fun in the sun

Our December started off with a bang this year, as we boarded a plane and headed south. We were heading to Florida for 11 days, with the first five spent at Disney World, followed by a short stay with my family in Ormond Beach. We didn't fly out until late afternoon on the 1st, so had a little time to pack the final items, load up the car and the kids and drive to the Buffalo airport.

It had been two years since the girls' had flown, and they were beyond excited. (Quite frankly, I think they would have been excited if it had only been two weeks since their last flight, but that's beyond the point!). We flew from Buffalo to Atlanta where we had a rather lengthy stay - this one is my fault (as my husband would quickly tell you!). There was a flight 45 minutes after we arrived, but I decided to take the longer layover to avoid and crazy rushes between flights, or the ever-common American carrier giving away our seats if our first flight was a little behind. So....we had 4 hours to kill in Atlanta. Thankfully that passed quickly, then we were off to Orlando, and our final destination, Disney World.

It was late and dark by the time we arrived at Disney, but it's always a good feeling. With Florida being my summer and March Break home as a kid, I'm no stranger to the Magical World, but even at 36 years old, I still get a little jolt of excitement every time we drive through those gates and begin to see mouse ears on everything. We settled into our hotel room, and were ready for the fun to begin bright and early the next morning.

I was attending a conference, so my days were filled with amazing learning - which meant Cal and the girls spent their days by the pool. Gratefully, the weather was absolutely beautiful, and they swam for at least three hours every day, and spent the rest of the time enjoying a life of leisure. In the evenings we found our way to Disney Springs, the outlets and spent one night at the Magic Kingdom too!

For Lady A & Lady M, this was their second time at Magic Kingdom, the first being on that trip two years ago. At ages 9 and 6 (and a half - Lady A would have me remind you) they were so perfectly suited to the park. We hit up multiple rides that we hadn't done before, including the Barnstormer, PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, and one of my all-time favourites - It's a Small World. It was as beautiful and fabulous as I remembered. We also took the kids to the Tomorrowland Speedway, where we allowed our two children to get behind the wheel of a go kart. I had Lady A, and Cal had Lady M and they both drove like complete MANIACS, giggling loudly the entire way. I think we all came away with a little bit of whiplash, and a clear understanding as to why children cannot have a driver's license, but they are still talking about this ride several weeks later! We finished off the evening with Peter Pan's Flight - a favourite from our last trip - and after enduring an extra long line-up thanks to the ride breaking down briefly, we flew through Neverland to close off our day. It was, as they say, magical.

After our multi-day stay drew to a close, we hopped in our rental car and headed for Ormond Beach. This is the place where I have loved going since I was a little girl, and now my kids love going just as much. (Cal seems to go more often than all of us, so I think it's safe to say he loves being there too!) A visit to see my aunt, uncle and cousins is a guaranteed good time, and spending time with them  was wonderful. We managed a little more outlet shopping, visited the Christmas light display at Daytona International Speedway, decorated my Aunt's Christmas trees (both large and small), and most importantly, just spent time with family.

While the weather was warm for the first part of our trip, it began to cool off in the latter few days, but that didn't stop us from a visit to Daytona Beach. I packed up a picnic and off we went, planning to just take a little walk in the sand. When we arrived, we found a playground/picnic area that overlooked the water and hung out there as the tide was so high that we couldn't go down to the beach. The girls played and played and looked out over the water, taking great joy in watching two men who were surfing a little ways out. We ended up spending a good amount of time there, that sure enough the tide headed out, and we descended the stairs to the water.

Lady A was horrified at the thought of getting sand in her toes, but quickly got over it as the girls did handstands and cartwheels up and down the beach. Slowly, they became extra brave and worked their way further and further into the water. They had both - smartly - put bathing suits on under their clothes "just in case", which worked out in their favour. In no time, my brave little Canadian girls were in the water, soaking up every minute. As a baby, I'm told that one of my favourite things to do was to stand in this very stretch of beach and yell "pum waves, pum get me!", so I suppose they come by their love of the beach honestly. They happily hopped the waves for ages.

Our last night, we headed back to Orlando to stay at a hotel in preparation for an early morning flight. I had booked it a little close, and was scheduled to land in Buffalo at 12:30pm, then needed to be back at my office to teach a course at 4:15pm. (No problem, right?!) I was prepared; we had a carry on bag that had all of our clothes for the flight and a work outfit for me to change into when we got home. Everything else was packed away in the main suitcases back in Ormond. As we boarded the flight in Orlando bright and early that Monday morning, the gate attendant said that she would take our carry on suitcase and put it straight through to Buffalo. I didn't think much of it at the time.

But as we watched our three suitcases come off the conveyor in Buffalo, followed by nothingness...and then a completely empty conveyor...we knew one was missing. I went to speak with the Delta representative, who made some calls for me, telling me it was likely on a different flight from Atlanta. (As you may recall, I didn't have time to wait in Buffalo...I had a course of 30 people waiting for me!). But, patience paid off, and shortly thereafter, a Buffalonian in his security vest came upstairs with our lost bag. Turns out it was completely soaked (inside and out), so it appears likely that it was left in a snowbank, but we had our stuff!!

