When I was young, single and childless I would escape to the cottage frequently stopping along the way to pick up a rental kayak for the weekend. To get my money’s worth I would go for a couple of paddles a day. It has been at least 6 years since I have kayaked. Life got busy with kids, marriage, work, school and a brain tumour. So when a friend suggested that we get a group of people together and go on a kayak tour I was in. I even managed to talk my husband into trying it out, as he had never kayaked before. He has a good sense of adventure and is usually up for trying new things with the exception of sharing a kayak with me.
Travel
Color Vibe
We caught the Vibe this past weekend when my 7-year-old and I participated in a Color Vibe 5K run. Color Vibe or for those of us that are Canadian Colour Vibe is a 5K run with a splash of colour. We started the day by throwing handfuls of coloured powder at each other which was a fun experience to share with my son. At the start line you run through a cloud of coloured powder that is blasted at you by a leaf blower, we wore bandanas over our mouths and sunglasses to keep the power out of our eyes. The start line was the only place that we really needed the bandanas, but only because we were on the outside edges. If you were in the middle of the pack, then it probably wasn’t necessary at all.
Dîner en Blanc
Recently I attended Dîner en Blanc in Victoria BC. I didn’t know what Dîner en Blanc was until a friend was looking for a date for the event. I will go on the assumption that many of you don’t know what it is either. Dîner en Blanc is a chic picnic in a public space where all of the attendees wear white. Thousands of people with tables, chairs and white picnic baskets converge on a secret location to wine, dine and dance. The concept began almost 30 years ago in Paris and it has now expanded to five continents so there maybe an event close to you.
Fireworks
Did you go out this year to watch Canada Day, or Independence Day fireworks? What city were you in? I am not sure but I don’t think that I have ever been to the Canada Day fireworks in Victoria, my excuse is young children. Almost the entire time we have lived in Victoria we either had a newborn or a toddler to take care of, and nightfall was way past their bedtime. Never mind the noise which is frightening to me as an adult. This year with a seven and not quite four-year-old we were able to enjoy the fireworks together as a family. Continue reading
The Dali Museum: St. Petersburg
When I turned 16 many many moons ago I did not ask for a party instead I asked to go to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). My dad took the day off work (which never happened) and my mom arranged for my three siblings to be escorted to and from school. My boyfriend at the time came along and the four of us headed to Toronto for the day.
This was my first trip to an art gallery, or at least the first one that I remember. Years later, I became a student at the Ontario College of Art and Design. OCAD is in the backyard of the AGO, and my student card served as entrance to the AGO thus I was in frequent attendance. Continue reading
I just want snow
I know that I have readers all over the world, and for those of you still digging yourselves out of the snow you might be surprised that my son asked for snow for his birthday. It has been 2 years since he has been able to play in the snow. I have fond memories of playing in the snow when I was a kid, and so I do understand his request. When asked if he wanted to go skiing or have a birthday party he opted to go skiing, which really impressed upon me how important this was to him.
So we rented a ski condo from a friend, packed up our (newly purchased/borrowed/knitted) snow gear and set out for the mountain. In an effort to make the most of our weekend I booked lessons for the kids and my husband who had never skied or snowboarded before.
I learned to ski when I was a kid and skied through highschool as part of the ski club but it has been 16 years at best guess since I have skied. To be truthful I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t remember how, or that I wouldn’t be much good. That whole brain tumour, metal plate in my head thing has made be overly cautious. I was also nervous about the movement and potentially getting dizzy. I am 100% OK when I am walking but I have had some movement issues post surgery. But I am so happy to report that I skied (wearing a helmet) for two days. My body was sore but my heart was full. I am happy to have been able to do something that I really enjoy.
The birthday boy unfortunately had a different experience. Five minutes into his ski lesson my husband took the call to pick my son up because he had been sick. They both missed their lessons, and the birthday boy spent the next two days in bed with the flu. I felt awful for him. He did get on skies briefly, threw some snowballs and went for a sled ride but he missed out.
My youngest however has proven to be a true snow bunny. My husband was able to reschedule his snowboarding lesson and would do it again, and I conquered a small fear, so all in all the trip was a success. We will be back at it next year, hopefully earlier in the season!
In true Making a Life fashion I knit the kids matching multi-colour hats and for myself a white/orange winter hats for the occasion.
Hiatus
Every once in a while it’s important to take a break. A break from things you love (like writing this blog) and things that you don’t. Recently I went on vacation and took a break from many things including parenting. My husband and I went away for a few days together because it’s important for our marriage. I love my kids but I love my husband too, and sometimes we need to be together without the kids. Thankfully my parents are happy to step in and have let us escape more than once.
We contemplated going on a cruise but I have in the past struggled with motion, and given that my brain is still healing we opted for a land based adventure. I may have been fine on a cruise but when someone was meddling around in the part of my brain that controls balance I am going to air on the side of caution for the next 6 months or so.
Our land based adventure involved a fair amount of driving, which for me means a fair amount of knitting. I knit a pair of socks while we were cruising around south Florida. We went to the Florida Keys and Miami. We had a few very relaxing kid free days with lots of time to chat (if you know my husband you understand the humour). Anyway it gave us time to reconnect which is critical to the success of our marriage.
