Ice Cream... Ice Cream!

Last Friday when Braden and I were staying in Homewood we were treated to my favorite pizza... Aurelio's. My sister, my niece Raina and her two step children came over too... and afterwards we took a long walk to Dairy Queen. Braden enjoyed his first Ice Cream Cone all by himself. We got another one in Quincy... but I'm confused if we're going to Dairy Queen because he likes it... or because I do! :)

Raina is 2 months older than Braden - but he's a bit of a house and she's a danity and petite little girl!

Visit with KT and "Lissa"

Before I got Chad from the airport on Sunday we stopped by Braden's godmother's condo in the city (Katie's place). Melissa stuck around to get to hang with Braden too! I really appreciated that they took their Sunday afternoon to visit. Braden loved them both, lots of hugs and kisses... he's a huge flirt.

Relaxing in Quincy

Since arriving to Quincy on Monday we've had a really nice trip. Time to run a few errands, get my hair cut and colored (I love how inexpensive it is here!) and plenty of time to relax. We're getting ready to pack up and head to Bloomington this afternoon and visit with Keith, Casse, Kylie, and the twins... we'll be staying with Kristy and Ben Funk in their new home... and also visiting with the Boyds on Saturday. Busy, busy! But I know the time will fly by way to quickly! Here are just a few pictures of what we've been up to...

Braden playing the driveway... doesn't he look like he's in a quarterback stance and ready to throw a hail mary? :) He's even got his facial expression right.

Watching Dad mow the lawn...

Braden wanted to see his dad, so he got a ride on the "tractor".

A hard day... Chad naps with Marley on the couch.

Becki's Bash...

Part of the reason I came home more than 2 weeks before Becki and Jeremy's wedding (August 9th) is because I wanted to attend the bachelorette party. Becki is marrying Jeremy Miller... and we ran with the theme - "It's Mrs. Miller Time". Cubs rooftop, private shower party (with a special class) and out to the bars after that. All in all a great time was had by all... being sober I can guarantee everyone had enough to drink! :) And the girls left standing at the very end even indulged me with a (very unnecessary) trip to La Bamba's to end the night.

The sign that was made and hung by us on the rooftop!

So far.. So Great!

Just a quick update to say that our visit to Illinois is going perfect! Braden and I arrived on Thursday evening and let me tell you that kid was a complete angel!!! I have to admit I was a bit nervous about a 3 hour trip to Seattle and 4 1/2 hour flight to Chicago with a toddler on my own, but he was awesome... thank goodness for the portable DVD player and Dora and Diego. Right now we are in Quincy with Chad's mom and it has been very relaxing! I'll hopefully post some pictures and stories tonight.

So long Canada...(part 2)

Yes, I've finally decided to post. There isn't a real reason why...but I just felt like I should get the first one out of the way. Sorry there isn't a pic but I haven't really decided if I'm going to search around on how to make that happen yet.

It is also 10 PM PST and I'm heading to Seattle tomorrow to see Foxy. Yes, Monica has taken the family ahead of me because I spent the week in Edmonton. Unlike Monica...I have a bottle of wine open, I'm watching a movie (I know what you did last summer), and I haven't started packing yet. Flying on a weekly basis has made me a little cocky in my ability to pack at the last minute. I guess we will find out if packing for a few days is different than a couple of weeks. With family and friends nearby...a washing machine can't be that far away.

Last week was my first trip back to the states (Lake Minnetoka, MN) since we left in March... Now I'm making two trips within a week. As Ben Newell would say, "Nothing makes you appreciate home like living abroad." Don't get me wrong, I really love it here. There are just those little things that make you miss the good ole US of A. I'm sure one of those long rants will follow shortly.

Well, I better get to packing before I officially start hitting the sause and I end up missing my tee time with Fox.

Ramsey
"Head of Household"

Ok...maybe not!

So long Canada... Hello Illinois!

It's 10pm and I'm just finishing up packing for our 2 1/2 week trip back to Illinois. I have this nagging feeling I'm forgetting things, but we'll just have to do and figure it out when we get there, right?

