Friday.. Part Two.

So I left you with our Friday evening plans at LIV. White Oaks Resorts award winning restaurant. We got all dressed up (got to wear my new Toms) I just felt so alive. Maybe it's being in the presence of such good friends or just being alone with The Stallion.. not having to wipe anyone else's bum, or cut up food, or dish out consequences, or pick up after everyone, get juice, snacks, make sure you have stuff for everyone else.. nope it was just us. It was blissful.

So we are seated in this beautiful dining room. The atmosphere itself lended itself to the luxury. Then of course there was the purse bench. Yep they bring you a little bench to sit your purse on. Details people. We enjoyed our three hour stay there.. yes we did.

First up they brought us hot wet towels to refresh ourselves.. it was crazy.  Then we were brought the Amuse Bouche. The chef's special treat to start off your meal. I can't remember what it was but it was a great start. Again presentation was spectacular.

The Appetizer I chose was romaine hearts, grilled pancetta crisps, buttery garlic bread sticks, shaved pecorino cheese, lemon. They had me at pecorino. So good. 

The Stallion was in seafood heaven with his Shellfish four ways. : crab cake, smoked tomato aioli; lobster roll, pineapple sauce; seared scallop, asian slaw; jumbo prawn, roasted garlic purée.

After our appetizers we were given tiny goblets of mango sorbet to cleanse our palettes of course.
Somewhere after this we were given our Bread course. Olive Bread, Baguette and a seed bread. Served with a trio of rosemary butter, olive oil & balsamic and the most amazing Garlic Hummus. (side not if you ever get the chance to meet Martha - and I wish you all could please have her say hummus to you - it's divine)

The main dishes were so tasty and appealing to the eye. I thought of my dad and ordered the proscuitto wrapped pork tenderloin with a grainy dijon spaetzle and pear infused veal reduction. um yes please. And what's better it was like a whole loin. HUGE portion.

Isn't she beautiful? Sigh. Ok Martha ordered pan seared sea scallops, yellow pepper coulis, crawfish tails, pineapple and coconut jasmine rice, asian vegetables. The sea scallops were the size of tennis balls. So amazing.

Morgan ordered pecan crusted rack of lamb, merlot demi-glace, crisp rösti potato. He was happy. 

And the Stallion.. oh when is he not happy? Here is he in heaven with his home made spinach and lobster agnolotti, tiger shrimp, leeks, grape tomatoes in a light lemon caper cream sauce. Give an Italian some home made pasta and he's weak in the knees.

After this (yes there is more) we were given some home made truffles and some peppermint water to help aid in digestion. We opted out of dessert.. it was just too much. I have never felt like that as I sat through a meal crafted to perfection. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day with the most perfect people we could ever spend time with. We are blessed.

Daunting Task... Friday Part One.

It is a very daunting task to try to blog about our wonderful time away with dear dear friends while we were on vacation. There are so many things to say... I will do my best. We were blessed with some time with our dearest friends Morgan & Martha.. the last time we were together was Vegas. These two are hard to describe cause words just don't seem to be good enough. They are kind, generous, hospitable, they take care of details that make you feel so special, they listen and give great advice, they inspire, encourage and help you see beauty in things, in yourself. They are smart.. I mean really smart... just listening to them sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure it's all real. They just know stuff. They know how to show us a good time and you feel like a million bucks when you are with them.
The Stallion and I headed out on a thursday evening after putting the boys to bed and travelled to Waterloo. It was amazing just to see them. Knowing that we had three FULL days ahead made it even better.

