Sunday 26 October 2008

Windsor-Brantford Courier Service

I promised my mother that I would deliver her large purchases from Bronner's in two weeks. Two weeks happened to be this weekend.

Jeremy and I left early Friday afternoon (it was a PD day at school). We arrived in Brantford around 4:00 PM. Jeremy was very excited and wanted to play with Babcia right away. However, she was preparing dinner - pork cutlets and mashed potatoes - and told Jeremy that she would play with him after dinner. Supper was excellent.

Jeremy and Babcia played all evening.

Saturday morning, Babcia, Jeremy and myself headed out to find Jeremy a winter coat. At Bonnie Togs, Jeremy picked out his coat (that came with matching snow pants). The size 5 seemed a little to tight, so we settled for a size 6. Babcia also bought Jeremy two shirts, socks, and some mitts. Did some more shopping at Shoppers and headed back home.

It was a strange weather day. Sunny. Cloudy. Rainy. Repeat. Jeremy and Babcia managed some outside time. Jeremy was looking for his friend, Ivey (next door neighbour's daughter). I watched Planet Earth on my mom's 32-inch LCD TV. I was blow away.

Sunday was more of the same. Eat. Play. Relax. Can't complain.

The drive back to Windsor was uneventful. Stopped at Wendy's in London for a quick supper and managed to miss the rain/snow showers. Got some cheaper gas at the Pilot in Tilbury before.

Jeremy and I enjoyed our weekend.

Posted by Adam

Monday 13 October 2008

Thanksgiving in Frankenmuth & Birch Run

We left Sunday morning around 9:00 AM. For the first time in a long time, there was no backup at the tunnel and it took only about 5 minutes to clear customs. Had to deal with an I-75 detour but that was no biggie.

Had breakfast at the IHOP in Pontiac at Square Lake Road and Telegraph. It was busy, but we were shown our table in about 15 minutes. Breakfast was okay. My pancakes were warm not hot, meaning that they had been sitting for a while. I thought my order came with hash browns but it only came with eggs, bacon and pancakes. Next time I'll pay more attention to the menu.

Arrived at the Birch Run Outlet mall before noon. The place was already hopping. Stopped in at Guest Services to get all the coupons and then began the shopping fest.

Four hours later, we had reached our limit. We headed into Frankenmuth and I checked into the hotel. The room was spacious - a suite room with two queen beds and a pull out couch. We freshened up and headed to Zehnder's for supper.

The wait wasn't too bad at Zehnder's. About 20 minutes. Eventually we were taken downstairs and seated in the room that had the buffet. Everyone but Jeremy chose the buffet - which included roast beef and turkey in honour of Canadian Thanksgiving. Jeremy had - wait for it - mac and cheese.

Everyone enjoyed their supper. I know I was full between the chicken, roast beef and turkey. We walked and checked out a few stores on our way back to the hotel.

At the hotel we changed into our bathing suits and fun in the pool.

The next day we grabbed a bite to eat in the complimentary breakfast buffet. I had a freshly made Belgian waffle and a sausage-egg sandwich. Jeremy had cereal. It was a decent breakfast.

We packed up and roamed around Frankenmuth. Then we headed back to the Outlet mall to check out the part we skipped and headed back home.

No problems at Canadian Customs. The wait wasn't too long - about 10 minutes. My mom thanked us for the wonderful weekend. We thanked her for spending the week with us.

Posted by Adam

Monday 6 October 2008

Kalahari 2008

Tina and Jen decided that we should return to Kalahari Water Park in 2008, especially since the expansion was complete. Tina booked the trip. We got a good rate staying Sunday to Monday. Of course that meant the boys would miss a day of school, but no one seemed concerned.

We left late Sunday morning. US Customs was about a 30 minute wait. About 20 minutes later we were enjoying breakfast at Denny's in Monroe. The boys were excited.

About an hour or so later, we arrived at Kalahari in Sandusky, Ohio. It wasn't as crazy as last year. Tina went in to get our passes and check in. Our room was ready, so we unloaded the van and then parked it (finding a sweet spot near the main walkway).

Not shortly after, the Joe and Jen pulled in and they checked in.

We changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the waterpark. It was huge. The expansion doubled the size of the facility and added a wave pool, another surfing ride, and bunch of new waterslides. The new part included a deck which increased the room for lounging around.

The younger boys spent their time in the kids waterpark. Corbin and I checked out some of the new slides. He also did the 'toilet' slide, where you swirl around in a bowl and then fall through a hole into the waiting pool.

The major hit was the wave pool. At first, Tina and I tried it out, but it didn't seem all that exciting. We gave it a second look later and it was fun.

We munched on some pizza and then did some more waterparking. Then it was time to head up to the rooms to celebrate some birthdays - Corbin's and Jen's oldest boy's. We had cake and they opened presents.

Our package this year included breakfast. So the four of us went down before it got too busy. It was buffet style, but the selection was great. Tina and I filled up, as did the boys. Then it was time to pack, change into swimsuits, load the van up, and enjoy a few more hours in the water park.

It was a great time with friends. It could become an annual tradition.

Posted by Adam

Thursday 2 October 2008

Corbin is One Decade Old

Happy Birthday Corbin!


Our boy is 10 years old today. Wow. Double digits. Before we know it he will be in his teens.

That sure is a lot of candles to blow out.

Posted by Adam