Wednesday March 23 - Thursday March 24

We had big plans on this day.  Drew was going to school, I was going to volunteer there for the morning, was going to come home, pack, then we were picking Drew up from school and heading to Niagara to spend the night in a hotel and have some fun.

Our plans were changed slightly by the weather.  I got a phone call at 6:30 am from my mother telling me not to bother getting Drew up that it was a snow day....the buses had been cancelled.

Hmmmm....if the buses are cancelled, maybe we should not drive to Niagara falls....

My husband, not ever being one to shy away from a vacation, begged to differ.  The roads aren't that bad, we'll be fine.  And he was off to feed the cows so we could get out the door even earlier than expected thanks to the cancelled school.

We left at 10:30 am, stopped at bulk barn and the superstore and headed to the QEW.  The drive was terrible.  I was tense the entire time.  Every few minutes, we'd see a car in the ditch.  We took it very slow, the boys were content watching DVD's and eating the snacks from bulk barn, so it wasn't terrible being locked in a van for hours.  We got to St. Catharine's at around 1 and decided to stop for lunch.  Hit the McDonald's there, where we found an awesome play place and spent a little time playing and eating.  Our fun was ruined by another crazy boy who kicked a ball and knocked out a light....oh well, it was time we headed out anyways.

Once back on the roads, it took us another hour and a half to get to the falls.

We are nuts.

Once there, we pulled into the casino parking lot.  We had my dads player card, so we were entitled to free parking.  Following instructions from my father, we parked on the 5th level, which gave us direct access to the covered bridge from the hotels to the casino, allowing us direct access to the Four points Sheraton Fallsview, which was where we were staying.

Yes, we are the crazies, bringing everything but the kitchen sink for a one night stay...don't mind us!

Our room was great.  James surprised us and booked a 2-bedroom suite.  Drew was thrilled to have a room for just him and Hunter.  I was thrilled to be able to watch a movie once the littles went to bed.

Honestly, how cute is this??

Our room

The view.  If it weren't for the casino, would probably be pretty great.

The bed in the boys room.

Hunter's cute little crib.

We settled in, unpacked and went straight to the pool.  It was a little cool, but the boys had a blast.  By the end, Hunter's lips were blue so we decided to break for the evening and get ready for dinner.

We were surprised by a visitor before dinner.  Uncle Ryan popped by for a quick visit while on his way to visit a really sick friend in the hospital.  We were thrilled to see him, and had a great time catching up with him.  Drew was so excited to show Uncle Ryan his trains.....so cute.

We love you, Uncle Ryan!!

We walked Uncle Ryan to the door and headed to East Side Mario's for dinner, which was right inside the hotel.  As part of our package, we were given a gift certificate to eat there.  It was fun, as it always is there, but was much more expensive than a normal East Side Mario's...hate when restaurants do that.  Oh well, we were on "vacation".

After dinner, James took Drew swimming and Hunter and I went for a little walk around the hotel and then I put him to bed.

Drew wasn't long falling asleep once he got back from the pool and then James and I settled in with some wine to watch "Letters to Juliet"(he was thrilled).  We didn't make it through the whole movie, as we were both exhausted.

First thing in the morning, we headed down to the pool....swam for quite a long time and then quickly realized our mistake.  We had 2 cranky boys on our hands, we had to get their blood sugar up quick!  Not about to pay 10$ for a bowl of cereal at the hotel (I am not exaggerating, a bowl of rice krispies was 9.99$), we headed to McDonald's for pancakes and a play in the play place.

which way to the pool??

My two very handsome boys.

Once we got back to the hotel, Hunter was asleep, so James took Drew up the Skylon tower and Hunter and I headed back to the room.  He slept while I packed up.  Thankfully, we had managed to get a late check-out of 2pm.  

Drew at the top of the Skylon tower.

The boys came back, and H was still sleeping.  Drew was so excited to tell me all about his adventures to the top of the "really tall tower".  James left to have a drink with his friend Dan (he used to work with him at the Rainbow bridge, they went to Rigaud together).  I was only a little upset.  I was actually really looking forward to seeing him, as it had been so long.  Ah well, the boys and I had fun back in the room.  We played and watched a bit of Mickey Mouse clubhouse.  James arrived back at a few minutes to 2, requiring us to frantically get all of our stuff out of the room.

