Merry Christmas from The Evans Family

I think I owe you all an update, but for now, I'll just say: from our house to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah!

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Our little singing sensation

Alex had her fall concert at preschool last week -- all the kids parade in and then sing a half dozen songs for the parents before getting a diploma. She actually had two concerts, because she's in two classes -- the Monday-Wednesday class and the Tuesday-Thursday class.

Alex loves singing. She sings around the house, she sings to people on Skype, she sings while we're walking down the street. She doesn't care if she knows the words or not, she just belts out the songs. And, apparently, she's no different at school. This video is from the second concert -- it's not a easily recognizable song (it's teaching the kids the months of the year) but you'll see why I chose to share this one over twinkle twinkle.

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A visit with Santa

On Sunday, we went to the PCL Family Christmas party where we got to visit with Santa. And, for the first time since she was an infant and didn't know any better, Alex willingly (and without mommy) sat on Santa's lap. Which means, this is the first Santa picture in three years where it's just the kids and Santa -- not the kids, mommy and Santa!

(Oh, and in case you're wondering, the blue on Alex's face is the face painting she had done just before seeing Santa.)

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Fall update

I once again have fallen a little behind on updates....actually a lot behind. So here, in a nutshell, is what's going on:

It's been a little over two months since school started and Austin is doing really well in French Immersion. (He just got his first report card this week and it was all positive. And when we went for our parent-teacher interview, his teacher told us that he is basically an A-B student). Every day, he comes home from school and announces the new words he's learned in French -- some of which are new to daddy as well, who doesn't speak much French. He can already count to 30, knows all his colours, can ask simple requests (like 'can I go to the bathroom, please?) and understands simple instructions in French. We really are quite amazed at how quickly he's learning the language.

On the non-school front, he started skating lessons in October and his having a lot of fun just learning how to stand up, glide and avoid falling on his ass. And he's also taking gymnastics once a week which he's having a blast doing.

Alex is also taking gymnastics (at the same place, at the same time as Austin) and is having a lot of fun. And she was taking swimming lessons but we stopped going after the fifth week. Even though she did really well in summer lessons, and seemed to enjoy it, this time around she was not having fun. In fact, she was spending most of each lesson crying. So we've stopped going and will try again in a few months.

In October, Alex started preschool four mornings a week. It's the same preschool as last winter and spring but she's just going more often now. She loves the program and is doing really well. Where last year, the teachers said she was quiet and kept mostly to herself -- this year, she's much more comfortable, is making friends and participates more often in sing-a-long time, etc.

So that means that four mornings a week, I drop both kids off at school and then have two hours to myself -- which to date I've used most of to work. I've been keeping really busy with work lately -- but that's a good thing!

I guess that's about all for now. I'll end with a slide show of pictures from the last few months.

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Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween from Optimus Prime...

 ...and Cinderella!

After a day of much anticipation (and dress-up parties at school), the kids had a great time trick or treating.

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Is there anything better than playing in the leaves?

We don't have any trees in our yard. At least none that produce anything more than a teeny tiny pile of leaves. So, thanks to a good friend who had me and the kids come over and play in her yard full of trees. The kids had a blast, and hey, she got her yard raked out of the deal!

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Austin runs his first race

I'm a little late, but better late than never. On September 24, Austin ran his first race -- a 500-metre kids' 'Cub Run' at the Toronto Zoo.

He was inspired to want to sign up because I've been training to run two 10K's this year -- one in May and one at the zoo a couple of hours before his run. But basically, since I ran the 10K at the zoo last year, Austin's been asking to do the Cub Run.

So we signed him up and he ran the 500-metres (without stopping, I might add!) with Ryan while Alex and I (and some friends of ours who were also at the zoo for the 10K earlier in the morning) cheered him on!!

He had a blast!

 Go Austin Go!

Austin and daddy after the race!

Mommy and Austin, tired after our runs (I, by the way, finished my race in 1 hour 15.)

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First day of school

While I`m sharing pictures, I figure I'd share one more. Austin started SK this morning. He's at a new school -- a French Immersion school.

