A Baseball Glove, A Wheelbarrow and A Sub

Taking advantage of the warm weather, I spent late morning and early afternoon running some errands with Corbin in tow.

At first, he didn't want to come, but like everything with Corbin, you have to tell him upfront what you intend to do. I said "don't you need a new baseball glove". He said "Yes" and reluctantly put on his shoes.

At Canadian Tire I looked at some BBQ accessories. Need to get a new ignition for the BBQ - ours lasted almost nine years. I also purchased a new Honeywell thermostat with touch screen and 7-day programming to place the existing Honeywell thermostat with 5-2 day programming. And Corbin did find a new baseball glove. He also tried out the riding mowers.

Next it was off to Lowes. There, I purchased a new 6 cubic feet steel wheelbarrow, some potting soil and some new plastic pots for the indoor plants. I pushed Corbin around while he sat on the flatbed cart. We had subs at Subway before heading back home.

I spent quality time with my Corbin, who seemed to handle himself with no problems. Arriving home, I realized that there were a few things I forgot to look at. Naturally.

Posted by Adam

Montana SV6

Picked up our newest vehicle, a 2009 Pontiac Montana SV6. This vehicle replaces the Pontiac Wave we leased over the past four years. We still have our 2003 Pontiac Montana.

Originally, we were looking at a Pontiac Vibe, but I saw that GM was throwing in the 'kitchen sink' on Montana SV6 - cash price of $15,498. At first when I saw the ad, I thought there was a catch. Nope. None.

We stopped by Jerome Taylor on Saturday and sat down with Wayne Sanford, our guy at the dealership. He got a non-grey (dark blue) Montana for us to test drive. We both took a drive down the 401 and local roads. The SV6 engine responded well.

While the vehicle was not loaded (no cruise control, no extended version, no roof rack, no aluminum wheels like the 2003 Montana) it did come with power windows and locks, remote locks, OnStar Safe and Sound for one year, disc brakes on all four wheels and a few other goodies.

In other words, it was the perfect vehicle for city driving and short trips (2 or so hours or less). Tina did not mind not having cruise control. She did feel much more comfortable in the SV6 and generally liked the vehicle.

So we headed back to the dealership and finalized the deal. And what a deal. Between the GM Cash Delivery Allowance, the GM Lease Loyalty bonus, the $1,000 in lieu of the extended maintenance, 2-year OnStar and 2-year XM radio, and a few other bonuses from the dealer, the total discount was $10,100. A $25,500 MSRP vehicle was being sold to us for $15,400. We used about $1,300 of our GM dollars. The walk-out-the-door price was $17,700 (taxes and transportation included). Wow.

When we picked up the vehicle, Wayne still couldn't believe the price. We couldn't believe the price. Wayne gave us a tour of the vehicle and setup the OnStar account for us. The vehicle comes with 1-year of Safe & Sound and 30 minutes of phone time. We purchased an additional 100 minutes for $19.99. The minutes are good for the year and can be used anywhere in Canada and the US (no roaming or long-distance fees).

We had no problems with the Wave and the lease - in fact, part of the discount included the last months payment on the Wave. After Wayne attached the licence plates, we shook hands, thanked Wayne and off we were. I found it hard to keep up with Tina. She was in heaven.

Posted by Adam

One Night With No Kids

With Tina's mom in town, Tina and I decided to spend Saturday night in the Detroit area to have some together time with no kids.

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Belleville, Michigan. It wasn't that far shopping or from Windsor.

After checking in to the hotel, we drove out to the Ruby Tuesdays at Michigan and S Canton Center Road. Then we stopped by Lowes and Target before returning to the hotel.

The next morning, we grabbed breakfast at the awesome breakfast bar and then hung out in our room until 11 AM or so. We packed up and headed over to IKEA to do some browsing and shopping. We purchased a simple desk for Corbin and a few other things. Then we drove around eventually ending up in Auburn Hills.

We had a late lunch/early supper at Olive Garden before heading over to Great Lakes Crossing for some more browsing and shopping. Then it was back home.

An excellent and relaxing weekend. Thanks Bev (who watched Corbin) and Lauralie (who took Jeremy for the weekend).

Posted by Adam

No Kids for Three Hours

In past years, Tina and I would do the boys Christmas shopping on Remembrance Day since we both had the day off. Usually we had an idea of what to get for the boys and would head off first thing in the morning to Toys R Us.

