Feels like spring!

Another 50th b.day this March, so we took a trip up to celebrate Ian's sisters big 50! Yes there is a HUGE age gap between Ian and his sister, but who cares, whats a number right?

Off to Parry Sound we go....and boy was she surprised to see us!

Happy Birthday B!

It just so happened that a friend of ours who has a cottage up there was also going up with my 2 brothers. How lucky for us, cause we didn't have to pay for a hotel for the night and intead made a weekend of it! Went up Friday night and came back Sunday. Once my sister found out that we were going up too, she and her hubby and daughter came too!

Here's where we stayed...

Gorgeous ain't it? Can you believe that a cottage that big has no inside bathroom though? In fact, no water at all....outhouses and lake water to wash in. No worries, we brought our drinking water and well roughing it is like second nature to us campers.

It was so hot that most of us didn't even wear jackets. Here's Ian pulling Bailey out on the lake, despite the heat, there was lots of ice and snow! I love this picture!

And here is my sister Jen and her daughter Moyra, Jen sure is looking like a movie star out on the ice

Spring was certainly coming as the birds were really alive and active. Watch this video, it's short, but really neat to see!

Did you see that? YES, birds were landing in our hands to feed, on our heads all over, tons of them! There must have been 5 or 6 of them!! The blue jays were out too but wouldn't get this close. Here's some pics, their just so neat to see...wild birds!

Taylor was just tickled PINK

In between the bird action, there was some time for ice fishing as well....below is my brother teaching Taylor how to ice fish...

I really like the black and white feel of the pics too

I can hardly contain my excitment...winter is almost coming to a head.

Happy Spring everyone!

SPECIAL VISITOR

So I'm still playing catch up here, bear with me.

On Feb 22nd we had a very special visitor come to OUR house.

Can you guess by these pics who it might have been?

Yes! The TOOTH FAIRY!

And of course she left Taylor behind a HEAFY $5.00! Lucky girl I think!

**********************

On the 27th, little miss also got her haircut.

It was a sad, sad day for mommy. All those beautiful baby curls, that long beautiful hair, just gone. Donated for a wig as per Taylor's request. So so sad.

But she still a charmer...my gosh I"m in trouble when she grows up.

MEN-o-PAUSE

You might be thinking....wwwwhhhhaaattttt.....

What can a youngen of 32 got to say about the big "change" of life.

After being on Lupron, which is a sneak peak into what it might be like for me in 10-20 years, I can relate to a lot of Men-o-pause symptons...and well, my mom can't seem to get through it....I keep asking her if it ever ends cause she's been "changing" for 10 long long years.

The point?

I took my mom to see...

and I'm telling you, it was laugh out loud, hit the floor FUNNY! If you ever get an opportunity to see it, man or women, in menopause, going to be in menopause, or already been through it, this is one hilarous musical you will totally enjoy!

pic off the net

Just mom and I went and oh my lord, I wish I was crying from laughing, and the happy high lasted the rest of the night.

Afterward the musical we headed over to the Pickle Barrel down in Toronto for some yummy yummy food, and even yummier cheesecake.

On the way there we past Dundas and Younge Square...and they were starting the Men's Olympic Hockey Game...on the way back they were in overtime! We decided to hang around outside at Dundas Square with about 300 other folks and watch it on the big screens there at the park. And well you already know, WE WON!

A great day to be Canadian!!!!!! We won the OLYMPIC GOLD!!! Yeah!!! You can imagine what the street was like, the hootin and hollaring, every car in sight honking their horns, the dancing and the cheers, it was so fun to be in the middle of it all!

Here is what I saw...

Here is what I thankfully missed...

Yes, we left just 20mins before everyone spilled out of the bars and eateries....there was over a thousand people in that square and when I got home and saw on the news that we missed it by only 20mins, I am thankful....I love a good party, but a crowd that big on a Sunday night was a bit much for me traffic wise...afterall they shut down the streets!

All in all, a great day. From one happy event to another, and a great feeling of pride for us as

WOMEN and CANADIANS!

The big '50'

My mom, turned the big '50' this year! Can you believe it?? Okay to some she may seem young, but seriously, half a century...you go MOM!

So to celebrate for 6 weeks prior, my sister and I have been planning a HUGE b.day celebration. Both my brothers, my sis and I chipped in some moula and rented out a place, sent out the invites to almost 100 people, had others spread the word, got refreshements and food, decorated the venue........man it's a lot of work to plan a big party!!!

