travel, tabs, and tagliatelle

This past weekend saw the Western Mustangs Women's VB team on the road to Ottawa, and I got to go along... for the win! We won in five after losing the first two sets, and the six hour ride home was that much more enjoyable because of it. Having spent several summers in Gatineau/Ottawa, it sort of felt like going home; I saw some friends (at the game, for dessert), family, ate some amazing food (I got to go to Art Is In!!! - and wanted to eat EVERYTHING), and got some work done on the bus ride there and back. I also came home exhausted and had to skip out on women's league last night - only to get woken up by Alana five or six times throughout the night/early morning... boo. Good thing I went to bed early! Actually. I actually did go to bed early last night - with Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins, and so far so good. I'm hoping I can get a bit of work done tonight and then get to bed on the early side again for some more reads. 

My desktop is totally cluttered with screenshots that I've been meaning to file (and share), so here you go - some of my favourites from A Mighty Girl's Facebook feed:

I have what must be a record number of windows and tabs open and I don't want to close any of them! Here they are:

• The University of North Caroline Women's Soccer Team: Core Values
• Amazon: Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better
• Coaching Perspectives: Getting better at getting better (article)
• 25 Ways to ask your kids "How was school today?" without asking how was school today?
• The Most Important Question of Your Life (article) - a good one! 
• Huff Post: The best thing you can do for yourself - and all the women around you (article)
• Nat'l Geographic: Grit trumps talent and IQ(article)

And the rest are school-related and probably boring to most readers, so I won't include them - but I definitely know which ones need attention! (SCHOOL TABS.) 

Steve and the kids had fun over the weekend without me - they made fresh pasta, from scratch! I was putting away some new books last week and came across The Silver Spoon for Kids, a cookbook I'd purchased at last year's LPL book sale. I showed it to Hendrik and he latched right onto it - reading it morning and night, talking about recipes, imploring me to make lists of all of the recipes we'd make etc. etc. So the kids put their aprons and chef hats on and got to work, producing edible Italian eats:

What else what else? The kids are enjoying school, I'm mostly enjoying school, and Steve has been hard at work around here getting a barn door made and up and shelving made and installed (it's dark downstairs, so I'll try to remember to get pics up next time). There are a zillion other projects (okay, maybe 10) that could be done around here and I think he's still trying to figure out what's next. He coaches (with McMaster) in Toronto this weekend and we're home - so the kids might be spending the weekend in the gym, we will see! We're trying to plan - wait, we're trying to think about planning Hendrik's birthday party; we have a list of people he wants to invite (all boys, all from his class save for one 8th grader - really) and a few ideas for games and activities (le par-tay will take place here). We're hosting Alana's first play date this Friday with a few girls from her preschool, so she's excited about that - should be good! And I think I'll end the random thoughts there. Until next time!

halloween run-down

Did we eat all of the kids' candy? No. Did Steve pretend to steal it all? Yes. Were we tempted to pull a Jimmy Fallon we-ate-all-your-Halloween-candy joke on them? No. Way. Actually I think the thrill of the hunt was more exciting for them than the piles of loot, but I'm probably wrong - even though they're not beelining it for their candy bags first thing in the morning, nor are they constantly asking or sorting or pawing the goods. We had a great 'round the block trick or treat - which included a trip to the local firehall (never done that on Halloween before) and a momentary consideration of a trip through a fully done-up haunted house (I mean FULLY. I should have taken pictures.). People were seriously impressed by Hendrik's costume - so impressed, in fact, that our neighbour across the street brought over an apple pie this afternoon in honour of Steve's best-constructed-costume work on the backpack. We ate big slices of it while it was still warm - which makes all of his hard work totally worth it (okay, Hendrik loved it too - THAT was what made it worth it). This Halloween may be extra memorable because of the events that followed the candy sort and stuff (we let them eat maybe 6 pieces of candy each? Hendrik asked every time with glee and happiness in his little candy-soaked eyeballs) - which involved extreeeemely hyper kids, poop evenly distributed throughout Alana's new pyjama pants (tracked up the stairs - she took them off before coming up to the bathroom) and Hendrik's vomit on the carpet at the top of the stairs, induced by the stink from his little sister. At least (at least) the kids were calm post-poop/puke, and were in bed and quiet within 20 minutes of cleanup and stories. 

