Pictures from the past..

Today I was looking through some pictures and came across these very old ones of Paul and I. I remember this day clearly, it was August 20th, 1990 and we were celebrating Paul's 24th birthday. We had already been together for a whole year and we were just starting to think about a future together. I was starting college for an Early childhood Program at Conestoga College and he was just finishing up his education as a Mechanical Engineer. It was so exciting, we could see our future together so clearly and it was becoming so evident that we would make this life together regardless of the obstacles, we as a young couple would face. I must admit we were so happy, so excited, so young and so inexperienced. Back then, the thing to do was to move out, get married, have babies and struggle through life...just to make ends meet. Well, we had that mastered!!
I do believe however, at the time this picture was taken, we were both still living at home. Every Sunday, we would be at my house for Sunday dinners...some traditions never die. Unfortunately that meant Paul would be heading home for another long week of school and work. I hated it, I loved our weekends together and being away from him was aweful...I couldn't wait to move in together! Even though we were young, we always had goals, hopes and dreams...I knew one thing for sure...we wanted to be together! At least that's what I wanted..LOL, if you ask Paul..he'd probably laugh and say "YEP, I couldn't wait to be with you!!" Sarcastically of course..
Life was so easy back then, we shouldn't have tried to grow up so quickly...
You know, when I was looking through these albums I could not believe that for most of my life already Paul has been a big part of it. It is nice to have that one person who is a constant part of my history, he is in all of my family pictures....
Its kinda cool, to look back and remember the days when all we had for dinner was Kraft dinner and hot dogs, or we had $50.00 for a week to entertain ourselves, or even the tiny apartment that we loved so much just because it was ours! Its a great feeling to have only had those experiences with him, I just look at these pictures and think we have had so many years together, so many pictures standing with one another. In my life I am thankful to have this consistancy. I am happy to have him beside me in my pictures, and I am fortunate that he still stands with me.

Finally feelin good..

I really have struggled today with a topic to write about, so I think I will just type whatever comes to mind. I finally have started to feel better today, I made it out to get some groceries and even stopped at Homesense to pick up some easter decorations. I also stopped in at my parents to say hi, it was nice to see them...again!
We had Bradens wheelchair company come in today to try and fix his wheelchair, Paul is getting so frustrated with this company. They just can't seem to please us, its too bad because we have always had a good relationship with them. Lately though, they are more about the money than about the happiness and comfort of their client. I hope it all gets settled without any problems. Tonight we had a bbq for dinner, it was amazing having the back door open for that lovely breeze to flow through our living room. The sun was fabulous and sitting out back made me realize just how close summer is here...can't wait for lazy summer mornings and relaxing, sunkissed evenings.

Simply stated...

Ole' fashion birthday party..gotta love 'em!!

Last night Kailey attended my neice's 12th birthday party. When I asked what the events of the evening is going to be..I had a pleasant surprise to hear that the birthday celebrations were going to be simply stated "nostalgic". I really do miss the good ole days when a birthday party consisted of a bunch of pre teen girls, hanging out, singing karaoke, trying to solve that ever challenging rubix cube,

pigging out on junk food and making something creative to always remember the celebrations from your friends most fabulous festive bash. Kelsey's birthday was just that, it was an evening spent at home amoungst important friends, laughing, sharing jokes, eating candy and staying up late to watch the ever popular Twilight movie. Although I wasn't there from what I heard it was a great night and all girls came away with smiles. Its sad today when people are always trying to find the best birthday party ideas, the most popular activity and who can spend the most amount of money. What happen to those days when we all gathered in our bedrooms, listening to Michael Jackson belt out Beat it,
and giggling to some of your friends answers during an innocent game of truth or dare. Lets bring back those reminiscent years, those birthday parties where we actually celebrated the day our friend blessed this world. Happy Birthday Kelsey, hope you had a wonderful day!!

This evening my mom, dad, Katie and Ethan came for dinner. It was the first time I have seen them all since we got home from Greece. I handed out thier souveingers which included tee shirts, bracelets, Greek Ouzo and Lemoncillo alcohol. We had 2 shots each and I had the chance to introduce some Greek traditions, we looked at pictures and enjoyed eachothers company. I love Sunday family dinners, they are always my favorite day of the week.

Happy Easter time, just around the corner...

These two photos were taken from the Pottery Barn Spring catalogue. I just love their stuff, I think maybe I'll attempt this cute center piece for the easter holiday.

I use to be so big on decortating the house for every single holiday possbile. I would have the kids make crafts such as spring flowers, easter eggs,little bunnies and I would tape them all over the kitchen cupboards. I also had the fridge covered in all their wonderful artful cleverness, the house was always filled with theme decorations I did this to make our home feel warm. Of course being an early childhood educator, back then...it was in my blood. The kids still make fun of me today, I love crafts..I love doing them with the kids, they however have outgrown this and no longer amuse me! Times have changed, the kids are growing and my fridge and cupboards are bare, no longer sporting my flower cutouts or easter egg colouring pages. A part of me wishes dearly, they would just love to make easter cupcakes and decorate eggs with me...thankfully though with life changing and taking different directions, I too have somewhat outgrown those crafty afternoons. They keep me busy with so many other projects, we may not be colouring or making easter bunny hand puppets anymore..but don't let that fool you, their creativity shines in many other ways. Its always an adventure, there is never a dull moment...I love watching them colour their own worlds...they are creating a master piece for themselves, I just hope they always have fun doing so....

