Cherry Blossoms at High Park

We visited High Park in Toronto to see the cherry blossoms and visit the fun park and little zoo there. It was very crowded, especially since we went on a Saturday, but it was fun to visit Toronto for one of the final times before we move. We went with a couple families that we are friends with and that was even more fun for the kids. And since it was outdoors, Torben got to come. He was very busy sniffing everything and seeing lots of other dogs.

After a couple of hours, all the kids were getting tired, but especially Trevor. They were all pretty good troopers with all the walking we did.

 

Easter

 

We had a nice Easter weekend, though it was a bit chilly still. On Good Friday, the kids dyed Easter eggs before their friends came over (the older friends were babysitting) so Austin and I could go on a date to dinner and the temple with our friends.

On Saturday, we had an activity at the church with an Easter egg hunt and some indoor activities. Asher and Leif were at all these activities, they are just more independent and tend to go off on their own more, so I didn't get as many pictures of them.

On Sunday morning, the kids got Easter baskets full of surprises before they had a little egg hunt in the house (there was a layer of snow on the ground from the night before) before church. Natalie was most impressed by the chocolate bunny in her basket and wanted to eat it all! She ate the ears after lunch and when I put her down for a nap, she asked if I would bring it up to her if she got hungry during her nap. I fear she has the same sweet tooth that her mother has ;)

Torben

We went to pick up our first family pet after our trip to Arrowhead Provincial Park. Torben is a wire haired vizsla who is 7 weeks old. He was born in Burk's Falls so we decided to get a picture of him in his hometown :) He has adjusted quite well to a family full of crazy kids who all love him very much. He thrives on human interaction and prefers being with people to eating most of the time. He is already starting to potty train and learning to ring some bells when he needs to go out. He doesn't love his crate yet, but each night is getting a little easier. He has a bit of a nocturnal schedule though and prefers to be up playing at night and sleeps most of the day- particularly in the afternoon after he has burned off his pent up energy in the morning. He's a sweet little guy and we are so glad to have him!

 

Arrowhead Provincial Park

We went on a little trip to Arrowhead Provincial Park. I originally wanted to cross-country ski, but we decided with so many little ones, it might not really be worth all the money to rent the skis. We decided to just hike for awhile instead, have a picnic, then go ice skating on the skating trail through the woods. This was a lot more economical since we already own all the kids' skates.

The kids love being out and exploring and can usually handle the cold if we keep moving and have lots of interesting stuff to check out. I love just being outdoors and felt like it was a perfect day (after we got over the mess of Natalie throwing up in the car- she was better soon afterward except for the beginning of a cold).

After our hike, the kids played on this hill of snow while we waited for Austin to get the car with lunch and the ice skates in it. There were some picnic tables outside, so we just decided to eat out because no one was too cold.

The ice skating path was so cool. Its about a 1 kilometer loop through the trees. Austin and I only made it around once with Natalie and Trevor, but the older kids went around twice (racing each other most of the way) before they wore themselves out and slowed down to skate with the little ones. When we finished, Natalie insisted on going back on the ice, but I knew she couldn't manage another loop, so we just skated down a bit then came back.

It was such a fun day, and if it wasn't a two hour drive away from our house, I would be tempted to take the kids again before the winter is over, but we probably need to be at home more thanks to our new puppy (see next post)