Summer Vacation Beginnings

Summer has been exciting and starting it with a visit from my family was amazing! If only they could have stayed longer or we could have done more!! We didn't even make it downtown to show them all of the wonderful areas to explore! Oh well, next time for sure.

with my nephew Tyler

CN Tower

We did go see a baseball game, which is tradition and so much fun. No we didn't win, but we had two home runs and the first one from Bautista the camera panned the crowd and my hubby at home saw my sis and I dancing away. Of course not our best view from behind, but nonetheless we were on t.v. Maybe a little embarrassing to our children we celebrated every hit like it was a home run and every out like it was the last one. We had fun no matter how silly we looked or sounded.

We also went to Wonderland and I discovered why I don't go as often. My oldest doesn't want to go on the big rides and is too tall for kiddie rides. He says he had fun, but how much fun can you have riding kiddie rides? My hubby, sister, my nephew Drew, and I did ride some of the big ones. Leviathon was new and really fun. My sister didn't enjoy it too much. Behemoth was awesome as always. The kids had a blast in the wave pool. Me personally? I would rather be in my backyard than swim in the public wave pool with all of those people and floating band-aids. Don't even get me started. We rode a few more rides, but were literally so exhausted we couldn't handle any more.

Taxi jam

In line for Leviathon

As you can see Maddox was the only lucky one who actually got to take a nap.

A big event in my life I got to go through the temple for the first time with my mom as my escort. It was an amazing experience and one that has definitely brought me closer to my Saviour and the spirit was so strong I could feel my dad there with me as well. If you want to know more about my church or even what happens in temples look here.

photo credit my friend Laurie Davidson

Sadly when people come visit me I don't take as many pictures as when I visit others. strange I know, but one week with them here and I am not sure I took even 50!! Oh well hopefully next time I'll be better.

Love this group shot!

Can't wait for the next time we meet again!!

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My other family.

So I know I have mentioned before that I practically lived in Dallas, well this post is about this summer and getting to see my other family again as well. Enter Jacki and Ty. Well Jacki was quite literally like one of my best friends. I know crazy because she is sooooo much older *wink*. Ty was my first agent. He's the one that got me into this craziness. He saw me when I was 11 and said, "I am going to have my eye on you. If you grow taller I am going to want represent you." At the time I thought who is this creepy old man and what is he talking about. He did approach me at church and he was married to a Fair so I figured he couldn't be too creepy. Two years later and having completely forgotten about the previous encounter sure enough he asked me to come down that summer and do a test to see if I was photogenic and would be able to work in the industry. My parents agreed and fast forward 17 years later we are still friends. Sadly, I only got to see Ty at church as he was working when I went up to visit the rest of the family. When I first went down to stay with them Blaine was just 5 months old so to see him entering his senior year of High School made me feel really old.

Here I am with Blaine and Si. These boys are crazy, but fun. I can't believe they're so big now. We had to get the blue steel going. Leyla was born the same year as McKayla except her birthday is in January and McKayla's is in October. They first played together when McKayla was 3 1/2 and this summer when they saw each other it was like they have played with each other their whole lives. They got along so well. Made me wish I lived closer to home so they could visit with each other more often. It is nice when your kids are the same age and get along so well.

Jesse is the same age as Maddox except he is also a January baby and Maddox's birthday is in July. They definitely didn't quite get along as well as the girls due mostly to the fact that as a three year old someone else your age is more likely to take your stuff and not give it back. Nevertheless they had a lot of fun playing with each other. I think they connected on the whole we like to make trouble and be wild side.

Some say that we are like sisters, but every once in a while I would get mistaken as her daughter. Yea she was never very happy about that. She isn't that much older than me. I am hoping that we can always stay connected. Friendships are hard especially when you are dealing with long distances. It takes a lot of effort and time to stay connected. My goal this year? Trying to stay connected with all of those that I love especially family and not excluding those awesome friendships which bring you together like family.