Turbo dance..

Ok so I am totally feeling good right know, just got in from the ringette party and it's almost 2am, we got invited back to friends to play poker, but of course we can't handle all nighters anymore!! So, we are off to bed! Its too late to blog, but darn it I will not give in and I will never miss a day! Braden bought a new video camera today, very expensive one, perfect for his movies and stuff...so proud of him! Well, thats it, great night tonight, loads of laughing, dancing and drinking!! Hope all is well in blogger life! Good night and sweet dreams..

Grease...

Today Braden and I watched Grease, the reason Braden watched it is because he is going to be helping with his school's production of Grease. He was going through a pretty diffficult time for the past few weeks, trying to figure out where his co op placement was going to be. It was becoming difficult for his teacher to find a place that would allow Braden to do some directing and editing, or any behind the scenes work. Understandably, its a hard field to get into, and there are not many choices in tri cities. Well about 3 weeks ago, a family friend who Braden goes to school with was reading my blog, the one about Roger's Cable and she decided to help out our situation regarding a placement. She was kind enough to talk with the teacher who is responsible for the new school play and she compassionately put out there that Braden would be a valuable assest to the production team. It just so happen that Braden's teacher was on the same page with Victoria and agreed fully with her. From there the idea was born, and Braden was asked to be a part of something that is going to be the best experience of his school career. At first he/we were disappointed that he wouldn't be leaving the school to get out into the community, but reality is...he is doing everything he wants to do, right here in his own school!! It actually worked out perfectly, a bonus is that he won't be far from home, no commuting and he won't have to worry about his energy levels at the end of the day..some things he can do from home! Needless to say..he is so excited, it was awesome having him so interested in watching the movie Grease...he has already read the script and is thinking ahead for the future. Things worked out perfectly...we owe a huge thank you to Victoria, for her caring, kindness and thoughtful heart. Thank you sweetheart..I owe you huge!!! xox

Mhm...

Ok, seriously have you seen this summer movie? I have to say that this is one of my favorite ones of all time. Our summer nights are totally spent having a swim and then watching a good summer movie. I almost busted this one open today and just watched it..mostly due to the amazing weather outside, kinda got me in the summer spirit!! If you haven't seen this movie than I recommend you get out there and see it..John Candy is classic, great actor..the comedy world has missed out on him!!
Its always difficult coming down from such a high in life! Considering this time last week I was roaming the streets of Greece, today I am home...and happy for that. Braden was home today he wasn't feeling well..I think tomorrow he will go for a half day, he recovers from any illness alot slower than most. Paul was working on the basement today, he is putting the flooring in. I think we are getting closer to hiring a contractor to help with the rest of the basement. We've been throwing around the idea of Paul heading back to work and seeing how we do again?? It might be nice to have him here for the summer though..we'll have to wait and see?! I am also starting to think of summer plans?? We definately want to go to New York City again..its Braden's favorite place and since he didn't get to go to Europe..we owe him that! SO, its time to sit down and plan that trip...i would also love to rent a cottage this summer?? so many ideas, what to do..what to do??

No rest for the weary?!?

Well that didn't take too long..I had a day of rest yesterday and then today life resumed. I should have had a run this morning but I didn't and good thing for that because I had to take Braden to Hamilton for therapy and got home at 5:45pm then was out the door again at 7pm to take Kailey to powerskating. Tomorrow I will run, I felt pretty good though, the tiredness hit at around 5pm and I didn't think I was going to make it. I almost told Kailey she could miss powerskating, but what kind of mother would that make me?? It was nice to see our Ringette family...I miss then when we are off season, this friday is the year end ringette dance...should be fun everyone is going. I do believe these next couple blogs are going to be silly ramblings..i have nothing to contribute to the world right know! So bare with me for a bit and hopefully my writing topics and enthusiasm will return with avengence!!

Monday blues...

Oh its Monday...and what a Monday!! Both Kailey and I feel like we have been hit by a big big truck. Today we are just lazing around, Paul and I went to Costco to get some food, and that was about it. Nothing much to say..it was nice listening to our music and drinking a large cup of tea! The things we take for granted here in Canada..our culture is so different from the European culture. I have such a new found respect for our home. In my opinion we as a nation, have so much and we feel that we need all of it. When in fact it is easy to survive on not much at all. It was a great lesson, and I hope that Kailey has also witnessed how fortunate we are to have all we have and I hope she has learned not to take it for granted.

Our plane ride home...so happy!