We got back to our house at 3:03pm; I quickly changed and got ready for work then headed to the office. A quick glance at the time confirmed that I would have enough time to swing into Tim Horton's for a tea, and then I arrived in my training room at 3:58pm, hot tea in hand! WIN!

I was so grateful for the time away with my family. We had some amazing adventures, shared a million laughs and spent time with some of our favourite people. What a great way to kick off December!

camp chronicles - 2017 edition

Every year, our trip to my camp in Northern Ontario is our favourite family adventure. This summer, it was the only week where all four of us were on vacation at the same time, which made it even more special. 

On the August long weekend, with Cal scheduled to work ridiculously long days on the Friday and Saturday, I began to pack up the troops for the week. (Slow clap for me for doing my absolute best - and most efficient - packing that I have ever done. Very little went unused by the end of the week, and the truck wasn't overflowing in the same way it usually does! Win!) 

By Sunday morning, with a sleepy, hardworking husband in the truck, two excited children and the boat hooked up behind us, we were ready to go! 

So far, Lady M has only participated in dance camp up there, but this year she was determined to be a badminton camper. Last year she had planned to do the same, but pulled the chute at the last minute. But, I once again packed everything she would need for badminton (with some dance clothes, just in case) and packed Lady A for dance camp, as that's what she was planning to do. 

Our classroom is pretty awesome.

Upon arrival, camp was reeling from a tornado that had struck less than 48 hours before. Power had been out, weather had been iffy, and trees were down all over the place. But anyone who has worked at a camp before knows that almost nothing will stop counsellors and staff from bringing their A-game every day, complete with enthusiasm that cannot be rivalled. By later that afternoon when opening ceremonies rolled around, we were ready to rock! 

That evening, Lady M made her way to her first badminton session, and she LOVED it. I repeat L-O-V-E-D it. The coaching team for that particular sport are amazing, so I had no doubt, but seeing the joy in her face when she got back to the cabin made me beam. 

Lady A settled quickly into Dance Camp, where at 6 years old, she's already completing the program for the third (maybe fourth?) year, and jumped right back in happily with her amazing coach, and many friends. Watching her dance a lyrical routing to a gorgeous version of Wind Beneath My Wings in the end of week showcase brought this sappy mama to tears. So. Much. Sweetness. 

Despite the fact that the weather report was looking rather gloomy (rain. every. single. day.) we spent our week being active constantly. Cal and I played in the coaches' badminton tournament, the girls played in the coaches kids badminton tournament. We even tried our hand at a Pickleball tournament this year - quite fun if you've never tried it out (or heard of it for that matter)! We played tennis, badminton, swam, paddle-boarded - you name it, we did it in between rainshowers. 

Lady A rocking the ropes course

The girls developed even more courage this year with the high ropes activities. Lady M kicked off her week of heights with the "Giant Swing" - a very high (especially from a mother's perspective, even though I've done it myself) swing, that launches my less-than-50-pound-baby out over the lake at sunset. Lady A did it just a few minutes after - though she didn't start up quite as high, my littlest lady was launched out over the lake too, with a giant smile on her face the whole time. My stomach was in knots, and my fists were clenched, but I lived to tell the tale! 

The girls also tried the high ropes course, with Lady M flying up the telephone pole (again) and trying out a more challenging element this year. She ran through it easily and confidently. Lady A made it to the top of the telephone pole (further than last year!), but wasn't able to step out onto the platform to complete the element. At least not when I was watching! The very next day, she had an opportunity to try it again with the kids from her dance program, and I'm told she got up there and went all the way across!! So proud of her courage. 

Lady M ready for some pinata fun @ Coaches' Happy Hour

Both of the girls attempted the zip line as well, with Lady M rocking it, and Lady A climbing, but choosing not to actually zip. While the girls did that, I was out with my campers and co-coaches on our annual day-long canoe trip. 

Unfortunately we didn't even make it to the first portage this year - partly due to the impending weather, and partly due to (literally) the SLOWEST canoe campers we have EVER seen. Honestly, in 18 years of teaching this program, this one boat moved slower than a three-toed sloth. Thank goodness for great company in my own canoe (and for our ability to take naps in strangely comfortable canoe corners, right Trishy?). 

One of my fabulous teaching partners & friend!

By the end of the week, our kids were pooped. They did every single session (which is about 6 hours/day), and still managed to stay energetic for their free time, and for the campfires and manhunt games at night. When the week was over, neither of them wanted to leave...but I always think that's a good sign. 

And as a side note: I also knew there was a mouse in my cabin this year, and managed to keep myself very calm and collected. This is a HUGE accomplishment for me, as typically this sends me over the edge, and the thought of sleeping in the truck, or anywhere that might be mouse-free is more appealing...but I did it. 

Less than 10 months until we get to go back... 

this is 6!

Recently, our littlest lady celebrated her 6th birthday...that's right, she needs two hands now to show us how old she is! What happened to my little baby? Getting ready to graduate kindergarten and start grade one french immersion in the fall, our youngest girl is no longer a baby.

