11.3.09

Mackenzie King & More

Here is Lucas and me with the newest member of our family, Mackenzie King! We adopted HER from the the Ottawa Humane Society just one week ago now. She's just over a year old and still as fiesty as a kitten. She has really livened things up for us here and it's nice to have the distraction. Really, she's an absolute sweetheart who loves attention and to play with anything that moves! She has quite the name you might notice. She's named after William Lyon Mackenzie King, the longest serving Prime Minister in Canadian history. We just call her Mack for short :)

Besides Mack, everything else is going really great in Ottawa for us. We're settled into our new apartment and slowly adding pieces of furniture and small touches to create a home. You'll notice up there a picture of our new bed which we love! And our new couch which we got for a GREAT deal on, none other than, Craigslist. The apartment building is too good to be true some days when we're keeping warm in the hot tub and relaxing in the sauna. :) We live in a really great part of town and can walk to everything we need from the grocery store to a number of awesome restaurants and even better pubs! I'll post pictures as more excitement continues! I hope everyone is well! xo

24.2.09

Skating the Rideau!

A quintessential Ottawa experience is skating the Rideau Canal. The first day we could we were out on the ice. Luckily, I brought my skates and Lucas was able to borrow some so we escaped the steep cost of rentals. It really was everything we thought it would be and more. We skated the whole thing and back; we calculated about 13 km of skating. I really hope that we get to skate a few more times before the ice thaws!

The views were beautiful! That sign up in the left corner says Waverly and it reminded me a train station in Scotland. And the building in the top right corner is our new apartment building!



It was pretty cold but we found warmth next to the several outdoor firepits. And yes, that is a one horse open sleigh! :)


That top left picture is of me eating a bacon roll which was so exciting for me!! mmmmm And Parliament never loses appeal.
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21.2.09

In Ottawa!

It was hard to believe that the day would finally come to leave Vancouver. But when February hit, I've never felt time move so quickly. Before we knew it, it was February 16th and our last day in Vancouver. Moods were a mixture of excitement, nerves and sadness. The airport was not as bad as I thought it would be; there were tears but not many. As the wheels of the plane lifted off the ground, I couldn't push back the real tears any longer. Poetically, like any girl who loves a little drama, I watched Vancouver shrink back in the distance. It was a beautiful clear morning and the perfect last memory of a city that I will always call home.

Now, we're in our new home of Ottawa, Ontario. We are living with some good friends who are giving us a wonderful welcome to the city. Our time here has been really exciting so far. As many people know, just the other day, President Obama was in town. Unfortunately, we did not catch a glimpse of his arrival but the atmosphere of the city was exciting enough. That day we headed to Winterlude, Ottawa's winter festival celebrating all the things that make this time of year special in Eastern Canada. We saw ice sculptures and I enjoyed my first beavertail (one of many, I'm sure!) And that night, Elliot took us to the Canucks v. Senators hockey game, the ideal Canadian welcome. And to top it off, the Canucks won!

Today we are heading out to the Rideau Canal to go skating. The sun is shining bright and the temperatures are cold. Very cold. We promise to take lots of pictures so look back soon for more!


Everything in Ottawa is in both official languages


Awww...heart ice sculptures!


Some of the sculptures were really amazing!





In honour of President Obama arriving, Beavertail had a special 'Obamatail' that had cinnimon, sugar and whipped cream on it...


My first beavertail! mmm


GO CANUCKS! :)


#13 is Mats Sundin and the story of this sign is too long to type here but it gets Senators fans all riled up.


The arena


Us at the game!


Elliot and Lucas cheering on the Canucks


Final Score. Wooooo we won!


What the game would look like from the front row....ahhhh one day!

15.1.09

The Holidays (a little late)

Christmas this year was the best it's ever been. I'm not certain what made it better than all the rest but we had an absolute blast at every one of our 3 Christmases. I hope you enjoy the photos!

Christmas #1 at Lucas' Parents Place



Christmas #2 at Mum's Place


Christmas #3 at Dad's Place


Happy 2009!

22.12.08

Christmas JOY! :)

Welcome Benjamin David Mackie!
The newest addition to the Mackie Family at 6 lbs, born December 22, 2008. Congratulations David, Nancy & Sophia!


More Christmas Fun!



Decorating the Malinowski Family Christmas tree :)


Christmas dinner party at David & Nancy's place


A Winter Wonderland in Vancouver!
**A neat piece of trivia: this will be the first Christmas in many many many years where ALL of Canada will have a white Christmas! :)
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