More soon (really!) - I can't believe it's November!

visit + halloween-ready

We are less than a week away from Halloween! We have decorations up (and out) and Halloween books are evening go-to reads AND costumes are almost finished. Alana wanted to be Franklin (again), and somehow the suit doesn't need any alterations size-wise; some felt and fabric needs replacing here and there but we can attend to it any time now that Hendrik's costume is finished. It is AMAZING. Amazing. He is going to be a Dinobuster - as in Ghostbuster but Dinosaur Buster - which is a takeaway from Dino Dan (Trek's Adventures); this is what the dinobusters look like on the show:

And here's Hendrik - with his blue coveralls and backpack extraordinaire (complete with flashing lights, flashlights, dino zapper, dial and more):

Basically how it goes (on the show) is this: there's a great big haunted house that's riddled/haunted with pesky dinosaurs, and depending on whether the dino they spy is a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, the dial on the front of the pack is adjusted and the appropriate dino-busting spray shoots out of the dino zapper. Hendrik's costume is complete with dial, zapper, tubes - wait, I already said all of this. It's pretty epic, and I'm looking forward to getting some more photos up (plus an explanation of construction materials). Moving on...

We had visitors last week (my parents!) and it was so so so great having them here - to have them see our house, visit with the kids, and get a snapshot of our life and daily routine; spending time together was something I wish we could do more often. This is the only picture I took - of Grandpa O reading a new Halloween book to the kids. I love it!

Life has been so busy with school (it's going well - lots of assignments), coaching (we had our first win on Saturday against Windsor; we're 1-0!), and family life (the kids are sick right now, but have been so good and are SO excited about Halloween), that it's difficult to fit all of the extras in (blogging, working out, reading). On Friday we put Alana in a program at the YMCA that we call Gym & Swim; there's an hour of gym followed by an hour of swim, and then we pick her up. Both Steve and I worked out (first time in months!) and then watched her splash around and play in the kiddie pool... it was great. We'll try and make it a weekly, Friday thing - I don't have class and it felt so good to sweat and get my heart rate up. I also get to exercise tomorrow night... women's league has started! We play Monday nights and it's something I look forward to every week.

A few random thoughts to share before I go; we had one of our go-to dinners tonight and it was so good I have to share. Maple-glazed salmon (sauce: reduce 1/3 cup of orange juice, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar - pour over cooked salmon once on your dinner plate!) with... well it doesn't really matter what it's with, that's the part of our staple meal that we most love (rice, carrots and caesar salad - that's what else). My mom and dad gave us a Foley Food Mill and it is my new favourite kitchen appliance (behind the ultimate fave, the toaster); we stewed apples the other day and made applesauce - no coring or peeling required! Just stew up them apples and mill out the sauce. It was so good I didn't even have to add sugar - and it's Alana's dessert of choice. Once I get this girl to sleep (she napped in the car this afternoon - she has a pile of books on the couch and it's 9pm), I'm going to check out the glow-in-the-dark Halloween fabric for future trick-or-treat bags. I know there's more to write about but I'd better tap out - Alana is adding more books to her pile and the clock is ticking!

thanksgiving +

Fall has hit here in Forest City, and with possible SNOW on the weekend, winter may be just around the corner. This has me scrambling to make sure the kids have boots and snowsuits that fit - and it also has me reminiscing about Palm Springs on a near daily basis. I do like this season, and I'm trying to appreciate it for what it is (the colours, the fresh air!) instead of what's coming next (freezing cold, cold all of the time, gear everywhere, etc. etc.). I'll work on it....