Feb 20th, over 60 people gathered together to celebrate 50 years of my mom's life. Some friends who only knew her for a short time, some family whose known her for a lifetime, co-workers, neighbors and the like. It was a AWESOME event!

What made it even more special is that my Aunt and Uncle flew out from Alberta to surprise her at this party. I never expected them to do that, but they don't see her very often and they knew how special that would be for her, and so that Friday night they flew in, and Sunday they flew home.

That was especially hard for me. You see it was a surprise party, my mom had no clue. I bought tickets to a play for the following weekend, and then edited the date on them, did some photoshopping so she thought she was going on the 20th. In the end, there were tons of clues to give it away and she knew...but still, we tried and had her guessing all the way. Anyway, it was hard for me because here Uncle and Aunt were flying out, and yet, do we keep their trip in a secret? If we do, she wont' get much time with them as the party was Sat night. If we don't, she'll definately know about the party and it will all be for moot. It was a hard decision but we all agreed to stay on course and make it all a big surprise.

And surprise it was! While she pretty much knew about the party, she had no idea who would be there. We had family in from all over Ontario! And...well...Alberta too! Plus some of the co-workers and friends she hadnt' seen in a long time....it was a very shocking for her. Tears and sobs are the BEST reaction for a party such as this! And my mom was sobbing!!!!

You see, my mom and I, we dont' mix well, we are both very opinionated, only she loves to push her opinions on me, and often times are like oil and water. BUT, at the end of the day, I love her and know she loves me. At the end of the day, she is special, she is loving and caring. And those who meet her and get to know her see that! We had over 60 people at the party, 3/4 being friends, she has touched a lot of people in her life, and a lot of people really love her too.

So the party was a huge sucess! We had Karoyke, and the place was packed!! I also did a video montage of my mom's life that ran all night on the TV...from the time she was born to present day....most of her childhood pics she had never even see before because they were all on slides. Thanks to my Grandpa who mailed me the slides, and I got them printed to the tune of $70 for 30 pics!!! (crazy eh?), the video was a hit too. I know she loves it and I'm happy to have done that.

I'm happy to have made my mom's day special. And moreover, I'm happy it's done!!!!! It was a crazy 6 weeks prior, but well worth it!!!!!!!

AH-HA!

I found them....after literally SEARCHING my comp for HOURS, I finally found the pics to the blog post below....WOOOHOOOO!!!!!

Here they are, our trip to Niagara!

For those who have never seen it, here's a great shot of Niagara Falls in the Winter...looks cold eh? Well it is!

And of course a couple of family shots at the Falls...not so great, but remember, it really IS cold!

We did some fun things too, here we are at one of the moving theatres, and lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, The Rainforest Cafe. Food, average, ambiance, AWESOME!

Lastly, a nice shot of Ian and I on our Valentines dinner. Yes, I know...I'm really behind here.

Valentines...and Family Day

Crap...I had a shit load of really good pictures, but I think I dumped them accidently? I checked my recycle bin, can't find it anywhere. I'm so upset!!

So no pics, but I can say we had a great time. Because Valentines was the day before Family Day, we sort of celebrated it together.

On family day my entire family, my brother and his wife, my sister and her 'husband' and her daughter, my other brother and his girlfriend and my parents all head to Niagara Falls for a night of family, fun and relaxation together. We've done it every year since family day started 3 years ago.



So...that's where we were. My son babysat (and made a ton of money) for a few hours while us adults went to dinner for Valentines night, then my mom stayed back while we grabbed Anthony and took him out and did the Clifton Hill thing, went through good ol' Nightmares...which we all LOVE and Frankinstein which is sort of dull to say the least.

Monday was family day and we went and did some bowling at the new bowling alley there, and walked the hill down to the falls. I had some really really great pictures...I'm so upset they're all gone. Where oh where could my pictures have gone????????????

Other than that, not much else happened...it was a happy weekend and nice to spend it all together as a family.

Oh, yeah, and I got my haircut. No official pictures of that, but you can sort of see in in this one....

It's already March!

Time is sure slllliiipppppinnnngggg by me, faster than you can imagine!

I can't believe it's March, and it was late December since I last posted. Shame on me! Sigh.

January was a pretty dull month...so I don't really have an excuses, except to say that there really was nothing to blog about.

Februray has been very busy, with tons of events and activities and over the next few days I plan to blog all about it.

March is here, so I have some catching up to do....stay tuned!