Sampson's Big Toronto Adventure!

I thought I'd be able to update lots, being on vacation and all, but it seems vacation in Toronto with four kids and two parents (mine) is more busy than being home! Here at home we're in bed by 8:30 or 9:00pm with some down time to do such projects as blogging, but there? we were lucky to be HOME by 9:oopm.

SO here it is, the recap.

We left here VERY early Saturday morning on the 8th. I'm talking 3:00am early. We had the car packed and ready to go so all we had to do was collect the Munsters and put them in the car. The idea is that they'd be sleepy and we'd get a good start while they slept for the rest of the night... yeah right. They were so excited to be driving around at night that they didn't sleep again until about 7am or so. We were outside Fredricton for breakfast (rest stop picnic) and past Edmunston for lunch (another rest stop picnic). We were trying to make the trip as inexpensive as possible, so I had made three loaves of pb&j and packed granola bars and fruit snacks. We stopped for the night in Trois Rivieres (which Steve insisted on calling "Three Rivers" as if the name is translatable). We lucked into a very cool hotel - a kid friendly pool with a two storey waterslide, splash park shallow end and hot tub, bunk beds in the room with a Harry Potter theme, and make your own waffles as part of the complementary breakfast in the morning. YUM. The kids had a BLAST. We swam for about 2 hours that night, and were back in the pool when it opened at 7am for an hour or so the next morning. We brough the girls' life jackets and the boys could touch and swim enough so for the first time, they were all pretty independent in the pool - we could sit back and watch if we weren't playing.

We got to TO in time for dinner on Sunday, which was happily not pb&j. Monday was a "down" day, playing in the kiddie pool and visiting with the kids next door.

Tuesday we went to Marineland in Niagara Falls. The kids LOVED the rides, but were disappointingly apathetic towards the whales and dolphins. After I paid $32 extra and waited in line for 45 minutes for them to feed and pet the Beluga whale (how COOL is that?), Jack and I lined up for the "Sky Screamer" a drop zone type ride he had seen on tv. In line I asked him his favourite part of the day so far and he said "waiting in line for the Sky Screamer". Did he think beluga whales just wash up on any given Tuesday? Geez. I hope they remember it long enough to appreciate it someday.

Wednesday was another day at home, but we met up with my highschool friend, Iwona and her three month old baby girl, Maya. Together we went to ChuckECheese's... wow what a world of chaos that was! Kids and arcade games... it was deafening and overwhelming. My kids LOVED it. They ate pizza and played for an hour or so, and "won" teddy bears with their game earnings.

Thursday was WONDERLAND! I LOVE Wonderland. LOVE IT. When talking about our plans, I was trying to encourage my mother to come and she suggested she could stay home with the girls (she kept PJ home two years ago when we went). I said "Um, they're three... they're coming this time!". We went on nearly every ride in the two kid sections and Jack and I got away for a couple hours to go on the big rides that he was big enough for. He went on the MineBuster and insisted on sitting in the front car... brave kid or what? Two years ago he wanted to go on the rides until he was ON them at which point he cried "Too fast! Too high!", this year he loved it.

Friday, another down day... and I'm afraid to admit I can't remember what we did? I know Mom and I went to hot yoga in the morning and then she went to aerobics and Curves. I went with the girls to meet Julie for lunch... but after that? I'm drawing a blank.

Saturday was the Zoo. I love the zoo almost as much as Wonderland, but apparently no one else does. The kids had a great time... Jack was on a mission to find the world's smallest monkey, and some zoo keepers suggested we look in the Americas for the pigmy marmoset. We saw the African displays of elephants, primates, zebra's, lions, giraffes and then headed to the America's to find the flippin' monkey - he was sooo excited. The Toronto Zoo is big and there's a lot of walking... by the time we saw those two areas, it was time to hit the splash park to cool off, then head for dinner and home.

Sunday we went to Dad's ball game (he calls it a ball game), then Mom and I did some shopping. We headed out in late afternoon to Crawford Lake, a historic site for an Indian village with a nice walk around a lake - mostly opportunities for cheesey photos as Dad called them - I got a few nice pictures of the Munsters there. We went for dinner at a great steak place that was melt in your mouth delicious, then Steve and I tricked Mom and Dad into taking the kids home so we could go on a date to the movies.