With Steve away in Poland for 10 days on a McMaster Men's Volleyball tour, the kids and I scooted up to Bowmanville for Thanksgiving and had an incredible time. They just love it there - there are new people to play with (/harass), and toys and places to play are instantly new again. Plus, there's always amazing food (meals, treats, goodies) and Watson's farm is just around the corner, and (I know I've mentioned this before) it may just be their favourite place on earth. We arrived Thursday and left Monday, and I think the kids went to Watson's four times (??); we/they picked apples, rode on a wagon, played in the playground, fed animals, manhandled pumpkins and gourds, and rolled around in hay (literally). I admit that I do like Watson's, but it's mostly because the kids love it so much there. We had an amazing family dinner on Sunday afternoon (preceded by the best appelflappen you'll find ... maybe anywhere), I got away for coaching and catching up with a friend on Saturday (Western was playing in a tourney at McMaster), and everyone left feeling refreshed and ready (sort of) to get back to reality on Tuesday. It's been a bit of a struggle this week to get the kids to school on time - or, I could put it this way: it's been a struggle (not a bit of a struggle but a struggle) to get the kids out of bed, to get them dressed, to get them to stop arguing, to get them dressed, to get them to come downstairs, to get them fed, to get them to put on their shoes, to get them in the car etc. etc. Some mornings have been better than others, but there have definitely been smoother days.

the blood painting

This afternoon the kids surprised me with a request to do some painting, so I got the watercolour trays out and they went at it. Hendrik drew BLOOD... he drew several drawings of blood - and he was sure to warn me in a sweet and gentle voice (that I wish he used all the time) that I might think it was gross: "Mom, this might be kind of yucky because there are spatters and big blobs of blood all over the place." - !!! Alrighty then. And get this - after his first request for "Uptown Funk You Up" (a family favourite), he asked for Opera. For real. So I found this opera collection on Youtube and when it started playing, guess what Alana said... In her sweet and gentle voice she said, "Is that Grandma at the cottage?" HA! I had to suppress extreme laughter. And then she says, "At Bowmanville?" And it was just audio. So there you go Grandma B, you've got the voice of an opera singer. (!!!)

After a trip to the London Public Library's annual book sale tomorrow morning (you better believe I am some excited about it), we will have what I hope will be a relaxing day before a very busy weekend. On Saturday morning we'll head to Toronto to visit the aquarium, and then pick Steve up later in the day - and then drive home (ugh). Sunday will be no less busy: I coach in the morning and then will head back to Toronto for a scrimmage between the 'Stangs and U of T whatever-they-ares... Sounds relaxing, right? Not. With all of that said I'd better get to bed. Reunion pics to come - I can't wait to see the kids see Steve!

palm springs and wedding amazingness!

Palm Springs blog post coming at you - it was major! Steve left a few days earlier than I did, but when I arrived on Tuesdsay night late late late I felt like I'd just walked into a dream life for four days. The pool was incredible, views spectacular, the house and the rooms posh and outfitted to the nines; PLUS - most important part - our friends were on the brink of getting marrrrrried and it was so so so so good to see them and spend some quality together (and with their other friends - now ours too!) before the big day. Steve golfed and I helped Shanti and floated about in the pool. We ate good food and saw friends and come Friday I helped the bride get ready and it was the best. We said this a few times over our few days together but it's so strange that she was at our wedding six years ago - okay, here's the strange part: and I didn't even know her! Well now I do and I feel so grateful to have been a small part of their day. They both looked incredible (Shanti might actually win a most beautiful bride contest if there ever were one - I'd vote for her), and the ceremony (written by Freddie), their vows and speeches were perfect. Everything about the venue was amazing (I'm running out of adjectives to describe it all) - the scenery, ambiance, food, decor, music... and I got to dance dance dance (and rap along with some songs I'd have guessed were long forgotten... but they're not!). It was super fun - beyond super fun. Our trip home was long, but seeing the kids and getting smothered in welcome home hugs was pretty incredible - even though we went from hot to cool, sunny skies and palm trees to greyish skies and falling leaves. I'm thankful for the seasons and I love them, but I also loved the hot weather and the pool to cool off in. Here are a few pictures - I didn't take many... I can't wait to see some of their wedding pics!

shanti and her dad, some signage (some of my work!), reception beauty and the winters, just married!

reception

at the (ah-mazing) house - the men of the house

pics from a walk above palm springs

up-date

I'm reading these novels - because they belong to a genre I don't usually read (it's for school) - so far so good!