Because all good things come back around, Lady A has fallen in love with Care Bears this past year. Basically a throwback to my own childhood in the 80's where I had plenty of Care Bears, she has now started a fresh, new, colourful collection.

Her birthday was on a Tuesday this year, so we began the day bright and early with a couple of presents before heading off to school. We had chosen a rainbow dress for her to wear, and had wrapped it up the night before with a new headband so she'd have a sparkly new outfit to wear on her special day. When she opened it, she loved it...but there was just one problem. The sales clerk hadn't removed the security tag from the dress. So, rather than let it appear as though we stole her birthday present, I quickly grabbed another gift that I knew had more clothes in it and we were all good!

That day when I picked her up from school, she was SUPER excited and practically yelling as she told me all about her day. Turns out that she had "happy birthday " sung to her numerous times....once by me in the morning, then by her before-school group, then by her class, and once again in her after-care program. As she loudly shared the details of her day, we drove over to Lady M's school to pick her up.

When we walked in the room, Lady M declared "you're here early!", to which the little one replied (loudly) "BECAUSE IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!". Well, that was all we needed for Lady M's after-care group to launch into the 5th rendition of "happy birthday" that Lady A had received that day. She was glowing with happiness.

That evening, we had family over for dinner. The week before I had questioned Lady A as to what she wanted to have for her bday dinner, to which she replied "grilled cheese". Not the fanciest of options, but hey - you only turn 6 once! So for the evening Cal and I had purchased and prepared numerous grilled cheese toppings - ham, turkey, bacon, tomato, guacamole, sauteed onions and peppers, numerous types of cheese and bread - so we could have a 'gourmet' grilled cheese bar. Everyone received a menu upon arrival, and chose their favourite topping combination which was then made to order by the short order cook (me)!

And for the record...should you ever need to make grilled cheese for a crowd, did you know that you can do them in the oven? Yup - it's brilliant. I was cooking 9 grilled cheese sandwiches at a time, and they turned out perfectly!

The day was capped off with homemade chocolate cupcakes, and - you guessed it - one more rendition of Happy Birthday, which brought the day's singing total to 6. Six times on her sixth birthday made for one very happy (and very sleepy) 6-year old.

That weekend, we continued the celebration with 10 little girls at the house, and a Care Bears themed party. The girls played "pin the tummy on the Care Bear", we had rainbow coloured everything, assorted games, prizes and the piece de resistance - our face painter!

We hired a face painter to come to the house, and he was amazing. He did these beautiful, high-quality paintings on each of the girls' faces and they were super excited.

Overall, I think Lady A had a great birthday week, and has had a great start to being 6.

playing catch up - fall 2016

Well, talk about falling behind in my blogging duties! It seems I haven't written in nearly a year, which is just crazy seeing as there has been no shortage of stories and happenings in our little world...but it just goes to show how time really does fly. With a summer filled with boating, vacation time and another visit to our camp, September was quickly upon us. So, let's play a little catch up, beginning with the fall of 2016:

Starting School 
In September my beautiful girls began another year of school with Lady M heading off to Grade 3 and her little sister, Lady A, making her way into the trenches of Senior Kindergarten. Lady M began on the Tuesday after Labour Day and was quite excited about the teacher and classmates she had. Her happiness lasted just one month before school numbers forced some reorganization within the school and she found herself moved into a grade 2/3 split class with a teacher whom she feared quite a lot. It seemed that the change wasn't working so well for her, and my little girl was coming home in tears most days which was absolutely heartbreaking to Cal and I. So, with my parent advocate hat on, I paid a visit to the school, had a great meeting with her teacher and things have only looked up since then. She's had a great year so far...even now that the dreaded EQAO testing is on the horizon. (Provincial-wide testing required in grade 3 for those of you reading outside of Ontario!).

Lady A didn't begin school until the Wednesday after Labour Day which meant she had one whole extra day of summer. Lady M had distinct memories of her extra day she had before beginning SK and recalled that she got to spend the day with her Daddy and visit Marineland. Of course she shared this information with her younger sister, who was SUPER excited that she - naturally - would get this special treatment too! So off she and Cal went to enjoy their father-daughter day (and they had a blast!). Lady A began SK the next day, and while she's very ready to move onto the bigger challenges that grade one will bring, she's had a great year. She loves to take on leadership roles with the younger kids in the class (who are we kidding - she leads the older ones too). When I went in for parent observation in the fall, two little girls (both in JK) were sitting with Lady A and I at the round table and one told me "Lady A is so nice. She always helps me when I need it" - completely melting this mama's heart. Then the other one piped up to add "Lady A always helps me too!". Awwww.

Country Livin'

Ladies M&A watching the Horse Pull at the Fair

Since moving to our new house, we are completely embracing our 'country livin'' lifestyle. Where we live may not be true country to most people, but to us city kids, we basically live in the sticks. (Just ask my brother, who basically thinks I've moved to northern Sweden). We even had a wild turkey run in front of our car the other day when we were heading somewhere; and that happened right near the tractor dealership...so yes, I'd say we're kickin' it country style!