Ryan and I (and Alex of course) dropped him off at the start of the day (8:30 a.m.) and then he took the school bus home -- well to the pick up spot, which is his old school, about a 15 minute walk from our house. I had planned to pick him up for the first few days, but he told me that he wanted to take the bus so....

Anyway, the day seemed to go well. I think he's a little overwhelmed, after all, everything is now only in French. But he'll get used to it.

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Summer 2011 in a nutshell

I acknowledge that I desperately owe you all an update. We've been so busy this summer -- between running around, going away and having fun and my taking on a little more work than I could handle for several of those weeks -- I haven't had time to write any updates or download the camera.

So sit back, grab a coffee (or a tea for you weird, non-coffee drinkers!) and enjoy. It's going to be a long one, followed by an awful lot of pictures.

Day camp: The day after we got back from our camping trip, the kids went to day camp for two weeks. Austin went to full day camp (the same camp he went to last year) and Alex went to preschool camp -- which was only half day. Thankfully, they were both in the same place, so I would do one drop off and two pick ups. They both had a blast. Alex's program was very similar to the preschool program she went to during the school year (it was after all, at the same place). Austin played sports, did crafts, went to the splash pad, played games and went on two field trips (one to the movies and one to Chuck E. Cheese -- and they took the city bus on both those trips which made it all the more exciting). Oh, and mommy really enjoyed the two hours every morning when both kids were out of the house!

Soccer: Austin played soccer again this year. We switched leagues this year, mainly because two of his friends from school were going to this league so we could request that they be on the same team (which they were). He had a lot of fun.

Cottage: From August 6 to 13, we were at the cottage in Sundridge. It's the same cottage we've been to for the last three years (so, in other words, we really like it there). The weather, unfortunately, wasn't as good as past years, but we made the best of it. Three of the days we were there were sunny and warm (so we spent them on the beach and swimming in the lake); the other three days were rainy and/or cooler. At least with the rainy days, it never rained steadily so we still managed to go outside pretty much every time it stopped raining. And hey, the kids thought it was great fun to play in the sand in the rain.

On the cooler day, we took the kids for a hike at nearby Mikisew Provincial Park. It was a 3.2 kilometre hike and Alex walked most of the way (Ryan carried her on his shoulders for the last 500 metres, maybe). It was a fun and a great way to pass a non-swimming day. And needless to say, Alex (who doesn't nap anymore) napped after that hike!

Ghe week ended much too fast, but no trip to the cottage is complete without a visit to Great-Nana's house on the way home. We spent the day with her and then headed home.

Swimming lessons: Austin and Alex both took swimming lessons for two weeks in August. And they have both turned into little fishes now! Signing up for lessons at the end of the summer was perfect because we had just spent a week at the lake and I had taken to the kids to the public pool on several occasions over the summer, so they were now really comfortable in the water. They both easily passed their levels and are already asking when they can take swimming lessons again.

A visit from Teddy and Auntie Ali: For four days at the end of August, Auntie Ali and Teddy came to visit from California. They stayed in Brampton with my parents but we managed to spend 3 out of 4 days together. Even though Teddy is 2 (well, almost), the cousins loved playing together. In fact, Teddy would follow Austin around everywhere he went -- and Austin just loved it!

Niagara Falls: On Labour Day Saturday, we decided to take the kids to Niagara Falls for the day. Although Ryan and I have been there many times, the kids have never been. So we drove down in the morning, parked near the Horseshoe Falls; looked at it for awhile and then walked along the river to the Maid of the Mist.

We all had a really fun time on the Maid of the Mist.  Ryan and I hadn't been on it in over 10 years and the kids thought it was cool to a) be on a ferry and b) get to be close enough to the falls to actually get wet. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it was 31C out that day...and humid (I think it was a felt like 41C day). So getting wet on the Maid of the Mist was definitely a much-needed plus.

After that, we wandered up Clifton Hill and rode the giant Ferris Wheel. It was fun and actually quite a long ride (we must have been on it for 15 to 20 minutes). Then we wandered back down Clifton Hill (where of course, the kids wanted to stop and do all the kitchy rides, but we managed to convince them that we'd come back another year and ride some of them);  and back along the river. After stopping for dinner, it was 8:30 by the time we got home. A fun day.

