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Anne-Marie dropped by for the weekend to go to a workshop surrounding refugees.  She works for the University of Hearst and is responsible for a few refugees coming to Hearst in the next few weeks.  The workshop sounded interesting on paper in that she would learn about refugees experiences in Canada over the past year and figure out what are some things she can do to improve on their stay.  That being said, I didn’t get the debrief on the final day of the workshop so who knows if the thing was actually useful or not!

Hanging out with Pops.

We did all get to go out to the Etienne Brulé Brewpub in Embrun for a bite to eat.  MAN I love their beer.  It’s top notch.  I can’t get enough of that citrale.  As you may know, I myself dabble in the homebrewing world and have been trying to create something very similar to the citrale over the past few years.  I believe it’s now my life’s mission to try and replicate this concoction.

I really like the Etienne Brulé brewpub because it checks off a few things on my list of what I like in a restaurant…great service, tasty beers, no crazy overpriced meals, tasty food.  I have been ordering the smoked meat panini and the greek salad and it is pretty tasty.  I think if they would add some sauerkraut to the smoked meat panini (or offer it as an option?), it would create the greatest smoked meat panini ever.  Maybe I can bring my own in the next time?  Is that bad?

I might go check out their grand opening next month as our friend Marie-Claude is the cousin of the owner and they seem to be performing there that night which should be a fun gig!

On Saturday while I was trying to figure out the electrical in the kitchen (and getting quite frustrated with it…I don’t think I have ever worked on a single electrical plug so much in my life!) we had some visitors with license plates from Manitoba drop by for a surprise…Aunt Mariette and Uncle Greg!  They were driving back through to Le Pas from Gaspé and dropped by to meet Sierra.  It was great to see them both and give them a tour of the house as it was their first time there.  Sierra seemed to enjoy their company as photos show!

I’m pretty sure they were THIS close to taking Sierra back home with them.

I was cleaning up around the house and I thought I would give this baby carrying device a try.  Great success!

Corn moustache!

 

Lads, here is my goof off of a sister-in-law if you are interested!

Na na na na na na na nannnnn – Batgirl!

 

I love when Vero sends me a photo of the day!

Hanging out in the gym.  Mike mentioned how Sierra might have the tendency to put her head to one side so we’re trying our best to position her the other way on the floor so she can watch TV the other way.  Currently, she doesn’t really change her head position and just stares at the wall instead!

Sierra sometimes enjoys tummy time and this is one of those rare moments.

Whatchoo lookin’ at?

This was taken the day she got her first vaccinations.  She was a champ through the whole ordeal!  She cried a little but Vero fed her and she settled down.  CHAMP!

 

It is HOT in Ottawa these days!

This is what my Friday nights are like these days.

I was getting suspicious when Vero left me with a stockpile of frozen milk and went out to dinner looking like this!  Meow.

After nearly three months in the house with Sierra, the moment had arrived where Vero could out for a few hours on her own!  She had been pumping milk so this day could come.  Chantal and her went out for supper and left me with Sierra.  This was a challenge that could be conquered, yet it was a little daunting.

Sure, I can handle my own kid, but it’s way easier with a friend in tow.  I asked Krista and Ethan to come over for supper in case I ran into trouble.  It was reassuring to have her there as the concept of bottles were fairly new to me and Lord knows I might have messed something up.  We had some burgers on the BBQ and watched something called Pepe the Pig.  Krista has ‘the touch’ and Sierra slept most of the time after being in Krista’s arms.  I need to mimic her movements!

It’s always great to see Ethan run around and play the drums.  We had some fun together that night and Sierra was still alive after the experience so I would consider it a great success!  Thanks to Krista and Ethan for dropping by!

I love how Google Photos does NOT have red eye reduction.  Ethan looks like the devil incarnate!

 

Vero had to go to the dentist a month ago but when I went in, Kathy changed the appointment for Vero so everyone could meet Sierra!  Very sly.

I don’t know much about the trip itself other than Sierra was on her best behaviour.  Here are a few photos from the event.