We started just south of Tampa and drove to Homestead where we stayed in a dive (which was a bit of an accident), but we survived the night. We also took the opportunity to hit up Red Lobster. It has been years since I have been to Red Lobster (we don’t have one where we live), and those cheese buns are fantastic.
In the AM we made a quick escape to the Keys and drove all the way to Key West where we spent the day, and evening. We didn’t stay in Key West because it’s pricey, instead we opted to stay in Marathon (another of the keys). In the morning after a trip to IHOP (how can you resist) we drove to Miami Beach. Our hotel was perfectly positioned right on the beach. We walked the beach for hours while I took too many photos. We had dinner on the strip and I drank the biggest margarita I have ever seen, twice.
We spent the following day relaxing poolside before the drive back along alligator alley to life with kids. The kids had an amazing time with their grandparents (pictures below prove it), and we had a great time without them. It’s important for them to spend a little time without us, and for us to spend time without them, we all appreciate each other more after a little time apart.
Out of this world Valentine’s Day
This past Valentine’s Day I spent time with my parents, my kids, my husband and an astronaut. Yes an astronaut. We spent Valentine’s Day at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was an out of this world Valentine’s day.
I have been to Florida many times and the Kennedy Space Center was not on my list of destinations until I married an aerospace engineer. My oldest was an astronaut for Halloween so I knew that it would be of interest to him as well. As luck would have it my parents wrangled a mini-van as a rental car and we all piled in for a astro-ordinary Valentine’s Day outing.
In keeping with family tradition the kids were wearing their heart shirts. As long as they request holiday specific t-shirts and will happily wear them I will keep making them.
Family Day and Legoland
This year we spent Family Day at Legoland in Florida. In case you are reading this in another part of Canada family day in BC is a week earlier than Family Day in other parts of Canada. I have no idea why.
Our kids are 3.5 and almost 7 which is the perfect age for Legoland especially when our 3.5 year old is really, really tall. Even though he is young he was tall enough for all of the rides (42″) which definitely made for a more pleasurable experience because we didn’t ever have to tell him that he was too short to ride on a ride.
We headed to Legoland on superbowl Sunday which I consider to be very smart planning (as a football fan my husband didn’t agree). The park wasn’t super busy and we didn’t wait in line very long for any of the attractions which meant that we could see a lot in the time we had. After a Lego overload at the park we checked into the Legoland hotel for a little more visual stimulation.
The hotel was a fantastic for place for kids. Inside the lobby there was a castle with moats filled with Lego, a pure delight for kids. The rooms were very well designed with a kids bunk area which made for some happy travelers. In the room there was a short quiz that unlocked a treasure chest with some goodies for the kids. I signed my oldest up for a master builder workshop where he learned how to build a shark from one of the parks master Lego builders.
After a restful sleep we attacked the park for another day of fun, but only after a swim in the heated hotel pool. The kids were excited to swim with Lego blocks. It was an awesome way to spend Family day, and I would highly recommend it if you get the chance.
Metal Detectors & Landscape Photos
This week I flew for the first time since I had a shiny metal plate bolted to my skull. One of the top questions from people after surgery was “do you think that you will set off the metal detector at the airport”? I went through one metal detector in Canada and one in the US this week. I was actually a little nervous that I would set them off, need to explain the situation, and flash my scar. It’s not really a big deal if I was flying solo, but I had my kidlets in tow. The whole security process at the airport is difficult even if you are really good at it from years of weekly travel like me, add kids into the mix and I feel like it’s a circus act which I have yet to master.
It turns out that I had nothing to worry about, I didn’t even make a tiny beep, it was smooth sailing except for the need to strip down to get through security and then wrangle the sleepy kids back into their coats. So in case you were wondering if that metal plate in my head would set off the metal detector, the answer is no.
The whole family flying together adventure makes me nervous though. The last trip we took Air Canada gave my two year old a seat in the middle of two strangers mid-plane a seat for me at the front of the plane, and his dad and five year old brother seats together in the rear of the plane. It got sorted at the gate at the last minute because obviously no logical human thinks that a two year old flying without their adult is a smart idea. It’s bad enough to be seated close to a child but it’s just mean to put an active two year old between strangers. I have been that stranger seated beside a random child when the parent wasn’t within sight, of course I shifted seats with the parent but shame on Air Canada for putting people in that position.
So when I saw that I couldn’t choose seats when I booked the tickets and I got a notification that they would be assigned at the gate all that I could envision is a situation where the four of us are scattered through out the cabin. I actually contemplated calling the airline so that they could put a note in our file when assigning seats. I was pleasantly surprised when I went online to check in and they had given us seats together. Kudos to you Alaskan Airlines your computer program that matches parents and children works, now if you could share your logic with Air Canada that would be great. My first thought after I got all of us checked in was “I will sleep well tonight”, it was that important to me. First world problems I know.
If you read this far I think you deserve a treat. Here are some shots that I took from the plane.
Making A Life 