This year was different. Jeremy spent the morning with us. We walked him to school and then headed for lunch and shopping. Lunch took longer than expected, which cut into our shopping time.

We arrived at Toys R Us with no real idea what to get the boys. Corbin is 10 and he is moving away from toys (or at least we are 'guiding' him down that path). He showing more interest in electronic gadgets like a digital camera, video games and science sets. Jeremy is still into toys - he loves playing with his dinky cars and is just getting into Playmobil.

We walked around and grabbed a few things, and got a few ideas. At the end we decided to not buy the few things we had in our cart. It was a very strange feeling, leaving Toys R Us empty handed.

Our plan is to make a list and buy things over the next few weeks, either online or do a day of brick and mortar shopping.

Posted by Adam

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

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

Thanks Babcia

A week sure doesn't seem like a long time - it sure went by quick.

The boys, for the most part, had a good time with Babcia. She would play with them, take them outside in the backyard or the park, and just hang out with them. She helped Tina and I by making supper, doing the laundry and keeping the kitchen clean. It worked out well for everybody.

Jeremy gave her some attitude, something about Babcia being annoying. As if we let him do whatever he wants.

Yesterday we did some shopping at Devonshire Mall. My mom got a bunch of bed sheets and pillow covers for Alex's room - she even bought the sheets Tina and I picked out. We strolled around the mall. Babcia bought Corbin some Chaotic playing cards. Later we out to Boston Pizza for an early supper.

Thanks for helping out Babcia. See you soon.

Posted by Adam

Best Buy and Babcia

Tina was at an all-day conference where Henry Winkler was the main speaker, so after an excellent supper, the rest of us headed to Best Buy to look at flat-panel TVs for my mom, video games for Corbin, movies for Corbin and gadgets for me.

After looking at a bunch TVs, my mom settled on Sharp Aquos 32" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV. We didn't buy just yet - not a good idea to take on the train. I will buy just before we go to Brantford some time in September.

Jeremy picked a Scooby-Doo movie. I think he has all the Scooby-Doo movies available on the shelf at Best Buy, so he is going to have to look for other movies.

Corbin picked up Hamster Life for his NintendoDS. It's a game where you take care of a Hamster or two. Don't ask.

I picked up a 250 GB HP Pocket Drive to backup the laptop computer. An added bonus is that it fits into the pocket drive slot on our desktop. That means I could backup our pictures and Tina could scrap book with the laptop and pocket drive when ever we take the laptop with us.

My mother looked at MP3 players and fell in love with the iPod Nano. She wouldn't mind getting one as a Christmas present.

Posted by Adam

A pancake, Swedish Furniture, Bullseye and Simple Fresh Dining

Tina and I decided to take advantage of having Bev in town to head over the border to do some shopping and enjoy some good food in Detroit without the boys. Jeremy was at Lorelie's, so Bev got to spend some time with Corbin.

We headed out of the house around 8:30. The bridge was full but we didn't have to wait too long when two more booths opened. I asked the bridge personnel if I could scoot over and she said yes. So what could have been a 45 minute wait turned out to be a 15 minute wait. Welcome to America.

Fifteen minutes later were pulled into to the IHOP at Middlebelt and I-96. The parking lot had lots of vehicles so we were expecting to wait. But we were fooled - we had a table in no time. Tina ordered the carrot cake pancake, scrambled eggs, hash brown and bacon combo. I ordered the same save for blueberry pancakes. The breakfast was fresh and hot. And the coffee carafe meant that we had a good supply of hot coffee.

Back on I-96 then I-275, we arrived at the already busy IKEA Canton at Haggerty and Ford. The store opens at 10:00 AM. We arrived at 10:15 and people were already loading their vehicles with furniture. Aye carumba.

We browsed, made some mental notes for the future and noted the location of the furniture we wanted to buy. In the Marketplace, we picked up some hangars, a magnet board for Jeremy and few other odds and ends.

In the warehouse, we picked up three pieces of furniture: A MALM 4-drawer chest (medium brown, $99US vs $129CDN) for Jeremy´s room, a Stockholm coffee table (golden-brown $179US vs $279 CDN) for the living room and a bookcase, Expedit (birch effect, $89US vs $99CDN), to be used on its side, for the front door.

