Party, Egg Hunt & Repeat

This weekend has been one of non-stop parties and egg hunts that started bright and early on Good Friday morning! Our first party and egg hunt was at playgroup. The kids did a really fun Easter Bunny craft, we enjoyed some yummy treats and then had a egg hunt outside in the sunshine! Arabella had so much fun running around and searching for eggs! The fresh air, sunshine and possible sugar crash made her so tired she fell asleep in the car on the way home!


Later that afternoon, we headed to June's house for an Easter egg hunt and party. It was so much fun. June had the hunt down to a science for all the different age groups and had the kids searching in different areas of her yard based on their ages! They had decorated Easter houses and had a fun painting craft! We also enjoyed some yummy food and had a great time spending the afternoon and evening with all our friends. Arabella had fun playing and did more running around outside! It was a great way to end Friday!

Arabella & Allyson concentrating on their house!

So excited to find the eggs!
Kids, kids everywhere!
The party at June's would not be complete without her famous (thanks to me and my egg molds) jello shot eggs!
Hanging out with Christopher!
Checking the eggs!
Painting project!
Arabella and Allyson - such serious artists!

I have to say, this was the perfect way to start our long Easter weekend!

Where's Jack?!?!

Arabella loves to wake up every morning and look for Jack, her Elf! It is the cutest thing to see her looking and when she finds him, she is so excited. I love the wonder in her eyes - she gets that he has magic power and has gone to see Santa and is now back to watch over her for another day! However, I have forgotten to move him 2 times recently...but Jay, the quick thinker that he is, told her that he must have really liked the spot he is in and wanted to watch her from there another day...she buys it, but I feel horrible about it! Anyway, Jack is so much fun to have around the house and he sure does find some good places to hide...

Thanksgiving in the States

Last week, Arabella and I drove to Boston to spend Thanksgiving with Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff, Macy & Rocco. We wanted Dad/Jay to join us, but he had to work and was in Nova Scotia. We had a great day for driving and part of our journey included taking the ferry across Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh to Grand Isle, Vermont. (It was fun for Arabella, was a nice break in the driving for me and actually cuts a little time off of our trip!)
The GPS view - it looks silly to see your car in the middle of the water!
Arabella enjoyed her movies along the drive and on the ferry ride.
The view from our spot on the ferry.

Our drive was uneventful, except for the traffic once we got to Boston....it was backed up for a while. Good thing for the DVD player!

Arabella was so excited once we arrived - she couldn't wait to see Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff and the dogs! She had so much fun walking Macy & Rocco, giving them treats, playing Barbies and airport with Uncle Mike and goofing around singing Lady Gaga with Uncle Jeff!



We had a fun and yummy Thanksgiving Day. Uncle Mike and I cooked, while Arabella and Uncle Jeff watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Everything was so delicious and we enjoyed everything. I even made my first pumpkin pie!


My first pumpkin pie!
Uncle Mike's perfect turkey!
After dinner we took a walk and the sunset was beautiful! All the Christmas decorations we starting to appear too!

Uncle Mike and I went and stood in line at Target on Thanksgiving night to score some great Black Friday deals...we were in line at 9:30, pretty close to the front of the line, so we got everything we wanted and were home by 2 am! We had fun hanging out and doing some shopping. Jack, Arabella's Elf on the Shelf joined us at Uncle Mike's house too! Arabella had a lot of fun with Macy & Rocco and even got to go with Uncle Mike when he too Rocco to the vet.






Our drive home was good, the sunset was beautiful!

And the only hang-up on the drive was our wait at Customs at the Border...we waited almost an hour to get through! I Had never seen the lines this long!
We had so much fun over Thanksgiving and it was hard to leave! Thank you Uncle Mike & Uncle Jeff!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Today, Arabella and I decided that we would start some of our Christmas decorating. She was so excited to help me put up the "fake" Christmas tree in the dining room. It looks so pretty and we had a fun time decorating. I decided to go with a theme on this tree - I used the pretty deep red, deep green and brown ornaments with brown velvet ribbon and it looks so beautiful! Arabella was careful when she was unwrapping the ornaments and was so happy to be helping me.

The Holidays Have Arrived In Montreal

It is official...Christmas has arrived in Montreal! I have noticed since a few days after Halloween that the Christmas lights were starting to go up in our neighborhood. (I supposed the warm weather helps get people to put up their outdoor decorations earlier than they would if it was colder out.) I have been debating on when to bring up the Christmas decorations and with Jack's arrival and the burning of my Be Jolly candle, I am starting to get in the mood for Christmas. I know, I know, back in the States they haven't even had Thanksgiving...but here, there is nothing to fill the space between Halloween and Thanksgiving so Christmas seems to start earlier. All I can think is that my poor Arabella will be so confused when we do end up back in the States...her holidays will be all off! Anyway, this morning, we bundled up and met the Blais/Bergeron's for some (early) holiday fun in Montreal! It was the annual Santa Parade and we had so much fun! We had great front row seats and Arabella and Allyson loved the music and dancers and floats. We even had good weather - not too sunny, but not windy or too cold - perfect for a parade. It was nice to spend the morning in the fresh air and now I am in the holiday mood and could do with a little snow! I may even do a little decorating tomorrow and I think Arabella would be in the mood to help since she asked if we could decorate! I just love how excited she is about Christmas, it truly is the most wonderful and magical time of year!












They were so excited to see Santa!