't this happen in Australia?  

Elora in Fall

The nights are cooling. The leaves are falling. The mitts are on for Tennis....

The Rockies

Before the total cold sets in, we wanted to fit in at least one more adventure and decided to combine Pete's visit to the Alberta Children's Hospital (Calgary) with a week touring in The Rockies. Our trip included a day in the Alberta 'badlands' -visiting the world's largest finds of complete dinosaur skeletons and a fantastic dinosaur museum and amazing landscapes a la Jurrasic Park.

We then spent two nights at the Columbia Icefields (Athabasca Glacier) travelling through amazing scenery up to Jasper and a great trip on to the Glacier itself -the pictures don't quite do justice to the intense icy wind and sleet - it was COLD! We finally had two nights in Banff - a trip down memory lane for me and a wonderful base for the Gondola ride and some walks in the Rockies. We all made it to the top of The Lake Agnes Trail -it was a 3.4km uphill hike with great views over Lake Louise. The kids were amazing -even when we got to the top and discovered that the Teahouse and all its promised and imagined goodies was closed and finished for the season!!

Oh! And we did see some wildlife as well!

Montreal - the final, final summer fling!

Montreal was the last stop of the Summer break. We visited the Olympic stadium, had lunch in the Old City, watched a great busker swallow 14 razor blades, and possibly the highlight -we went ice skating to get in some early practice for the months ahead! The kids in our street all play ice hockey and have skated since they could walk, so we've got some serious catching up to do! This was a real Griswald's moment - note the walking frame type equipment (designed for small children) -Pete and I had to pretend we were helping the children!! Lots of fun!

Quebec - the final summer fling!

Our last trip for the Summer was spent in Quebec -visiting both Quebec City and Montreal. This time we travelled by train from Toronto. Once actually on the train without losing anyone or anything, we found the train travel fantastic - relaxing, efficient, and economical. Each time we arrived feeling a lot less frazzled than we would have after a similar length of time (ie 5 hours) in the car.

Quebec City was our absolute favourite. We stayed just outside the old walls and spent a day wandering along the wall edge and through the old town, stopping for a Cafe au Lait. (The first truly good coffee we have had in many months). As a bonus, Cirque de Soleil were doing their final free performance of the summer - an hour long show they put on for the people of Quebec as a thankyou. (Quebec city being their original home). So, we lined up on a balmy summer night for the most fabulous show set under a freeway overpass in the heart of Quebec City - spectacularly beautiful and enjoyed by us all. The next day we visited the Plains of Abraham and learnt some of the French v British history presented in the most amusing way on a small bus tour led by Abraham himself! Kids are still asking questions about soldiers and wars!