The whole point of my blog is to stay connected with the ones I love at least on my life and what I have been doing. Luckily in this day and age we have ichat, skype, facetime, internet, and online gaming with family and friends that can keep us connected. My kids have enjoyed facetime with their cousins. It is nice to know that even though I live so far from my family we can still be close and see each other. Yesterday I even got to see my nephew in his new glasses he just started having to wear. Little things like that makes me happy. I hate being the last to know about what is going on in my own family. I also talked on the phone with my brother for almost an hour and a half! I know it's crazy. I think that is the longest conversation I have had with him in a long time and I hope we have more. It's easier to carry on conversation when you know what is going on in each other's lives. Sometimes it might seem like your are struggling to keep the conversation going, but the more you do the easier it becomes. Didn't mean to go on forever, but I guess my point is make an effort in keeping the conversations going in your families and with your friends. Don't let facebook turn you into a hermit who never actually carries on a real conversation with anyone. As a social network it lacks in actual social developing skills. Who do you want to connect with more?

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Vacation 2011

So I thought I would share this photo book with you. I cannot promise that I won't post some of the same pictures and blog more about my vacation. I had such a fun time playing that I might have to talk about it for a while. Enjoy!

Click here to view this photo book larger

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Family Day in St. Agapit

So here in Ontario we have a holiday in February called Family Day. Now the sad thing is there are a lot of people that actually don't get the day off because it isn't a national holiday. So instead people end up having to find daycare for their children on this day. The point is to make time for your family and do things together. Which is what I think we should do all year long not just around the holidays.

This year we actually skipped half a day of school on the Friday and drove 7 hours to St. Agapit to visit friends. The kids had a blast with their friends and even enjoyed the skating rink they had in their backyard.


The picture isn't great because I obviously didn't have time to frame it before snapping. My hubby actually fell! It was quite funny. It wasn't even from him trying to avoid running into one of the kids.

Marcus actually had a lot of fun. It was the first time he actually tried to play hockey. He is so afraid of falling on the ice it was good to see him engaged in the gameplay. It helps that Henri is so athletic and is so comfortable on the ice Marcus really opened up to playing.




The boys played hockey and the girls went to the horses. I never went to the horses because, well I could barely stand in the snow and take pictures!

In the evening everyone went out to skate again this time McKayla enjoyed trying to learn how to skate backwards. Julie figure skates so was giving McKayla pointers on what to do.



Maddox even took to the ice. The first time and he didn't really know what to do, but hey he stood by himself! Every time he tried to skate it was at full speed and he would fall down. Luckily he is tough and it didn't bother him too much.

Here is a video of the boys playing hockey against hubby and then the girls joining and Maddox stepping on the ice for the first time. I don't know why I didn't get video of the races, but before we went in for dinner the boys raced the girls doing different relays. The girls pretty much smoked the boys. They kept making up new races with new rules to create a way for them to win. Oh and the music you hear is being played from speakers set outside from their computer. "Playing with the boys" Now I have it stuck in my head!



Luckily the weather was sunny despite the strong winds we spent a fair bit outside. McKayla was able to ride the horses again. She was thrilled! She even had her first lesson as she tagged along with Henri and Julie. Marcus is not so interested in the horses. He is actually allergic to them and has a real rough time trying to concentrate when he is sneezing and rubbing his eyes. Marcus even participated in a swim meet the Saturday morning at the University pool in Quebec City. It had been a while since he stepped into a pool like that,and despite being put with the older group he did well. Made me realize I really have to enroll both of them in swimming in the fall.

Me? Annoyed because this is when my back was completely thrown out and I barely had the strength to do anything. In fact, the drive almost killed me sitting in that same position for so long. We wanted to go into Quebec City and do some things there, but I really don't think I could have made it walking around everywhere. Oh well, inspires me to try to make another trip up there in the summer.

We ate our fair helping of poutine (I know I have a picture of it somewhere. Must be on my hubby's phone) and more cheese than anyone should ever eat.



The kids made homemade pasta for the first time. Maddox loved it!




The end result? Yum!

