Winterlude 2015

Lucas got his first report card of 2015 last week. Overall, we were very pleased. In the behavioral section, he had one 'Satisfactory' and the rest were 'Good.' It's always nice to see a report card devoid of 'Needs Improvement.' In the section related to school subjects, he had all As and Bs, even getting a couple of A+s (one in drama, of all things).

In more recent school news, Lucas got into a scrap with another kid during his before school care yesterday. The kid that he was fighting with is a well-known troublemaker and has picked on kids on both the bus and at school. So on the one hand, it's disappointing to see Lucas get into fights at school. On the other hand--and I can't really tell him this but I can say it here--I'm kind of happy to see him standing up for himself and/or others. Based on what I know of the other kid, I'd like to see Lucas lay him out. :)

Picture time! A few weeks ago, my mom and Kevin came up to visit, and while they were here, we went to Winterlude in downtown Ottawa. It was a cold-as-hell day, but we had a good time. This marked the first outing of the new Nikon to a non-hockey related event, and I'm very happy with the pictures, especially since I just used auto mode. Check em' out.

Lucas chilling out in front of one of the wood stoves.

Marilu warming her buns.

I'm not really sure what this thing was, but it was interesting so I took a picture. I'm assuming it's just there for Winterlude and isn't part of the park year round.

Strike a pose!

I feel like this next picture should be matched with the second one above as part of a "Spot the Differences" challenge. :)

One of the highlights of Winterlude are the amazing ice sculptures created by artists from around the world. In past years, we've tended to go during the later weekends of the fest and the sculptures are melting or falling apart. This year, we were there at the beginning so we got to see them being made.

This is about half of the main ice sculpture pavilion plus there were a few smaller ones. It gives you an idea as to just how many there were. Note all the different flags flying, representing the various artists.

Nothing says Winterlude like Beaver Tails!

This was my favorite photo of the day. Great expressions on everyone's faces!

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag so they had an ice display up for that.

We then walked over to the canal to check out the skaters. Here are views of both directions.

And we'll wrap this one up with a picture of Lucas and Marilu posing on the ice. (yes, I did try to get a little artsy with the bridge arch in the background)