Mont Cascades

As part of #Outaouaisfun this summer, Lara and I are checking out so many great places to visit with our kids in the Outaouais region. Visit Outaouais Tourism for more information and follow along with the hashtag #Outaouaisfun on Facebook and Twitter! Disclosure: I was provided with free passes to visit Mont Cascades, but all opinions are my own.

Slip Slidin' Away

I've visited Mont Cascades once, when my daughter was 3 years-old. I was hugely pregnant at the time, and the morning ended in disaster when I let my daughter go ahead of me on the slide (hey, other kids her age were going alone!). She landed face first into the water at the bottom, and refused to try the slides again.

The Kiddie Slides for those 48" and under. My almost-6 year-old liked these the best

This past weekend was a much better experience. Now almost 6, my daughter and her younger sister (2) had a great day at Mont Cascades. Pictured above are the kiddie slides, and Big Sister worked up the courage to do the slides by herself. There was rarely a line-up, and we went up and down the slides many times.

My favourite part about Mont Cascades is that you can do the kiddie slides with your children. Other waterparks will not allow parents to go down the kiddie slides, which is disappointing for toddlers who aren't big enough (or brave enough) to do it themselves.

The Kiddie Pool

The Kiddie Pool was a lot busier, so we had a quick splash in there before stopping for lunch.

Seating area with lots of shade

There is TONS of seating at Mont Cascades, but a lot of it is in full sun. I highly recommend you get there early (we arrived at 10:30 am, and most spots were gone) to snag a shady spot. It makes a big difference when you're trying to eat your food before it gets fried under the summer sun.

Enjoying our picnic lunch

Our biggest mistake of the day was taking both girls down Black Magic. I saw so many other parents coming out of the tube slide holding onto their little ones, so I thought "hey, that looks like fun!" I didn't realize that a) the slide is SO fast; and b) it's really dark (duh, "black magic"). I was probably more scared than my daughter, and I think the entire park heard my screams of terror (in my defense, I was worried that the tube would flip and I would lose hold of my little one - even with a life jacket on, eek!)

SO, if you have young children who are generally cautious little beings, I would recommend avoiding the larger tube slides. Instead, you can check out the new Splash Forest for families and kids of all ages. A huge red bucket fills up slowly and then dumps all over the unsuspecting people below. The slides are small, but fun enough for older kids.

A terrible picture (the angry clouds had rolled in!) of the new Splash Forest, exclusively for families and kids of all ages. 

Another great plus for Mont Cascades is that it's affordable (prices updated for summer of 2023) - seasons passes go for $59-69 depending on height!! A single pass is $27.99-32.99 depending on height and kids 2 and under are free. This makes it a great destination for families who can't afford some of the pricier attractions in our area.

So make the drive up to this beautiful part the Gatineaus and have a splash! (bonus points if you stop for ice cream at Le Cigale on your way home)

Have you been to Mont Cascades? Share your experience in the comments!

Worth a Visit: Truffle Treasures

It's our weekly "Worth a Visit" series! Have an idea you'd like to submit? The only requirements are that it must be in the Ottawa region and kid-friendly! Email Misty at kidsinthecapital@gmail.com

I discovered Truffle Treasures when we first moved to Ottawa. In their old location along Richmond Road (still there, just a different building!) I was excited to find local chocolates handmade and oh-so-divine. Customers can choose from many different flavours of truffles, as well as bark, gelato and products made especially for the holidays (Valentine's Day is coming up!)

What I discovered a couple of years ago, and what keeps me going back there, is their AH-MA-ZING hot chocolate. This is hot chocolate like I've never tasted before - forget the chemical/watery stuff you can find at arenas all around town. This hot chocolate tastes like pure chocolate melted down, and then whipped with super creamy milk.

If you're looking for a special Valentine's dates with your little ones, consider a hot chocolate trip to Truffle Treasures. Just be careful, as this is HOT chocolate, and you will need to remove the lid and let it cool :) Just take a peek at all the various flavours of the drink you can choose from.

Have you been to Truffle Treasures with your kids? What did they like the best?

Language Development Lab and Childhood Cognition and Learning Lab

Whoa, that's a big title....don't let it scare you! These two laboratories at the University of Ottawa are welcoming and fun environments, dedicated to the study of language learning and child psychology. I had a chance to check out the labs with both of my daughters - the Language Development Lab accepts infants ages 4 months to 24 months, and the Childhood Cognition and Learning Laboratory studies 3 to 5 year-olds. As a researcher myself, I believe strongly in participating in research whenever I can!

