I've never felt it was worthwhile to take little kids ice skating because they will just (a.) fall down and (b.) get cold, both leading to (c.) lots of whining. And I was inclined to pursue the same policy in Quebec, right up until the older kids begged to be able to take their little siblings and promised they would "help the whole time" even if there was falling, whining, and crying. Well. I didn't want to get on the ice myself, but with several other willing helpers…and with the little ones SO excited about the prospect…Sam and I said we would do our part by funding the skate rentals and coming to watch. So that's what we did.
And they were so cute! Yes, they did fall, and they did whine somewhat…but the girls and Malachi and even Teddy took turns pushing the little sleds, and carefully helping the little ones get their balance, and picking up and kissing cold little hurt hands, and I think everyone actually had a wonderful time! In fact, we ended up letting them go twice because it was so fun! (The big kids, of course, were going every day with their thrift-store skates.)
This is my favorite picture in the entire bunch. I can't help laughing every time I see it. Clementine's poor stiff posture, like a sack of turnips that has fallen off the truck. Her helpless arms sticking out uselessly from her puffy coat. And Junie turning back in surprise at her lost cargo, cheery smile already pasted in place, ready to pick Clementine up and jolly her back to health as necessary. It's all so good!
The older couple in the background of this picture were SO fun to watch. They were both such good skaters. And they were just going along with each other dance-skating (or I suppose it's called "ice dancing," haha) all over the rink, so effortlessly, to the music. I loved watching them and immediately wished Sam and I could do that in our old age! (As we cannot even do so in our middle-age, it seems unlikely…but oh it was fun to see.) They seemed to be able to go backwards or forwards or spin around without even a second thought! And the lady was so elegant, with her fur cuffs and hat and gloves.
Tiny ice skates are so cute!! Neither Clementine nor Gus had any trouble walking around in them when they weren't on the ice, which surprised me a bit. They really are both out of "toddler" stage!
Nice to have the rink so empty for a while! That fading afternoon light was so distinctive. I will always associate it with Quebec now. We went to the rink just after lunch and as we sat there and watched, the sun was already slanting down below the buildings, lower and lower until it already felt like evening at 3 pm. I'm sorry I keep going on and on about it. I'm sure it's so much more pronounced in Scandinavia or other northern countries but I had never experienced anything like it before!
I've posted other pictures just like this, but there was always a moment in the afternoon on clear days when the last sunlight would beam right down our street and I would always run to the window to see it. I thought it was so beautiful. And it felt sad too. I kept thinking about going back to Utah and all the changes that would bring.
———
The last remnants of a crêpe at the Christmas market
We went to the market with our friends the Sagers one night. Here are all the kids looking at a window full of mechanical elves…slightly unnerving elves.
We walked to get our favorite chocolatines one more time before Ky left. As is our custom, the kids that came with us to get them got to eat one before taking the rest home for the locust hordes. They were SO good (warm from the oven) that I said, "Should we get another one to eat right now?" Sam said, "Or should we just come back tomorrow or the next day and get a whole dozen again?" I agreed that that would be an even better plan.
AND THEN WE DIDN'T GO BACK!!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
So this is the last Quebec chocolatine. Maybe ever??!?! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
There was a big Christmas tree being set up with a crane in the park. Ziggy liked watching that.
The elevator (ascenseur de Faubourg) back up the hill. Sometimes this is running. Sometimes it's not.
A stack of papers in Malachi's Quebec bedroom, all drawings from Clementine. She was the only one of his siblings that dared enter his room unannounced, and she drew SOOO many drawings for him! Mostly gnomes. Maybe all gnomes. It was so funny to walk into his room and see the giant stack of them!
We went ice skating with Ky. I had one last poutine lunch with him. We had the sister missionaries for dinner. He packed his last stuff up. And then, just like that, it was 3 am and time to take him to the airport to fly back to Utah. (He is a very fast walker. And so most of my pictures of him are…of his tiny back.) Kind of fun to be out on the deserted streets at 3 am, though!
Goodbye Malachi! After he left, we had just a few days left ourselves and the time definitely began to feel colored by that oh-no-this-is-the-last-time-ever sort of panic I'm prone to.
The girls snuggling in Malachi's bed once he was gone :)
A walk with Goldie
Goldie's cute new beret
All three boys sleeping together one night (Zig already asleep)
Hallmark Bingo. We have had lots of fun doing this the last couple years but usually are able to print out the bingo cards. In Quebec we didn't have a printer, but Daisy wanted to do it so much that she painstakingly handwrote a bunch of bingo cards for us to use! We played with gummy bears one night and it was fun because we could get another bear if the thing happened twice. As you can see this was quite a good movie, whatever it was—three "magical twinkling sounds," for example??
Lots of Christmas lights (some currently being put up in a tree by that lift truck)
Snowy balcony
Delta building covered in clouds
Snowy cars
Teddy was the only one (of the big kids, the ones who care about food😄) who hadn't been to have breakfast at the Château. So I went there with him. Taking the girls again too because…they wanted to.
Meanwhile, Sam bundled up the little kids and went to buy bananas to make pancakes.
Yum!
Snowy Château
A little front-end loader (?) plowing the sidewalk
That tree we saw being put up earlier in the week, all done now
And lit up at night!
Sam and me wandering around Old Quebec while the kids were skating
Trompe l'oeil painting in the lower town
Goldie looking French
Sam with a churro
A beam of sunlight on Clementine
Maison Mère-Mallet peeking out
Zig getting more confident on his skates!
Tons of icicles on the red gate by our house
Downtown Quebec on the hill (the view driving home from Seminary)
Frosty windows
Ice cream (they had a special flavor for December—orange! It was good)
My watch showing the short short days. I like this watch face which shows it visually—you can see how short the daylight is compared to the night. Actually, I found this so interesting: everyone knows the shortest day of the year is on the solstice, right? So around December 21st? Well, I had been noticing the sunset times in Quebec getting earlier and earlier, and after we got home to Utah I thought, "it must be getting dark REALLY early now!" So I checked the sunset time and it was later than it had been a week earlier! I was so surprised! It led me down a whole trail of articles explaining that the earliest sunset does actually not come on the shortest day, due to…scientific reasons. Haha. See here or here or here if you wish. But anyway, it turned out that the night of earliest sunset was the night before we left Quebec! So I actually was there for it! I think that's kind of cool.
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