September is almost OVER! Crazy. I'm going to divide this post up into a per-person summary, just to help with organization - I am a seriously tired mamacita these days trying to get to everything, and am just going to give in and read tonight (instead of doing any schoolwork). Here goes...

two boys building

Steve

Steve left for Palm Springs bright and early this morning armed with his golf clubs, ready to get some quality time in with his buddies before the BIG WEDDING happening next Friday night. Our most amazing friends Freddie and Shanti are tying the knot (and I can't WAIT to get down there myself) and it is going to one helluva week of pre-wedding festivities. Steve's been busy around the house planning and doing projects, the latest and greatest of which is attending to a dysfunctional storage area in the basement; seeing as how there's scant storage in this ancient home (closing in on 100 years old!), it's a pretty big deal. He moved access from inside the storage cubby (always stuffed with stuff - making access a non sequitur) to the wall, and he'll get a homemade barn door up to cover what will be a pantry and accessible (imagine!) storage area. He starts hockey soon, is coaching once a week at McMaster and is busy with the kids when I'm at school. Next!

photo creds: alana

ME
Ugh! Life is crazy busy, but I can't and wouldn't want to drop anything. School is alright - I have two classes I really like and two that I'm so-so on - and I really need to get going with assignments as I know they'll start piling up as the semester rolls on (but not tonight!). I'm coaching once or twice a week at Western again and will be the interim head coach come January - when the head coach has her first baby (eek!). I'm excited and a little nervous about it - but way more excited. I'll drop down to part time with school and then will have just one course left to finish my program. And then? We'll see... Other than that life is full of house stuff, kid stuff and making meals and cleaning up from meals. Bah!

Alana took 40 pictures at Home Depot the other day, including these two gems :)

Alana
This one is sloughing off the baby and toddler label and becoming a kid. She's made huge advances on the potty training front (which is amazing), and it happened pretty suddenly; she won't even wear a diaper to bed and insists on doing everything by herself (sound like anyone you know Mom and Dad?) and is doing a fine job of it all. She's in preschool three mornings a week and seems to be loving that - she only cried a little bit when I dropped her off on Thursday which, of course, broke my heart a little bit; and then when she bravely let go of my hand and went inside with her teacher - tears still in her eyes - I was proud too. She has big feet and is tall and strong - she holds her own with Hendrik, and will fit in just fine with the Grade 1s when she starts Junior Kindergarten next year (she's as big if not bigger than most kids in Hendrik's class). She's still attached to Robyn Doggy and prides herself in distributing Fruit-to-go snacks to everyone on weekday mornings, making sure everyone has a snack for school.

Hendrik
I didn't mention that the kids have been actually playing together and getting along really well, and it's so nice! We find we don't need to intervene as much, and they've come up with their own games and pretend worlds; it's very cute. Forgive me if this doesn't make any sense, but they've been playing pretend TV, which involves Hendrik measuring how much TV they are allowed to watch (literally measuring with Steve's tape measure) - "Okay it's 58 inches of TV now Alana and that's it!") - and then the two of them will sit on the basement steps and laugh and point at the pretend TV they're watching... I love it! School is going well too, though we never get much information out of the dude; he's in swimming lessons once a week and has mastered the deep end swim - we have a swimmer! He's still super into dinosaurs and loves jumping on the trampoline morning noon and night, and is a good reader. I can't believe he'll be five soon - !

Okay that's it for now - here's a peek at the in-progress basement storage reno (major excitement, I know).

some london, some greece

We've survived the first week and a half of school - and while we're dreaming of our Greek vacation, life in all of its busy-ness has brought us back to reality. Though schedules are fairly basic and the kids are in very few activities outside of school, the combination of their schedules, my school schedule, my coaching schedule and Steve's coaching schedule make things feel fairly hectic most days. I feel like I could use a personal assistant to prioritize and remind me of all of the things I need to do / should do - but if such a person were to exist in my life, I'd probably just make them take the meat out of the freezer (and plan meals and make them) and vacuum - and schedule time for homework and planning. Bah! I'm in a Reader's Advisory class and for some crazy reason was motivated to take a NOVEL out of the library (on campus) just in case I could find time / make time to read in the evenings. Usually I'm starting my homework at 8:30 (when the kids go to bed) but tonight, since I'm just recently back from a coaching mini-job (doing clinics for adults), I might just skip the schoolwork tonight and go read something that I don't HAVE to read. Doing something you don't have to do? Sounds nice.

