So Far So Good...

We're about a week into our trip and so far everything is going well. The boys love visiting grandma and all the craziness that comes with it.

Our trip started early Sat morning about 9:30. We made it over the border with relatively no problems except for a 40 min wait at the Ambassador Bridge. I got my cell phone unlocked so I wanted to get my new sim card as soon as I could just in case we needed to use it. We were able to meet my cousin for a few minutes to give her the clothes for her son at the grocery store where the wireless store was located, then we headed to lunch. A little break for everybody out of our chairs & then we were headed back into the van for the next part of our trip. We stopped one more time for gas then drove for another hour & found a McD's for the kids to play at and stretch some more. I was glad that they got out some of their craziness and then headed back in the van. I drove from here for a few hours & once we stopped for gas again & headed into MO then kept going until we needed more gas & a potty break then kept going straight. We made it at about 4 a.m. with little veering off the road. We saw a few deer but they were on the shoulder this time (unlike last summer when one was wandering the middle of the road slowly). We saw a opossum & few other animals but luckily none of them went under our wheels. My sis, brother & parents were awake & met us as soon as the van stopped. The boys were awake the last 30 min of the drive so they could find the house when it was time. The boys finally got back down to sleep after 5 & then hip hip hooray E woke up at 8:30 *groan*. My dad was awake so he insisted that he was okay to watch him & that I should go up and sleep & mom would be back from church soon. I tried. I turned a few times and then 10 min later G woke up. I came down with him & then was up until the next night.

We took them to play at the splash pad. It wasn't as warm as it could have been but they still enjoyed it. The water wasn't too cold since it was in the sun all day. Once they got cold they went into The Grove & had a blast. Luckily we didn't have too much going on today so they got to play for a while.

First sleepover!!

On Sunday, June 8th, Elias kept asking his grandma if he could go to her house. His main focus to go was that he wanted to play with his grandpa's tool box. I told him he had to wait & we'd go later this week. He decided he wanted to spend the night. I was surprised that he was pushing that hard to sleep over. Whenever she asked him to stay before he was so adamant that it was no. We tried to explain that if he went daddy would pick him up the next day and that he couldn't cry at night for us because grandma couldn't bring him back. He said he understood & would even repeat what we said. Finally, after dinner I went upstairs & packed a small bag for him. The group got up to leave & when G & J saw daddy put a car seat inside grandma's van they lost it. Just kept saying Yaso couldn't go without them & that they wanted him. We tried to explain that he was sleeping at grandma's & wouldn't be back until tomorrow & if they left they couldn't cry & couldn't bring them at night. They swore they were okay & wanted to go. So I went back upstairs & packed as much I could think of that they would all need & be comfortable with. They took our van instead (since 3 car seats can't fit in theirs) & away they went. I was just shocked. I didn't know what to do with myself. I hoped they would be good. Wasn't sure how far they'd actually get. Mike guessed they'd get to the end of the subdivision ask to come back.

We just kind of looked at each other in shock. I didn't know what to do. The house was too quiet. Since we'd already had dinner & it was a Sunday night there weren't many "date" things we could do. They called us before bed and J was a little teary eyed saying he wanted to come home but grandma assured him daddy would pick him up the next day & I told him I'd see him tomorrow. I had a little hard time sleeping fully all night but woke up refreshed around 8. Stayed in bed & they called me again around 8:30. They were all in good spirits & all slept the night through!

The next day I found a few errands I've been meaning to do. I talked to them a couple of times & they were in great spirits & had eaten well. They went to the park with grandma & had some snacks. By the time daddy came to get them E & J said they didn't want to leave! They were all a little subdued by the time they came home (Mike said they were trying to take naps on the way).

All in all it was a very successful first time. It's nice that they did it on their own instead of a "have to" situation. Now whenever we "have to" they already know what it's like & it won't be such a big deal.

Proud of you boys!!

Ripley's Aquarium...

My sister-in-law & family came into town to celebrate my father-in-laws 75th birthday. As a treat we went to Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto & then on the weekend we went to dinner at the Mandarin.

Since they came into town at night we didn't get to see them right away but we met for lunch at McDonald's in Stoney Creek. The boys got to play & we all got to hang out together. Hubby even got out of work a little early & surprised us all by meeting us there. The boys were spoiled by their Aunt & cousin & each received shopping carts that had a self-checkout stand along with a cash register. Cousin got to spend the night. The boys were super excited to have him here & kept asking for him to play with them.

On Friday we braved the cold & headed to downtown Toronto to visit the new aquarium. Luckily we bought tickets online a few days before we went, but the Aquarium was still pretty busy. We saw 4 school buses & 3 Greyhound buses outside the place. We were thinking of bringing our train stroller (mostly to hold stuff, like jackets) with us but I'm so glad we didn't. There were stairs to get up to the door & then inside was pretty crowded. The whole aquarium was pretty neat & we saw lots of cool fish, sharks & sea life.

Snubbed by a  HUGE Grouper fish

We spent the night at grandma's so with that comes fighting & jumping on beds:

The next day (after digging out from the snow) we went to eat the Mandarin & came home & took a very nice family picture:

It was great to spend time with family. It had been a while since we got to see all of them & it was tons of fun to play together & create memories.