I may have access to post while I'm gone... but I may not. We have such a busy, busy schedule trying to get around and see people while we're home, so even if I have access to post I'm not sure I'll have time. Rest assured, I'll either post while we're on the road or when we get back, but you'll get a full report. I've finally deleted some old pictures I was hanging onto so I have plenty of room to capture all our special moments visiting family and friends.

Wish me luck tomorrow... with a 4:30am departure, a drive to Seattle and a 4 1/2 hour flight with a toddler all by myself . It's going to be a looooonnnnngggg day!

Signing off for now...

See you Illinois folks SOON!

Ok... I'm the one that's jumpy

Last time I took Braden to Maplewood Farm I used the logical excuse that I couldn't take him into the petting parts because I had a stoller, a bag and a toddler on the loose, I just didn't feel like I had enough hands to keep things smooth. My plan was to wait for Chad to join us next time when one of us (me) could sit back with our things while the other (Chad) took him in to pet the Goats and Bunnies and get up close to other animals.
Well.... seeing that it's already the end of July and looking for a fun activity for Braden while Chad was out of town last weekend I took him back to the Farm. I thought this time, he's better about being out of the stroller now so we won't even bring that in with us, and the car is close enough when we need a diaper change we'll go out there. So armed with juice, a camera, and a hat for him we were off, and it turns out...

That maybe the stroller and bags last time were a safety net for me. This time I had to take him to the Goat Hill and into the Bunnies' place, and it turns out I was pretty jumpy. Unexpected movements towards me made me a little anxious, unexpected movements towards Braden made me a lot anxious. But I dug deep and did my best to play it off (afterall... can't have our boy afraid of tiny bunny rabbits!). I was a little surprised I was so uneasy... I mean the animals there are nice, they are around children all the time. Why was I such a chicken? (Speaking of chickens, they let them lose and they are everywhere... round a corner and one could be staring you down... creeped me out on a few occasions.) I'm embarassed I wasn't more grown up about it and I'm sure other people noticed, but hopefully Braden didn't.

With all that said... he had fun. He LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the bunnies. He was SO excited to be in there with them and wanted to pet each one of them. He also liked the horses, the pony and even the scary turkey (have you ever seen a very, very large turkey - they are not nice). He was also a fan of the Donkey - and I have a little video clip you can check out. It's not very long and sometimes you have to hit play twice.

Look at all of these bunnies!!! Can I pet them, please???

Cravings...

I'm obviously very, very excited to see friends and family at the end of this week when I touch down in Illinois... but want to know what else I am excited about... NOT COOKING FOR 2 1/2 WEEKS! I mean - I'm sure I'll eat homecooked meals with in Homewood and Quincy... but I'll also be having some of my favorites!!! Keep in mind it's because 1) we live far from delivery or take out 2) some of these places do not exist in Canada




Aurelios - best thin crust pizza ever, Homewood is the original location. I cannot wait. I was supposed to get it on Tuesday, August 5th - but I'm not sure I can wait - we may have to get it this Friday. I'll take a large cheese - baked in the old oven please.



Panera Bread - even though I'm mad they got rid of the Asiago Roll that used to be home to my favorite Sierra Turkey sandwich - I'll forgive them because they still have great soup and the Asiago Bagel (I hope!?!)





Uncle Julio's Hacienda - Without question the best fajitas in the world... seriously, I am not kidding, anyone I have ever taken as agreed. If you're from Chicago and you haven't been there... YOU MUST! And if you're visiting Chicago and looking for great food... GO HERE! Not to mention their FANTASTIC sangria-margarita swirls... now I'm really sad I'm missing those this time around. Girls get ready - 8/6




Chipotle - I know they are everywhere in the US - but we haven't found them here and I am really excited to have a steak burrito. Drooling just thinking about it.





Great American Bagel - Maybe it's because I'm pregnant - or maybe just because I'm far from home and this place reminds me so much of my high school days when at least three times a week I'd eat a plain bagel toasted with chive cream cheese.