News on the house front: Steve is re-seeding the lawn tomorrow (grow grass grow), and we're having a few people come and tell us how much new windows might set us back. The main pane popped out of one of Alana's windows a few days ago, and since the glass was already cracked and the window won't open (it's an original 1920s window), we're looking into replacing it and all of the others in the house. Hopefully we can find something that fits the character of the home and isn't outrageously pricey, and then we might just do one or two at a time. Since all I can think about is going to bed, I'm going to cut this short. I'll finish with a few pics of Greece that got missed (and should be in that final Greek vacation post - that I will (??) get to one day...)...

These photos were taken while we walked up the river Acheron, a canyon that had many small underground or in-mountain springs offering ice cold water to the running river. It was beautiful, and Steve and I kept going when deeper waters forced us to swim; if we didn't have a group of friends waiting for us where we started, we would have kept going and going and going.

first day of school!

We survived the first day of school! It was a big day for Hendrik (starting SK), Alana (starting preschool) and for myself (starting my fourth semester of grad school), and there were only a few tears. Hendrik did really well at drop off and was his usual dawdly self at pickup, and Alana, despite major excitement and anticipation, was a bit teary and clingy when it was time to say goodbye (for 2 hours) and head on into her class. I was not teary but instead very sweaty - it's been hot hot hot here (and humid humid humid), so I was thankful for a well air-conditioned building after my 10 minute ride to school. More to come soon, I just wanted to share a few "first day" pics!

and she's three!

the birthday girl and her cake, finally! another Grandma B creation...

I can't believe we are FIVE days into September! We've had a few big days around here, the most notable of which was Alana's birthday earlier this week - our little girl is three years old! Looking back on earlier birthday blog posts, it's hard to believe we're already at the three year mark. She woke up asking for cake (of course she did), and asked for cake again for lunch and dinner, and was pleased as punch that she was having a party - just for her! Highlights were opening presents, playing pin the tail on the doggy, getting to eat icing off of a few pieces of a beautiful pink doggy birthday cake (her request, made by Grandma B), and having some of her favourite people in our back yard to celebrate with her (Grandma and Gramps were there, along with Aunt and Unc, Liz, Sandra, Sofia and her two girls Adriana and Chrysoula, Paul and Ahan and Bipasha, Maeve, Kari and Paul, and the rest of her immediate family). Steve did a great job on the BBQ feeding the crowd, and though rain threatened, those that were able to take the heat and humidity stayed outside for food and activities. Top presents include a doggy game that we haven't figured out yet - but there are six little plush doggies and she loves them!, a battery-powered bubble blower, a vintage Fisher Price purse (she was using the lipstick as a screwdriver this morning to fix handrails upstairs), little George (a cat stuffy), a Magna Doodle, and books (both kids are loving Tools Rule! and I'm especially into Black Cat White Cat). It was an amazing day, and here are her answers to the annual round of birthday questions:

What's your favourite animal? Emu and ostrich (I was sure she'd say doggy)
Favourite colour? Pink
Favourite food? Quesadillas (surprise!)
Who's your best friend? "these guys," she said, referring to little George and Chrissy dog (a plush doggy from Chrysoula and her sister).
Who's your best friend - person? "You!" (mommy)
What's your favourite place to go? The YMCA.
What's your favourite book? My Favorite Run

with her new vintage FP purse + contents

Her latest thing is giving me hugs ... all the time. In the car she'll ask for an "arm huggy" and at dinner she face plants into my lap to give me a hug - even in the middle of the night she wakes up and wants to give me a hug. I love it. I love it a bit less in the middle of the night, but it's still adorable.

And another latest thing that is starting on Tuesday is PRESCHOOL! The littlest one is also going to school, just down the street from Hendrik's elementary school. Hendrik and I also start school on Tuesday, so it will be one busy day; I'm hoping it'll be relatively stress-free, calm, and without incident. We've been talking about school with Hendrik for quite a while (we're even doing the sleeps countdown), and he seems excited to go back (though whether or not he realizes what going back to school is or means, we're not sure). We've had a few get togethers with some kids from his class, so at least there will be a few familiar faces. I have a list of things to get to, so should run... Happy September!