Monday we went to Square One, which is a gimungous mall. Mom and I found really nice cham necklaces and PJ found Claires, where she insisted on getting her ears "pinched". She was sooo brave! Winced and jumped a little when it happened but not a tear, just a proud giggle when it was over! She's so proud of her earings! We also found AnnaWen after she got distracted and fell behind for a millisecond. A LOOOOONG millisecond.

Tuesday I met another highschool friend, Sara, with her two kids, Maggie and Dylan. Maggie is weeks older than PJ and the two of them got along famously. Dylan is a year and a half and was a busy guy - very cute, but made me thankful to be past that age! I'm not sure what we did after that???

Wednesday was Super Cool. I found out in my research that I could buy a two day pass to Wonderland for about $10 more than a one day pass... why wouldn't you? Steve kept the kids and went to the movies while I went to Wonderland with Julie for a full day of grown up rides! We went on EVERY roller coaster, including the new Behemoth, which dwarfed all of the others. Literally, we went on that first and then the rest seemed like kids' rides they were so much smaller than that. A day of roller coasters, icecream, funnel cakes... Yay!

Thursday we took the Go Train downtown and headed to the CN Tower. Jack had been asking to go up the CN Tower since we first told him we were going to Toronto on vacation. I don't know where he heard of it. We did the whole package, the first level with the balcony and glass floor, then the upper Sky Pod that is 33 stories above the other. It was very cool to see the area and buildings from so far above... it was funnier to watch Steve hold onto the wall as if the windows might suddenly implode and allow the outside to suck him out to his death. After our Tower experience we went to lunch at East Side Mario's then took Mom, Steve and the girlies back to the train to head home. With them safely deposited on the right train, the boys and I went on our own downtown adventure, walking up to meet my dad at his office by way of the Eaton Centre, among other sites. We met Dad and drove back down to the SkyDome - I mean Rogers' Centre - to the Jays' game. Other than my parents, of course, I miss the ballgames the most not living in Toronto any more. I love every minute of a live game, the atmosphere, the action on the field and in the stands, the Jumbotron, the ball park hotdogs outside... perfect. And the boys had a fantastic first ball game experience! After we found our seats, 25 rows up from the Jays' dugout, Elliot wanted to go down closer to see the dugout and the field. Down by the camera bay, we watched as the catcher and pitcher (I'm embarrased to admit I didn't know who he was at the time) walked from the field where they were warming up to the dugout. I said "Wave Elliot!" but he was too shy so I waved his hand for him. To my original disgust, the men saw Elliot but didn't smile or wave or acknowledge his presence in any way... then, just before I got really mad, the pitcher held up his warm up ball in an offer to toss it out. I nodded and smiled and he tossed it up to me. It was one of my more frightening moments, as I had a camera in one hand and envisioned missing the catch with my one available hand (and right, meaning wrong, one at that). But I caught it and just like that Elliot had a Major League ball! He still doesn't understand the excitement of it. Jack insists it would be a good ball to practice with in the yard. I'm goign to have to hide it, I think, until they can appreciate the importance of the ball itself. After we were back in our seats BJ Birdie - I mean, Ace - came by and I got a picture of him with the boys as they got to meet him (apparently much more exciting than being given a ball, sigh). Then the game started. The game itself kinda sucked, the Jays lost 8-1 and gave up several runs on errors and poor play. While they played, there was a thunder storm outside and a tornado watch in the GTA. Then in the 5th or so the dome started to open! That was great for the boys to see, but I still wonder what genius made that decision. The CN Tower was lit up red and purple beside the stadium which was really cool to see. It continued to drizzle for the rest of the game and so they closed the dome in the 9th. Maybe they just opened it and closed it for the two NS country boys to see? After the game, we caught a ballpark hot dog on the way out and headed home.

By the time I was home, it was 10pm, and Dad and I sat up until 1 and then he went to bed. I figured I might as well stay up than to go to bed for an hour so I watched Jon Stewart, and waited. We left around 2:30 Friday morning, for a long haul to Fredricton. We were able to stop around 6pm, and visited with Uncle Trevor and Auntie An and their super cool kids Cameron, Isaac and Grace. We had a bbq, played in the pool and the kids had a sleepover in their rooms. We got up the next day and watched their ballgame then had lunch at DQ and headed home, getting in for supper last night.

The laundry is in the works, and everything is unpacked. The kitchen is cleaned and the fridge is empty of old food... It was a great family trip, and we're so happy to have been able to go. It wasn't possible without my parents, who love our kids and enjoy our company... we're also glad to be home with Rook and our own beds... I'll try to put a post of pictures up in the next while, there are LOTS.

N