Sunday, September 26, 2010

Free Admissions Day

After church this morning we went to the Muttart Conservatory. We were so excited it was Free Admissions Day because we probably saved around fifty dollars for the whole day! The conservatory looks like pyramid-shaped greenhouses. Neat, huh?
The four pyramids represented four different climates. The first pyramid was the tropical climate.
Charlie with a Banana Tree.
The second pyramid held the feature climate. This one changes often. It had beautiful mums and an ocean theme.

Claire looks so sneaky here...
The third pyramid represented a temperate climate. It reminded me of home :(.
These flowers would be great for a bathroom painting, ha!
And the last pyramid was an arrid climate. It was surprisingly chilly in that pyramid!
These trees are called "Elephant's Feet!"
We went through the pyramids pretty fast. Maybe that is because Claire was having a lot of trouble not touching all of the beautiful plants! Charlie said she was acting like "Edward Scissorhands!"
It was still early when we were done so, we drove to the zoo so Charlie could see what it was like.
Claire rode like this pretty much the whole time!
Lucy, the zoo's elephant.
There has been a lot of controversy over Lucy since she is the only elephant at the zoo. She seemed pretty happy to us!
We couldn't believe the amount of people at the zoo. We took a brief walk by the tiger, monkeys, wolves, and foxes then we went home. After all of the excitement this weekend Claire is totally exhausted...hope that means she will sleep in tomorrow morning!

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Return to Fort Edmonton

Today Charlie, Claire, and I went to Fort Edmonton. I was excited for Charlie to see everything. Claire and I had a great time the last time we were there.
When we arrived the park was closed and we had a while to spare so we walked down a nearby trail. I enjoyed looking at the changing leaves. It really seems like time has gone by so fast since we moved here, and I can't believe it is fall!
You just can't help but love that sweet smile!
Then, we headed into the park. The train didn't run today like it did last time. Instead, we took a wagon tour. I was really interested to hear more about the fur trading. The beavers here were made into beaver felt hats and they compared owning one of those hats to having a Lamborghini today...can you imagine?
Daddy and Claire on the wagon.
We got off the wagon at the fort and spent a lot of time looking in all of the rooms and in the main house.
After that, Claire was hungry. I was so glad Charlie packed a lunch for us, because the food vendors were closed today. I had such a nice time being with our family while having a picnic.
We walked from the picnic table to the two different streets featured in the park. And there we saw the biggest rabbit I have EVER seen! He was bigger than Gus...I think he could've carried off Claire!
Only in Canada, eh?
We wondered around a while longer. Everytime I turned around, this is what I saw...
She was just as happy as can be walking behind us carrying her juice!
On the way back to the front gate, we stopped at the Midway. It was closed, but Charlie wanted you to see the kinds of performers they advertised there.

Funny, huh? :)

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Mom, Pop, & Tots Expo

Today we went to the Mom, Pop, & Tots Expo. The Expo Centre had a ton of booths full of as much child-related stuff as you could imagine. Charlie made fun of me because it seemed like every booth would ask if I had heard of their product and of course I had which would lead to me telling them I was from the United States. He said I just wanted to tell everyone where I was from!

The biggest hit was the petting zoo! Yeah, it was right inside the Expo Centre! Strange, huh?
Claire loved running around petting the animals, and so did Charlie and me.
Check out the size of that turkey!
Baby goat...so sweet!
The wallaby was so funny. I guess we just didn't expect to see something hop all around! He was really friendly, and fast!
I could've held those little bunnies forever!
Petting the pig!
Then, Claire kept talking to the pig!
We waited in line for the big attraction...Shrek! I'm not sure why Shrek was at a toddler expo, but Claire warmed up to him pretty fast! When she saw the picture on the computer she wanted to go back and give him "five!"

Friday, September 17, 2010

Gymnastics fun!

Today we went to gymnastics for the first time. This gym has a preschool drop-in on Fridays and I couldn't wait for it to start so we could try it out. Claire wore a "big bow" for the first time today...how long have I waited for that?!
Don't you love her boots?
It was 31 degrees when we woke up this morning so we bundled up! The gym had tons of toys to play with and really only one rule...you can only go one way down the trampoline. Now who do you think could not understand this rule?
Claire said over and over "fast." She ran as hard as she could!
Wrong way!!!
She tried pretty much every toy.

Of course the slide was a big hit!
Look, Mom! All by myself!
When there was a few minutes left the worker called a clean up and all the kids picked up the toys. Then, they sang a couple of songs and sat to wait for a stamp.
Claire wanted her stamp on her foot!
We can't wait to go back next week!

Scrub a dub, Gus in the tub!

How to wash your dog

First, find a dirty dog.

He is definitely dirty enough!
Then, you need a cute helper.

Who me?
Fill your tub with water...
Send the cute helper to find the dog soap...
Put your dog in the tub and scrub him good!
Note:  The cute helper will probably like the soap too!
Then, have her fetch the hair dryer.
Hmmm...I can't get your collar on while you are trying to eat it!

That's okay...I'll wear the collar myself!
Now you might smell like dog shampoo, be extra tired, and have to clean the bathroom...but you did it!