Greek Update #2

We are home! It was a trek, and we've been super busy since our arrival back in London - but I need to finish the Greek update posts, both to share with readers and so that we can remember the details of our trip. We had such an incredible time, and we can't wait for the next vacation which (luckily!) is happening in a month or so (Palm Springs here we come!). After that trip it might just be another five years before we escape again... We'll see! Here, Greek update #2:

Day 4 (Monday)
With very few days (and hours) in Patras during business hours, I knew I had to get up somewhat early - and early means 10:30 in this case, having gone to bed just before the sun came up (4:00? 5:00?) - to get some shopping in. I cruised the crowded pedestrian streets and made a few purchases (for the kids and for myself), and then met up with Steve; we made for Rio, a small beachy town just outside of Patras, for a swim and a coffee with a friend from the team Steve played on last year. After a refreshing dip in crystal clear waters, we met the Litwiniuks and Nik for an "early" dinner - which still turned out to be late, but it was all good; we went to a small town on the other side of Patras for yet another feast - the table was covered with plates and dished of food and drink, and though we left the table feeling pretty full, most of us saved room for dessert. Earlier in the day Steve and I stopped to buy sokolatopita (chocolate pie/chocolate cake), baklava, and portokalopita (orange cake/orange pie) to share with everyone. Back to the hotel we went where the adults (most of us) dove into dessert. We made it to bed by 3:00, which is one of the earliest nights of the entire trip; according to Steve, we were just trying to stave off jet lag. One thing I forgot to mention - the candles that we put in the car on Sunday night after the ceremony totally melted and warped in the car; it was too hot hot hot for them, and they left a few marks. Delivered after dinner to Constantina's mom's house, they were a sorry sight!

on the ferry over to Zakynthos

at Gerakas and Daphni beaches

Shipwreck beach and Blue Caves

Shipwreck, Agios Nikolaos, and Daphni Beach

Day 5 (Tuesday)
I found time on Tuesday morning to meet up with not one but two of my favourite friends from our time in Patras, and I wish we'd been able to see each other more in our 10 days there. I met Elly through our friends at the bakery across the street from where we lived last year, and it was so good to see her! We met towards the end of our time there but really connected - and it made me wish that somehow I'd met her sooner, maybe even the first time we lived in Greece! We went for coffee and she had her daughter Dimitra with her, and there were so many things to talk about! The hour flew by quickly and we both had to get going. I headed back to the hotel where I met up with Nantia, a friend I met at a yoga class at Body House Club, the gym I went to religiously (once upon a time I had time to work out). It's too bad there are so few blogs from our first year there - 2004-2005 was the first season I started blogging (from Patras!) which is a loooong time ago! Anyways, we picked up right where we left off, and we could have spent hours talking and laughing and joking, it was so so so so great. We hung out quite a bit last year, and the kids would have (I think) recognized her as well. Anyways, she didn't have a ton of time (work!), and Steve and I were on a schedule; we left by 1:00 to catch the 2:30 ferry from Killini to Zakynthos for a three day vacation at this ah-mazing hotel. The ferry ride was smooth but the loading and unloading process was total chaos; no lines, no safety gates, and no apparent order. But despite the fact that cars AND trucks either have to back on or turn around (on board) and squeeze themselves into small spaces prior to departure, there were no accidents and we were both very impressed by the fancy interiors (they put BC Ferries to shame). We felt like we were in a lounge, not a ferry. It cost us a total of 44 euros to get to the island (8 euros p/p and 28 euros for the car), and it was smooth sailing. With a bit of trouble we found our beautiful hotel and were blown away by the newly renovated rooms and premises. If you go to Zakynthos, stay here! The owner was such a nice guy (of course) and recommended his favourite beaches and restaurants. We didn't linger at the small hotel but made for Gerakas beach and then Daphni beach where we saw a baby loggerhead turtle crawl out of its nest and head for the sea. Many of the island's beaches are protected nesting areas of the turtles, and close at sunset. Areas are roped off so that nests and babes don't get inadvertently squished by tourists - and there were lots of people on-island with us: Greeks, Italians, French - but we didn't come across any other North Americans. It was a great day five!

baby loggerhead!

