Happy Thanksgiving!

It was really great to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and family in Uxbridge yesterday. On the way, we stopped to buy pumpkins. I can't even remember our last Thanksgiving together. It was also fun to meet their new puppy, Duke, a doberman-great dane cross. We had to make sure he did not steal our slippers or shoes though!! We are grateful to be back in Canada and celebrating special occasions with loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Niagara Falls here we come!

On October 1st, we drove over to Claudio's parents for their 53rd wedding anniversary! When we arrived, a white limo was waiting and we transferred the luggage from our car to it. How exciting to go in a limo all the way to Niagara Falls and back...you can just imagine how excited we were. We arrived in our finest...the boys in their new suits. I wore the dress I had made in Hoi An, Vietnam. It was so exciting. We took off in cloudy weather and arrived in the beautiful sun. Our hotel was the Fallsview Marriott and we had views of all three falls plus fire places. Mami and Papi had a big, jacuzzi tub as well. I was so proud of Mami for making the trip as it is not always easy with motion sickness at the best of times.

We had an amazing three days of eating really well, sleeping in, short walks, and the four of us went on the Hornblower, the new Maid of the Mist type boat, where we got soaked. We even had a Griswald moment when the funicular we were in just came to a stop. For about half and hour, we were stuck in it with a couple from California. We had some good laughs and took lots of photos but it did get hot in there and I worried about Mami who started to feel dizzy. But still enjoyed the moment...I think. And that was the main feeling of the whole trip...let's enjoy the moment even though things are not always easy. And now for some photos!

 Happy Anniversary, Nonna and Nonno! Hope you had a very fun and memorable trip to Niagara Falls! Thank you for inviting us! We loved it!

 Our rooms had these beautiful views of all three falls! It was fun to sit with some bubbly and enjoy the views by the fire place!

The Terrapin restaurants was delicious. We enjoyed the buffet breakfasts and the gourmet dinners. Who needed lunch!?! The Shirley Temples were good too! What a special time together!

Joy of Pets

We adopted two pets after returning from Singapore which was one of our dreams! We looked at websites for months before arriving...it takes time and luck to get just the right pets.

One day we were vising Nonna and Nonno when we decided to check out the Oakville Milton Humane Society. We had visited the Toronto Humane Society but did not see any cats that matched the bill.
We were looking for a short haired domestic tabby about one year of age and a male. And who should we find in Oakville...you guessed it! Named "Nemo" by the volunteers, we brought home our big kitten on Sunday March 22, 2014. Actually we brought it directly to the nonni for the first night which was a tradition started with Mowgli.

And doing homework now is a lot more fun! And what about a big, wet nose to add to the mix!? You guessed it! On May 25th, we adopted Butler from Lab Rescue Canada also out in Oakville. Can you guess where he spent his first night! At the nonni and he did not scratch the floors or vomit like Mowgli did either! I saw a photo posted by Almira Haupt on her Facebook page but after reading the comments from people who wanted to adopt Butler, I thought we did not stand a chance! But three weeks, I happened to check the Lab Rescue website and saw Butler was still up for adoption!! I talked to Al who said they always wait to find the best family for their dogs who are temporarily placed in foster homes.

Next thing you know, we are completing the on-line form and phone interviews and then the big day came to meet Butler, his foster mom from Collingwood and a rep from Lab Rescue. And the rest is history!

A boy with his dog. There is no seen more beautiful. Ok, maybe a boy with his cat above. Either way, we got two very happy boys whose dreams of having some pets have come true!

Oh, the joy of pets! They are without number!

Camp Fort George: Cubs and Scouts

We started with a visit to our beautiful, local library in the Beach to research the War of 1812 before our camping trip to Niagara-on-Lake with the cub scouts. The boys also watched some footage on youtube and started to get really excited!

 Frunty is now part of scouts this year so he got to wear a uniform and participate in the parade through the fields and the town itself. A lot of walking but a lot of fun!

 Pit got to join the parade and carry our flag for the 52nd troop. The cubs made their own stokkas to place on top of their baseball hats. We were very lucky with the weather!

 We celebrated Canadians banding together to fight the Americans. There were mock battles in the fields and Frunty participated in some. A lot of adults had great costumes too.

We also had a lot of fun camping and exploring Fort George. It is really nice to be part of a group that our kids can grow up with and parents who like to volunteer their time. I am grateful that Frunty and Pit are having a lot of fun back in Toronto!

Monsoon

Summer is on its way out as the rain becomes heavier, the fog sets in and the boys and I begin to hunker down with our work. For Frunty and Pit this means that they are back to their Canadian Curriculum books after a summer of enjoying being in Canada for the first time in a long time.

The last time I wrote was just before Frunty went away to a two week camp with Kyle...another first! They enjoyed Camp Couchiching so much. For Kyle, it was perhaps his 4th or 5th time and it is a camp where Scot, his father, also went as a child with his sister, Meredith. 