We headed back on Monday morning. Quebec doesn't recognize the holiday so back to work and school for our hosts. Visiting them is definitely always an adventure with so many different things going on you can never have a moment to be bored. It is awesome.

For us our extended family includes all of our great friends who we can enjoy each others company and have a blast with. When you live so far away from your family good friends are the key to happiness. They are also a relief from stress when they bail you out at the last minute and show up to lend a hand.

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Family

Okay so in Singapore our number one reason for going is family. I would just like to say that since I no longer have grandmas living I love getting to see my grandma-in-law. Letting my children get to see their great-grandma ain't so bad either. I know I said ain't. It's gotta be that part of me that wants to go home this year.



This is her favorite pastime and she only really gets to play when we come into town. So it is always fun to watch.



This is a terrible photo by me I didn't even pay attention to the fact that I only focused on McKayla. Oh well. I think I was in just trying to quickly get the shot so I didn't bother her too much. She was probably thinking, "Hasn't she taken enough photos already?"



I actually really love this photo because it brings me right back to that night when everyone was so captivated by monkey's humorous displays. I couldn't get a straight photo after that. He was definitely aiming to entertain. Especially with the bucket of organic lollipops his GuGu purchased for him.



With Ah Ma. Hubby's mum.



with Ah ma's sister. Auntie Amy. It was actually taken at her birthday dinner.



Uncle Ah Chew was the most eager to get into the photos with the kids. I think my kids were too. Even Marcus smiled!



This isn't that same night, but it is of family and one of the kids favorite people. Hubby's sis. She took us all to the zoo which I am still pondering whether to blog about or not. Here we are at her favorite exhibit. The giraffes.

One thing I know for sure is that families are the most important thing in the world. So no matter how far away you live from each other somehow you have to stay connected.

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Ghim Moh

Alright I have been home from vacation a long time and I guess it is ridiculous for me to still not have posted anything since being home. So here is my first. Don't be mad at me for neglecting my blog. Even my hubby asked me last night, "How come no updates?". Alright, I guess I will kick myself in the butt. I am now uploading almost 700 photos onto the computer. I know that's a lot. I hadn't even uploaded them yet.


Here you can see some of the stalls in the background.

So What is Ghim Moh? Well let's just say it is a regular stop on our Singapore visits. In fact, my hubby probably goes there everyday. Why? Food. Singapore is know for their outdoor markets with hawker stalls selling different local foods. Anyone can find something right up their alley. Even what the refer to as western food. Variety is key as we are there a lot! It is in my in-laws neighborhood. Literally walking distance, so it is very easy to access. Our first dish we order is Mee Pok, but I think we probably have it every other day in many different ways.



For breakfast the kids love, love, love Indian Prata. Only Marcus dares to actually eat it with the curry. McKayla and Maddox love it with sugar. Like crispy pancakes they are really delicious.





I am a huge fan of carrot cake. In fact, my hubby brought me back a gigantic piece from Montreal on the weekend and I indulged and practically ate the whole thing myself. You can find carrot cake in Singapore, but not at the Hawker Centers. In fact, you will be completely surprised if you order carrot cake and see what they give you. It looks nothing like carrot cake. Some locals of the older generation who have never had "western carrot cake" actually find our version weird. Funny.


Here it is half eaten because it is just that good. I forgot to take a pic. You can have it two ways with black sauce or not and with chili or not. Me? black with chili, please!


Here is the famous stall which sells the "carrot cake". Definitely need locals to be able to tell what is good and what isn't because I think there are three stalls that sells it at Ghim Moh and this one is the best.

You can also find a market at Ghim Moh selling fresh fruits. Mainly tropical which is probably one of the perks of being in Singapore fresh mango, pineapple, persimmon, pomello, rambutan, lychee, dragonfruit, guava, papaya, and you know that stinky one I talked about before durian.







When I first opened the camera the humidity in Singapore showed it's face and fogged up my camera. Luckily I had it packed well and the inside mechanisms didn't get any condensation on them. This is the Saturday market that would come to Ghim Moh selling all kinds of things from books to clothes to household items. See the crowd? And this is a small Hawker center in a neighborhood. Not even a downtown center. Suggestion don't go on the weekends or on Mondays when a lot of stalls close.




