a day out with thomas

We spent the past weekend at Aunt Tootsie's or as Nicholas would say...Aunt TWootsie's...hehehe. It was nice to visit and also have Shawn and his family there. Tiff and Chris were over as well with Jax and their niece, Madeline for a visit (sorry Tiff, I am unsure of the spelling).....so needless to say, 6 children under 4.....Ya, a little LOUD and chaotic but all at the same time, really wonderful.

Saturday, Cheryl and I took Jack and Nicholas to 'A Day Out With Thomas' at the Ottawa Railway. It was a good day....activities and train tables....meeting Sir Topham Hatt and best of all, THOMAS and our trainride! I have to be honest in saying that I think I was more excited about Thomas pulling into the station than our Thomas-loving munchkins! lol!

Tiah Brooke Ephraim

It's taken me a while to post on here as I wanted to write a little about this little girl who was taken from us on Saturday, August 16th. I never had the honour of meeting little Tiah but heard many funny and touching stories about her sweet, young self. Her mother, Nicole, is a co-worker friend of mine. I also work with Nicole's mom, Lynda.....two wonderful women, two incredible Moms.

Tiah would have been 3 on September 9th.

When I returned to work from mat leave, Nicole and I talked about how she had spent 6 weeks earlier this year at Tiahs bedside while she was in Sick Kids (Toronto Hospital for Sick Children) trying to find out exactly what Tiah was battling. Through all the testing, nothing was conclusive. She eventually left and came home, feeling better. Nicole, after I believe 6 months leave, returned to work in June. Just a few weeks ago, Tiah started showing signs of her illness again. They returned to Sick Kids for ultrasounds and tests and again, they didn't show exactly what was wrong. I don't want to write too much about what they did diagnose because I'm not exactly sure at this point. They returned home....

Just the day before, Nicole was at work....a regular day. The very next morning, Tiah passed.

Through all the pain and grief, Nicole and Thomas celebrated Tiah's life beautifully with her funeral. I wish I could convey how special a service it truly was and a wonderfully touching and heartfelt tribute to their angel. Thomas' eulogy gave us all so much to think about and he was even able to humour us with funny memories of Tiah. The strength Nicole and Thomas showed was admirable. All of our hearts go out to them and their other daughter, Faith. You will always have your beautiful angel by your side.

And afterwards, there were Tiah's faves.... skittles, rice krispie squares, 'monkey' bars and Dora treats for all to enjoy.

happy anniversary

Doesn't seem like 6 whole years ago, on the shore of Balsam Lake, that Johnathon and I became husband and wife...but that's how time goes when you're having fun!

Plenty of ups....some downs....but what a fantastic ride thus far! I love you more than words can say and as we grow old together and watch our beautiful children grow, I know with you by my side that my life is sweet and complete.

Love of my life.....thank you. xo

Oh Canada

Yay....finally, Canada has earned three medals this morning!!!

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/story/2008/08/16/olympics-canada.html

bye-bye sydney

Here I am at work...updating my blog....what is that?? Can you tell my mind is not even close to being here. Okay, before anyone goes off thinking that I'm wasting company time and good money....I'm taking my lunch. So there! hehehe. Not that I couldn't use some time away from this damn computer!

So, yesterday we saw Sydney off....back to Greenville and her new school year beginning next week. Nicholas, Shane and I said our good-byes and just as her and Daddy were about pull out of the driveway, Nicholas wanted to run out and get in a last hug and kiss from his Sydney. So, off we went....zooming out and waving them down. Thankfully, Syd noticed us or it would have been messy. I watched tearfully as Nicholas said his good-byes again...poor little guy sure loves and misses his big sis! We came back in and as he was moping up the stairs with tears, I suggested we go sit and have some M&M's. He paused, thought about it for a moment and then realized that that was a very good idea. It's amazing what a little chocolate treat can do for you :0) !!

fun at sherkston

It's been 8 years since Andrea introduced me to Sherkston Beach (www.sherkston.com), a fabulous resort on Lake Erie between Port Colborne and Fort Erie. The place has definitely undergone ALOT of change in the past 8 years but all for the better as it is now much more of a family-friendly vacation spot. Back in the day, Andrea and I were certainly not there on a 'family' vacation. Yep, we had some memorable times.....tent camping, hanging out on the beach, fancy summer drinks at the tiki bar....Andrea belting out karaoke....and Debra's car adventure....oooh, and the skunk incident!! Good times.


But here we are, 8 years later....married with children :0) on one of our family holidays. We had a great time, even with the crazy weather we have had this summer....the craziest, most unsettling summer weather EVER in my lifetime! We rented a trailer home privately off of kijiji...found a pretty good deal and went with it. It was comfy and with 3 small bedrooms, everyone had their own space, except for Shane who was pretty much sleep deprived the whole trip, bloodshot eyes and all. His room was the living room...the playpen would only fit there and well, that just didn't work out so well. He is definitely one who needs his own quiet space. I think he is just now finally catching up and back on schedule. Like all of us, he just wanted his own bed at home.

The beaches are beautiful and there is no limit for things to do....we definitely recommend Sherkston to any one. We will be back next summer for a full week next time. I'm already searching for a rental directly on the beach which would be sooo completely awesome...oh, and also we want a golf cart next time around. I've never seen so many golf carts in my life....whizzing around everywhere.

We also spent some time in Port Colborne...what a fabulous town! Very quaint and they had the Canal Days Festival happening for the long weekend. We checked out the vendors and then took Sydney and the boys on a tall ship cruise on Lake Erie. Lots of sunshine...maybe a bit too much as by the end, Nicholas was passed out cold on my lap. Now, that doesn't happen any more these days (I loved it...my sweet boy).

happy 1st birthday to my baby boy

This post is way overdue but here we are....wishing our Shane-man a happy 1st birthday (July 31st)! We have been on vacation (which I will blog next) so I have been pc-free for 6 days.

We celebrated Shanes' birthday with a party of friends and family the Saturday prior to the 31st. Even with the poor weather, we had a great turnout and we thank everyone for coming to help us celebrate this milestone.

I think one of the biggest highlights was Shanes reaction to his 'tear-away cake' (cake made up of cupcakes). He just kept looking at it, not knowing what to do. Finally, after I gave him a taste with my finger, he started pecking at it and just would not touch it. It truly was hilarious and so precious...thankfully we have it all on tape!

On Shanes actual birthday, we had Sydney here which it made it perfect. She flew up on the Sunday and will return to Greenville on the 11th. We made Shane a steak dinner for his birthday and boy, did he enjoy that. What future linebacker wouldn't?? (ahem..is that a correct football position??..l0l) ;0) .