Day 6 (Wednesday)
This turned out to be the most touristy day of all - we took a boat tour to see the Blue Caves and the famous Shipwreck Beach, and we had to get an early start. We were up by 7:30 and on the road by 8:00, getting lost just a few times on our way north to Agios Nikolaos where we were to catch a boat. We had to wait a while before our departure, but finally got going on a wavy sea and joined a few other boatloads of people at what is apparently the most photographed beach in the world. It did seem like the most photographed beach in the world just while we were there; people were posing, selfie sticks were everywhere, and the people and cameras and posing was more of a spectacle than the beach - but it was really neat to see. Back at the Blue Caves we swam in some of the clearest ocean water I've ever seen. The whole trip took between two and three hours, and back at the port we planned to tour the north end of the island before cutting through the mountains on our way back to the hotel in Argassi. A highlight of the trip was a return to the Blue Caves from the shore; there are no pictures of this amazing stop (everything was bound to get wet, so we left all devices in the car), but it was one of our favourite places. There was a swimming platform and a diving plank at the bottom of LOTS of stairs, and we stayed for quite some time - swimming, getting too hot in the sun, and swimming again. Steve bought a snorkel and a mask and ventured into some caves, and we spotted fish and people fishing with spear things and of course there were boats and people coming and going. We toured the north end of the island, spying on the Shipwreck Beach from up above, and bought some village wine and oregano on the long way back to the hotel. After some snacks on the patio (hearties!), we decided on an Italian dinner and actually went to bed EARLY. It was early even for Canadian standards, before 10:00. 'Twas another memorable day!

from greece! (days 1 - 3)

We are in Greece! I'm writing from the top deck (top shelf!) of our incredible (and small - 7 rooms only) hotel in Argassis, Zakynthos where we are vacaying post-wedding for three days. The weather is amazing; there are way too many beaches to visit and the water is warm - warm warm in some places and cooler (but still lovely for swimming) in others, with different shades of blue and turquoise waters everywhere. Where to start? I've been writing brief outlines of each day in my planner so that we can remember what we did and when, so I might let the days guide me. Here, days one through three:

Day 1 (Friday)

Our departure from Toronto was uneventful - the kids didn't fuss or seem disappointed that we were leaving, and Steve and I found ourselves checked in and wandering the airport totally uprepared for a 12 hour journey of plane, train, bus and car: no snacks, no magazines, no movies. We did download the Air Canada Rouge app (minutes before we left the house) and ended up watching a few flicks on the plane - A Theory of Everything and A League of Their Own (which I hadn't watched in years - what a GREAT movie, and so aligned with my thoughts and intentions these days [women and girls in sport]). The flight was long (9+ hours) and we slept more on the train after we arrived. The train ends in a small town halfway between Athens and Patras (near our final destination of Kavasila), and from there we took the bus to Patras - upon which we met a very grumpy bus man who got very angry with me for eating onboard for which all the passengers around us got very angry with him for being so rude to me. Nik and Constantina met us at the bus stop in Patras, we had a coffee (of course) and took off for the village right away. There were wedding jobs to do and preparations for the two-nights-before-the-wedding party (happening that night at Nik's parent's place in the village) to be made; it was great to see the Mixalopoulos family - it was like we never left! We got a chance to steal Nik away from the jobs jobs jobs to hit the beach (Kourouta) for a swim and a cerveza before checking into a little room in the village next door (Andravida). We made our way back to the village for 9:00ish and met up wit several other Canadian wedding guests including the Litwiniuks (Steve's sister Erin's in-laws) and several Greek family members we'd met over the years. There was a TON of food, lots to drink - no surprises there - and dancing dancing dancing; we went to bed close to 1:30, well before the party ended after 5:00. Even though we arrived in Patra with just half the day ahead of us, we managed to make the most of it!

