Friday, July 24, 2009

lucky

I am so lucky to have such great friends. One in particular who always puts up with my little family and captures us beautifully. She did the same for my whole family and got us some great pics. You can check out the cream of the crop HERE.
Thanks Marcy.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

the value of meaningful friends

On a gorgeous Sunday evening we said good night to the boys, got in our friends car and traveled with them to Waterloo. It was a highlight being able to go to Morgan & Martha's for the next few days. Morgan is Dave's best friend and they are treasured friends to both of us. They have a lovely home and successful business! To say their home is lovely is an understatement. It was pure relaxation and eye candy. I felt instantly at home and purely relaxed. We were treated to Lychee Martini's and spent time on the patio before curling up in bed never to be woken by little ones.

Monday we woke up (after sleeping in till almost 9!!!) and were treated to a delicious breakfast and the best coffee I had tasted that trip. Lucky me, I got it for the next three days!! We had Toronto on the agenda for the day so after breakfast we drove there. I must admit first off I set myself up pretty good... I had been anticipating this for so long and had placed all my desires in this one city. I admit that this was my downfall. Most of the shops I wanted to go in were of course CLOSED on a Monday! Driving in Toronto is not pleasurable so I felt bad for our hosts. We did end up in lovely shops and I tried on magnificent dresses with price tags that almost gave Dave a coronary. After a few unsuccessful attempts we excelled at what we do best.. eating! We ate at an all you can eat Korean BBQ place. It was AMAZING!! Beautiful meats and side dishes all cooked in front of you. Morgan was master griller and I was so stuffed I was sure you would have to roll me out of there.

We headed down to the Eaton Centre and checked out some more shops. I made some purchases at H & M and regrettably walked away from a gorgeous pair of purple shoes at Town Shoes. After I stopped in Urban Outfitters and found some nice house stuff we set off in my top of the list destination.. Anthropologie. It did NOT disappoint. I was in love. I walked around the store for hours touching, looking and trying on things. I found dainty door pulls, industrial D's, some small gifts and a lovely dress fit for a girl about to turn 30!!

My shopping desire was fulfilled (for that day) and we headed to the second best place on earth The Bier Market. Whoa. Over a hundred beer and steller food to boot. We sat on the patio and decided on the sampler. We each got a different sampler which is 6 beers all beautiful placed on a lazy susan type thing. It was AWESOME! Dave and I shared Poutine and we had a great time!
After a long drive home we settled in for yet another night with no pitter patter....

Tuesday we decided to stick closer to their neck of the woods and explore the Tri-Cities (Cambridge - Kitchener - Waterloo).
After yet another yummy breakfast we set off to shop. Another very successful day of retail therapy for me! All in all we are talking. Clothes, Bedding, Shoes, and Decor.
We dined at an Indian Restaurant that was tantalizing to the taste buds. It had been so long since I had such good flavorful food. We also spent some great quality time with our friends and lingered over Chai Tea.
We went back to their place for a night cap.

Wednesday we had a leisurely day the kind you dream of when on vacation. We ate late, we played Wii, we spent time just chilling. We packed and sat out drinking beer in the afternoon. We decided we must eat All you can eat Sushi again and set off for another place they discovered. So good. We must have had 30 pieces of fresh Sashimi each. Buttery Salmon - YUM!
After our stomachs (well except for Dave who gained at least 10 lbs on this trip) were full we set off for Huron Park to reunite with our lovely little guys.

It was the best three days spent with friends who are generous, kind, warm and just make you feel like you are the most important people in the world! It was more meaningful than we could have imagined.

Next up. the end...