I was so impressed by Frunty because he said that if Kyle could not get the same weeks, he would go anyway! And he really loved his first experience at an overnight camp!! Next year, Frunty will save up to spend two weeks extra there if he so chooses. A grand total of 4 weeks at Camp Couchiching and Pit will start off with just two.

We had fun at home too! Here the boys are in their blow up row boat at the bottom of our street. We enjoyed boating, sailing, and swimming nearby. The water was very fresh = cold! 

 My three boys enjoyed many days of sailing this summer. Papa joined a sailing club and we visited him there for some sails and some bbqs. The boys had a two week sailing camp at Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club.

 We also worked on our garden and are still waiting for some melons to come up. I wonder if the pumpkins at Auntie Dee's will materialize...

 We had a great time at Scot and Ninon's cottage. For years we had heard about how much fun it was and finally got a chance to experience Christianson Island for ourselves. It really was fun!!

It is very good to be home and enjoy all that Canada has to offer! Not to mention being with family and friends! I will include highlights of our summer with family and more friends in the next post;..

Walk in the Ravine

Before lunch Frunty and I went for a walk in the ravine with Butler. We let him off lease to practice his response to the "come" command which works once. Actually, I don't think he listened even the first time. I think he just thought it would be fun to chase after us. The second time we tried to get him to "come", he wandered off and chased squirrels.

Frunty and I eventually had to chase after him through the undergrowth and muck in order to lease him again. Then it was straight home for a yummy lunch of stewed chicken and rice pilaf. Thanks mummy for a healthy lunch.

Highlights of Oz

Australia is always super fun! After our two weeks in Thailand, the four of us flew over to Perth from Langkawi-KL to enjoy a week together before the Daddy had to fly to the States and leave us to traverse the country just the three of us.

On our very first morning, we were really on the ball. Our flight arrived on time and by 8am we were at the supermarket buying as much food as we could for our one week camping trip. Australia, like Canada, has so many wonderful free from products. We can find gluten and dairy free products galore. Plus wonderfully affordable meat and great wines from the region. There were products that we regularly purchased in Singapore that we now could purchase for much less. It felt like we were in a candy shop as we went aisle by aisle, picking up what we would need for the week ahead. We even bought a fresh sheet for our Wicked camping van, pillows and other essentials.

We got to the Wicked Camper van depot at 9am sharp. We were all ready for a fun week. But guess what? No camper van...the people who had rented it before us decided to keep it  until noon. Or so we thought....

With all our luggage and food, we were at a bit of a loss. A bit annoyed, a bit exhausted from the long flight. Our intention was to drive directly to a camp site in the Margaret River area and chillax. Instead, we found ourselves back at the shopping mall, waiting for a phone call from the depot, and having a hot breakfast. After we ate, we phoned the depot. No camper van yet. Luckily the waiter at the restaurant allowed us to leave our two shopping carts full of stuff in the corner by the kichen. We proceeded to take a taxi into Perth to visit the mint. Hopefully our stuff would be there when we got back and our meat would stay chilled enough.

The Daddy phoned the Depot at around 1 pm and our camper van was on its way! Yipee...we rushed through the mint, missing the tours, to get back to the depot to find...wait for it...still no van...and still no idea when it would return. Well...it finally did...at 5pm. Rats...leaving the depot at the end of the day after a sleepless night on a plane...not ideal...especially with the kangaroos who start to hop around as the sun sets.

The Wicked camper van adjusted our payment but that did not make up to us for having to sit in a lousy depot, waiting and waiting, and going back to get all our stuff from the mall...again. A family just arrived while we were waiting and the boy, about 12, had a meltdown in front of us. He was kicking his brothers and wailing. His mother turned to me and made a grimace. She explained, "a week in a camper van." Already this trip was turning out to be a bit nuts. We went for the cheaper van company but in hindsights, maybe paying more is worth it.

We finally got on our way down south and I am so proud of the Daddy for driving us safely to the camp ground. I had a phone and tried various places that were fully booked as it was a school holiday. We thought if worst came to worst, we could just park on the side of the road in our van as we had read that was possible from others who traveled in Wicked vans around Oz. Well...you can try it but you risk getting a hefty fine if you get caught. Who can sleep wondering if the police will shine a flashlight in your window at 2 am? The Daddy did an exceptional job getting us to our first campsite especially considering that the truck in front of us hit a kangaroo and drove abruptly onto the side of the road as the creature spun out of control and was knocked across the highway to the other side. 

Honestly...this could have been really bad. And probably was for the poor roo. The driver got out and dealt with the injured guy, poor thing, and we kept going safely along. If we had hit the roo, I mean, if the roo had hit us, there might have been a very different story given we did not have a roo bar like the truck did. I am very grateful we were not the unlucky ones that night and am still annoyed we got to the camp site in the dark, hungry and exhausted when we were supposed to arrive by noon. 

Gosh, that is just the first day in Oz. Can you imagine the month-long adventure we had!?! I will have to write more later and eventually post photos. I still have to write about New Zealand and our first month back home in Toronto!!! Break time!