Maybe I should consider the fact I'm going to scare my doctor with such a rapid weight gain from overeating while I'm gone... but isn't that what you're supposed to do when you're a visitor in the Windy City???

Ciao Bella!!!

It seems with all that's been going on the last few weeks (which when I look back on it doesn't seem like much, but I'm not sure where the time has gone) I had failed to complete posting on the girls trip to Vancouver last month! We left off on that Sunday we went to Whistler and Shannon Falls... only one more post to go, the last day there were here.

We started off by taking it easy that morning and didn't leave the house until about noon. We went to Granville Island to eat at The Sandbar and take in some sights and enjoy nice weather (the weather had kind of been chilly all week they were here until the very last day and it's been picture perfect ever since!). We were just in a low key mode and took our time until we had to pick up the rental car they would be driving back to Seattle the next morning (which kind of became a bit of a debacle, but it only wasted an hour or so of time). We checked into our hotel... since it was a Monday and the place wasn't booked solid we got a free upgrade to a two room suite. The hotel was nice enough, it wasn't the fanciest place in town, but the location was great and we walked to dinner. Since I had never really been out to socialize in downtown Vancouver I was a bit nervous how it would all go down... but it was truly perfect. The tiny Italian resturant was the perfect atmosphere for talking and the food was excellent. We all agreed that Ciao Bella was just the place to have our final dinner together. Which after some internet investigation I found out means, "Good-bye Beautiful" - how fitting! I was saying goodbye to my beautiful friends! After dinner, we stopped at a pub for another drink or two (well... I had actually found out that morning I was pregnant so I passed on the wine that looked fabulous at dinner and the beers that followed). The company in the bar was a little creepy so we didn't stay that long. We were home before midnight - which is what we needed to do since the girls had to get up so early to drive back to Seattle so Ali could catch her 9:30 flight. I've said it before... and I'll say it one final time... it was SO great to have them all here. It meant so much to me. I will never forget it!

In front of our house in Furry Creek, getting ready to leave the place for good.

Relaxing outside at Granville Island on one of the piers.

Lisa, Katie, Staci and Ali at Granville Island

Monica and Katie baby bump to baby bump - although at 5 weeks and 11 weeks respectively there isn't too much to look at... yet!

The PG girls take in some water and pretend to enjoy it as they look across the table longingly at the bottle (or was it two) that the other three ladies put down!

Oh Ciao Bella... we enjoyed you so much!

At the bar after dinner... it was the guy we asked to take the picture that got all creepy so we left after this.

So sad... it's Tuesday morning and Katie, Lisa, Staci and Ali are leaving to go back to Illinois! At least I know now when I write this I'll see you all on SATURDAY! Yay!

Oh Baby!

Chad and I are happy to officially announce we're expecting Baby #2! Ultrasound today confirmed the good news along with a heartbeat. 9 weeks along... (for you boys that are annoyed by pregnancy "weeks" that's just over 2 months - or you could just do the math - Chad complains about pregnancy "weeks" all the time). Anyway... opinions differ between the doctor (2/27), the ultrasound tech (2/23), and the online due date calculator (2/26)... so sometime the last week of February.

I've been trying to tell Braden there is a baby in my belly by pointing to it... he just takes that as an invitation to try and jump all over me. He'll get the idea by March! :)

We're very excited, it suddenly seems a bit more real now. I'm sure I'll post more in detail as the months progress! Wish us luck on our next baby that will be born with American/Canadian dual citizenship!

Perspective...

I came across this on the Internet... written by a stay-at-home parent comparing it to Corporate America. You see it has it pros and cons! :) I have to keep reminding myself to be grateful even when the days seem long, I'm very lucky to be able to spend this time with Braden... the time flies by. Really... it does, I can't believe he'll be 2 in December.

