Tuesday, August 7, 2012

What I Did on My Summer Vacation (part 1)

August 6, 2012

Last week we visited Quebec...specifically Montreal, Trois Rivieres, and Mont Tremblant.

It was a week packed with adventure.  Starting with the ride from the airport to the first hotel.  We got lost.  We figured it out and after a quick dinner and poor night's sleep...really can 4 people ever sleep well in one room?....we headed to Mont Tremblant.  This is a ski village about an hour northwest of Montreal.  My description of Tremblant is Ahhh.  We were in a two bedroom (much better) condo on a golf course about 10 minutes from the lake and village which are both full of activities.
The boys golfed twice.  Grace and I spent one long, relaxing day at "the beach & tennis" (sounds so fancy).  We did a LOT of activities the 4 days we were there.
We took the gondola up to the top of the mountain.
Doesn't the back ground look fake? It's not.




That's Lac Tremblant down there



 We went on a luge ride.  Grace was the slowest driver EVER!  I think Emmie could have walked down the hill faster than Grace got going.  

This is the ski lift to the top of the luge ride.  There is a special luge contraption attached to the seat.  It was pretty cool.
Possible Christmas Card photo op
 This is our view from the patio of our condo. It reminded me of being on Lopez Island.  We were right on the fairway of the 10th or 11th hole.  If only the boys had their own clubs instead of rentals, they would have been out there every evening.  Except it stayed light so late there were golfers playing until after 6 pm.


The inside view of our condo.  Lots of Olympic watching during our down time.  We can tell you all the Canadian medal winners.  The TV coverage tended to favor the Canadian athletes for obvious reasons.



The patio.  Tommy trying to avoid the mom paparazzi
We spent a lot of time at the wonderful Beach & Tennis Club.  It is just a few minutes from the Village (about 10 minutes from out condo).
That's the Village in the background.  You can see the ski trails

Beach & Tennis to the right and Village in far background.
 Grace & I paddle boarded one day, and then the whole family did it a second day.

 There was this big "iceberg" in the lake.  The kids loved climbing up and jumping in.







 We took a boat cruise around the lake one evening and just missed a rain storm that lasted all of 10 minutes.





Another Christmas card possibility.  

 The boys went golfing twice.  Of course they took NO photos.
 And the second day they golfed, Grace & I walked all around the Village. And ate...
This is Grace's main food source this trip...fish & chips. HUGE fish & chips. 



 And ate...this is a "Beaver Tail" which is basically a huge churro (for us Arizonans).

 And went around the pond on a paddle boat...


 Day two at Beach & Tennis and paddle boarding again.  This is my new favorite hobby.  Now I just need to move to a lake.


Last day at the Village.
Tommy in a gondola...included only because he is so darn handsome and I had to brag.

 Rock climbing (Grace)


 Mugging for photos.




 We did the Adventure Course...and what an adventure it was!  It is a ropes and zip line course.  It took over 2 hours.  We were so high up in those trees it was terrifying to look down at times.  But a lot of fun and a good work out!









That's me looking up at Tommy











Our last evening at the Lake....
Coming up...Trois Rivieres and Montreal.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Happiest Place On Earth

July 30, 2012

Another of my favorite places is Disneyland.  I LOVE that place.  
We took Tommy when he was 3.  


 Tommy and & went with some friends for a day trip when were in California in 2002.
 I took Grace when she was 3...since Tommy got to go at 3, it was only fair.  Plus, I will use any excuse to go to Disneyland.

 I even made the entire family go for my 40th birthday.  None of my picutres are on this computer though, so I can't share.
My friend, Nikki, and I took our girls for Grace & Alex's 10th birthday in 2010.












I adore Disneyland! 
I am hoping someone takes me to DisneyWORLD for my 45th birthday.  Although a trip to good old Disneyland would be great too.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

While You Were Away


July 29, 2012

We are off to Montreal for a week.  Yipee!  
So I am filling in posts with some of our past vacations.  I will start with Portland, OR.  One of my favorite places on Earth...because one of my favorite people on Earth lives there.  
Here is the first trip we took as a family (pre-Grace) in the summer of 1998.







 Then the whole family went back in 2005 and we took a day trip to Mount St. Helens.

We came to Portland on the Amtrak from Seattle/Lopez Island.  We had a fun time traveling by train.






 This trip was me and the kids. In the summer of 2008.


At Powells Book Store...the best book store ever!





Although I went back about a year and a half, I think it's time to visit Portland again.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Back to School...sort of

July 21, 2012


Yesterday Grace and I worked at the Back To School Clothing Drive from 7:30-1:30.  It was an amazing, fun, and exhausting experience.  The organziation provides school clothes (including socks, undies & a belt), books, a pair of shoes, and a back pack stuffed with school supplies to literally thousands of low-income students.  Grace and I worked as personal shoppers.  We were paired up with one or more students and we walked them through the shopping "departments."  I shopped with 6 and Grace shopped with 12!!  Siblings were grouped together, so some times we had more than 1 student.  This all took place in the arena of a local private college.  It was a crazy how much stuff they had.
Grace wanted to shop all day long, but I was wiped out by 1:30.
An interesting note: all the schools from my elementary school district were there...including my alma mater, Cordova.  Afterwards, Grace & took a little drive by my former school and house.  Yikes! sums up my reaction pretty well.  What a difference 30 years makes.
Those seats in the arena are COVERED in backpacks.  About 9,000, all full of school supplies.


Here is a view of the departments on the floor of the arena.  

Grace with one of her little student shoppers.

Grace with her family of four students.  

Another view of the departments.