One of our favourite events this fall was heading to the Fair in our town...complete with rickety rides that look like they're going to fall apart, a demolition derby (Cal and the girls went to this!), a goat show and the horse pull which my girls watched with rapt attention! And one of the best parts, is that it's all just a 3 minute walk from our house.

We have also managed to move many of the girls lessons really close to home. Lady M began horseback riding this year, and the barn is just 5 minutes away. She is absolutely loving it - she seems so grown up and responsible when she's around the horses, and has taken to riding like a complete natural. She also started ballet for the first time, and the dance studio is one-minute from our home. Truthfully, I always thought ballet would bore the heck out of her, but after watching her dance a lyrical number at camp this past summer, I was converted. She absolutely loves her ballet class, appreciates the amount of french words in this style of dance, and pirouettes around our house all day long.

So, it would seem that country livin' is treating us quite well.

A Marrying Muffy 
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I happily hopped a plane to Vancouver, then continued on to the small town of Prince George in Northern BC where my beautiful friend Ashley lives. Visiting PG for the first time, Ashley and her fiance Jason showed me around and gave me a chance to see a little bit of their lifestyle after hearing about it for many years.

On my second day there, the three of us hopped in a car and enjoyed a four hour ride to Jasper, Alberta taking in the beautiful scenery along the way. I was over the moon to be her only guest, and maid of honour, at a picturesque wedding in Jasper that weekend. Between rock slides, autumn snowfall, changed flights and countless stories, my best friend married the man of her dreams in a beautiful cabin in the mountains, and we toasted the happy couple at the Jasper Brewing Company for their reception. Now, that's the way to spend Thanksgiving!

8 is Great!
In November, my beautiful oldest girl celebrated her 8th birthday. Seeming more grown up by the minute, we hosted a party for several of her friends where they had the chance to do crafts, decorate cupcakes, play games and just enjoy each other's company. The theme was Harry Potter, and we had a blast putting everything together to somehow recognize her current favourite book. It was Lady M's first birthday in our new house and we had  great time.

Just a few days before, Lady M and I had taken a piping class at our local Michaels store - learning the finer techniques of piping icing onto cakes and cupcakes. The class was just $10 each - a real steal! Having signed up weeks in advance, as they day drew closer, I was fearful that I didn't have all of the cake decorating supplies we needed. So, the morning of the class, I called the store to confirm whether I needed to bring any additional items. The person on the phone said "didn't you get the list when you registered?" Ummm, no. I did not. He then began to rattle off the looooong list of items that Lady M and I required...oh, and we'd need two of everything of course.

So, thanks to the recommendation of a good friend, we learned that the Wilton items were much less expensive at Wal-Mart, so off we went. Well over $100 later, we had everything we needed - so much for that $10 steal of a deal! We arrived to the class to find out it was just the two of us who had registered, which was awesome. We also learned that the kind sales clerk on the phone had only given us 1/2 of the required list of items.

Oh well! We managed just fine and learned all sorts of techniques and had a great time doing it. Lady M is a natural when it comes to this sort of thing, but more importantly, I love having time where she and I can just be together. At 8 she is growing so quickly, and I love any time I get to spend with her.

A Decade 
Just a few days after Lady M's birthday, Cal and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. We even managed to take a day off work and get away for one night, which was lovely. We had a nice escape to Collingwood where we enjoyed dinner out, got our boat into storage and warded off one woman's best attempts to get us to buy into a timeshare!

Most importantly, I'm so grateful to have spent the last ten years happily married to him, and look forward to the next ten!

Holiday Fun

Heading downstairs on Christmas morning

I'm always a fan of Christmastime, and this year was no different. Though I started to wonder if some of the magic was slipping away when Lady M began questioning whether the big guy was real in November. While it seemed like the jig may have been up, she did a complete about face and continued on through the season a true believer.

Both girls had a holiday recital at their school, and unfortunately I couldn't attend Lady A's this year, so Cal and my Dad were there to support her. Lady M had one at her school, and Cal couldn't attend that one, so my dad and I did! Clearly, Dad was the constant on the 2016 recital circuit - I believe he also made it to both of my nephews shows too! Lady M joined the choir this year, so on top of the presentation her grade 3 class did, she also sang numerous songs with the choir - so lovely.

I took the full two weeks off over the holidays, which I just love. I enjoy the time with the kiddos, and knowing that their holiday break is also mine. We visited with family and friends, did crafts, had outings and just enjoyed the down time where we didn't have to wake up and rush out of the door each morning.

On Christmas day, they crept down the stairs in their matching jammies and the day and the rest of the holiday was just lovely.

Cal was able to take some time off over the holidays too, and we headed up north to visit some of his family. Though snow was minimal all over this year, they certainly had more than we did, and we all had a chance to go snowmobiling. It was Lady M's second time, and Lady A's first. It was also my first time - a great experience!

As usual, our fall and early winter were filled with fun adventures, and it was a great way to end 2016.

this is 5

Time continues to fly around our home. It seems that I blinked one moment, and the next my youngest little girl, Lady A, turned 5.

A few weeks prior to the big day, excitement was already mounting. There weren't any momentous gifts she was hoping for, but there was one thing: gum. Ahh yes, a nice, fruity piece of gum is what my nearly-five-year-old was genuinely hoping for.

