Montreal

The weekend after Labor Day Grandma and Grandpa drove into town to take care of our kiddos so we could have a little weekend getaway in Montreal.  We went with Jason & Emily Nudds.  Jason is Greg's cousin and they are some of our favorite people to hang out with.  

We left on Friday morning and had a pit stop in the Thousand Islands to visit Greg and Jason's Aunt Eddy and Uncle John.  They live in Toronto but spend most of their summer at their cottage on the St. Lawrence.

We stayed at Le Petit Hotel in Montreal, which had very helpful staff and a great location.  The rooms were very hip but still comfortable.

At the suggestion of our concierge, we walked right down the street for some pre-dinner cocktails to Santos.

Then we enjoyed dinner at Modavie with their live jazz.  After that we just walked around Old Montreal and down to the waterfront.  It was such a relaxed, happy atmosphere!  Everyone just enjoying their time outdoors.

these were projectors throwing images of faces up on all the trees in this park

On Saturday morning, we visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was beautiful!

Then we took a boat cruise which went around the harbor.

Habitat 67, housing complex built for 1967 World's Fair

We then took a long walk to get lunch at a recommended poutine restaurant called La Banquise.  They had a little courtyard in back, delish!

After a rest & refresh at the hotel, we ventured to the Mile End neighborhood and visited Dieu de Ciel for the tasting of many beers.  

Dinner followed, right down the street, at Sel Gras.  It was amazing and a very memorable meal!

all over town they were projecting movies onto the sides of buildings, some were even in little alleyways

On our last morning, the rain arrived, but we made a quick visit to the Jean Talon Market and then had lunch at a little cafe called Tommy.

It was an amazing trip and we all fell in love with Montreal.   More time was definitely needed, as there are so many other places to go, meals to eat, and sites to see!

A huge thank you to my parents for allowing this to happen!!  The next evening this happened:

Graham was walking around a circle of stacked stone around a tree in our backyard and slipped.  We did make a trip to the pediatrician the next morning and they put some glue on just for a protective layer, but it seems Mr. Graham will have his first facial scar!

Memorial Day Weekend 2016

We had some very special visitors for Memorial Day Weekend this year! Aunt Annie and Grandma came in town with Jack, Charlie, & Nora.  It was unseasonably warm and humid here, our guests brought their St. Louis weather with them!

The cousins had so much fun playing together, as always.  They all came to watch Parker's soccer and we had a picnic lunch by the canal.  Then we had some Abbott's frozen custard.  That evening we walked into Pittsford Village for the Paddle & Pour Festival.

It was a quick visit, but a very fun one!!

Collaborative artwork

Spring Soccer 2016

Parker participated in the spring Pre-K soccer program through the Pittsford Mustangs.  It was just like the Fall version with very informal teams.  Every Saturday they practiced drills and then usually had a scrimmage.  Parker was a little slow to start, but by the third week she turned into quite a little player.  She finally learned not to cry when someone took the ball from her and her competitive side kicked and she would try to get it right back!  

Parker's buddies Ben Nudds (also cousin) and Aaron Hooper (also classmate) were on her team all season, so it was fun to watch all three of them play.

Doing some drills at home:

We definitely plan to continue signing her up for soccer and look forward to her learning more skills every year.