Phew. I think that's it in a nutshell. The rest of the summer was filled with swimming pools, Zoo visits, splash pads with friends, bike rides and mommy working. I spent the last three weeks of the summer swamped with work (hence for the delayed update on this blog). But I have a bit of a breather now until the next wave comes in.....

This fall, the kids will both be in gymnastics and probably swimming. I'll end here with a very long slideshow, and I'll promise not to be such a stranger again.

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A camping weekend

This past weekend, we went camping at Presqu'ile Provincial Park -- in Brighton on Lake Ontario -- with our friends Rob and Vone, and their kids, Lilo and Isla.

It was a gorgeous weekend, sunny and hot from the time we got there on Friday afternoon until the time we left on Sunday afternoon. Our campsites were side by side, and by 6 p.m.-ish, we were all set up and ready to enjoy the weekend.

We brought something extra with us this year -- bikes. Now that we've been enjoying family bike rides, we bought a bike rack for the car and brought our bikes with us. So Austin and Lilo spent many hours over the weekend just biking along the quiet campground road in front of our sites. And, on Saturday morning, we packed our towels in a back pack and biked to the beach.

The beach at Presqu'ile is really nice -- big and sandy -- although the water is kind of murky (it is Lake Ontario afterall). Although there were signs at the park entrance saying swimming wasn't recommened due to high bacteria levels, we swam anyway. (And just showered off when we were done).

So, on Saturday morning, we played at the beach for a couple of hours and then biked back to our campsites for lunch. Relaxed for a bit while the kids watched a movie and then biked out to the general store to get ice cream in the mid-afternoon.

Sunday morning was much of the same, although we drove to the beach because we had to get back to our campsites in time to pack up by 2 p.m.

Evenings were filled with campfires, roasting marshmellows (and making smores) and playing board games. The kids all stayed up late both nights to roast marshmellows but that didn't seem to matter much when it came time to wake up -- both days, Austin and Alex were up no later than 8 a.m. But other than that, we can't complain, they slept fairly well in the tent. (It helps that the nights were warm enough (unlike some previous camping trips) so that no one woke up because they were cold.)

All in all, a great trip -- although it's always nice to come home and wash the dirt and grime away.

I'd share some pictures, but unfortunately, we forgot our camera at home (oops!) so we only have the few that I took on my Blackberry.

Austin helping daddy set up our tent 

All four kids hanging out in Alex's camping bed (for those who've never seen it, it's a mini-tent meant for the under 5 crowd -- we take it everywhere and she loves sleeping in it) in our tent. 

Austin and Lilo just 'hanging out'

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Alex's first haircut!

Alex finally had enough hair for a haircut. Well, sort of anyway. She doesn't have super long hair or anything, but, having never had her haircut (yes, she's 3), the ends were getting really straggly. Afterall, the ends were 3-year-old hair (well, actually maybe 2 and a half, the poor kid was bald for a really long time).

So, on Sunday, we took her for her very first haircut.

She was really good in the chair and seemed intrigued by the whole process. Here's Alex before:

You can't tell from these pictures, but even her bangs were so long that she's been brushing them to the side for weeks. I had been cutting her bangs myself periodically, but hadn't in awhile.

Over the last few years, as her hair has grown, although it's grown out nicely, the back grew into a point. This made her hair, in the back, almost v-shaped. The solution....cut off the pointy end.

So here's Alex's after pictures:

Doesn't she look beautiful? (But of course, I'm a little biased!)

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Fun, fun, fun

I don't know what else to call this post other than fun, fun, fun....because it's a lot of what this update is going to be. So here's a quick look at what our weekends have been like lately:

Canada's Wonderland

On June 18, we took the kids to Canada's Wonderland for the annual PCL family picnic day. The bonus of it this year, is the park (and some rides) were open to PCL employees one hour before they were open to general public. So, we got there just after 9 a.m. and headed straight for Behemonth (the sort-of new and ginormous roller coaster). We've been to Wonderland for the last three years, but Ryan and I have never had the chance to ride it.

