Happy Birthday to Mia And Ella!

I don't suppose the twins are checking the blog each day but here's to a very Happy Birthday (for tomorrow) to Mia and Ella from all of us in the UK - have an excellent day girls!

Norwich Evening News, Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Congratulations!

65 years is a truly amazing achievement. Looking forward to your platinum in 5 years time!

Dylan

I guess Winter's here!

Chil's in Winchester for Lucy's wedding, well, the weather's changed!
I wonder what the girls will make of it tomorrow?

Autumn in Ottawa

It's still just about Autumn (fall) in Ottawa... although it was 2c this morning when we went to the farmers market. Its been really pretty in the Glebe which has a lot of old trees.



The road on the right is closed on Sunday mornings except for bicycles and goes for miles along the canal to Byward market. Chil had bought the first bike that she's ever owned, I've got one for the first time in about 10 years and we've even got a little trailer for the girls! They love the trailer but don't love the helmets.



We spent a weekend with our friend Mike Shanahan in Montreal, who was visiting on a sabbatical from the UK. Here's Namwezi running after squirrels. Our friend Sylvain had taught the girls a few words in French the weekend before and they remembered to say "bonjour" and "au reviour" to the Quebecois in the park.

And here's Namwezi again, getting to grips with the local sporting culture. Wamaka is in the shadows.


Hope you have enjoyed Autumn. We're getting prepared for the winter that is surely just around the corner. Last year was mild but apparently they had 8 meters of snow the year before, so much more than Toronto.

Love, Dylan and Chil

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 40th anniversary Mum and Dad




If you have a fast internet connection you can see a hi-def version of this video at http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1435548/Happy%20Anniversary%21.m4v

The picture speaks for itself!

Luke sent me this comparison... uncanny!

Happy Belated Birthday Claudia!

Would you believe it's still your birthday here!?? It's the time difference, you see...
Hope you had a great day,

love Dylan and Chil

Ottawa Summer

We've moved into our home for the next year or so (seen above). Our friend Yvonne's place was really nice and had home comforts I'd not imagined: the fridge was plumbed in to provide chilled filtered water and ice, the BBQ was plumbed in to the gas, there was forced air conditioning (and forced air heating for the winter) and even centrally piped vacuum, you just push a hose into the wall! But it's great to have our own place again and we are getting more and more settled in. We've got some really great neighbours and the Glebe is a lovely area to live in with a lot of stuff for kids to do. We have a spare room so can start accepting visitors straight away!

The slow, some say catatonic, pace of life is taking a bit of getting used to, but we have not been deterred by Ottawa being called "the town that fun forgot" and have unearthed some fun anyway.

Our big news is that we have some childcare for the girls, a nanny for 4 days a week so Chil can start thinking about her career again. The girls seem to enjoy getting out in the Glebe during the day and about and apparently their antics get all the other kids laughing. We also have a babysitter so we can explore Ottawa in the evenings a little. I'm well settled in at work at CHEO, they are a friendly bunch and it's great to finish in the operating room at 15:30 so I cycle home and can see the girls in the park before 4!

Last weekend we went to visit the cottage of some friends, about a 90 minute drive from home in Quebec. It's amazing to be right out in bear country, off the electricity grid and by a quiet lake after such a short time on the road. It took us about 90 minutes to get from Tooting to Islington on a Saturday afternoon, a considerably less picturesque drive. The girls enjoyed splashing about looking for frogs. Little fearless Wamaka wanted to head for the middle of the lake and as always took some dissuading. We ended up drying off in front of a campfire where the girls managed to get toasted marshmallow hair.



Namwezi and Wamaka are saying more and more words: hi, bye bye, yes, no, more, all gone, dog-dog, woof woof, miaow, up, socks and their favourite - shoes. They are getting less and less shy on Skype which is definitely the best way to get us all. Let us know when you're online.

Dylan

* * * Happy Birthday * * *

Happy Birthday Chil!
We hope you have an excellent day.
with lots of love,
from bill and claudia

Green bin racoon

It's not just me that's getting confused by Ottawa's refuse system.