I may get peed and pood on but... I doubt any of them will sue me
They may not do as I ask but... Just try putting an employee in the corner for time out
They may get cranky and scream but... Your job doesn't get better if your employees take a nap
They may cry and hit but... You can't make employees happy by turning on Sesame Street.
That being said there are no days off, no company outings, no expense account, my company car is a minivan, and no paid vacations.

Daddio...

Today we had Braden's first sort of multi word phrase. He's been saying, "Ball, please", Juice, please", "Mommy, go?" and two word things like that... but today he tried to really tell me something instead of implying a question or request.
Chad is on a mini-vaca in Minnesota at a bachelor party. Braden keeps asking "Daddy?", the usual answer is "Daddy's at work", so I stuck to the story. So today he looks at me at says... "Daddy at work". But it really sounded more like "Daddio work". But I'm giving him an A for effort.

Man oh man...

Today I have quite a loud kid that is starting to the last of his back molars... I traded "Wine" for "Whine"... holy cow!

And as I had just typed that out... I stopped and went over to him. He just wasn't being himself and I just knew something else was wrong... and I discovered that his on his third tow the entire toenail is hanging off!!!!! He gave me no indication of pain on his foot or toe, and there was no blood or bruise so it's not like he banged into anything? It's an unexplained mystery. So with a bandage, some ibuprofen to take the edge off and a full belly the boy can take a nice nap while I look up on the internet how to prevent an infection because that toe nail isn't making through the day before it's off completely.
And I know... I need to be tougher than this because he's a boy and he's going to have a lot more severe bumps, bruises, scrapes, broken bones, cuts...

They must share a closet...

I came across this picture yesterday... obviously Joey Lawrence only had access to his wife's closet... including shoes and maybe the overload of bling-bling. But hey...his chest looks better in that shirt than mine would so maybe he's thinking "if you got it, flaunt it"... personally the whole ensemble doesn't do it for me... what do you think?

Lack of posts???

Just touching base... I haven't posted much about what we have been doing here... because we haven't really done all that much this past week. Over the weekend it rained all day on Saturday (I think) and Sunday we just chilled out, we did take Braden to the pool, but that was the highlight. This weekend there is another neighborhood BBQ Saturday and probably do something else on Sunday. It's just been one of those slow weeks, not that Chad or I are really complaining, somehow we're both exhausted!
Oh... something exciting is that our trip to back to Illinois is finally booked! So now the planning for how to get everywhere we need to be has begun!

Shannon Falls

More on my friend's trip to Vancouver... it's hard to believe it's been two weeks already, it's gone by quite fast, but slow all at the same time. Picking up where I left off....

On our way back from Whistler we stopped at Shannon Falls (you may recall I've mentioned it before, it's only 15 minutes from where we live). It was a nice stop, we took some goofy pictures, and it was really nice there... the sounds of of the water are so peaceful. Since we ate so late at Whistler we didn't really make dinner... we just munched of leftovers from the night before (the Fajita Fiesta - which I had forgotten to mention - I made way too much food... and since Chad doesn't really dig regular cake I attempted a homemade ice cream cake... which would have been ok, but it didn't really freeze completely again by the time we ate it, so as Staci said, "it tastes like a blizzard".) Ali konked out early from the anti-nauseous medicine she took for the rough ride through the mountains, Katie, our PG friend, was a trooper and made it up until about 1:00... and somehow Staci, Lisa and stayed up like we were at a slumber party until almost 3:30am!

Ali propped herself up between two large trees... isn't she a cutie?

Sassy Lisa... the tree hugger

Very embarassing picture... I wasn't going to post it, but if I was putting up silly pictures of the other girls, it was only fair I put up my own.

Ali on top of the Tri Delta pyramid... Katie and Staci on bottom - really we're grown ups, I swear.

Back home and we remembered we needed to take a picture with Braden, he was in his PJs and ready for bed, but he cooperated for us. I've mentioned that he LOVED these girls, right? I mean IN LOVE - he's still saying their names.

Late night... we were supposed to make cookies - but Lisa and Katie got to the cookie dough first so we only made half! :) Good work girls!

Whistler

In the middle of Whistler Village - it's so cute there!