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

vacation continued...

this has been the best vacation! i am blogging trying to document it all and its unfortunate I can't add photos yet but i don't want to loose the memories of what has happened. after i left you last we traveled to Dundas where Dave grew up. Omas house is vacant since she has moved in with daves parents so we were fortunate enough to settle down there for our time. the first day we got to see friends and the boys hung out at the park. i headed to ikea for some retail therapy which was super successful (although we will be bringing home many more suitcases then we came with) lol. we went for dinner and i was just amazed at how the boys were so well behaved all day. they really are growing up!! That evening I did one of my most favorite things when we head to Dundas. I went to the Westdale second cup with it's huge patio and read a book. I devoured "The Time Traveler's Wife" This vacation. It was the perfect spot for a good book and a latte. It made me feel full of life.

thursday we hung out with auntie ev and went to visit oma where she is staying while daves parents are gone (after we leave) it was nice to see her. after we headed home for lunch, naps and then spent time at Websters Falls with our good friends Morgan & Martha. Ontario is beautiful. The landscape and the great big green trees. They have beautiful parks and lovely water fall spots. We even climbed down (on stairs) to the bottom of the falls and graciously Morgan carried Noah back up for me. It was hard enough on my own.
After we fulfilled Noah and Ari's dream to ride a city bus. I can't wait for you to see the pictures... they were so excited. They loved sitting in the bus stop and were clapping with excitement as the bus came up. They put the monies in and we took our seats. Sometimes when you do something they love so much it's awesome to just watch their little faces and see them take in each thing through their eyes. We rode the bus to the plaza and at at East Side Mario's. We have learned on this trip as long as the boys can have Pasta a restaurant experience is a good one.Dave stayed to help me put the boys to nap and then he took off to spend a couple nights with Morgan.

Friday I was up with the boys and we went to pick up Auntie Ev and headed to the Dundas Driving Park. It was a hot gorgeous day. I can't even explain in details how awesome this park is. It has a splash pad and awesome wading pool. Multiple large play structures. Great green space and a fantastic view of the Escarpment. It was awesome. The boys loved it and all we had to do was stand in the water and watch them have a blast. We drove Auntie Ev to work and then home for naps. After we headed back to the park for more water fun. Had a McDonald's picnic, baths, books and went to bed. Ari struggled with sleep Friday night, I think he just missed Dave being there.

The weekend marked the time for DiFrancesco family fun. Dave's oldest sister Lydia and her boyfriend Dan (who we met for the first time) were out from Ottawa. Daves parents and sister Julia who live near London also came down. After Ari finally fell asleep I went over to Evelyn's and had drinks with the girls and Dan. Daves parents were also staying at Oma's and Evelyn lives in the house they grew up in right down the street. Its a lovely set up.
Dave arrived back early Saturday morning. Evelyn had prepared a nice family breakfast. We all crowded in her diniing room and had a great morning. The girls and I went to the mall for a bit around lunch time while the kids all went for naps. We had fun browsing.
After all the kids were up we headed as a family back to the park so the kids could run around. We also celebrated Dave's parents 30th anniversary with some things prepared for them. It was great to all be together. With the threat of rain we headed back for a nice family supper.
After the kids were in bed.. all the adult kids headed to a local pub and we had a blast!!! Probably the most fun I have had with the whole gang. It was so nice to just be together.
Enjoying maybe a few too many pitchers of Rickards White, Nachos and for Dan and Dave ending the night with cheeseburgers at midnight in mcdonald's.

Sunday we all headed to the church they grew up in and took some awesome family shots before hand in the courtyard. The service was awesome... most awesome was how well Ari & Noah did. They even went to Sunday school (of course they will do just about anything with Zoe who is their cousin and she's 4.) I also was extremely blessed by the guest speaker. A young woman from Rwanda with an amazing life story. She is a genocide survivor and was 11 when the Militia killed all her family. She tells a courageous story of God's redemption and forgiveness. It was moving.

After church we took the boys back to Ev's and left them with Grandma and Abuelo. The adult kids ended up at all you can eat Sushi. A place in Hamilton we visit whenever we are in town. SOoooooooo good! A few close friends also joined us and we ate and ate and ate and ate. It was fabulous.

We said goodbye to Lydia and Dan who had to get back to Ottawa and then headed back to the house. There was a nice family supper (which we ate none of) and got to see Dave's Aunt and Uncle as well.

After the boys were in bed we packed up and headed out with Morgan and Martha to Waterloo where we spent the next three days of pure relaxing vacation time.