Tina was not sure if we should buy the furniture, but I said it is cheaper in the US and we will still be ahead after paying GST and PST. So we headed to the checkout, handed over the credit card and loaded up the van.

We drove down to the new Target in South Canton. There we bought shirts and shorts for the boys, a DVD and a few other things. At Old Navy, Tina bought a few things for the boys. We were done shopping. It was time to eat, again. Our choice was Ruby Tuesdays, just down the road from the Target. Tina and I ordered burgers. They were hot and tasty.

It was time to make our way back to Canada, but first we had to fill the van with some duty-free gasoline. Both sides of the bridge were busy. It took us about 20 minutes to get through Canadian Customs. We declared our purchases in full and, much to our surprise, we were free to go. Tina was shocked.

On our way back home, we stopped at Tim Hortons to get a coffee for Bev. It was a ´thank you´ for watching Corbin. It was a good day for all.

Posted by Adam

Fries With That?

Williams left a message that our Waring Pro deep fryer was ready to picked up. We chose this model because it is simple to use. It's not a fancy cool-touch fryer with a charcoal filter. It's a deep fryer. This thing even comes with an on-off toggle switch. When was the last time an appliance came with a toggle switch?

Since Tina had to take Corbin for a session at Regional Children's Centre, I decided that we all should head over to the west side. While Tina and Corbin were are RCC, Jeremy and I would pick up the deep fryer.

I dropped Corbin and Tina and headed over to Williams which was a few blocks away. At Williams, Jeremy first had to to go pee and then get some popcorn and lemonade. While we waited for the purchase to processed, Jeremy chatted it up with one of the employees. He told the lady that he had been at the store before and that he likes the popcorn.

After getting back in the van, we headed over to Malden Park to kill some time on the playground. Jeremy tried every piece of equipment, reminding me that he is older and bigger and "can do it". We had fun and headed back to pick up Tina and Corbin.

Next, we headed over to the Columbia outlet store where Tina and Corbin looked for a new raincoat for Corbin to take to Camp Winston. Seems he has a habit of growing just before going to camp. Fortunately, Tina got a deal on the raincoat - it was under $20. An awesome deal.

We headed home along Riverside Drive to make some french fries.

Posted by Adam

Shopping Anyone?

Tina and I decided that it was time to do some shopping. After a quick breakfast and showers, we headed out just past 10:00 am.

Our first stop was Shoppers Drug Mart. It was 20x points day and the place was packed. I had to look for a parking space. That has never happened. Inside the store we stocked up and proceeded to the cashier. Naturally, we ended up in the line with two people checking each price - eventually they paid and the line moved quickly.

We dropped off the stuff at home and headed out to Canadian Tire on Walker Road. There we looked in the patio furniture section and bought two Zero Gravity lounge chairs. We also picked up a tee ball stand and a bat for Jeremy and some other things. We headed across the street where Tina exchanged a pillow she bought.

After a slow lunch at Boston Pizza, we headed to a different Canadian Tire to look for a replacement gun for my pressure washer. For some reason there is a 'shortage' of replacement guns. I really don't want to buy a new pressure washer. But it may come to that.

Our final stop was Williams Food Equipment to look for a deep fryer and a griddle. We found both, but only the griddle (a Cuisinart model with a reversible grill/griddle) was in stock. Tina purchased that and put in an order for the deep fryer (not a fancy 'cool touch' model but a tried and true model that is easy to use and clean). Should be getting a call soon about it.

The boys were happy that we were heading back home. A quick stop at Tim Horton's for a coffee for Tina. Given that we were out for 5 hours, the boys did well.

Posted by Adam

Victoria Day Weekend

The only plans we had this weekend was to go shopping in Detroit on Saturday. And we did that.

Took about 40 minutes to get through the tunnel and about 5 minutes to get to Fairlane Green at I-94 and Oakwood. After buying some clothes and household goods at Target and checking out Best Buy we headed down Ford Road towards Haggerty to check out where the IKEA is and what is around in the area.

We were also looking for a place to eat - plenty of Applebee's, McDonalds and Burger Kings. Eventually we found a Ruby Tuesdays at Canton Centre and Michigan Ave and enjoyed an excellent early supper. Tina had a steak, Jeremy had mac and cheese, Corbin had mini-burger and I had a rib and shrimp combo. The ribs were excellent - juicy and falling off the bone. Everyone enjoyed their meal and we headed back to Canada.