So this year, with no line because the park wasn't open yet, we took turns waiting out front with the kids while the other one rode the roller coaster. I'll admit, I was skeptical about riding -- afterall, I'm afraid of heights -- but it was pretty awesome. After that, we took turns on the Back Lot Stunt Coaster (an also sort-of new coaster) and then, just before 10 a.m., we headed over to the kids' area.

It wasn't overly crowded there all day and we were able to get on a lot of kid rides. This year, Alex was tall enough for most of the kid rides -- basically all of them except two of the three kid roller coasters. Yes, she was tall enough for the mini coaster and we all went on it...and she loved it.

Austin is now tall enough for all the kid roller coasters (3) and 2 of the adult ones (Thunder Run and the Fly). And yes, he went on them all. He's turning into a real thrill ride kid!

By 4 p.m., we called it a day and headed home. A fun day for sure.

Nana's party
The next weekend, we had a small birthday party for Ryan's mom at our house. Ryan's two sisters spent the weekend and Ryan's mom and Graham came on Saturday afternoon, along with a few other guests. It was a low-key evening and a lot of fun.

And fun to have the aunties around for the whole weekend. They were lucky enough to catch Austin's last t-ball game as the Saturday morning was championship day. It was fun watching the kids play and the league really went all out to make the kids feel special -- announcing all their names at the beginning of the game, calling them up by name when it was their turn to bat, and giving them all medals at the end.

School's out!

Last week was the end of JK for Austin but before the end, his kindergarten class put on a play for the school. They've been working on it for months and parents were invited to come watch. So I did. It was Pinkalicious (based on the book) and Austin was one of the bees. It was really cute -- here's his big song and dance scene:


Strawberry picking
On the first day of summer holidays, I took the kids strawberry picking. I guess it's kind of a tradition for us now as this was the third year in a row we've gone. We had a lot of fun and some things never change -- Alex got tired of picking after filling half her container and started choosing strawberries out of my bucket to fill hers and Austin was meticulous in making sure he picked only the perfect strawberries. Eight pounds of strawberries later, we headed home.....and started making jam. Over the course of the weekend, we ate a heck of a lot of strawberries and made two batches of strawberry jam (which turned out like jam this year, not syrup!).

Bike riding
We've been going on family bike rides lately -- a little farther each time now that Austin is a superstar without training wheels. And on Canada Day weekend, we made use of our newly purchased bike rack to drive out to a nearby park and bike ride there. What we discovered is that there are whole parts of Toronto in hidden bike trails and paths that we didn't know existed. We had a wonderful time -- and ended up doing about 6 km, which is pretty darn good considering Austin's bike is way smaller than ours, meaning he has to bike twice as hard as we do.

Now that we have the bike rack, we plan on taking our bikes to the cottage in Augusst and on our camping trip later this month.

I guess that's about it for now. This weekend, the kids are off to my parents house as Ryan and I are going to a wedding (although I have to be honest, I'm really looking forward to a kid-free weekend!) and then the weekend after we're going camping for two nights with our friends Rob and Vone and their two kids. Then the kids are off to day camp for two weeks -- Austin is in full days and Alex is in half days. So with all that going on, there'll be lots more to write about again soon.

To leave off, here's some photos from May and June:

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A general "what the heck is going on"

In talking with a few family members over the last few weeks, I realized that it has being ages since I updated this blog with a general "what's going on". So long in fact, that there is little bits and pieces of news about each kid that is probably worth sharing. So here we go.

Austin

Austin has been playing t-ball this spring in a neighbourhood league. It runs two nights a week from mid-April until the end of June. He seems to be really enjoying it and is really getting into it. It also helps that daddy is the coach! Every game night, the team practices for 30 to 45 minutes and then plays a game against another team for 30 to 45 minutes. It's fun to watch and the kids have come a long way from the first games where everyone in the outfield would run after the ball. Although I must say, playing defence -- any position at all -- brings out the 'dancer' in a lot of them, including Austin. What else is there to do when you're waiting for the other team to hit the ball?

As soon as baseball season ends, Austin will be starting soccer. Actually, soccer started last week, but since it's on the same night as baseball, he hasn't been yet. One more week of baseball and then he'll be able to go to his soccer games.

