The Raptors Game

This weekend Iain was given box seat tickets at the Air Canada Centre for the whole family to watch the Toronto Raptors play. It was so exciting. Ty got to sit with all the kids and cheer while Vanessa ran around the box dancing everytime the music came on. Some of Iain's co-workers were there with their kids so it was nice to catch up with them too. By the end of the game the kids were exhausted and both fell asleep for a peaceful drive home.
You can see how high up we were - the kids loved it though.
All the kids took over the front row seats while the adults had to sit on the stairs or stand- I don't think any of us minded though.

More Christmas Pictures

We had another eventful picture taking attempt yesterday afternoon. This time it was a picture of all of my parents grandkids. Every year my mom buys the kids all matching clothes to wear for this picture. Melanie (my SIL) puts her tree up early so we have a festive backdrop for the picture too. After dozens of photos we finally got one that my mom is happy with. Whew!!




What are the chances we got 5 kids all looking forward with their eyes open? It wasn't easy but the last picture is my mom's favourite so she'll be sending that one out with her Christmas cards this year.

Christmas pictures

Well here they are...I'm not thrilled but what can you expect when you get your family photos done at the grocery store. (and they give you 20 minutes of time with a 3 yr old and 1 yr old) If I'm going to get picky I'm going to have to go to a photography studio and invest a little money. Maybe in a couple years we'll do that. For now though this will have to do.

We're Back!!

What an amazing trip we had although I have to say that it has been nice to sleep in my own bed for the past couple of nights. I do miss waking up every morning - no beds to make- just lathering up with sunscreen, hitting the buffet and sitting by the pool all morning. It was so relaxing. The most stressful decision to make was whether to drink another "Dirty Monkey" or move on to the "Bahama Mamas". LOL!! At the end of the week on our way home Iain and I were talking about how good our kids are. We were so proud of them- they had a great time, minimal fussing, they slept so well and played and swam all day long with big smiles on their faces. That may not seem like a big deal but after seeing the behaviour of some of the kids down there I have to say Iain and I were very proud of ourselves and our kids. We gave ourselves a big pat on the back.
A typical day in Punta Cana was: wake up 8:30am - hit the breakfast buffet and be down by the pool by 10am. Lunch around 1pm then the kids and I would go back to the room around 2pm for naps (I read out on the balcony while Iain usually hung out with the guys on the beach looking for topless women LOL!!) The kids would wake around 5:30pm so we'd get ready for dinner and head down to the restaurant. We hit the mini kids disco at 8pm and the kids were in bed around 9:30pm. Most nights the ladies and guys took turns having a quiet "kidless" dinner at one of the "A la carte" restaurants. It was such a nice break.
I have hundreds of great pictures but here are a few...
The flight there was a bit of a challenge - by the time we landed most passengers knew Vanessa's name since she did laps for about 2 1/2 hours of the 3 1/2 hour flight.





We had a great time at the beach- Ty got into a soccer game with some kids his age, the kids built sandcastles, Vanessa and I swam in the waves...what I don't miss though is being covered in sand. I'm sure we brought home enough sand in our suitcase if I am missing it. LOL!
Vanessa was such a busy little girl on this trip but we could not complain because she was so happy to be busy.
Mary, Dawn and I had a great night on our own at a nice at a French restaurant at the resort. After a delicious meal and many glasses of the best wine we had ever had we headed over to the disco where we danced until 1am!! It was so much fun to not have a care in the world.
Our vacation was fantastic and we couldn't have asked for a nicer group of friends to spend our week with. I can't wait to do it again.

My cousins wedding

What a great night we had on Friday. My cousin Breanne got married October 18th this year in St. Lucia but they held the reception on November 3rd in Hamilton. Iain and I dropped the kids off with my Aunt Suzie and Uncle Joe and headed over to the reception. The place was beautiful and I couldn't believe the show they put on to serve us dessert. Around 9pm I called to check on the kids and was pleasantly surprised that they had both gone to bed with no problems. I was really able to relax and enjoy the rest of the night after that. Iain and I danced all night and it was great to catch up with some of my relatives that I only see at showers, wedding and funerals now. Here are a few photos of the night.

My brothers, Ryan & Jeremy, My SIL Melanie, Myself and Iain
Breanne was a beautiful (and very tanned) Bride
The "Flambe" show they put on to serve our dessert. The servers did a whole fire show to the Mission Impossible theme song.
Iain and I had so much fun dancing that night - I even had him up dancing to "SexyBack"!!
The next morning the kids were quite at home enjoying a "mickey mouse" pancake breakfast prepared by my Uncle Joe.

It was such a relief that the kids did so well overnight - I'm really hopeful about how they will sleep in Punta Cana now. We leave in 4 Days!!! I'm off to do some more packing...

Happy Halloween

The kids had a great night of tricks & treats!

Carter, Nolan, Ty, Vanessa and Ethan posing for our yearly Halloween picture.

Ty, Julia & Nolan take a picture break in the middle of the treat or treating fun.

Vanessa spent the whole night running away from us - it was a very busy night!!

Ty was overwhelmed by all of his loot. He chose 2 treats to eat before bed. (Smarties & a sucker)