I would need to days to spill all the details of the ways they made us feel special.
Friday morning I woke up early and Martha and I kicked Jillians ass in a workout. We shared a delicious breakfast of Montreal bagels (they had been in Montreal the weekend before), fresh fruit and homeade jams. Not to mention Morgan makes a MEAN cappuccino... I may have had two.
We packed up and headed for our destination.. Niagra on the Lake! Even the drive down was delightful. Full of catching up.
They had mapped our course for the day. Choosing 4 wineries we would visit and picking out an awesome place for lunch. Niagra on the Lake is so beautiful. It was a super hot day and having all that wine before lunch made for an interesting time.. :)
We headed to Peller Estates (LOVE Jason Perkins from Cityline) where we signed up for a tour. We had some time before that so we headed to a small winery called Lailey. It's a beautiful small winery, very exclusive. Probably one of my favourites. And of course the wine tasting was delicious. The people were so nice. We got to meet the winemaker who also said he would deliver our purchases to the hotel we were staying at due to the freakishly hot weather. Our wine would not be safe in the hot car.

After that we headed to another small winery which specializes in fruit wines. Sunnybrook Winery is Canada's first fruit winery. More wonderful flavours. We left there and headed back to Peller Estates for our tour.

This was taken on the grounds in front of the vines with the buliding in the back. It was nice to hear the backstory and get to see the beautiful vines and hear how they make the wine. We didn't eat in the
restaurant although with it being in the top 10 in Canada I am sure it would have been amazing.

Our wine tasting included some beautiful wine including the $90 Cab Franc Icewine. Tastebuds were alive!!! The Stallion loved smelling the barrels.

We then left and went for lunch... after all those wine tastings we needed food. Morgan and Martha had scoped out a popular place. Called Stone Road Grill or known to the locals as Rest. It was the coziest eclectic space and it was vibrant and artsy. The menu was mouthwatering. The Stallion decided on the Fois Gras Poutine and I got the Croque Madamme Sandwich. YUMMY! Little did I know that day would be probably my BEST food day ever!!
This next pic is me digging into one of two desserts we got to share... I could not believe the ingredients and was skeptical but I knew deep down bacon goes with everything right?? (the following descriptions is from the menu. I'm telling you guys UNREAL. So good.

“THE BARNYARD” Smoked Maple Bacon Ice Cream "Pig"

Bacon Trough with Bacon Caramel Mousse

Cinnamon Sugar Crackling “Dirt”

Bacon Caramel Corn

Our Winning Dish From the Cava Restaurant Groundhog Invitational Charcuterie Competition

After this fine experience we finished up with a tasting at the Italian Pillitteri Estates Winery. I have to admit it was hard for me to try any more wine but the Shiraz IceWine was AMAZING. So sweet. I mean when a sip costs you at least 10 bucks you know it's gotta be amazing.

You would think our day was as good as it could get... nope it was only 3:30 by this time and there was SO much more amazing things in store. We drove to our hotel. We stayed at the five star, five diamond White Oaks Resort. I have never stayed in such a high rated hotel before. The valet, the concierge, the service. Obtaining 5 diamond status is some pretty serious stuff. Luxury. Our room was lovely. I was so impressed by everything. We had some down time.. which included me taking a very nice nap in the lovely fluffy king size bed. (remember all the wine)
We had dinner reservations at their award winning Fine Dining Restaurant called Liv. Now I have NEVER had an experience like this.... but that's for next time.....

beach bums

We spent a lot of time at the beach on our trip. With Grand Bend only 20 minutes away we loved taking in all that Lake Huron had to offer. It's a fun trendy little hotspot. The first time we went we stayed by the main beach which has an awesome play structure and splash pad. The kids had a blast!

We put Jett in this hole we found on the beach and he LOVED it.. he was in there for an hour.. as long as he had water, rocks and sand this kid was happy!

Morgan & Martha joined us one day at the beach. They all loved the umbrellas. While Julia and I soaked up the SUN! :)

we were so blessed with amazing weather the whole time we were there... well ok.. somedays blessed might not be the word I would use.. it was hot and my hair kept doubling in size.. after awhile I just gave into it. We loved the beach!

ontario july 2012

We started summer off with a 14 day trip to Southern Ontario to visit family. There are so many highlights and I hope to cover as many of them as I can.. there will be multiple posts. You are all invited into a glimpse of our Family Vacation. Sit tight. I was nervous for the flights. Getting a two year old to sit still and not go crazy.. nuff said. Jett did so good! At first he did not like the idea of not being held but overall he did really well. We just kept giving him snacks and treats and more snacks... I admit I think I did pretty well with the bag of suckers. They were a lifesaver for all my kids ears as we descended as well as the couple behind us with a toddler who would not stop screaming cause his ears hurt until I handed him a sucker as well. So that's my tip.. bring suckers and share!

