Calgary

It was almost a surprise visit to Elizabeth’s – she thought we were coming on the 14th not the 4th. Good thing we sent an e-mail from the airport telling her we were on our way!

I brought along a bag full of blankets - just in time for the first snowfall of the season.

There were a few games of Monopoly – Emma makes a great banker, and Gavin helped me roll the dice. Nobody could beat Madison though – she won every game. Emma had a game called Mix ‘n Mash and we had a few rounds of that as well.

There were puzzles to make, and things to build.

Pat and I took the kids to see Puss in Boots on Saturday afternoon. It was Emma and Gavin’s first theatre experience – I think they enjoyed themselves.

Ray and Dylan built a beautiful fire on Saturday night.

On Sunday we went to White Spot for dinner – good to see the Pirate Pak is as popular as ever.

On Monday it was back to school for Madison and Emma. Winter has arrived so they had to bundle up.

Even though Gavin wasn’t feeling well he went out to meet the bus every day. And while the girls were at school, Gavin did some serious studying in the toy catalogues.

Port Coquitlam

I flew to Port Coquitlam to spend a few days with Christy, Rick, Dylan and Taylor.

Dylan had a Remembrance Day assembly at his school on Thursday and Taylor and I were able to go. The photos of his class song didn’t turn out, but the school held a nice ceremony.

After Taylor and I picked Dylan up from school we did some grocery shopping for supper. Dylan wanted Tortellini Alfredo and he made a Ceasar Salad to go with it.

The weather wasn’t very cooperative but we were able to get outside for a short walk on Friday. Dylan has done a good job of teaching Taylor all about splashing in the puddles.

The trees were covered in their fall colours until the big windstorm Friday afternoon.

Dylan had his football windup on Saturday so he was out all morning.

Taylor spent the morning being her own cute self.

When Dylan got home we made some of his puzzles. He doesn’t make ordinary puzzles – the ones in this photo are double-sided (a different puzzle on each side).

We also did a couple of 3-D puzzles and played a few rounds of the board game I Spy - Dylan wins every time.

Sunday was rainy but Christy, Dylan and I headed out to the Salmon Festival. Dylan was much more interested in the dead fish along the creek, but we did see some live ones making their way up Hyde Creek.

Taylor had a pyjama day on Sunday, but that didn’t stop her from building her own version of the Leaning Tower.