Day 2 (Saturday)

We had one of the longest sleeps in recent memory - near 11 and a half hours! I woke up and was shocked that it was 12:30 - but know now that time lost in the morning is made up for late at night - we weren't going to make it to bed before 3:00am for a few days. After a coffee and toast (a pressed ham and cheese sandwich) we picked Nik up (we've hijacked his car) and headed for Castro beach, where the sand is buttery and the water is downright clear and warm (/amazing). We swam and lounged and ate souvlaki (still full from the previos night's feast) and then visited the Litwiniuks at their hotel nearby. Our late afternoon routine was much like the day before: we dropped Nik off in the village and went to our hotel to shower before returning to the house to eat and drink. The greeks sang along to Nik's guitar, and there was some dancing before we took the party to the beach bars of Kourouta. We were home at 4:00 for the last village sleep - Day 3 took us to Patras and then south again, for a wedding ceremony on a hill looking over the south shores of Patras.

Day 3 (Sunday)

This was the first day we woke up to an alarm and things to do; the first order of business was to pick up the groom's suitcase and then do a Litwiniuk luggage run. Marianne, Larry, Todd, Ashton and Holly followed us up to what was once our home town, and we checked into a lovey hotel right in the centre of the city. With everything shut down (Sunday), Steve and I had to wander a bit before we found a lunch place - and we had our first (of many) pita/gyro. With another late late night looming, we scheduled an afternoon nap before our 6:30 rendez-vous with the Lits; they followed us just south of the city to a small chapel perched atop a hill - the view was incredible. Nik was there when we arrived (he was part of a convoy of cars that we stopped to follow for most of the way) and he mingled and chatted with guests until horns signalled the impending arrival of the bride. Constantina look beautiful - I loved her dress... and her relatives did something that must be traditional - singing and walking together to pass her to her future husband. The two of them went into the hot-as-an-oven and tiny-as-a-bun chapel to do their wedding thing (there was chanting and there were prayers and fans going like crazy to keep them cool), and they emerged to a barrage of rice thrown in their faces and stuck in their hair and clothing - married! We stayed to help with a bit of clean up and put two of the biggest candles we'd ever seen in the car and then stopped at a bouzoukia place that looked like a greek Vegas venue before heading to the reception. Neestled among olive trees in a large garden with lights hanging from trees and the open, starry sky above, we ate and ate and ate; there was more food than two or three Canadian weddings combined, and with the exception of one set of North American music (mostly oldies - that only four of us danced to while the Greeks watched), Greek music and dancing reigned supreme. We joined in here and there and by 4:00 we were ready (I was ready) to call it a night. It was an ah-mazing day!

More to come soon - here, a few pics! 

(Blogging on the balcony, wedding wedding and wedding!)

in short, with video!

It's safe to say that in the summer, blogging is not high on my to-do list - wait, let me rephrase; in the summer blogging is not high on the crossed off checked off done and done list of activities. Coaching, yes; kid stuff, yes; anything outdoors, yes; I've been all over the place and in the gym too much and in the city without kids too much to set aside time to write. We've had an awesome week in London, even though I was in Toronto for most of it. Steve sent me pictures on a daily basis of the kids at a blueberry farm (/amusement park - there were bouncy pillows, flying foxes, pedal cars, animals and more) or the kids at Storybook Gardens or hitting balls at the driving range after a round of mini-golf. I was half expecting the two of them to ask me to stay away upon my return last night! I was in Toronto coaching with a great crew of women, and got to enjoy the Toronto restaurant scene with some good friends after our daily coaching duties wrapped up. Whilst away I registered for school and amassed a decent list of things to do before school starts BUT... we leave for Greece in less than a week! And you better believe I am NOT taking anything that requires work or responsibility on our voyage - and that includes children. Steve and I are traveling solo, and it will be so so weird to not think of diapers or snacks - and no whininess? YAY! I will miss the kids quite a bit - having spent two weeks away from them in the last month, missing them is what's most on my mind. (I'll get over it.) We are heading to a ParapanAm sitting volleyball game tomorrow and then up to the cottage to meet up with the Brinkman-Tukker clan, and we are ALL looking forward to some good, quality time together before we take off. I'd better get packing - we're trying to get things done before the last minute, so as to not forget anything. Should I put the kids in the car now?