His JK year is almost done -- I can't believe it! I swear, he just started school. But not only is he almost done JK, he's almost done at Ranchdale because in September, he will be transferring to the French Immersion elementary school.

The school is actually very near our house -- although I'll still likely have to drive him every day (It's about 3 km away). And I think he's pretty excited to be going. (Part of that excitment has to do with the fact that his best friend in his class right now is also going.) I'm not sure he really understands that he's not going to be learning English in school anymore (well, at least not until Grade 3 --which to him is forever) but he seems interested in the idea of learning French. If nothing else, he knows it'll give him a language to speak in with me that daddy won't be able to understand!

He'll be home most of the summer, although he will be going to day camp for the last two weeks of July. And he'll be doing swimming lessons in August. So it'll be a busy summer, but I'm sure we'll still find lots of time to go to the zoo, the wading pool and the splash pad!

Alex
Alex's preschool is done for the year now. (Although she'll be going to preschool/camp the same two weeks Austin is going to day camp. Although his is all day and her's is only half-day.) And so, she had yet another graduation. This kid is going to be a pro at graduations by the time she goes to JK.

This spring, we also took a parent-tot gymnastics class which she absolutely loved. She's fearless when it comes to gymnastics and by the end, she would easily jump up to grab the bars, swing her legs up and hook her feet! Without any assistance from me, might I add.

So, in the fall, I've signed her up at a gymnastics club. I think she's really going to enjoy it. Austin too will be going to a boys-only gymnastics class at the same club in the fall. Thankfully, both classes are at the same time!

Alex is also getting to that age where she's starting to give up her nap -- napping only about 3 day s a week. I'll be honest, it's hard for me to accept because I use the afternoon nap time to get some work done. But it's not like I'm getting much of a choice in the matter.

Mom and dad

There's never as much to say about us is there is about the kids. I'm still working here and there -- enough to keep me pretty busy most of the time. And on May 1, I ran another (my third) 10km run. This one was straight down Yonge Street and was a lot of fun. I finished in just over 69 minutes -- my best time yet. I'm registered to run another 10 km run in September -- the Zoo Run again (my third time running it) -- and this year, Austin is going to be running the kids' cub run after I'm done. It's a 500 metre run for kids 5 and up. He's really excited about it.

And Ryan's still working hard as usual. He'll be building Bridgepoint Hospital (at Gerrard and the DVP area -- nice and close to home) for probably another a year or so.

That's about all the news from us. I'll try to do better at updating more often again.

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Our trip to Disney World

As promised, here's a play by play of our trip to Disney World. It was an exciting and busy (and somewhat exhausting) week, that's for sure.

Thursday, May 5

Our flight from Toronto left at 7:35 a.m., meaning we had to be at the airport by 5:30 a.m., meaning my alarm went off just after 4 a.m. I know you shouldn't complain when getting up early is to go on vacation, but damn, that was early. Ryan and I got up, dressed and packed the car and then picked the kids up out of their beds and basically carried them out in their pajamas. I had packed their clothes in a carry on bag. We were on the road at 4:45 a.m.

Everything else about the morning was fairly uneventful. An easy flight (and Austin even got to check out the cockpit and sit in the pilot seat when we were disembarking), an extremely long process to get through Orlando airport (2 hours from the time we landed until the time we got our rental car) and a 20 minute drive to our hotel.

We stayed right in a Disney World resort hotel and were checked in and were finished lunch by 2 p.m. So, at that point, what else is there to do but go to Magic Kingdom!?! Afterall, we had 7-day passes that expired at the end of our week and this was Day 1.

We were at Magic Kingdom by 3 p.m. and stayed until about 7. We took the kids on a few rides, walked through Cinderella's castle (because that's the only thing Alex had been talking about doing since she found out we were going to Disney World) and had dinner before heading back to the hotel to crash for the night. Afterall, it had been a long day for everyone.

Friday, May 6

Today, we checked out Animal Kingdom. Our first ride was the safari (after waiting an hour in line). It was fun to see all the animals, but honestly, nothing we couldn't see at the Toronto Zoo. Then we headed into Dinoland to eat, play in the boneyard, ride some kid-friendly rides and meet Goofy and Pluto who happened to be hanging around. And then, Austin went on his first roller coaster -- Expedition Everest. He was just  tall enough and he loved it! It went forward, backwards, outside and inside through the dark. He didn't care. He wanted to go again. Mommy....not so much.

