A Week at the Cabin

We just got home from one week away at Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park.  We've been vacationing at this spot for the last couple of summers and love it!  I grew up going camping in this park with my family and it's so fun to be sharing it with my own now.  We rented a cabin in the townsite of Wasagaming for the week (the same cabin we rented last summer) and it was our "new home" for the week, as Ari put it.  Here's a peek at how we spent our days...

 I took the kids out to visit the wishing well -- it's a bit of a tradition.

In the nearby town of Onanole is a great used bookstore/coffee shop called Poor Michael's Emporium.  The kids were a bit crazy and didn't let me shop, but they're still cute.

I enjoyed some morning walks along the lake on my own while the kids were with their dad.  Wonderful, peaceful recharge time!

 The kids loved the playground in town.  We were here at least once every day.

One afternoon we drove out to the bison enclosure in the park.  Of course, both kids fell asleep on the way and missed seeing all of these!

An annual tradition, walking on the Ominik Marsh boardwalk.  I think I have a picture of Peter and Ari from each year.  Ari just keeps getting bigger!

A family bike ride along the lake.  Ari is getting super fast on his balance bike!

Ari and the "elephant" (moose) close to our cabin.

Checking out the lake.

We got a couple of beach afternoons in....the kids loved playing in the sand and water!

Stopping for ice cream, again.  Love my little family!

Visiting the Mennonite Heritage Village

This past weekend was Pioneer Days at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum in Steinbach.  My husband and I hadn't visited the museum in years, so we thought it would make for a fun day trip...we were not disappointed!  We had a wonderful day exploring the historical buildings, eating Mennonite food and watching the pioneer demonstrations.  Here are a few photos from around the village; the working windmill, above, mills flour if the wind is just right!

 The Hochfeld House - moved to the museum from the village where I work!

A few pictures from inside the Hochfeld house.  Every building was staged to fit in with the era it would have been lived in.

 Ari was very interested in all of the antique tools and machines.  So many questions about how it all works!  This was inside the barn of the Chortitz House, below.

The Summer Kitchen, where they were baking fresh bread to try, and the kitchen gardens.  The kids loved the garden!

 The 'Main Street' filled with stores and businesses that used to be open for business in Mennonite towns.

 Watching the blacksmith at work.

A sod house - typical of what families would build for their first year in Canada before building a bigger house.

 Enjoying the animals in the farm area.

 Class in session in the one room school, circa 1919.

The kids loved the watermelon and roll kuchen and the waffles with vanilla sauce.  Yumm!

This is just a snapshot of what there all is to see at the museum!  Definitely worth a visit if you're ever in the area.  Find more information about the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum on their website!

Mama + Maris in Vancouver

Maris and I just got home from a wonderful stay in Vancouver.  We went to visit my sister, her husband and their two boys -- both of whom are exactly the same ages as my two children!

The flights went smoothly both ways, even though both legs were delayed.  Maris was much better than I had anticipated with staying mostly content in our seat.  I had expected to be pacing the aisle a lot more than what I did.  Traveling alone with a baby was a breeze too...maybe because I'd had practice when Ari was a baby.

We managed to get out quite a bit with two babies, and in the rainy weather.
We visited my favourite Vancouver attraction -- Granville Island -- to do a bit of Christmas shopping for the kids and eat lunch at Edible Canada.  We also shopped on Granville Street and Robson Street, stopping for macarons and tea at Laduree Vancouver.  It was such a treat!

Another highlight of the trip was getting to Shop Sweet Christmas.  The market had so many of my favourite Canadian indie baby shops all set up in one place.  It was fantastic to meet the makers in person and buy directly from them.  We picked up goodies from Jax and Lennon Co, Bebe de Luxe, and Arrow and Lace Designs.

My last day there was very rainy, but we still got out with our umbrellas to stroll through the shops of Fort Langley and have afternoon coffee and sweets at a local bakery while the babies slept.

Thank you to my sister for being such a wonderful host!  I can't wait until their family comes to Manitoba in a few short weeks to spend Christmas with us.

Camping at Riding Mountain

This weekend we went on our first camping trip with Ari.  We camped at the Wasagaming campground in Riding Mountain National Park for two nights.  I used to come camping here every summer with my family, so Clear Lake has many memories for me!   The town of Wasagaming is beautiful and filled with shops, ice cream parlours and loads of family friendly activities.  Nearby Onanole also has many shops to browse, such as my favourite used book store, Poor Michael's Emporium.

Ari LOVED the beach.  The weather was really hot both days we were there, which was great as the lake can be cold.  We also met a number of friends who were also camping at the lake, which is always fun for catching up!

Before heading home we walked along the Ominnik Marsh boardwalk to see if we could spot some wildlife.  Only ducks this time, but Ari fell asleep on the walk and we decided that it would be a good time for the long drive home.

We had a great time and look forward to many more family camping adventures!

Magnifique Montreal

 

We just got back from a most wonderful holiday in Montreal!  We were invited to a wedding there (the couple met at McGill University) and decided to make a short trip out it.  We stayed five nights in the most charming apartment in the Mont Royal-Plateau neighbourhood (Airbnb).  The photo above is hubby and baby walking down our street, just a few doors away from ours.  How amazing it was to "live" like this for awhile!  We were so close to restaurants, shopping, parks and places for good old people watching.

 

The Plateau area in Montreal is well known for being a hip and trendy neighbourhood.  It definitely had that vibe, with street art murals covering most walls, beautiful old rowhouses, charming gardens, and the eclectic mix of people to match.

We indulged in poutine, smoked meat sandwiches, bagels, crepes and ice cream.  We made up for all of this gluttony by walking and cycling around with some bike rentals.

 

We had our bikes for two days, which was an awesome way for getting from the Plateau area to Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) quickly.  In Old Montreal we stopped to admire the Notre Dame Basilica, meander down the famed Rue St. Paul and its cobblestones, and walked down to check out the Old Port.  It really feels like you are in an old city in Europe when in this part of Montreal...it is one of the oldest settlements in Canada and some of the buildings date to the 1600's!

We found the city to be very family friendly.  Ari loved taking in the sights and sounds of a new city.  We enjoyed the spray fountains at Place des Arts on Rue St. Catherine, the entertainment on Rue St. Paul, ICE CREAM, bike rides, and, most importantly, the many excellent playgrounds scattered around the neighbourhood.

 

We would typically go out for lunch with Ari, and then grab some takeaway to eat in the apartment for dinner.  He loved tasting the food from our plates!

Au revoir Montreal!  We had a great time exploring the city and hope to return soon!