Fun on the Rideau Canal!
This past weekend, we took advantage of some mild winter weather in the nation's capital and took in a day of skating on the Rideau Canal.
I have come to love this annual outing, and this year was especially fun because E was all geared up to skate by himself for the first time. Last year, E had his skates on and we held him to get the hang of it, but the whole skating experience was short lived as he was extremely intimidated by the number of people on the canal and of course his abilities weren't quite there yet.
Fast forward one year later, add in a baker's dozen worth of skating lessons, and you have a little boy who actually gets excited by the thought of doing it on his own!
The day seriously could not have been more perfect weather wise, the canal conditions were excellent. The sun was shining and the smell of BeaverTails filled the air. This year we packed both boys into the bike trailer and they were nice and cozy enjoying just shy of a 10 km skate.
Midway through our 3.5 hour outing on the canal, both boys decided the conditions were ideal for a little snooze. PC and I took advantage of the quiet time to maximize our skate to both ends of the canal. We exerted just enough energy to earn ourselves a couple of BeaverTails and a hot chocolate - and the wafting of cinnamon and sugar brought the boys around just in time the best part of the whole experience.
This was H's first time trying the famous Canadian BeaverTail, and he definitely gave it his royal seal of approval. He was extremely happy to see his big brother had leftovers he was willing to share. For E, it seems the BeaverTail and a shot hot chocolate was all he needed to demand he was ready to skate... so PC and I found a quieter path on the canal and let him go for it.
H was nearing the end of his 'fun' rope by the time we got E suited up, but we did manage to entertain him long enough to let E have a good experience skating on the canal all. by. himself. I was loving E's enthusiam for the whole experience... it was definitely a highlight for him and so glad we closed out the day on a high.
All in all, it was a GREAT day - I love these unexpected family outings that come together with little planning (they are rare for us), when the stars align and everyone is able to enjoy themselves - I get a little giddy! This was one of those awesome days that I will log in our family memory book for many years to come.
Here are a few pics from the day ... and a short video of E doing his thing!
I have come to love this annual outing, and this year was especially fun because E was all geared up to skate by himself for the first time. Last year, E had his skates on and we held him to get the hang of it, but the whole skating experience was short lived as he was extremely intimidated by the number of people on the canal and of course his abilities weren't quite there yet.
Fast forward one year later, add in a baker's dozen worth of skating lessons, and you have a little boy who actually gets excited by the thought of doing it on his own!
The day seriously could not have been more perfect weather wise, the canal conditions were excellent. The sun was shining and the smell of BeaverTails filled the air. This year we packed both boys into the bike trailer and they were nice and cozy enjoying just shy of a 10 km skate.
Midway through our 3.5 hour outing on the canal, both boys decided the conditions were ideal for a little snooze. PC and I took advantage of the quiet time to maximize our skate to both ends of the canal. We exerted just enough energy to earn ourselves a couple of BeaverTails and a hot chocolate - and the wafting of cinnamon and sugar brought the boys around just in time the best part of the whole experience.
This was H's first time trying the famous Canadian BeaverTail, and he definitely gave it his royal seal of approval. He was extremely happy to see his big brother had leftovers he was willing to share. For E, it seems the BeaverTail and a shot hot chocolate was all he needed to demand he was ready to skate... so PC and I found a quieter path on the canal and let him go for it.
H was nearing the end of his 'fun' rope by the time we got E suited up, but we did manage to entertain him long enough to let E have a good experience skating on the canal all. by. himself. I was loving E's enthusiam for the whole experience... it was definitely a highlight for him and so glad we closed out the day on a high.
All in all, it was a GREAT day - I love these unexpected family outings that come together with little planning (they are rare for us), when the stars align and everyone is able to enjoy themselves - I get a little giddy! This was one of those awesome days that I will log in our family memory book for many years to come.
Here are a few pics from the day ... and a short video of E doing his thing!
Labels: family outting, fun, Ottawa, photo-op, traditions
posted by SC at 8:47 PM
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