I'm back to posting a bit more about my friends trip and picking up where I left off... that Sunday morning Chad and Paul got up EARLY to squeeze in a round of golf before we left for Whistler since they were on Braden duty that afternoon. From the sounds of it those two will never tire of this scenic golf course.
Once we brought Braden to them to have lunch there we took off and scrambled to Whistler to get a ride up the mountain. When I was originally doing my research I thought the Gondola rides (fitting 10 people each) would be our ride of choice - however it's still under construction. The Wizard Express at the Blackcomb Mountain took us up 2/3 of the mountain and while the weather below was sunny and warm... it was VERY cold as we went up... they had even warned us of hail up there (which thankfully we avoided!). At first I was sad that we wouldn't be taking the Gondola - but the Wizard Express (i.e. chair lift) suited us just fine... and for only $20! The ride was about 45 minutes up... and 45 minutes back. On the way we saw a Bear and Staci and Ali caught a glimpse of some other creature we never identified. All in all a big hit!
After that we finally got to get our very delayed lunch - but by then it was about 4:00 - so it turned into an early dinner. We ate in the middle of the square at Whistler Village, it was outdoors and gave us a good chance to people watch.

We didn't have time for a sit down lunch before so we stopped at a bakery and got something to hold us over... in Whistler Village

Ali and Staci on the Wizard Express

Scenic picture of all of us 2/3 up the mountain... BRRR!

Another scenic shot from the top... my pictures don't do it justice - it was really beautiful!

Katie, Ali and Lisa enjoying our late lunch/early dinner

Staci and I at the outdoor restaurant

Sweet Home Chicago... Happy 4th!

It hasn't happened often since we've moved to Canada... I have a lot to be grateful for here. Chad is advancing in his career, I get to stay home with our little man, we live in a nice home and the scenery here is amazing. Keeping all those things in mind as made this transition much easier. But today... for some reason I'm actually feeling a bit homesick. Maybe because thinking of the 4th of July reminds me of Chicago's fabulous summers... and maybe it's because I got a tease of what it's like to have my girlfriends around again and now that their trip as come and gone I don't have anything to plan for. Now... don't get worried about me. I don't get this sappy about it that often, but today was one of those days. I hope all our friends in the States enjoy great weather... tasty BBQs and good beer! Be safe and Go Cubs!

Beep... Beep... Outta the Way!

I managed to get one of those "fun" carts at the grocery store yesterday. Braden LOVED it, he really believed he was driving... he kept saying some variation of "Hi! Beep-Beep! Va-room!". People at the store were very amused by him. I'm a total cheeseball that usually has my camera all the time and yes... I took pictures of my son at the grocery store.

This past weekend... it was HOT!

Temperatures in our area of British Columbia hit the 30s this past weekend (that's the 90s). It was hot... but also very nice that the so-so weather we've been having seems to allowed summer to finally arrive. We kept busy on Saturday and Sunday (even though Chad would have preferred to have relaxed at the house after yard work instead... he sucked it up and joined us). Saturday we went to the park in Squamish - Chad was smart and brought along some balls for Braden to chase and that kid wore himself out! Sunday we went to Whistler to the bottom of Blackcomb Mountain where the week before when I went with the girls I saw lots of kids, horses and an outdoor market. Well... there wasn't all that much for Braden to do (even though the place was crawling with kids of all ages)... he's still too young to get in the batting cages, go on a horse back riding tour, etc - but live and learn, it was still nice to get out of the house and do something.

Chad and I had a debate about Braden's clothes. It's rare that Chad cares what he's wearing. He did not think it was cool for Braden to wear a tank top... I understand his point... but with such super hot weather that day I didn't really care. Maybe it's not the fashion statement of the year... but it was a practical choice an if it's that hot again and we're just going to the park - he'll wear a tank top again.

Chad and Braden at the bottom of Blackcomb Mountain

Outside the horse stables, he was a little nervous, scared and fascinated all at the same time.

Just a picture to show off the market - it was really cute and tons of people.