Till next time......

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

day 1, 2 & 3

It is nice to be on vacation. It's been a bit hard to adjust.. mostly for me. Just trying to relax and undwind. The boys have been pretty good for the most part. Lacking in the sleep area which makes them kind of cranky but mostly good.

The airplane ride was fantastic. Other than almost being late and the plane waiting for us.. ooops.
The boys loved it. They were fascinated with everything. We flew westjet so the personal tv's were awesome. They got to watch Treehouse and were so cute with my ipod ear buds in their ears. Eating snacks and playing with the trays. They loved looking out the window and were just excited the whole time but sat nicely and didn't fuss around. The flight went by so fast and before I knew it we were on the ground being greeted by Grandma D and Abuello. The boys took to them quickly and we had even more fun watching the bags come off the belt.

We were greeted by Julia and Zoe as soon as we got to Huron Park (which is where they live.. about 40 minutes from London) in the middle of nowhere. :)
Ari, Noah and Zoe have become instant friends and they love being together. Sunday was rough cause Saturday night did not hold much sleep for any of us. I overestimated them and their need for a play pen or something. They were up LOTS and it was hard to stay sleeping for long.
We did end up borrowing two on Sunday which has made a vast improvment.
We had a disasterious church expereince with very overtired boys and after a nap they were much better... We spent most of the day outside just hanging out. Auntie Ev came over in the afternoon and we had a great day!

Monday was amazing. The whole day. Ev made us all breakfast and then Auntie Ju, Zoe, Grandma, Abuello and all of us spent the day in Grand Bend and the beach!! It was glorious. Perfect weather. I forgot how nice going to a beach on a huge lake is. (This was Lake Huron).
After lunch the kids all even napped on the beach in the shade of a big tree. I can't load pics on this computer but will when we get back. It was so cute to see all three of them cuddled up on a blanket. Julia and I check out the strip and did some shopping and ended with the best smoothies ever!!!

It was a great time. We had a nice dinner here at home and then after the boys were in bed Dave and I got out to Exeter (the nearest small town) and walked around the park and enjoyed a nice coffee. It was nice to just be together with nothing else to do.

Today was good. We spent the morning in London at Kidscape. It was this huge indoor play place (it was raining). So much fun for the kids (and adults).

Tomorrow we head to Dundas to spend the next few days anticipating seeing good friends and having the whole family together again this weekend includinig Dave's older sister Lydia and her boyfriend Dan who we are very excited to meet.

I plan to shop Ikea on Thursday and look forward to our time away from kids in Toronto with friends early next week. I won't have much computer access after tonight. Other than checking email on my phone :)

Just wanted to update more for me than you I guess. Wish I could show you pictures.. but that will come.

Happy Holidays.

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

mental memory

I am officially on holidays!!!! School is over for another year and although their were some yucky goodbyes it was a great last day!

so today was such a good day. i didn't take out my camera once which is sad so here is my mental memories for today that can't be forgotten.

Happy Canada Day
-dave is off today!!!
-scrambelled eggs, turkey bacon and coffee for breakfast
-packing up sand toys and picnic lunch
-heading to the beach with my whole family (including Ruby & Crystal)
-spending a great morning sitting in the sun with everyone having so much fun.
-picnic lunch in the sand
-naps
-packing
-heading downtown for Canada Day festivities that included: blow up bouncy things, big bouncy slide, petting zoo, a ride on a train, getting to help the fireman with the water hose. (all of the above things my big boys did with no trepidation!!
-heading back to my parents for margaritas and more family time
-iceburg for supper
-yummy coffee and conversation
-crashing at home after a long day in the sun with a one sided sunburn and a full tummy.
-life is good!

and just because i want to leave you with some pictures of this past week...

taken at our church picnic just to document the amazing ways my kids are exactly like their dad.


and in honor of the amazing woman who made this last year so easy and who loves my kids and all her kids with the most grace and generosity of Spirit. we will miss her this summer and look forward to being there again in fall!!