Merry Christmas

The house is clean and the shopping is done. It's time to sit back and relax with the boys and enjoy Christmas. Plenty of presents under the tree this year.

The Szymczak Family extends a Merry Christmas to all family and friends.

In Memory of Ciocia Helena

My mom called me at work today with news that my aunt, Helena, my mom's last surviving sibling, had passed at a hospital in Mlawa, Poland.

My aunt had been in poor health over the past few years. Things were getting worse over the past few months. She was admitted to the hospital about a month ago. My mom is arranging transportation to Poland.

I have wonderful memories of my Aunt. The last time I saw her was when she attended our wedding in Kitchener back in 1995. I remember climbing the flights of stairs to get to her fourth floor apartment in Szczecin. I remember taking the tram line out to the factory she used to work at. I remember the phone calls where she asked why I don't write her enough. I remember a person full of energy and happiness. I remember nothing but having a good time in her presence.

Ciocia Helena, you will be missed.

Ja Kocham Ciebie.

Adam

Well That Was Fun

A major snowstorm hit southern Ontario Saturday and Sunday. It dumped about 20 cm of snow from Windsor to Brantford.

The storm finally let up around 4:00 pm, so I rallied the troops and we were off. My mom cried - she is always worried. We left my mom's at 4:30 or so.

The 403 was not bad - one lane with most vehicles driving between 70 and 80 km/h. The 401 in Woodstock was marginally better. We travelled at around 80 km/h except when we had to slow down to 30 or so for snowploughs.

We pulled off in London to grab a bite to eat. 20 or so minutes later, we were back on the 401

West of London, there it was very gusty and lots of blowing snow. Driving wasn't that bad until we stopped dead in our tracks about 3 km east of Tilbury. 40 minutes later we were moving very slowly - good thing I filled up with gas on Saturday. It took one hour to move 7 km - to just west of Tilbury. Two travel lanes were available and we arrived in snow covered Windsor around 10:30 pm.

Six hours for a trip that normally takes three hours. Not too bad. Saw plenty of vehicles including tractor trailers in the median and the side of the road. Jeremy was oblivious to the conditions around us and Corbin was too busy playing his Nintendo before changing to watching some movies on the DVD player.

Glad to be home safe and sound.

Posted by Adam

Snow in Goderich?

We headed up to Goderich Saturday morning. It was sunny.

We arrived in Goderich just after lunch. It was overcast.

We went to bed. It snowed.

We woke up. It stopped snowing.

We left Goderich. It was drizzly and foggy.

We got on the 401. It rained all the way to Windsor.

The boys got to play in a pile of snow that Poppy shovelled. Jeremy got some quality time with Nanny. Tina played a few card games with her mom. Adam moped around, went to Wal-Mart and bought a new Nintendo DS game for Corbin.

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

Back To Standard Time

Standard Time was a week later this year, thanks to US Congress. The nice thing about time changing in the fall is the extra hour of time we are supposed to get. Most translate this extra hour into an extra hour of sleep. If that were only true.

Seems that kids, especially young children, say almost 4 years old, don't see it as an extra hour of sleep. They see it as an extra hour of playtime. Jeremy decided that 6:30 am was a good time to wake up and remind Tina that he was hungry. GO BACK TO BED.

He did, but not for long. In a few minutes the house was abuzz with activity.

Posted by Adam