It started back when her big sister, Lady M was about 3. One day, seeing Cal have a piece of gum she asked for one. Cal casually said "you're not old enough to have gum yet", to which Lady M queried:"well, how old do I have to be?" Cal threw a number out into thin air that was seemingly light years away. "You have to be 5" he told her, and she tucked that little nugget away in her spongy 3-year-old brain.

Fast forward to her approaching 5th birthday, and when asked what she wanted, I recall her rattling off a list of things, punctuating it with "and GUM"!! Gum? Cal and I both questioned at the time. Seemed like an odd request, until she said "yup - you told me I could have gum when I turned 5!" Ahh, that one came back like a very patient boomerang.

Now, since she was a little girl, Lady M has told her little sister that she too can have gum when she turns the ripe old age of 5. True to our word, Lady A received a package of watermelon gum to celebrate the big day. She chose only to lick it a little bit before throwing it away, saying "maybe I'll try chewing it next time".

We celebrated Lady A turning "a whole hand" by hosting a tea party at our house for 8 kindergarten girls on a Sunday afternoon. The day before, on Saturday, I prepped the party needs and my mum and I took the almost-birthday-girl for a haircut. She chose to give her hair a significant chop, and suddenly looked so much older, and also looks like the spitting image of her big sister! Cal and Lady M were out for the evening, and Lady A was very sad that she wouldn't get to showcase her new short locks to them before going to bed that night, but drifted off into dreamland nonetheless...

Before!

After!

...until about 11:30pm when Cal and I were downstairs hanging the final decorations and a tiny little voice called "hey, guys?" from the stairs. When Cal went around to her, she popped up on her feet, arms in the air and proclaimed "look at my hair!!" nice and loud! It was awesome...she decided that her Daddy was going to see her new haircut no matter what! After that he tucked her back and in and she drifted off...

...until 12:05am, when Cal was in our upstairs family room. I was in the kitchen fixing the last of the party food, when Lady A's very excited voice rang through the house "IT'S PARTY DAY!!". Yes, at five minutes past midnight, she was correct...however, once again we had to put the excited little munchkin back to bed!

While Sunday's tea party was a great shin-dig, it certainly cemented my respect for her teachers who have 30 of them on a daily basis! The girls started by decorating their own loot bags, then made a vase craft that they could take home as a party favour. Between the crafts, tea sandwiches, cupcakes (courtesy of Grandma), presents, games and play time, 3 hours zipped by pretty quickly and all the girls seemed quite happy.

Monday was her real birthday, and she woke up excited to open her "morning presents" and then skipped off to school where she celebrated all day and shared her birthday with her teacher which made her even more excited. That night she came home, and we had [almost!] all of our immediate family over for dinner. Spoiled by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, she had a full day of celebration, topped off with a Smartie cake that she had requested I make for her.

After a whirlwind few days, our sweet girl was officially 5 and ready to continue taking on the world.

goodbye, home

The temperature dropped below zero outside as we closed the door to our old home, and began a new season in our lives. We moved into our townhouse in 2008 when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Lady M, about to begin our parenting adventure. I spent hours waddling through Home Depot as we prepared the house for our new arrival. A couple of weeks ago we had her 7th birthday party at the house, and then began to pack our lives away in preparation for our move.

It's funny the amount of memories that linger in a home. Seven years may not seem like a terribly long time, but we've seen a lot of firsts in that house, and it's shaped many of our memories as a family of four.

We brought both of our girls home from the hospital to that house and watched them begin to crawl and take their first steps in the hallways. We must have walked six thousand laps around the kitchen island while trying to soothe the babies back to sleep. We've bandaged scraped knees, had thousands of family meals together, ridden bikes, drawn countless chalk pictures on the driveway and snuggled up for many family movie nights. We've celebrated 25 birthdays there, spent seven Christmases decorating, baking and celebrating.

Thinking back on all of this started to make me a little emotional as we gathered up the last of our things. Thankfully, we squeezed in a final visit to our first home, complete with a moving box picnic dinner and an impromptu dance party in our bare living room. After that, we shut the door for the last time. 

I know that our new home will provide the setting for new memories, and the ones we've created in our townhome will always be special.

Thankfully, the new house we're now settling into is just what we all wanted. After a long journey to find it we are thrilled to be in our new town, closer to the girls' schools and in a lovely neighbourhood with a lot more space to play.

Paramount Drive will always be a special part of our lives, but we're all excited to shape new experiences, make new memories and ride our bikes on a brand new street.

our jamaican adventure

There's nothing quite like a family vacation. Even better when you get to head to a country that you've always wanted to cross off your travel list. For me, Jamaica was a place that I had always wanted to visit, so when Cal's cousin decided to get married there we were happy to accept the invitation to head south to celebrate with them.

This trip has been planned since early this year, and with plans to go to Florida, then camp over the summer, we didn't tell the girls about it for quite some time. We figured they could enjoy the other adventures we had planned, then they could learn about the trip to Jamaica to shorten their waiting time. We told them around early September, showed them the website for the resort, and they began to count the days...

