Riverfest

For the past two weeks, there has been the Ottawa Riverfest. Tomorrow it ends with a parade that goes through downtown, but every year we go and do the sidewalk sales and so that's what we did today. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day today and just perfect for this. People were out in force and we even ran into a few people we knew from church, so that was a lot of fun. We started with a horse-drawn carriage ride around the downtown area. It was so relaxing and fun and the kids thought they were superstars! Everyone was waving at them and they thought it was pretty cool. :-) After that, we went to the park right across the street. It's not a park with swings and stuff, it's a park that has a big statue and fountain commemorating the first Lincoln/Douglas debate which took place there. It's a really nice little park and it was full of booths for the farmer's market. We had the kids throw their pennies in the fountain and chatted with some friends, before heading off to the stores. We went to The Bookmouse and Madie got a couple books, while Noah and Livie got balloons. Then headed to the Silver Spoon which used to be a big expensive clothing store for kids, but it's inventory is a lot smaller than it used to be - well, at least since I was there last. But, they had a box of stuffed bears for $1, so Noah and Livie each picked one out. We headed down the street then to my very favorite store The Classroom. They carry educational toys and teacher supplies. They have a section of religious supplies like bulletin board graphics and stuff, so I shop there often for church. They have a big Thomas the Train table set up at the front of the store, so while I shop, the kids play. They did that again today, while I went around looking at stuff for Sunday School. I found a couple things and had the kids each pick out a pencil of their choice, before we headed on down to another store. They've been asking for pencils for a while, so they were pretty happy to get them. Who knew a 25cent pencil was so exciting?! Anyway, then we headed to the Scrapbooking store and let them each pick out a paper they like and a set of stickers to go with it. Noah got a camo page with army stickers. Madie got a bowling page with hula stickers. And, Livie got a frog page with cat and dog stickers. The kids were getting pretty tired and we were carrying quite a load - cheap though it was - so we headed back to the car and finished up our morning with lunch at Triple Js. They are a little out-of-the-way place that reminds me sooooo much of the Bob-o-Link in Royal Center. They have slushies and ice cream and all that kind of stuff as well as hot dogs and tenderloins and fries. We pigged out on all that great stuff. It was a perfect end to our little trip.

Like I said earlier, this is something we do every year and as the kids get older, it gets to be more and more fun. Ottawa is a really nice town and has a really nice downtown area that's fun to shop at. Pete was in Toronto last year and wasn't able to go with us, so it was nice that he could this year. We didn't get to stop at all the shops we had hoped too, but I'm hoping next time my parents come to visit, I can take them down there. They have a baseball card shop, so I'm sure it won't take much convincing. ;-) I've taken Pete's mom down there on several occasions when she's stayed for a few days. They have a quilt shop that she really likes. I forgot my camera today, so I wasn't able to take pictures and I was kicking myself that I didn't. But, I also think my kids enjoyed a day where they didn't have to stop and pose or smile for me. It's the first time we've been home for a weekend in over 3 weeks, so it was a well needed family day and no camera was probably a good thing. But, still thought I'd share our fun day with you all on my blog today.