So, since we got close to $4500 back in income tax and Doug had a week off school, we decided to visit his brother and the wifey in St.Catherines....Ontario...when the man first approached me on this issue, I was not having it...think about it....long car ride, 2 kids under the age of two, 2 kids still in diapers...HELL NO-I was not even going to entertain the idea, so I suggested he go with Hallie..so then he came back with a counteroffer, we take his mom....well.....ok...with Linda and tons of dvds for the kiddies, the drive might not be so bad... but then what if we break down, what if there is a major snow storm....all that was popping into my head was "what if"...
So at 3am on Thursday March 11...we were off...getting the little punks up and ready that early was no picnic..I wanted to leave early to use the sleeping time for the kids, since they would not wake again until about 8 am...we would already be driving 4 hours and when they awoke it would be just in time to stop for breakfast...
Leah, about a 4 hours into the drive....
Bless her, she did really well...better than I expected
We went with the intention of stopping for the night at about 7 pm...somewhere west of Montreal...when travelling with children, what you hope for and what actually happens is completely different...we hit Montreal at about 7 pm...for some reason when we enter Montreal our GPS decides to go bonkers..I'm thinking from driving in the tunnel...anyhoo, at this point the kids are also going bonkers and I'm just about at that point also..I did not want to be lost in Montreal at night...so we try to find a hotel...FAIL...Doug just wants to get out of the city..so we just decide to keep going and find a hotel when we cross over into Ontario with ENGLISH PEOPLE...in the meantime, I am on the phone with my mother to try and find us a hotel in Cornwall, its like the 1st town close to the Quebec border..she calls me back..."I found you a nice place..take exit..blah, blah..." we follow her directions, she leads us to "the nice place" that looks like a drug den...another hotel FAIL! We drive a few more minutes and finally come to a Best Western...Yea!
My little family at the Best Western..
Cue Sleep....
Leah fell out of the bed sometime around 3am...the sleeping plan was to have Hallie, Leah and Linda in one bed and Doug, James and I in another...but Leah would not fall asleep in the bed with Linda, so we put her in the middle of our bed, with the intention of moving her when she was asleep...I woke Doug up at about 2am and told him to move Leah, he thought I meant move her to the outside of the bed, he put her close to the edge and off she went..
A pic of James, as we were leaving the hotel...he is like "how many more hours in the car seat?"
The weather... heavy rain...of course...no biggie..the drive to Daryl and Jenn's house was about 5 hours from the hotel...I was already getting stressed thinking about the 401 and driving through Toronto...Doug gets road rage very easily...
We survive the 401 and arrive in St.Catherine's about 3 pm...finally...one drive over with..I'm sure the kids were wanting to burn their car seats...
I'm not going to bore you by going over every single thing we did...we spent 3 full days at his brothers...we went shopping, we ate at The Mandarin, where Leah had some sort of allergic reaction and her face broke out in welts..Doug, Daryl, Hallie and I went to New York state to do some shopping...we were at the mall in Buffalo and Hallie found one of her childhood loves...
The Noo Noo from the teletubbies...I bet Leah was pissed she missed him...
I also picked up my Coach wallet, and got nailed for the duty at the Canadian border -damn you customs people*shakes fist in the air* We also got to see Niagara Falls from a distance, as Doug got lost trying to find a place for me to pee...
A few more random pics of the trip....
Aunt Jenn with Leah and James
Aunt Jenn again with James..this was the 1st time she has seen James..
A short video of James..
The days flew by and on early Tuesday morning, the 16th...we were packing up again...
this time to head home...
"Please parent people....no more car seat"
We were not in a hurry to get back, so it was a less stressful drive..we planned to stop for the night in Riviere Du Loup in Quebec, about a hour drive to New Brunswick from there...
Hallie catching up on some sleep....
A short video of James..
The days flew by and on early Tuesday morning, the 16th...we were packing up again...
this time to head home...
Cue the James face....
"Please parent people....no more car seat"
We were not in a hurry to get back, so it was a less stressful drive..we planned to stop for the night in Riviere Du Loup in Quebec, about a hour drive to New Brunswick from there...
A pic of the 401 through Toronto at 4:30 am...I can't believe the traffic..
Hallie catching up on some sleep....
When one is in Quebec...one must have Poutine...
One final video of the kids, this was at the hotel Tuesday night...
One final video of the kids, this was at the hotel Tuesday night...
Obviously, I took more pics and videos...but I am just posting some of the more candid ones...
I thought I had one of Daryl with the kids, but I don't...
In short, it was a nice break from the routine here, and if not for Linda; it would not have been as relaxing and would have been twice the work, I was ever so appreciative that she tagged along...
I thought I had one of Daryl with the kids, but I don't...
In short, it was a nice break from the routine here, and if not for Linda; it would not have been as relaxing and would have been twice the work, I was ever so appreciative that she tagged along...
I will send off the photos we took while you were here so you will have some of the munchkins with their Uncle Darryl. Even though there were some points of the trip that you wish not to repeat we are soooo happy that you came. We loved seeing you all and meeting our nephew for the first time...hope he remembers us in about 4.5 months when we visit you. Hugs to all of you.
ReplyDeleteJenn