On October 22nd, we boarded the plane to Montego Bay and headed to the Grand Palladium Resort & Spa. Lady A hopped into her plane seat, buckled up and surveyed the area. She promptly looked over at Cal, eyeing her armrest and asked "Daddy - which button do I push to get a massage?"

From the moment we got to the resort, we had two little girls who settled very easily into the all-inclusive lifestyle; gladly sipping on virgin Pina Coladas (Lady M) and virgin strawberry daiquiris (Lady A) when desired.

Upon arrival we realized that we'd had a slight mishap with our luggage. I had carefully packed all of the toiletries into large freezer ziploc bags before putting them in the suitcase. In my preparation back home I had tried to distribute these items between Cal's bag and mine to ensure neither bag was overweight when we got to the airport. Well, the weight distribution was excellent, however, it seems that the sunscreen fully exploded in flight, bursting out of the ziploc and spraying all over the suitcase it was in. That suitcase was not mine. Suddenly Cal's wardrobe for the week was cut in half.

Thankfully, that was the worst thing that happened all week; the rest of our days were happily filled with swimming, relaxation and fun.

Some highlights:

• Lady A mastered the fine art of swimming through the pool with her drink held high enough, to the laughter and cheers of many of the adults at the pool.
• The girls loved the variety of pools to choose from, and moved happily from the kid pool (filled with waterslides, waterfalls and fun), to the enormous main pool, to the beach. Lady A even began to swim on her own, under water about 20 feet between Cal and I. 
• We had a great day trip to Negril on a catamaran where we had lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville, visited a local mall and watched the cliff divers at Rick's Cafe. 

• Part of the day trip was having the opportunity to snorkel too. This was a first for all four of us, and the tour guides from the catamaran were awesome with the girls! One guide had a life preserver that both girls held on to as he pulled it through the Caribbean sea. He would dive down into the water and bring something special up for them. On various dives he brought up a sea cucumber, female sea urchin, starfish, sand dollar and assorted shells and the girls were mesmerized while happily splashing around, and peeking under the water throughout the adventure. 
• Lady M bravely took the plunge (from the lowest platform) at Rick's Cafe into Cal's arms, and was quite excited about it! I played my anxious mom card and said that Amelia would have to wait until next time. 
• Both girls got to head to the resort spa one afternoon to get some braids in their hair. Now I realize that the woman who did them was skilled in the area of braiding, but DAMN, she was FAST! I was mesmerized by her speed and efficiency. I should have taken lessons; it would make our morning routine at home much faster.  

Of course the reason we headed south was to celebrate the wedding of one super fabulous couple with Cal's family, and their special day was lovely. The ceremony was at noon, followed by pictures and pool time, then the reception was at 6:30pm. After a full and fun day, Lady A passed out in my arms during the speeches. Lady M lasted a little longer, happily playing with her older cousin until about 10pm when she hit her limit and Cal brought her back to the room for a good night sleep.

The rest of the week was really just filled with lots of swimming, eating and relaxation. I polished off a couple of books, worked on my tan and just enjoyed being disconnected for a while. Lady M certainly settled into the caribbean life, and proved that when she was out swimming one morning and asked:

"Is it 10 o'clock yet?".
Me: "I'm not sure, why?"
Lady M: "Because that's when the swim-up bar opens!"

Clearly my almost 7-year-old girl has her all-inclusive priorities straight!

It's always a treat when we can take some time away from the real world. Waking up when we wanted, not having to rush to school/work and having lots of extra hours in the day to spend time as a family was wonderful. The girls were not ready to leave when Thursday came around again, but they were rockstar travellers, even on the flight that didn't land until 2:00am. Lady A was sleeping against the airplane window before we ever left the gate in Montego Bay, but woke up four hours later in Toronto telling us she'd been awake the whole way. :)

Though we were all sad to see the vacation come to an end, we'll happily look forward to our next travel adventure, wherever that may be!

Lady A wistfully saying goodbye to the resort! 

fairy fox

Sometimes I love the way that stories come out of my kids' mouths, especially when they're still so little. Lady M has been in school for 4 years now, so has become quite familiar with the legacy of Terry Fox, and her understanding as to why she participates in the Terry Fox Run with her school every year.

But this year, our little Lady A will be participating too with her friends in kindergarten. She announced this by coming home from school and declaring: "we have to bring in a toonie. Because Terry Fox was running, but he died, and so he couldn't run the money any more". Yes. Amazing. I love the way she explains things, and the way they interpret what they hear at school.

Later that night, at dinner, she further explained "Fairy Fox got sick, and had to have his leg tooken off, and he got a robot leg"! Even though she knows his name is Terry, it accidentally came out 'Fairy' making her story even sweeter. It was so important to her to help raise funds with the rest of her classmates, so was sent into school with her contribution the next day.

Of course Lady M was itching to help fill in the blanks as she understands the story of Terry Fox more clearly than Lady A, but she was patient and gave Lady A time to share her understanding.

October 1st is the day that she'll be participating in her first Terry Fox Run, and we'll be eagerly waiting for her to come home from school and tell us all about it.

lessons in moving

We started looking for a new house around the time that hieroglyphics were becoming obsolete. It's been a long haul. Why, you may ask? Well I'll tell you.