They’ll be seeing a lot more of Sierra in the future!

Mom and Dad dropped by for a quick visit while on their way to Kapuskasing.  Dad and I got to work on the jet pump for the hot tub as it was making a screeching noise.  Turns out the bearings needed some replacing so he took them home to fix them up.  I have to tell you, that hot tub has something happening to it every year.  It’s not the end of the world but it’s a learning curve!

Mom feeding Sierra like a pro!

Check out that smile!!

This was basically three weeks of Sierra’s life in August 2016…watching the summer Olympics!

 

THIS is what happens when I go visit Harlin and Lily!

Most days, Sierra likes to sleep like this.

Unless she’s hanging out with Dad.

Not every photo should be all smiles.  This is how Sierra generally feels about tummy time.

I had a great birthday which was spent going to work where they showered me with beef jerky at a team meeting.  Best gift ever!  My friends did grace me with their presence for our daily walk around the Ottawa bridge.  Here is some photos of what I get to look at each day at lunch hour.

View of Parliament from the Eddy bridge.

I wasn’t too sure what these were doing on the bridge.  It may be a protest of some sort concerning the land around Hull that is being used for new condominiums.

A view of the Eddy bridge from the Portage bridge.  I generally do a loop of walking both bridges.

The evening was spent with two ladies who are important in my life.  Sierra didn’t really catch onto the concept of unwrapping gifts so I decided to leave her in the dust and unwrap them myself.

Troy has mailed me a very large package a few weeks back and if people know me, they know that I don’t open gifts until my birthday.  For weeks I stared a giant flat cardboard box thinking it must have been a rock concert poster of some sort.  Lo and behold, I was completely wrong and it turned out to be a life size cardboard cutout of Darth Vader!

Definitely one of the best gifts I have ever received!  Thanks Troy and Connie!  I tried putting it in different rooms around the house to figure out where to station him.  Vero was NOT impressed when she found it in the nursery in the middle of the night.  It gave her quite the fright!

Sierra, I am NOT your father.

Best babysitter ever.

A few days after my birthday, I took the Friday off so we could go out to the Library and Archives Canadian comic book exhibit called ‘Alter-Ego’.  I have been getting into Canadian comic books for the past few years thanks to the work of people like Hope Nicholson and Rachel Richey who have worked at republishing older Canadian comic books via Kickstarter.  It’s an interesting side to comic books that I had never been introduced to and I’m really thankful for anyone involved with bringing these comics back to life!

Sierra getting ready for her first comic book excursion!

The exhibit took a look at all aspects of Canadian comic books…whether it was actual comic books being published in Canada, to the writers and artists from Canada who work in the industry.  It was a decent exhibit however I have to say that I had made it out to be larger in my mind.  I was expecting to see at least a few real pages of Nelvana or Brock Windsor in behind a glass case or something but that didn’t happen.  I still think everyone should go before it closes at the end of the summer and you can enjoy getting dressed up in superhero garb!

Jennie, Trish, Benoit and Vero choosing which superhero they wanted to be.

Here are three typical Canadian superheroes.

 

 

 

 

It was a hot day out so we decided to head to Les 3 Brasseures after the exhibit for a few pints.  It was my first time there and I quite enjoyed it.  Especially the pretzel!

Trish and Sierra wondering why Dad is such a ham.

It was also one of the first times Sierra was coming out into the public.  I have to say Les 3 Brasseures was a decent place to do so because it’s so loud in there that if Sierra made some noises, you couldn’t really even hear anything over all the noise.  Plus, it was my first time changing her in public and the changing station in the washroom was pretty easy to operate.  I’m glad the waitress managed to tell me where it was as I was walking upstairs to change her in the mens washroom but she pointed out that the changing station was in the handicapped washroom on the main floor.

Thanks to all who came out for the birthday celebration!  I am now on the hunt for a new audio interface to record some music with my new condenser microphone that Vero and Sierra picked up for me.  I’m stoked!  Merci bibs!

 

 

 

 

Clive has said he loves seeing pictures of me shirtless so Sierra and I decided to go for the double header!