James took the stuff to the van, and I took the boys to the pool.  One last swim.  We had a great time, and Drew was quite upset when we told him we had to leave.  We walked over to the casino, where I wanted to play a few slots.  I had visions of "winning big".  My dreams were quickly dashed, when I lost my allotted 20$ in a mere 5 minutes.  Oh well, c'est la vie.

We had a late lunch/early dinner at a burger joint within the casino.  It was surpisingly reasonably priced, and made really good food.

After our meal, we went to check out the hotel that was next door.  We are planning on staying there the next time we go, as there is a water slide.

We caught a shuttle bus and headed to Dave and Busters.  Another part of our package included 40$ to spend here.  It took us a little over an hour to spend it, and we had a great time doing it.  The boys earned a ball and a "Toy story" match box car with their jackpots.

The bus ride there and back was awesome.  It took us along the road beside the falls.  We had some great views, Drew saw the boat that is stuck at the top of the falls (we had read the story about this in the hotel, so he was very interested).

View from the bus.  The falls are so pretty in the winter.

Jackpot!

This was Hunter's jackpot...500 tickets!!  Woohoo!!!

Once back at the hotel, we headed to McDonald's for one last play in the play place and for some ice cream.  We wanted to time our drive home so that we were driving around their bedtime.  On our way to McDonald's, we drove past the sleazy motel I worked at after university, the sunset inn.  Ah, the memories...lol

Our drive home was great.  We had such a good time.  I'm actually surprised at what a good time we had.  Who knew taking kids on a vacation to the casino could be so fun?!?!?  Maybe Vegas should be on our list of places to visit with them???  LOL  

The boys were awesome throughout the trip, and Drew was begging to go back again very soon.  "The next time though, mommy, Nana and Papa have to come with us".  Sigh.

Tuesday March 22, 2011

James' first day off, and we were going to cram as much fun into it as possible.

We did some shopping at Walmart and Costco, headed to square one where old navy and the dollar store were visited (along with some other stores).  McDonald's for lunch and then we headed to Jellybeanz indoor play play place in Brampton.

We had bought admission into this place (and a build-a-bear while there) through wag-jag.  We got a great deal, and were pretty excited to spend the afternoon there.

This place was probably really great when they first opened it, but not so great now.  There were broken toys, and lots of dirt to be found here.

To be fair, the boys had a great time.  There were a couple of slides, and Thomas the train was found all over this place.  Drew enjoyed the build-a-bear activity.  He actually chose a horse and called him helicopter "because he can fly".  Hunter wanted nothing to do with it, so Drew chose a fox for him and named him Airplane.

The owner (or maybe just an employee, hard to know) was there (obviously) as were her two children.  Her daughter, who looked to be about 2 was not in the best of moods and was screaming and begging for her mother's attention the entire time we were there.  When her mother was trying to help us with the build-a-bear, she was climbing on the table, trying to take the stuffing from Drew.  Afterwards, the mother put a movie on in a corner of the play place and instructed her daughter to stay there and go to sleep.  The daughter proceeded to scream (and I mean, scream) for the next hour.  The mother ignored her and was talking on the phone the entire time.

Normally, screaming children do not bother me.  I've got 2 of my own screaming monsters, and understand that sometimes they do that.  This time it really bothered me.  It bothered me because the little girl was simply screaming to get some attention.  Her mother didn't (couldn't) give her that attention because she was working.  I guess the lesson for today was that you shouldn't bring your children to work with you, even if you work at an indoor play place!

After the play place fiasco, we drove to Ikea (in Vaughn Mills).  Drew is back to his old self, and requested to go in the play land there (where parents are not allowed).  He played there for an hour, we bought his new bed, and then we had yummy meatballs for dinner.  Some more playing in the kids area of the store, and then we were on our way  home.  Both boys fell asleep in the van and were peacefully transferred to their beds.

Hunter cooking for me in Ikea.

A busy, but really fun day!

Thomas Live on Stage!!

The day was finally here.  We all awoke bright and early and began getting ready to head into Toronto for a morning filled with Thomas the Train fun.

We left at 9am and headed straight to the airport.  We dropped James' car there and then all drove to the Sony Centre together.  We found some 10$ parking a block away and hoofed it to the theatre.  We got there with about 20 minutes to spare...perfect timing.  Our seats were in the mezzanine.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but they were actually really good.  We could see the stage perfectly.  James got some popcorn and juice/pop for the show and some booster seats for the boys and we were set.