We all managed to ride Kali River Rapids (like White Water Canyon at Wonderland) and Austin managed to come off of it completely soaked -- and laughing his head off. Alex managed to stay fairly dry.

We ended the day by going to the Lion King show and then visiting with Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy. Oh yeah, and after getting there around 10:30, we closed the park at 6.

Saturday, May 7

Today, we went to Epcot, and we started the day with a very special surprise for the kids. My parents booked a character brunch at one of the restaurants there, but, all we told the kids was that we were going to a restaurant for breakfast.

And who should we meet as we walk in the door. Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. In the pictures with Belle, Alex looks a little shell-shocked. Belle is one of her favourite princesses (the other is Cinderella) and she definitely wasn't expecting to see her!

For the next hour or so, as we ate breakfast, we were visited by Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Ariel. Both kids were in heaven and, now that I think about it, I don't think they ate very much.

After brunch, we headed out into Epcot, going from pavillion to pavillion to go on rides. My favourite ride of the day was Soarin' (where you pretend to be hand gliding), followed closely by Test Track (where you pretend to be on a car going through drive testing).

Mid-afternoon, Ryan, the kids and I ditched the park and headed back to the hotel for naps; and then made our way back to Epcot around 7 p.m., to visit a few more pavillions (Turtle Talk with Crush at The Living Seas was really cool) and then watch the Illuminations fireworks and light show at 9 p.m. Alex is afraid of fireworks, so rather than forcing her through it, Ryan, my parents and Austin watched, while Alex and I hung out inside a nearby shop.

Sunday, May 8

We started the day off at a slower pace by hitting one of the resort pools and grabbing lunch at the hotel before going to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon.

Once there, we saw the parade and a few shows (including Beauty and the Beast -- the main one Alex wanted to see). In terms of rides, we discovered there really isn't much for young kids there, so we headed back to the hotel just after dinner.

But. That night, Hollywood Studios had Extra Magic Hours (which means the park is open a few extra hours only for Disney World resort hotel guests), so Ryan, my dad and I went back to the park around 8 p.m. and rode the thrill rides (Tower of Terror (awesome), Rockin' Roller Coaster (also awesome)) among other things.

Monday, May 9

Back to Magic Kingdom today. We got off to a late start (a big no-no according to all the books, and now I know why) and it took close to an hour to get from our car, onto the tram, onto the monorail and through the main gates. Our first stop was to visit with Mickey and Minnie and then we went on a few rides before going for lunch with Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet. Another fun lunch -- although this time we told the kids ahead of time, so they weren't quite as shell-shocked when they first saw the characters.

After lunch, we hit a few more rides (Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), before heading back to the hotel for a few hours. We wanted both kids to nap (which they did) so that we could go back to Magic Kingdom for the Main Street Electrical Parade at 9 p.m. and fireworks at 10 p.m. (both, obviously, way past the kids bedtime).

We made it back and then, with only sort-of planning it, ran into friends (Rob, Vone, Lilo and Isla) who were in Florida at the same time, and at Disney that same day. So we watched the parade with them (which the kids loved!), had time to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride with them and then watched the fireworks together (well, except for Ryan and Alex -- who went to a nearby shop to hide from them).

After the fireworks, granddad took Austin and Alex back to the hotel (which apparently took over an hour because of the crowds trying to get out at that time) and Ryan and I stayed for Extra Magic Hours. For hotel guests, the park was open until 2 a.m. that night. We stayed until about 1 a.m. -- riding some of the rides we knew we wouldn't get to ride with the kids (Space Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, etc.) It was a fun way to spend a 'date night'.

Tuesday, May 10
After going pretty much non-stop to parks since we arrived, this morning we decided not to. (And it was a late start to the morning since the kids got to bed at midnight following the fireworks the day before and Ryan and I got back around 1:30 a.m.) So, grandma and granddad wandered around Downtown Disney with the kids while Ryan and I did a little outlet shopping.

