Snowman

Our first snowfall of the season (in September), Wade and Ethan went out for a snowball fight.  So the second snowfall came on November 1st and it was a perfect snow for a snowman.  I was surprised that our yard was big enough to have enough snow for a snowman but it did barely.

Halloween

Although Ethan tried on his costume before he and Wade bought it, I had not seen it on him and I also hadn't tried Abby's costume on her.  So I decided the day before, we should have a dress rehearsal and took that opportunity to take photos also.  It ended up being a good thing because they both seemed a little off that day so I was able to let them take long naps.

I had hoped to at least watch Ethan trick or treat in the cul-de-sac but I figured it was best if Abby stayed inside since she didn't seem to be feeling well.  Andre and Erik came over to the 4 "boys" went out together.  I did manage to get a quick picture of Ethan and Erik before heading out.

Abby 7 month photo

This might be the point where the monthly photos start to become difficult again. Sitting without support and so close to getting to the seated position on her own.  Still not a fan of food but we keep working on it.  Loves playing with Ethan although she's starting to learn to be vocal when he does something she doesn't want him to do.  Oh and that is the same Halloween shirt Ethan had only he was 4 months instead of 7 months.

Pumpkin Carving

We invited the other couple from Kansas City that Engineered Air has moved to Calgary to carve pumpkins with us.  The pumpkins turned out good and Wade was even nice about having a Powercat pumpkin at our house.

Canadian Thanksgiving

I don't think mid-October will ever seem like Thanksgiving to us but we at least tried to enjoy the long weekend.  Saturday we just went to the park and enjoyed the nice weather.  I put Abby in the park swing for the first time and she seem to enjoy it.

Sunday evening we went to a hockey game.  It was the Calgary Hitmen vs the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Hitmen won.  Engineered Air has box tickets here in Calgary which was pretty convenient with two kids to be able to get up and move around.

On Monday, we went to the Calgary Corn Maze to pick out some pumpkins and enjoy some of the other activites.  Jen, Andre, Erik, and Veronica went with us and I think everyone had a lot of fun.

Although we won't be cooking a Thanksgiving meal in November, I'm excited to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Ethan this year because Thursday is our free day.  Last year he had school so we didn't get to watch it.

Family Photos

Late September we had family photos taken at Fish Creek Provencial Park.  We were pretty happy with the way they turned out and we were glad to get them in before it turned cold and white.  Ethan did really well although he was about done after an hour.  We couldn't get many smiles out of Abby but I guess it could have been worse.

Doors Open YYC

Last weekend there was a really fun event here in Calgary called Doors Open.  Sometimes it's easier to copy information from the website than to try to explain it myself so here it is:

Over the last weekend in September, many of Calgary’s most intriguing and beloved sites get naked for Doors Open YYC. For this one weekend, buildings in all quadrants of the city open their doors – free of charge – to the public and providing special revealing tours and behind-the-scenes experiences. Whether you’re a geek for history, architecture, the environment, art, sports, science or engineering, this is your chance at an insider’s view of Calgary’s vibrant and dynamic cityscape.
Doors Open is a well-established and highly successful international concept that allows people free access to buildings in order to create enthusiasm for heritage and contemporary architecture, and increase the appreciation of historic and culturally significant places and spaces.

There were 33 sites that participated including City of Calgary locations, museums, historical sites, etc.  There were several that seemed interesting to us but we picked two that we thought Ethan would enjoy the most.   Saturday morning Wade, Ethan, Andre, and Erik went on a tour of the landfill.  We drive by the landfill often and Ethan has asked a few times when we would be going to the trash dump so he was pretty excited when we told him.  Wade said the tour guides mentioned it was usually a tour given to grade school children as I'm sure several of the tours were.

On Sunday, the four of us went on a tour of one of the Calgary Transit Maintenance Facilities.  The tour showed how they maintained their light rail trains.  It even included a ride through the train wash. 

Balloon Glow

On September 26th, we went to the balloon glow at the Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival in High River (about 30 minutes south of Calgary).  It was a fun evening and as Ethan said several times "this is really cool".