Thomas!!!  They are pointing at the entrance doors, where there was a poster for the show with Thomas on it.

Waiting for their popcorn and booster seats....so excited!

The show was really good...filled with songs.  The trains moved around, they were motorized in some way.  

Our tickets.

I was quite impressed with the show.  We had previously taken Drew to see a Thomas Live! show at Ontario place.  This show was free with admission, but was crap.  Thomas was made out of cardboard, and didn't come out of his "shed".  I was really, really hoping this show wasn't going to be like that, as it cost quite a bit more than "free".  It was WAY better.  The trains moved, the sets were great, the actors were engaging.  Both boys were enthralled the entire time.  When we bought the tickets, I was just originally going to take Drew.  We didn't think Hunter would sit through the entire show.  Am I ever glad we decided to take him.  He sat the entire time, his eyes bulging out and his mouth wide open....every once in a while he'd say, "muaa, muaa"...which is Hunter-speak for "Thomas".  Both boys were clapping along and doing the actions.  It was money well spent.  So fun!

After the show, we were going to go to Ikea, which is on the way back to the airport, for a meatball lunch.  Drew outvoted us, and McDonald's it was.  After a failed play place attempt at the first McDonald's we went to, we found one on Islington.  The play place was crap (just one small little slide) but the boys had a good time.

H sleeping through lunch.

Drew on the crap slide.

We almost had a crisis when we dropped James off at work.  We said our goodbyes and were driving away when I realized that the keys to his car were still in the van.  I pulled over, luckily I hadn't left the airport yet, and called him.  He came running out and all was well again.

Our afternoon was filled with play room fun, outside adventures and a visit from Nana and Papa who were on their way home from Niagara falls and missed their grandchildren (it had been 2 days after all!)

They came bearing gifts (chocolate covered marshmallows and spring jackets for the boys).  Thank you so much!

The boys have really been into "little people" lately.

Hunter chasing the cat.

Drew in his sandbox.....need to find a cover for it this spring.

Hunter is obsessed with T-ball.

Black mama came to say hello.

Matching spring jackets courtesy of Nana and Papa!

Bedtime was a bit of a nightmare.  After an hour and a half of trying to get H to go to bed, I finally brought him upstairs to help me read stories to Drew.  He was up most of the night....I think that I saw a new tooth poking through, so maybe that's why???  

If you don't count the lack of sleep, it was a perfect day!

Thursday/Friday

Our Thursday and Friday were not quite as exciting as the beginning of the week.  James went back to work and we scrambled for things to do.

We started Thursday off with a mini shamrock photo session, thanks to Aunt Laurie and her St Patrick's day paraphernalia she gave us.  I could not find any green for Drew to wear, so he's not quite in costume.

After some photos, we moved on to some play doh fun.  The boys have been really into play doh lately.

Nana came by on Thursday morning after her eye test and we headed to the Georgetown mall for what was supposed to be a craft session for children.  We arrived to find a ton of kids and not so many craft supplies. We ended up making a shamrock necklace and a kite, but were not able to make bracelets as they ran out of beads (great planning on their part!)

After making the shamrocks, we took a break for some ice cream in the food court....too many people at the other stations.

 Ice cream gave us some renewed energy to tackle the kite craft.....which, when we tested it out later on, did not fly.  Go figure.

After the mall fun, we headed up to Nana and Papa's for some outdoor fun and then some McDonald's dinner.

Friday found us doing much of the same thing.  We went and picked Nana up this time and then headed back to the Georgetown mall.  There was a snake display up and Drew was quite excited to see the snakes.  This was quickly ended when upon entering the room where they had the snakes, he saw a giant boa constrictor climbing all over the "snake lady".  I've had enough, let's go he says after spending about 2 seconds in the room.

Back to Nana's it was, where we played inside and outside.  Nana and Papa left at around 4pm for Niagara Falls, where they were spending the night.  We stayed there, I scrounged for some dinner in their freezer, bathed them and then came home around bedtime.  Sometimes it's easier to put them in the car when it's time for them to go to bed.

The boys drifted off to sleep and I watched a DVR'd episode of "Off the Map"....LOVE that show!!