Home for the Holidays

After a busy month of settling into the new house.... And a crazy week of ice storms and power outages... We ended up hosting Boxing Day Dinner. Sue's parents stayed for a couple days since their condo building had no power, and we had all 6 cousins and 10 adults adding cheer and Festive-ness to our new house. All the noise meant the kids were having fun... And all the wine meant the grown ups were having fun!!!!

An empty plate on Christmas morning means that Santa got our Change of Address Notification. 

Great dinner contributions from everyone made a nice feast.

A warm hot tub and brave kids made for classic Steaming Body Snow Angels...

Fun and smiles all around. Hope your Holiday was as memorable!!!

Winter eh...

So we had a pretty Canadian day today... Up early eating pancakes with maple syrup before a few games of hockey. Then straight outside or some Snow Fun before dinner while watching the Leaf game!!! 

Fresh air makes everyone sleep well!!!

Collect the Recycling!!!

Made the move from the Old House to the New House... sad to see our previous dwelling of 12 years be passed along after we did so much to it and created so many memories there, but we are in need of more space.  Made for a couple long days and some pretty long arms from carrying all of our possessions, but it happened with no major problem.  We had everything packed in the van, moved to the new house, removed from the van, placed in the rooms and unpacked in less than 3 days.... phew....

Empty basement.... no more Mini-Stick games...

Last minute clean up...

So Sad...

New Family room looks ready for Family!!

Rows of Rooms set up and ready to entertain!!!

Get out of our House!!!

Three days worth of Holiday Creativity resulted in a new place that we all lived... The Trek Canada Gingerbread House!!!  A culmination of candy, icing, snacks and sugar.... Mmmmmm!!!!

Back to Reality

Have been home from our amazing trip to Costa Rica for about 2 weeks now... and we are missing the sunshine, food, drinks and fun!!!  Here are some more pics from our trip that float through our memories as we prepare for the Big Move to the New House....

The view from our balcony... 5 pools plus a Swim Up Bar

Got used to the Salt Water... "Eyes and mouth closed!!""

Full Moon over the Beach... very cool...

One of the many Highly Caloric Meals....

Had a day when the surf was about 8ft high... the kids (and Daddy) had tons of fun on the Boogy Board getting beat up by the surf...

Spent the afternoon at the Hot Springs and Mud Bath.... good for the skin and good for Mud-Man Fun

Spent an afternoon Zip-lining and enjoying the spectacular scenery...

I wasn't the only one to Zip Upside Down.... easy to see why my kids are Adrenaline Junkies!!!

More than paradise

5 days into our 7 day trip and we are learning a bit of Spanish (alcohol and swear words!) and loving the All Inclusive Life. Went for a trip to Coco Beach, practiced volleyball spikes, drank margaritas by the pool, and got sugar rushes from the milkshakes before spending even more time in the pool. The surf was amazing today and the rain was a cool relief on another Hot Day. Can't believe that we have to head back to the cold soon... But we have our High Adrenaline Tour tomorrow in the National forest. Can't wait!!

Another day in Paradise

Starting day #3 of our trip to Costa Rica and we are having a TON of fun. The hotel is amazing. The ocean is amazing. The food is amazing. So far we have played water volleyball, done wave jumping, snorkelled, tide pool Exploration, and far too much Calorie Consumption!!!  We also got to see them release some baby Sea Turtles back into the ocean ... And got to hold them before they swam away... Amazing!!!

Can't wait to see what the remaining 5 days will bring!!

Mimosas for dinner... Cheers!!

Cow Tipping

Spent an afternoon at the Batty's Farm picking apples for Cindy to make applesauce. Rick warned us that our presence may get some attention from the Apple Loving Cows looking for a treat. Luke spent about an hour in the tree throwing apples to me - one for Cindy, one for a cow. Funny to see how close they come for a treat... although one bold cow kept trying to sneak apples right out of the bag!!  Jake was trying to train them to Sit, Roll Over and Shake a Hoof...

Counting Down

T-2.5 days until we take off for Costa Rica!!!  

Bags packed .... Check!

Passports and tickets ... Check!

Suntan lotion and bathing suits ... Check!

Excited for Fun in the Sun ... Check!

Costa Rica here we come!!!

Happy Halloween!!'

Halloween and the ensuing Sugar Rush is always a favorite holiday around here - and this year was no different. The weather was less than ideal (I think their shoes are still wet...) but we managed to collect far more candy than required for a small village. Glad I wasn't at school to witness the Day After Sugar Crash this year....

The things I do...

As usual, I was the Bunny for the Cross Country running races for the East part of TDSB.... some of my favorite days of the year are having fun with the kids.  This  year I was approached by a mother who also works at Global News and who wanted me to contact Susan Hay for a piece they run called Making A Difference.  So I got to spend the day with Susan and her Support Crew, who totally flattered me by being impressed with what I do for the XC Kids... which is really just having fun and encouraging them.
The result of this day of Interviews, Videos and Following me is a short piece that aired last week on Global News.... you can see the article and video HERE.
It's nice to be recognized for what you do, when you do it because you love it...

Who needs technology??

We are enjoying a beautiful fall this year - great colours and lots of time outside in the warm weather.  As the kids settle into the Back to School Routines, Sue and I are busy packing the house and trying to reduce the amount of "stuff" that we are going to move to the New House.  We are also coming close to our first Family Trip to Costa Rica.... and are quite excited about seeing a new country!!!

Stopped on the way back from the Cottage to enjoy the fall colours...

The Boys collected the leaves from the Entire Neighbourhood to make a huge pile in our front yard.... the neighbours thought it was great - I quickly ran out of Leaf Bags!!

Throwing caution to the wind ... Luke leaps off the Cable Box into the leaf pile...

Jake "The Leaf Beast" emerges from hiding to attack unsuspecting dog walkers...

Always a good time... and funny to hear that some neighbours that we have hardly spoken to say that they will miss watching the Boys and their "antics" on the street.... 

What have we Done???

We have created a Family Living Space that is filled with boxes, bins and ugliness. Our Home has returned to being just a House... 

But we are eagerly awaiting our chance to create a new Home in December!!!

Giving Thanks

A beautiful weekend and some good times with family and friends. I interesting chat with the kids over breakfast about what they are Thankful for.... family, health, new house, good country.... Not sure who has been teaching them these nice things but it can't be us!!!!

Went for a great Family Bike Ride in the local conservation area to enjoy the fresh air and each other.. Hope your weekend was a great as ours!!!