Have Family Will Travel- Part 2

The second half of our Toronto trip at the end of July was just as active as the first!
We spent a good chunk of Wednesday driving up to see my Grandfather in Thornbury, ON.
This time Grandpa Gord, my step-father, decided to join us for the excursion.


We packed a nice lunch and stopped half way at a rest stop to run around and enjoy our food in the sunshine. It definitely helps to have frequent pit stops on any journey with children :)


When we arrived we met my Grandfather at his boat, the Jimmy Lee (named after my cousin and I). My kids had never been on a sail boat before so they were quite impressed! They each had a chance to be captain and take charge steering the boat. However, after about an hour they got bored and wanted to go back to the dock. It was just as well because the clouds were looking pretty ominous.

Great Grandpa, Mason and Logan skipping rocks

Captain Jacob

Mason in control

Great Grandpa, Logan, Jacob

Grandma Jojo, Grandpa Gord, Mason

Everyone enjoyed some play time at the beach area before the thunder clouds came rolling in. The boys even  had time to make a few new friends at the park playing Zombie tag.



After a full day of travel and play, a pizza dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all back at Great Grandpa's cute little apartment. We also had fun playing Great Grandpa's guitar, and singing, and laughing! We stayed there for a couple of hours before the kids started getting crazy so we bid farewell for the rest of the evening.

 

That night we slept in a little motel about 10 minutes from my Grandfather’s place. My mom tried to negotiate with Gord that all the girls (me and my mom) could sleep in one room and all the boys (Logan, Mason, Jacob and Gord) could sleep in another. :) As expected, the idea didn’t go over so well :( so it was me and my boys watching the toons before bed!

Early Thursday morning we went back over to Great Grandpa’s place to make him my famous French toast. Then within the hour we all jumped back in the car to head back to Grandma Jojo’s and Grandpa Gord’s place.

I was hoping the kids would have a nap on the way back, but as luck would have it they decided to release their inner energy ALL THE WAY HOME! I don’t think Grandpa Gord had ever been so happy to get out of a car!

My loving husband also blessed us with his presence that evening after travelling for business all week. Everything just feels better when the whole family is together!

Friday was a park day for the kids and a pamper day for me! I managed to see my esthetician and get a massage in the same day! Then Grandma and Grandpa took Logan and Mason to see the new Ice Age movie while Martin, Jacob and I visited with my BFF, Julie, and her family in their new home! It was great. We picked up delicious Thai food, had semi adult conversation, took the kids to the park, read some stories, chilled, then called it an early night so we could all put our kids to bed! Fun was had by all!

Celine and Jacob stopping to pet the kitty

Saturday, my mom and I spent the morning together. We met my new friend, Kathryn, for breakfast in Hamilton, picked up some fancy new shoes for the wedding to match my bridesmaid dress, and then drove to Brantford to have my dress fitted! I won’t be returning to the area until Caroline’s wedding on October 20th and I just pray that my dress turns out exactly how it is supposed to be :)

Kathryn and Lee-Anne

Sexy new shoes :)

Sunday was our departure day. I did request we stay around to attend church with my mom. I know she appreciated having her Grandsons to show off at church. It is always hard to say good bye to the ones we love so much, but it was a little easier knowing we would see each other in October for Caroline’s wedding.

We did our usual stop over at our friend’s house in Brockville on the way home.  We stopped at Costco to pick up some delicious Stuffed Salmon for the whole gang and of course we indulged in a little ice cream too!

We made it home safely on Monday afternoon to begin yet another busy week preparing for our next family adventure!

Heavenly Father, I am so grateful for all the friends and family you have blessed us with. Thank you for watching over them and keeping your hands on them.

Blessings
Lee-Anne xo

Have Family Will Travel-Part 1

The past few weeks have been quite an experience for both me and my family.
I am going to start writing my blog around this adventure and most likely break it up into segments because there is a lot to say!!!!!

On July 19th I started on a road tip, alone, with my three young sons.
Logan- who will be 8 years old this Friday August 10th, Mason- 5 1/2, and little Jacob who will be 3 in less than a month.

We began with pure heaven. We all prayed to God, literally, before we left the house and as we drove through Montreal that there would not be any traffic. The Lord heard our prayers and we didn't hit ANY traffic that whole day! Of course I enjoyed 3 hours of bliss while all my kids kept to themselves and weren't misbehaving.

As soon as we stopped for a potty break they let out their inner warriors! Did I mention Jacob had just started potty training the week before :) I think a child's capability to contain themselves, in more ways than one, has a limit of 3 hours. I have had many opportunities to test my theory over the past few weeks!

We all made it in one piece to our friends' house, Thom and Kayo, who happen to live half way to our final destination! Their children, Kaz and Lana, are similar in age to our kids so it is always a treat for them all to play together. We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner and a couple dips in the pool to finish off the evening. It was amazing how quickly my kids fell asleep!

The next morning we were on the road by 8:30am to go see my family in Whitby. To break up the day we went to Jungle Cat World Zoo in Bowmanville, Ontario. It was a small zoo with some beautiful looking animals. However, it was super hot out and most of the cats were hiding. I really don't blame them! I wanted to be in the shade too. Tip: If you ever head there do not do it in mid day at peak heat hours! In fact stay away from any place that does not have shelter during these hours! If mommy isn't happy ain't no one happy!!!!

Needless to say my boys were very happy to jump around in a park with a small splash pad right after our outing!

We spent the evening with my family enjoying salmon and steaks from the BBQ, corn on the cob, salads, beans and of course ice cream :) Then to top it all off the 4 of us spent the night at Tina's, my sister, in her king size bed! It is true that 4 people can fit! Although he littlest ones tend to take up most of the room ;)

After a decent nights rest we had a big breakfast and headed off to my Mom's house, Grandma Jojo, in Burlington, ON. Of course there were LEGO surprises for my little ones when they arrived so the afternoon was spent building LEGO!  My kids are LEGO maniacs!!

Monday we got up nice and early to make our way to Vaughn, ON to go to Reptilia. The name says it all!

We were greeted by Shoebox the lizard at the front desk.

Then we all pet the snakes and lizards in the theater area and finished the tour with the crocodiles! We had been there 3 years before and saw the crocs as babies so it was really cool to see how big they had gotten!

After the reptiles we headed up to New Market to visit with Uncle Bobby at the hospital. He has been there for over 3 months after a cancer operation. He is finally on the mend and will hopefully be going home soon!
The kids had a laugh watching him put his false teeth in and thought all the hospital gadgets were cool! Of course after 20 minutes they were restless and we had to call it quits :( I look forward to seeing Uncle Bobby next summer under better circumstances.

Tuesday we spent the entire day at Wet and Wild Water Park in Hamilton. Along with my mom, we joined my BFF Julie and her daughter Celine, along with another friend JP and his 3 kids- Mikala, Reece, and Keara. What a difference it was to be playing in the water in the heat! We partied until 4 pm then called it quits. Jacob didn't make it past the parking lot before he was in dreamland!

Note: Always check park hours and regulations before going! Because I had been there a couple times before and it always opened at 10am I just ASSUMED it opened at 10am. Not the case! We stood in line until 11am! Then once we were in we were told that the boys could not use there face mask for goggles (CPR regulations) and of course we had left the regular goggles at home! Live and learn.

Stay tuned or the second half of our family adventure on the road!!!

Blessings
Lee-Anne

Dear God, thank you for all you have blessed me with.