*e*

rainy.

it rained non-stop for days here last week. crazy weather this new england. not sure if i'll be getting used to it any time soon...freezing one day, humid the next - rain, sun, BUGS and a bear (yes, a real live bear in our neighbourhood, more on that later) - oh me oh my!

everything is amazingly green and beautiful right now though. and my little people like the be outside no matter what the weather. so out we go...in the rain!

ps: phill, jane and eli go back to perth this weekend.

forecast = more rain...from my eyeballs...sniff!

some polaroids from the trip

as a peace offering for dragging me across the world again, mick bought me an iphone last year. i am not a gadget-y person but oh i love this little thing for it can take the most magical photos - i love the shakeit and hipstamatic photo apps and much prefer using the phone to my big camera these days! jane has one too (we facetime on it all the time, another love) so for this last montreal-loving-blog post i wanted to share a few faves from the trip. it's a treat to get a family photo taken these days (oh how lucky i was when i had tara closeby!), and jane got some good ones of us which make my heart jump for joy.

in summary, montreal was wonderful - and i am so pleased to have this magical city half a days drive away...i will fantasise about our next visit there (our daytrip to quebec city sadly had to be sacrificed this time round due to children being hideous in the car, so we will go again soon!)...and cherish all of these lovely pictures and memories until then.

thanks for sharing in my montreal picture fest this week, and waving a big hello to those of you who live there. lets meet up in the park next time with a bag of chocolate croissants ok?

the parks of montreal

we spent more time in parks than anywhere else in montreal - after all there were many of them, and the weather was so divine...and we had months of cooped-up-ness to LET OUT! oh, it was just so glorious to be out in the sunshine and enjoying the soft green grass and beautiful leafy green trees. just glorious.

we did a really long walk one day through the trails in parc mont royal, and went back another day for a big lazy picnic and views from the lookout. we explored all around park jean drapeau which had lots of interesting elements to it as well as some really cool playground stuff. i didn't take photos of this because i was playing on the twirly-whirly things getting dizzy with jane!

i loved all the little inner city parks too. so lovely to see people sitting and enjoying themselves. or hearing a busker or two. or getting and ice-cream or five!

(unky phill ATTACK!)

thankyou sunshine, and thankyou montreal! you brought out the best in all of us...

(one more photo post tomorrow, and then i will stop with the montreal love, ok!)

montreal (in many, many photos!)

from niagara, we made the long ol drive to montreal. i have been dying to visit since we moved to the east coast! we pulled in with a smelly car full of cracker crumbs, sticky bits, squealy kids, 2 exhausted mummas and 2 oblivious dads (who knew those front seats were so far away from the back?!). the old buildings and european feel to the city as was a welcoming and exciting sight - hooray, we were here! we settled into our gorgeous apartment and got ready to explore and enjoy magical montreal for the next 4 days...

this involved a lot of walking, a lot of snacks, a little bit of history and a lot of time spent enjoying the parks and local yummies (ie chocolate croissants and poutine!). the weather was great and with 4 little people with us we decided not to try and do too much. we loved this beautiful city and the relaxed happy vibe felt in all the places we visited. i took lots of photos - you don't mind, do you?

(until tomorrow!)

niagara falls, canada

(view from our hotel room. while we were stingy and squeezed all 8 of us into one room, we did pay the extra $10 for a view of the falls!)

(boat we woosed out on going on because it looked miserably cold. and we are cheap.)

ah, niagara falls! after years of putting up with mum yelling "niagara falls!" whenever someone went to the toilet in our house, we finally saw the real thing! when phill and jane were planning their trip to america, we told them to choose where they wanted to go on a road trip...and niagara was something they wanted to see. it probably wouldn't have made it onto the top of my wish list (my list holds only warm.tropical climates - ha!), but i'm so glad we got to see this it. block out the cheesy touristy bits and it was really amazing. we had a cold and rainy day to walk around but we made the most of it. the top of the falls realy freaked me out - CRAZY powerful and only a tiny fence between my little babies and that massive surge of water - eeeek! i held the extra tight and thought about all those nutters who chose to go over the edge in a barrel!

so now that my children have seen the falls, mum's joke will live on! from the bathroom i can hear giggly girls singing "niaaaaGRA FALLS!"

truly and educational trip for one and all!

road tripping

we're off!

back to report in a few days...

xo

gnomie forest

it was a sunny warm afternoon so we all went for a walk in the woods. different from our bush back home but very lovely and magical...and running water on a warm day is a treat for us - the creeks and streams in australia are usually dry in the warm weather. shoes and clothes were shed for some paddling and playing here...

there was noone else around and it felt like we were in our own magical little forest. except for the bugs that is.

little gnomies Pip & Pop came too and had all sorts of adventures along the riverside - ivy is planning to make a storybook about them so was setting up all these little scenes for me to photograph! she got Pip & Pop for her 2nd birthday and they have been on many travels with us over the years...!

i love the magic you can feel when deep in the forest, and can't wait to see this book my little elfin-girl creates!

maypole

(i can't get over that view)


still on my spring 'high' (do not want to come down from there), my ears prick at the mention of any kind of celebration. celebrate speing? YES WE WILL!

a sweet little local picnic and maypole was just the thing for a perfect morning with phill, jane and eli. we lounged on the lovely grass, ate cake with flowers on top, listened to the accordian and joined in a maypole. oh, what a pretty thing that is - all those rainbow ribbons flowing underneath a garland of flowers makes me wonder why we don't have one of our very own here in the backyard!

the neighbours may soon have another reason to think us crazy...

spring, spring! oh happy spring...really, i never knew i loved you so much. but i do!

dairy visit

whats not to love about fresh farm smells, getting up close to a giant crazy eyed animal, chatting to a farmer, watching the milking process and finding mischief in the shed?

it's always sweet to visit the dairy!

(especially with a cute little cousin in tow)

spring! spring! spring! spring! spring!

its really, really HERE!

after so many promises and teasers of its arrival...spring is here, and it is unlike any spring i have ever experienced before! driving through country roads and playing in fields of flowers - it all feels like some sort of dream. the sun has been warm and kind to us this week and it feels AMAZING to be able to frolic outdoors with barefeet again!

the earth has been awakened, and so has my soul.