First of all, Cal and I had two very different dream homes in mind:

Kristin's dream home: a newer house, mud room for all of the damn boots and shoes that are strewn about my front entrance, move-in ready, large kitchen, space for entertaining, fence for the dog, pretty kitchen, no renovations required. Easy, right?!

Well, then there's this:

Cal's dream home: significant acreage, space for guitars and other musical goodness, fence for the dog, separate family room, hot tub, happy to complete renovations.

Hmm. Slightly different. To summarize, we were on different pages of the MLS. 

Knowing each other's housing wants, we spent a lot of time looking for some kind of mystical home that combined all of these elements, and we spent plenty of time viewing houses that were better suited to his wants, and ones that were better suited to mine. At times we considered whether buying two houses and working between them both might be the better solution! But, with each new showing and open house we attended the end result was always the same: not quite what we wanted. And the months of searching kept flying by...

Fast-forward somewhere between 18 months and 2 years: we went to see a house that seemed to fit the bill. Having clearly identified our shared wants, and somehow finding common ground over time, we found the house that was right for us. On a Saturday morning we viewed the house at 11:00am, wrote the offer at 1:30pm, presented it in competition at 3:30pm, and won it shortly after 4:00pm at which point we signed the papers on the hood of our real estate agent's car. Whew! After a couple years of house hunting, we had a new house in 5 short hours!

But there's just one little thing that remained...selling our current house...and before that, prepping it. You see, we have our lovely 10-year-old dog, Dakota:

She looks sweet, right? Well she is...but she's also taken a little toll on our house over the 7 years we've been here. So with our listing date upcoming, we shipped her off to my parents for a few weeks so we could complete the few little restoration projects that she created for us in the house. We also took on a number of other small projects to finish beautifying the house and have learned a few things along the way...

• Re-screening doors has become a new forte for Cal and I! Those damn things are annoying, but with the right tools (thanks Rona!) and some patience, our screen door (previously ripped by Dakota's determination to get into the backyard one afternoon) looks fabulous! 
• The laundry never stops. Now this is not really a new revelation, but how is one ever supposed to stop doing laundry long enough so that the house can remain looking like a museum for those coming to see it? 
• My sweet children are so patient, and are hopefully developing lifelong habits of tidiness seeing as they must pick up every toy, marker, hair elastic and morsel of food that finds itself out of it's 'proper' place. Lady M commented the other day "I don't like bossy mummy"...apparently I've been a bit, shall we say, directive lately. I like to think I'm just demonstrating varied types of leadership for them in an effort to help them build up their own repertoire of leadership skills. That's just good parenting, wouldn't you say? 
• Running around the house in the morning chopping pillows, folding toilet paper edges, and picking up stray hair elastics does not help me in being on time for work each day! 
• Though all four of us enjoy home reno shows (with Property Brothers, Love it or List It and Flip or Flop being some of our faves), and Lady M regularly makes comments such as "it's okay, we can just reno it", we are not going to get into the business of home flipping any time soon. 

Although we've put in a lot of late nights, plenty of elbow grease, and I may have upped my bossiness leadership quotient a little bit lately, the end result when we move to our new home will be well worth it. And not having to look for houses anymore is the best pay-off of all! 

waterproof mascara: the sequel

We knew this day was coming...we knew that our little girl was well prepared for school...but waterproof mascara is still one of those key items required to make it through this milestone.

The last couple weeks in our house there has been a great deal of chatter about school. With Lady M heading into grade two, and Lady A preparing for junior kindergarten, the excitement has been mounting!

School supplies were purchased and packed into fresh new backpacks. First day outfits were purchased and laid out with care. We had a wonderful summer filled with memories to last a lifetime, so when Labour Day weekend hit, we knew the first day of school was just moments away.

Tuesday morning, first day part 1

Tuesday was the first official day of school. Lady M had been fighting an upset tummy all weekend thanks to an extended case of the butterflies. Though she looked confident in her zebra dress, and matching hat, the nerves were kicking in. The school was familiar this year but she was still clinging to my leg a little bit when we stepped into the gym that morning. (It was a very rainy first day of school this year - no outdoor organization possible!) Once she learned who her teacher was, Lady M relaxed a little bit, and by the time we were leaving, she was happily walking down the hallway toward her new grade two classroom.

Next we headed to Lady A's new school. Though she was prepared to go to one school close to our current home, we bought a new house a few weeks ago so decided to start her at the school in that district to save her from changing schools in November. Until Monday morning, she had never stepped foot in the building. And her school is BIG! There are 8 kindergarten classes alone (that's almost double the population of Lady M's entire school). But, she walked in with confidence and we headed to her new classroom to participate in her 30 minute 'meet and greet'.

The meet and greet mostly consisted of me completing paperwork, and Lady A sitting quietly beside me observing everything around her. She was quiet until she finally said "mummy, are you almost done? I'd like to go play with the play-doh" that she had spotted at another table. I finished up, and she happily played with the delightfully familiar dough and that seemed to be just the icebreaker she needed. Apart from that, the orientation consisted of looking around the classroom and writing her name on the whiteboard (a highlight for her)! And as we walked out of the school, she looked up at me and said "I don't want to leave". Ahhh, music to my ears. My sweet little 4-year old was feeling comfortable.

