To Winterlude.

To Beavertails.

But, not to the slides at Jacques Cartier Park.

J was feeling a little better today, so we decided to bundle him and Apple up in their snowsuits, with heavy blankets and put them in the stroller.  J is almost too big for it, but we wouldn’t have been able to go without it for sure.

We started out at Dow’s Lake at 9:30am (it may have been 9:45, but it was early enough for me to question having a Beavertail straight away).  There was almost nobody out on the ice, the parking lot was almost empty so we took advantage of nobody in line for Beavertails and got them.  J tried a few bites and enjoyed it, which we were happy about since he doesn’t try new things often.  And Apple was asleep since she got up at 4:30am so she didn’t get any.

We finished up our Beavertails and had they not been $4 a pop Hubby was assuring me he would have had five.  We headed down the skateway.  About two kilometres in, J was all cuddled up in his blanket and we wondered if we should turn back.  He insisted that he was warm and wanted to push on.  So we kept going.  All the way downtown.  That is about 5.5 km (3.4 miles).  A lady took our picture by the 0.0km marker at the end and we turned around and headed back.

Apple was awake by this time and the sun was in her eyes, so she was starting to cry.  We pushed on trying to go fast on our tired legs to get her out of the sun.  About halfway back as we were getting out of the sun, Apple was fine.  Only now J was crying because somehow his fingers were really cold.  We still can’t figure it out, it was warm out, he had his mitts on that he has worn all winter yet his fingers got cold.  We tried to get him to curl them up in a ball and tuck them under the blanket more, but he just wouldn’t do it, so he cried for 2.5km.

As we were nearing the end where we were parked, I saw an opening in the crowds and headed towards the side.  Somehow, my skates caught something.  A crack, a piece of straw, something that made them stop short.  My feet with up behind me, and I flew flat out through the air and landed flat on my front, knocking the wind out of me and bruising my elbows and one knee.  I am fine now, but for a few minutes I was really dizzy and trying to look like I was fine to the few hundred people who just witnessed me flying through the air.  Hubby is still trying hard not to laugh about it, he keeps saying, “You looked like Superman”.  Thanks.

Once back in the car, J’s fingers warmed up with the help of my warm hands, Apple was happy with no sun in her eyes and Hubby and I were happy to spend a Family Day together, outside.  That and we took turns having a nap once we got home.

*Full sized photos on my Flickr page.

I completely forgot that we went tobogganing last Sunday. And I say ‘we’ loosely as Hubby and J actually went down the hill, while I had Apple on my back in the backpack carrier.  It was a little colder than we expected, but a nice time was had by all.

This is a self-portrait, which includes Apple in the backpack.  She was quite happy to be bouncing along, but if I stopped bouncing, she made sure to remind me by jumping up and down.  Not so easy on the back.

Here they go down the hill.  Sadly, I have yet to get a turn down the hill.  Whenever we have gone, I have either been pregnant, newly unpregnant or carrying a baby on my back.  Go figure, since I used to spend every possible winter day tobogganing with my best friend on a hill behind his house when I was a kid.  Hmmmm…. now that I am remembering how much fun I used to have in the Winter, I am wondering when I switched to such a summer girl.  It must have been after that first big trip to the beach, the first one I remember going in the ocean.

 My Little Snow Bunny.  Her cheeks were so red, but she did not want to take her snowsuit off.  This is what she wears every morning to go to school and drop off and pick up J. She loves it.

And that is my forgotten day, I just can’t believe I forgot all about it until I downloaded the photos from the camera.