I filled the van up with some gas at the Ambassador Bridge. It was about a 10 minute wait at Canadian customs. We declared our purchase and were sent on our merry way home.

The rest of weekend was kind of a bust because of the uncertain weather. No gymnastics for Jeremy on Sunday because he was coughing and feeling under the weather. Tina and the boys went through the toys and boxed some up for Babcia's place and some for the garbage. I didn't do much on Sunday.

Monday, the weather was a wee bit better. Tina took the boys to Lacasse Park in Tecumseh and I cut the grass (which needs to replaced) and did some chores outside.

Not a bad weekend. Relaxing.

Posted by Adam

March Break - Day 3 - Indiana State Museum

Indianapolis, IN

Another good start to the day. Tina went down to get breakfast for Corbin and herself. I went down with Jeremy, who decided to have Bran Flakes today. We left the hotel around 9:45 am, arriving at the Indiana State Museum some 15 minutes later. There is an underground parking garage that has a direct pedestrian to the museum. It wasn't too busy - yet. We paid $21 for the four of us and had our parking ticket validated for a flat rate of $3.00.

The museum has an impressive display of life in Indiana from the from the creation of the earth all the way to, well, today. Plenty of items are on display and there are a good number of interactive stations. The exhibits are located over three floors. There is an IMAX theatre, which we passed on.

The museum is located within the White River State Park - an urban park located in downtown Indianapolis - and the Canal Walk runs through the museum. The Indianapolis Zoo it located just over the river.

The boys petted a boa constrictor snake and check out other snakes. They had absolutely no fear. They ran around the museum - it wasn't has attractive as the Children's Museum. But Tina and I liked it. It's a good place to teach kids how people evolved over time.

After three hours, we drove back towards the hotel and had lunch at Denny's. Jeremy gobbled up his macaroni and cheese and Corbin ate all of his pizza and some of his fries. Tina and I were full with our choices.

Next, we continued past the hotel towards the Greenwood Park shopping area and did some browsing and shopping. Tina helped the boys create some stuffed animals - a dinosaur for Jeremy and a puppy for Corbin - at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Back to the hotel to relax, rest and repack before travelling south to Louisville in the morning.

Posted by Adam

Family Trip To ... Best Buy

The family stopped at Best Buy on Sunday after learning the Columbia store was closed for inventory.

Tina stopped in at the Real Canadian Superstore to get some groceries before going to Best Buy.

Corbin and Jeremy both like to play the various video game demos they have set up. Jeremy especially likes to play with the Nintendo DS Lite. He was playing the Zelda game and Tina was impressed at how well he used the stylus to move the character around.

We looked at some other things, like big screen TVs and Apple iMac desktop - a sweet computer. Jeremy didn't wan to leave so I told him that he could play Zelda on my Nintendo DS.

Posted by Adam

Christmas Returns

Unlike previous years, we had a few misses with Christmas presents this year.

Tina's dance mat for Dance Dance Revolution didn't work right. Corbin's Headbangers Soccer toy was missing a few items and had some incorrect parts and his guitar stand broke during assembly. The two portable DVD player carry bags we bought did not work so well in the van.

I also discovered that the sweeper I bought for my Mom was on sale at Canadian Tire. 20 bucks is 20 bucks.

We carried the dance mat and DVD carry bags around with us on our recent tour of Goderich and Brantford, hoping to avoid the crazy returns lines in Windsor (Tina reported that the line at Toys R' Us wrapped around the first section of the store).

In Goderich, we returned the DVD player carry bags to the Canadian Tire store with not wait and no fuss.

In Brantford, I got the price difference plus tax less Canadian Tire money. I had to wait about 15 minutes, but it wasn't too bad - Tina got a chance to wonder around the store. We walked in and right out of the Future Shop when we saw how long the line was. The dance mat was returning with us to Windsor.

Today, I decided to return the Headbangers Soccer toy and Guitar Stand to Toys R' Us and the Dance Mat to Future Shop. I took Jeremy with me - he wanted to go to Best Buy and look for a movie. The line at Toys R' Us wasn't too bad - they had two people processing returns. No questions or problems and Jeremy got a chance to look at some toys.

Over at Future Shop the line was a little longer and did take longer. They had two people working the Customer Service counter, but one customer was taking a long time. Jeremy got a chance to play with video cameras and cell phones. Then he helped me move the dance mat as we progressed up the line. The return was promptly processed and off to Best Buy it was (which had a line that was three times longer than Future Shop).