Our first stop was the amazing asian market where we feasted on sushi and wandered the isles looking at some of the craziest produce and meat. Also the true sign of being in Ontario. milk in a bag. So strange!

 Jett pulled the boys around all the isles in these baskets.. it was a great way to burn off some of that candy.

Jett mastered the nap in the van thing. Plus it was like 9000 degrees out with no AC and it could have possibly been the crash after the sugar high from the plane. So sweet.

The boys were beyond pumped to sleep in the camper on Grandma D and Abuelo's driveway. They had some friends of friends lend us the camper to use for our trip and it was such a blessing to have a bit more space (and AC) The boys LOVED it! 

we loved spending time with family.. last time we were all together was two years ago. some very special times with Auntie Ju!

And silly time with Auntie Ev. Jett was wearing Oma's glasses.. it was hilarious and watching him maneuver with bifocals proved great entertainment.

Auntie Lydia and Uncle Dan came for the first week and it was SO good to be all together. 

The boys had the best time with their cousin Zoe. The three of them (sometimes it included Jett) had such a good time.. the boys miss her immensely. For the most part they got along so well and made some awesome memories. We are so thankful they got to spend so much time together!

Stay tuned more to come!

celebrations

I have been a serious blog snob this summer. And I have so many things I want to blog about.. so I am going to just go back in time and catch up. Yes I am.  So up first lets back up shall we.. we celebrated the end of Kindergarten! What an accomplishment. The year was a bit rough in some ways but I am so proud of my boys. The learning, the making friends and the having fun! Their teacher did an amazing job with the graduation ceremony. They prepared 5 songs for us.

 They received diplomas and lots of other goodies. My boys will miss Mrs. Dyck. I think all boys may love their first teacher :)

 They have made great buddies. Sadly neither of these two boys are in either boys class next year but they were quick to tell me they get THREE recesses in grade 1 so they will have lots of time to play together. So thankful for good friends.. living in the village it's neat to see that these guys will go to school together all the way till high school amazing to think of the fun they will have as they grow up!

 I am super proud of my boys. They have grown lots this last year. Can't wait to see what Grade 1 holds in store. Congrats to my little graduates!

to be known.

I have pondered this so much in the past year... it feels redundant. But so timely. My word for this year was authentic. I feel like I have been tested and beaten down in light of the word. Ironic. Most likely just a challenge. Pain makes you feel like you failed but maybe that is not it... maybe Pain makes you stronger and more available to be authentic.
I guess you can go another way.. pain can make you shut down. Close the door and be unwilling to open yourself up again because you know if you do pain will be around the corner. I have been re-reading Ann Voskamp's One thousand Gifts. I cannot relay to you the beauty in this book. It's a must read.. I stumbled over this and especially in the wake of recent events it shook me.

“That which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave.” 

How beautiful and messy.

I don't want to shut down. I want to love and be loved. I want to be authentic and real, I want to learn and go down paths that may be laced with pain and thorns... Beauty out of ashes right?

How do we go about being known? We tell our stories. We are open. Teachable. Authentic. And willing to lay it out on the line even knowing that we might get hurt. I desperately want to be these things... I feel like I am on the right path. But maybe I try to hard? It's when I feel things are going well and I am being real and open and honest when BAM! It's right then I get smacked in the face with the realization or confrontation about some way I have failed BIG time. Finding out you suck at something is not so great, or finding that you have fallen short - to feel it in your gut. It's devastating.
BUT then there is room for growth! Painful growing pains....
Just this week my eyes were opened to something significant I hadn't understood or simply didn't know. As I have had time to pray about it work through the hurt of my character being attacked I realized my choice is simple to stop and acknowledge my need for growth.
As I am working through this painful situation I have kept coming back to the need to be known. But I think I have had it all wrong... .. maybe it's the need to be known by me not other people.