So how does it work?

We arrived at the University of Ottawa on a weekday morning, and were greeted in the parking lot by Caitlin, the lab coordinator. Parking is covered, so you don't need to worry about that! Caitlin showed us upstairs to the waiting room, where my girls dove right in to play with the toys they keep stocked for busy little people.

I got a tour of both labs (in the same building), and met with Dr. Cristina Atance and Dr. Christopher Fennell who head up the laboratories. Then we got started!

My 5 year-old was led into a separate room, and I was able to watch her on a monitor with headphones. She was unsure at first, so we spent a couple of minutes showing her that Mommy would be watching her on TV. The activities consisted of a series of games that studied her understanding of self continuity (basically, does she get that there is a "future self" and is she able to save for that self?) You'll find yourself giggling at your child's responses!

In the language lab, I was able to do the experiment with my youngest daughter by holding her on my lap. It only took about 6 minutes (maximum is 10), and objects were presented on a big screen with words playing on a speaker. A video records your child's reactions to the pictures and words.

The director let me know that they're really interested in studying infants who are learning language in bilingual homes. So if you speak two languages with your child, please consider signing up top participate!

What do I get out of it?

How about a big pat on the back for contributing to our knowledge of child psychology and language development? :)

Seriously, though, you'll have a chance to observe your child's understanding of some really important concepts, and an opportunity to participate in future research.

What do my kids get out of it?

It's a really fun outing! They get to play with the toys in the waiting room, and my girls really enjoyed doing the studies. They were also gifted some great swag: a colouring book with crayons, special colouring paper, a t-shirt and a book.

The entire morning took about 2 hours (1.5 hours in the lab, and then tack on extra time for wrangling your kids!) If you're only bringing one child, this would obviously be shorter. They also loved stopping at the coffee shop downstairs to get an almond croissant and take a peek at a living wall that's been constructed in the new part of the building:

To find out more, visit the labs' websites:

Childhood Cognition and Learning Laboratory

Language Development Laboratory

Also give them a follow on Facebook, here and here!

Real or Fake: The Lowdown on Christmas Trees

I grew up in a family that always had a real Christmas tree. Every year we'd head over to the local Christmas tree lot (and I think we occasionally cut it down ourselves), and picked out the finest looking tree to fit in our low-ceiling family room. We also purchased that horrible tinsel stuff, and burned real logs in our fire place - soooo eco-friendly!!

I've never understood the need for plastic trees, but I recently heard that a plastic tree might be more environmentally friendly than chopping one down. Instead of packing away the saw, I decided to do some research to see whether this was true. Where better to find out about the green-ness of your tree than the David Suzuki website!

This Green Holiday Guide compares real Christmas trees with plastic ones. The verdict? Real Christmas trees are a more sustainable option than their plastic counterparts unless you plan on using your fake tree for 20 years or more OR you have to drive really far to find a real tree.

So I breathed a sigh of relief, and we'll plan our annual trip to a local Christmas tree farm to cut ours down (and let's be honest, the hot chocolate at the end of the trip is the best part). For me, there's nothing that beats that real tree smell! It even trumps the million pine needles that clog my vacuum every year!

Want to have even less of an impact on the environment? David Suzuki suggests purchasing a potted tree, an indoor pine, or starting your own Christmas tree farm. Also consider buying local, at a farm that minimizes pesticide use. Here's a great list of local tree farms around Ottawa - give them a call to see what their practices are like!

And if you must purchase that fake tree (I get it, I get it - sometimes they ARE easier!) than make sure it's a good one that you'll use for a loooong time. And avoid toxic PVC plastic if you can.

So what do you think? Real or fake?

Will Stroet Rocks!

We had a fantastic time at the Will Stroet concert today, and really enjoyed his Backyard Band. The concert was bilingual, and included English, French and even some Spanish in the songs.

I liked how small the venue was, and the kids were able to run around and dance without worrying about crowding people in their seats. If I had one complaint, it's that it was too loud for little ears!

Another highlight was a mini-show from Rock the Arts, a local puppet company. It took me back to my Fraggle Rock days :) The girls were in stitches over the hilarious puppets!

We danced the afternoon away, and the girls were asleep by 7 p.m.!