In the afternoon, while Alex napped, granddad and Ryan ended up taking Austin over to Hollywood Studios for a couple of hours to see a few shows and grandma and I took Alex to the pool when she woke up. (Actually, she was excited because we went to two different pools that afternoon.)

Wednesday, May 11

This is our last day and we wanted to make the most of it. So, we set our alarms and were up and out the door by 8 a.m. --determined to get to Magic Kingdom before it even opened so we could get on a few rides without having to wait in line.

The plan worked, and we were able to walk right on the race cars -- and then walk off and walk right back on -- before hitting a few other rides before anything got crowded. Definitely the way to do it! The morning and early afternoon went pretty much the same, and just after 3 p.m., we found ourselves stuck behind parade lines. At first we were frustrated, trying to figure out how to get around the parade, until the parade came around the corner and the kids got super excited. So we stayed and watched. Sometimes, running into a parade isn't a bad thing.

More rides for the rest of the afternoon and around 5:45, we decided it was time to head out -- but not without one last visit to Cinderella's castle (again, because it's Alex's favourite -- Austin's favourite by the way, was Splash Mountain). But the walk through to the castle was closed for the moment. Why? Because another parade was coming by. Honestly, there must be half a dozen parades a day at Magic Kingdom! So we stayed and watched and again, the kids had a blast. This time it was the street party parade, meaning the floats stop, some of the characters get off and spectators can join them to dance in the street.

When it was done, we walked through the castle, grabbed dinner (because it was late by this time) and started to make our way out. Being our last time there though, it seemed to take awhile to make our way up Main Street and by the time we got back to our car it was 8 p.m. -- and almost 12 hour day!

Thursday, May 12

Time to go home. Really, it was a fairly uneventful day -- except for the hoops we had to jump through at the airport. First, we waited in line for almost an hour to check-in for our flight. Then the woman only issued us 3 boarding passes, insisting that Alex could sit on one of our laps (um, hello, no she can't, she's 3.) After she reissued the boarding passes, we stood in line at the security gate only to discover, when we got to the security officer, that the woman had now issued 2 boarding passes for Alex and none for Ryan, meaning he couldn't go through security. So he had to run back, have the error fixed and run back to security. We were (thankfully) whisked through security and made it to our gate with a few minutes to spare.

So that's our trip in a rather long nutshell. In the kids' eyes, I think it's going to be a hard one to top.

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Disney World photos

....and we're back. It's been a whirlwind few weeks as we all got ready for our big trip to Disney World. We spent 7 days and 7 nights there -- staying right at one of the Disney World hotels and going to one of the parks every single day. The kids had a blast -- as did mom and dad. It was hot (90-95F) and sunny every day, which was a nice change from the cold and rainy weather we left behind in Toronto.

Here's a slideshow of the pictures from our trip (only 77, not bad considering we took over 600!). I'll write a full report in a day or two.

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Check out what Austin can do!

Ten days ago, Ryan took the training wheels off Austin's bike. They struggled for about hour and Austin got the idea of what he was supposed to do -- well for a few seconds anyway.

Then, after not riding his bike for a week, he hoped back on on Saturday afternoon and practically took off.

Check this out!

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Happy 3rd birthday Alex!

Our baby turned 3 today, can you believe it?!
Being a Sunday, we had her party this morning. As in past years, she shared her birthday party with her friend Isla -- who is only a few days younger than her. The party was at a playplace in the Beaches -- and for 2 hours, the kids ran around, played with everything, ate a little bit of food, and polished off cake.

In all a really good time. And Alex had a blast. This is her before we left for the party. I had just put her 'pretty dress' on (as she called it) and she decided she needed to be 'prettier'. So she got out her necklace, a ring and her Minnie ears hairband. We wouldn't let her wear the Minnie ears to the playplace, so a picture before we left was our compromise.

The playplace we were at this year did face painting, so Alex spent the party -- and the rest of the day -- with her face painted as a bunny.

I made cupcakes for her this year -- each one in the shape of a Mickey Mouse or a Minnie Mouse:

And finally, we opened all her presents when we got home. And mom and dad spoiled her. She played with it for a good chunk of the afternoon.

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