Later that night, Lady M came home raving about her day at school, and declared "I think I have the best teacher in the school"! The butterflies were long gone, and she was holding tightly to a goody bag, and a kind note that her teacher had given everyone in the class. Clearly, a super start to second grade.

Wednesday marked Lady A's first full day of school. She bounced out of bed and was beyond excited to get the day started. She may have been most thrilled about her new outfit that consisted of a flowered skirt, and t-shirt that read "Hooray for today!", and boy did she look cute when she got dressed. Seeing as I had taken her to Tuesday's orientation, I was needed back in the office and Cal was on drop-off duty. In my office I anxiously awaited some pictures via text message and was thrilled when I received a beautiful picture of Lady A, in front of her school, grinning ear to ear.

Wednesday morning, first day part 2

Cal said she was watching her crying classmates with concern, but kept looking back at him and smiling broadly. While he was holding back tears in the school yard, I was barely containing mine in my office. But when I picked her up at the end of the day her smile was still enormous and she told me she had a fantastic day. All we can ask for, really.

It's funny how these days are bittersweet - I want my kids to find great success and happiness with their schooling, and enjoy all of the wonderful social and growth opportunities that come along with it; but I also want to keep them small for as long as possible.

Three years ago I was writing about Lady M's first day of school (read 'waterproof mascara' here!), and suddenly 1,095 days have passed by in the blink of an eye. My older beauty is settling into second grade, my baby girl is in full-time school, and I'm still just 29. {wink, wink}.

camp chronicles: tiny dancers

This year marked 21 years since I first went up to my camp in Huntsville, Ontario. 21 rather formative years, that have seen me go from a nervously excited 14-year-old volleyball camper, to a confident 33 year old, excited to arrive with her sweet family. As you may have gathered from past camp chronicles, I love this place! There's something about the air, the space, the water, the stars, the sunsets, and the people that just make it such a special home away from home.

Over the last few years Lady A and Lady M have become increasingly comfortable there, and this year was easily their best one yet. They began to gain a little more independence - being allowed to go from the dining hall to another coaches' cabin without Cal or myself taking them there, for one thing. It's amazing what an open space, filled with people who will care for them, and no cars zipping by can do for a child's independence!

The family of coaches and kids who come up this week every summer are like no other. They're the group of friends who you see once a year, can always pick up right where you left off, and feel a comfort and familiarity that makes you feel at home instantaneously. We share much of our time catching up, sitting around the campfire, participating in happy hour (our brilliantly created daily activity to gain extra time together), and rehearsing our spectacularly choreographed coaches dance! Seriously, we have moves like you've never seen (and never will...)!

The leadership camp I teach is awesome. Though we were missing one of our teaching team again this year, Rene' and I did our best in her absence! (We missed you, Trishy!). We had a diverse and interesting group of campers who hailed from Russia, China, Iran, Ontario and Quebec, and as always it was fascinating to watch the group gel and work together over the course of our week. These kids always surprise me in unique and incredible ways - through their experiences, their thoughts and their ideas. Throughout the year I am always teaching adults, so I sure love my foray into the world of teenagers once a year. (Hopefully they're sufficiently preparing me for when Ladies A & M hit that stage...).

Though the best part of this summer was watching my girls. Yes, there was the independence, but they also challenged themselves in new ways that made me extra proud. Lady M braved one high ropes element last year, and this year she climbed a different, more challenging one, and also tried the climbing wall and the zip line! Lady A tried a high ropes course for the first time, and tried the climbing wall too! (My nerves put a limit on her trying the zip line...maybe next year for that one!). I loved watching their sense of curiosity come out, and seeing their determination as they attempted each new challenge, even though my heart might have been racing a little bit... Also, Lady A's harness was the tiniest, cutest little thing I've ever seen.

Beyond that, they both did Dance camp this summer. One of the benefits of coaching up there is that my girls can participate in any camp they want throughout the week (and there are a lot of choices). Though Lady M was leaning toward badminton camp this year, she pulled a last minute switcheroo and chose to join her sister in dance camp. This particular camp is fuelled by one incredible instructor who manages to take a group of girls - with very widely ranging dance abilities - and create a show at the end of the week that is spectacular. My girls did two of the dances in the show - lyrical and musical theatre - and the smile on my face was as big as the gym they danced in. And they haven't stopped singing the song "Best Summer Ever" in days...

Lady M is the kid who jumped off a stage into Cal's arms about two years ago when she froze at her dance recital in front of 40 people. To see her get up there and shake her groove thang in front of about 500 people was amazing!

Lady A, much younger than most of the kids out there, stole the show. She watched her sister and counsellor for the moves, and tried so hard to keep up, all the while with a giant grin on her face. Watching my kids, and the other coaches' kids in this dance was just the best part of an already great week.

From new found independence to first canoe rides (Lady A); high ropes experiences to unplugged family time, this week at camp is my favourite of the year.