I am His.
I am enough today.
My mess is the perfect place for His glory and His grace.

It's ok to apologize for what you've done but NOT for who you are.
I think I am on the path to authenticity. I shared with a friend last night how difficult it is to immerse yourself in painful situations but how full and rich the blessing is when you are obedient.

When my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I. ~Psalm 61:2

father's day twenty twelve.

Small boys become big men through the influence of big men who care about small boys. ~Anonymous

 We sang a song today in church and it stirred my heart in many ways. I was struck with an overwhelming sense of love from above. I was also reminded that I am surrounded by two men in my life who display these characteristics.. their hearts are so good.

"Everyone needs compassion, a love that's never failing, Let mercy fall on me. The kindness of a Saviour."

compassion, love, mercy and kindness. yea that about sums these guys up. so thankful for men who don't always follow the rules, inspire deep thought, instil rooted wisdom, give bottomless forgiveness never based on what you do and man they just know how to let loose and have fun.

The boys and I fulfilled the Stallion's wish and rewarded him with a super manly chain saw. He was grinning from ear to ear and has been reading the manuel ever since.

On the traditional side of things I want to start this every year. It was so fun to ask them these questions and see their answers. I asked them one on one and they loved it too. I think it hit the spot with the Stallion.

Happy Father's Day.

two

Jett is sweet and sassy, observant and verbal, loud and mellow, determined and not afraid of anything.

Here are some of our observations on his 2nd birthday.

-He has priceless facial & verbal expressions
-Jett's new favorite word - yuckadoo's (what he calls it when he needs his diaper changed)
- Jett is forever forming his lips into an O and exclaiming "Look!"
-He will grab you by the hand and take you to see the things he is excited about
-Each morning as we turn off our driveway he screeches COW at the top of his lungs.. "Cow Mommy?" Over and Over until we finally reach the Hwy where either the cows are grazing and he squeels with delight or the field is empty and he says "Cow Sleeps Mommy?" "Yes Jetty Cows are sleeping"
Then He says "Shirley Mommy? Carter Mommy? Chelsea Mommy?" Over and Over until we get to Shirley's.
-He is observant as anything.. when we turn down a certain street he knows if we are going to see Papa or Shirley.
-He yells Daddy at the sign of any big white work truck.. (you know how many of them there are in town???)
-Ok and I should add his relationship with his Daddy is something special.. he LOVES Daddy.. will reach for him over anyone else and runs arms open to the door each day after work. This boy loves his Daddy.. pretty sure the feeling is totally mutual.
-He loves to eat. Especially yogurt.. LOVES yogurt and all fruit. He's not really picky as long as yogurt, cottage cheese or fruit is not in his plain view he will eat what's on his plate.. show him fruit and he's a goner...

-He still takes a bottle and I LOVE it... in fact he kind of stopped for a bit and then now he begs at around 5:00 for a bottle.. he likes to be laid on the couch while watching a show.. it's sweet. (so yes I am that mom and I DON'T care)
-He is loveable and cuddly.. and can snuggle into the crook of your neck. Especially if you are Daddy or Papa, or Cody (aka CooCoo).
-He loves to say names and knows all the important people in his life. It may not always sound exactly like there real name but it's Jett's loveable way.
-He does not like to sleep in the car!

-But he does LOVE to sleep. We are still relishing 3.5 hour naps in the afternoon and an early bedtime. As long as he has his baby (blanket) he is good. I had a blankie growing up and it was so special to me.. kind of glad he has one too.
-He has a love/hate relationship with Ari & Noah.. when they play with him he beams and get so excited.. when they bug him or ignore him he often finds a toy hammer or something and wacks them with it.. often if he has an object like that in his hand A & N run screaming.. It's kind of funny.
-He has never and shows no interest in saying Noah.. he says Ari (he rolls his r - it's awesome) but will not say Noah...

Our family would never be the same without him. He adds life to us. So thankful to have him here. Happy Birthday sweet boy.