Overall, good experience returning items this past Christmas. Now I just have to find a good guitar stand for Corbin's acoustic guitar. As to replacing the toy, will give Corbin a choice as to what he wants.

Anyone have any suggestions for good portable dvd players carry bags?

Posted by Adam

Weekend Success

The weekend away in Ann Arbor went by quickly. Tina and I did lots of shopping and lots of hanging out in our hotel room. Most of Christmas/Birthday shopping is done - just a few things for Jeremy.

Corbin had a rough morning with our worker, but he did manage to make it to school. Thanks Becky.

The drive back to Canada was uneventful (unlike the time we drove in a snow storm and it took us two hours to get to the border). About a half hour to the border, gas up and another 10 minutes at Customs. No problems at Customs.

We had time to spare so we headed up to Toys R Us but found nothing. We headed over to Costco and picked up a few more presents and supper before heading home via Tim Hortons.

A very relaxing weekend. We need to do this more often.

Posted by Adam

Ann Arbor Here We Come

Jeremy at Lorelei's. Check.

Corbin at Jen's. Check.

Tina & Adam packed up and ready to go. Check.

We headed to Ann Arbor, Michigan today for a weekend of relaxation, shopping and fun. We arrived to a very backed up Ambassador Bridge at 10:00 am. We cleared US Customs at 11:15 am. In between that time, we were met by a very rude Bridge employee who thought we were trying to sneak up the truck line. Idiot.

With our stomachs empty, we stopped at Denny's in Ypsilanti for a late breakfast. Hot, tasty and filling. Love the hash browns and sausages. The weather was nice so we headed straight to downtown Ann Arbor and parked in our 'usual' parking garage.

First stop, Dawn Treader Book Shop. Second stop, Borders. Tina bought a bunch of books at Borders. We headed out strolling and browsing the downtown area. We had a good time walking around soaking in the sun and getting some fresh air.

Just after 3:30pm we checked in to the Holiday Inn Express and chilled out. After regaining some energy we headed over to Target, but were not too impressed with their selection - we bought a few things. Drove across the road to Meijers to buy some munchies and pop (aka dinner) and headed back to the hotel.

Posted by Adam

More Than Meets The Eye

Went out shopping with Corbin this evening for an extension cord, wireless routers and the Transformers DVD. Didn't find the extension cord I wanted, and the array of routers is overwhelming.

We did pick up the Transformers DVD at Wal-Mart. I told Corbin that we would have to wait till Friday to watch the movie as a family. That didn't sit too well with him

Posted by Adam

Shopping In America

Today, we travelled to the Detroit suburb of Pontiac to do some back-to-school shopping. It took about 30 minutes to get through US Customs at the tunnel - about the minimum these days when travelling to the US. Another 30 or 40 minutes later, we had arrived at Target.

My mom bought some shirts and we picked up some clothes, shoes and school supplies for the boys and some treats that were on sale. Corbin started having a melt down so we left Target to grab a late lunch at the nearby Olive Garden.

The service was horrible. Our waitress was hardly pleasant and it took a long time for our food to arrive. Getting the bill took even longer. We won't be going back there any time soon.

Next stop was Great Lakes Crossing. We walked. We shopped. We bought a few things here and there. It was time to buy some cheap gas and head home.

Declared our purchases at Canadian Customs and encountered no problems. The boys behaved for the most part. It was a pleasant outing.

Posted by Adam

Northern Vacation - Day 5

Gaylord, Michigan to Windsor, Ontario

Last day of our northern vacation. Not much planned today other than some shopping before returning home. Had a great breakfast - gotta love those cinnamon rolls at Holiday Inn Express. The drive down was uneventful, but you could feel the heat the closer we got to Detroit.

Just before we got to Pontiac, Corbin had to go to the bathroom, so I pulled off and drove into Holly. Back on the highway and five minutes later, we were at Target. Let's go shopping. I bought some jeans, Corbin got a metal detector and Jeremy got a toy. I also bought Shawshank Redemption and season 2 of 24 on DVD. No problem at Canada Customs at the tunnel. Naturally, I stopped to get Tina some Tim Horton's.

It was nice to be back home, however, the house was a mess. Oh, well.

Posted by Adam