The whole reason for Singapore trips. Family. Grandparents definitely enjoy getting the time with the kids.

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Christmas in Singapore 2010

Okay. SO I know I got excited about New Years and completely skipped Christmas so here is my Christmas post. We had a beautiful Christmas. The kids opened their gifts we got them in Canada which was lots of books and a Woody dollI know, but I can't think of another way to describe it. It isn't very manly sounding, but he is a kid and he loves it although he wanted Jesse more. Hubby would have none of that! I am actually proud to say we really never go overboard with gift buying for them. They tend to get just a couple of things to enjoy and then they get spoiled by grandparents and aunts and uncles.






So anything they got as far as presents came from friends and relatives here in Singapore as well as Santa of course.

I was actually thrilled that on Sunday we had a beautiful musical Christmas program for Sacrament. I definitely felt the spirit of Christmas and the joy of knowing that because of the birth of Christ and his life here on earth our life has meaning and purpose. I also love singing Christmas carols. Who doesn't? Well maybe the Grinch, but that changed when his heart grew. That made me think. My heart grew with every child I had. I know that sounds strange and those who don't have kids or who only have one and think they can't possibly have more room in their heart for another one they are missing out because it is true. Your heart does truly grow. Even my hubby said after we had our daughter I don't think we can have any more because I have no more love to give. Well his heart grew too. I know another sappy post. I can't help it. I love this time of year even if I m in a tropical climate with a tree made for a smurf. I love it!



Back to Christmas. The kids partied it up singing karaoke on Christmas Eve with the grandparents. Who, by the way, go out and party with their friends more often than I do and can do it more nights in a row than I can. Meanwhile my sister-in-law and I Watched a movie and ate some yummy mushroom risotto which she made. After we picked up the kids from the party because it was getting late we did the traditional one present opening on Christmas Eve which we always do.



This year was special because it was Maddox's first Christmas in which he understood the meaning of what opening a present is like. He of course was thrilled to find a train hiding inside the paper. You will also note the extra long pyjamas he got from his Gong Gong.



McKayla found arts and crafts which she was equally thrilled with.



Marcus was a little disappointed that we talked him into opening this present which we knew would contain chocolate or cookies from a family friend. Although his smile doesn't show it. He didn't get a lot of presents this year, but that doesn't mean he wasn't going to be thrilled with what he got. He is at that age where the presents get smaller and smaller yet cost so much more!!! We wanted him to save the excitement for Christmas morning. I know kind of mean right?

Christmas morning came and to our surprise Santa visits Singapore. And McKayla was really happy Santa wasn't mad that she stayed up so late the night before.



Monkey got more of what he was dreaming about I am sure. He actually woke up Christmas morning instinctively knowing that more presents were to be found.



McKayla was thrilled to get her sewing kit which we played with literally until dinnertime.



Marcus got the game he has been wanting since forever.

Afterwords more presents ensued.









Marcus even received what?



No way! Spoiled guy. I guess all the puppy eyes he gave to his Ah Ma and Gong Gong worked!

For dinner we went to a friends house and had a feast. Christmas Day is also his birthday so it makes it twice as special. The kids got even more presents and we stuffed ourselves with delicious bbq ribs (yes the same ones my son really enjoyed the last time), sausage, deliciously moist chicken, noodles, and of course yummy Christmas cakes and desserts to top it off. It was wonderful and I think that even though it wasn't our traditional Christmas we spent it with family and good friends enjoying each others company which is by far the most important part of Christmas.

I remember my first Christmas I spent here in Singapore. I was so worried about how it was so different and it can't be hot and be Christmas. Or how without a big tree and traditional dinner it isn't the same, but I learned that those things are not as important as the spirit you bring to Christmas and who you spend it with. So now I am a reformed traditonalist, enjoying my life with my family which includes the occasional untraditional Christmas.

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