Well I must say that this trip was one of a life time. We had such a wonderful time, we saw so much, tried so many new things and had moments that words cannot describe. The only thing that I would have to say is I didn't like how we had to follow a group. As parents it is hard to take orders from others and follow someone all the time, you like to do what you want to do, when and how you want to do it. Kids are use to follow direction and listening to authority...so they did better. This morning we were up at 3am and was on the bus by 4am. The first plane ride was from Athens to Rome, which then we boarded another plane from Rome to Toronto. We spent a total of 11 hours on a plane today. It was so long, and we were so tired. Kailey and I sat together which was good because Kailey managed to get some sleep. What a relief when we walked through Canadian customs and saw our families! It was wonderful to be home, unfortunately our body clocks were 6 hours ahead of Cambridge time, so the next few days are going to be a challenge...considering we've been up for over 24 hours.

Saturday March 20th..Athens City Tour

After breakfast this morning we started our guide tour of Athens and then we had a tour of the Acropolis. We climed the Acropolis to view the majestic Parthenon which is known as possibly the worlds greatest architectural feature. Athens is named after Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. We also had a chance to see the Presidential Guards in their traditional costumes and we passed the stadium where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896. During our walking tour we got aquainted with the endearing Plaka district, strolled past Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, built to honor the most powerful of all greek gods-contruction began in 515 B.C. We had a walking tour and some free tome for shopping in the city. Today was a great day, we all got maps from our tour guide and took off to explore the city, we broke into small groups and settled in fine Greek restaurants for an amazing lunch. The food overall was ok, but we were missing some of the simple things from Canada, the restaurant we chose was fabulous we had Club house sandwiches, fries and Greek salad. During our hours walking downtown Athens we did some shopping, sat in the centre of the city and drank coffee while the kids played soccer in the centre of the sqaure. We witnessed many gypsy's here and the kids thought it was pretty cool to watch them run whenever the police would show up to bust them. No one in our group was a victim of pick pocketer's, it was pretty safe. The tour company really prepares you, they explain to you what to look for and how to be safe. We all felt fine, there were no problems or concerns. Tonight we have the option to go to a group Greek night, featuring entertainment and dinner. Colleen, Kayla, Kailey and I opted out. We have to get up at 3am to catch a bus to the airport at 4am. Instead of going to that dinner, and not getting in until midnight, we decided to walk to the beach, eat at a restaurant close to our hotel and then have a quiet evening just talking with one another and discussing the highs and lows of our trip.

Friday March 19th..Delphi to Athens

After our most amazing night in Delphi we then had to get up early for a bus tour to Athens Greece. We literally went from one extreme to another in Greece, leaving behind the most serene place on earth (in my opinion) to a city so large it felt like New York City. Most of today was spent on the bus, so it was a bit boring. I will just share some pictures of today with you..not much else to post.
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Thursday March 18th..Greece, Delphi

The ferry arrived at around 11:30 am today and then we headed to delph. On our way to Delphi we stopped for lunch at a beautiful beachside tavern for Soulvlaki and fresh fish.



Once we hit Delphi we had a guided tour, and stopped at the oriacle. This place was really cool, the story behind the oricle tells us that if anyone has a question about their life they simply ask the question in a rock and wait for the an answer from the gods. It is believed that the Greek ancient military leaders left gifts for the Oricle in hopes of good fortune in battle. Our tour leader Christianne had told us that she has connections to the oricle and if we wanted to write down a life question and leave it with her then when we were done with the tour we would get the answer back. So i asked the Oricle if my children would have a healthy and happy life..the oriacle replied with a hand written answer If the spirit is healthy life is happy, and if the spirit is happy the soul is healthy.
Kailey asked a question about her future and what it holds for her career wise. The oricle replied" if you can see it then you can be it what a great answer. While we were driving through the mountains and small villiages we stopped in a small one called Archnava..

I have posted a picture of that beautiful little village. This is also considered a ski village where people come from all over the world to visit this town. our night in delphi was fabulous. we had an amazing night, so wonderful. This little villiage was tucked away in the mountains and filled with nostalgia, quaint little cafe shops and views that will forever be imbeded in my memories. We had a great night too, it was nice once again to sit around with the parents and teachers, have some wine, beer and chit chat for hours..many laughs were had! We had some Greek Delphi cheese and summer sausage, some good ole greek beer and a low lit fire that warmed our toes and good wine that warmed our hearts. I was missing Paul and Braden feircely at this time but nothing a bottle of wine and 6 pack didn't cure! We also shopped in Delphi, it was one of the best experinces I have had through the whole trip, we walked through the stores flirtlng with the store owners who wanted us to do shots with them and taste their Greek cheese and olives in their stores..i think their tactic was to get us drunk in order to hypnotise and intrigue us to purchace more and more souveingers from their stores. This night really was so much fun, I even stopped in a internet cafe to try and hook up my laptop to skype home to see my hubby's face. Even though i am not uploading these blogs daily, please know that i try everyday to get a good connection in order to post my blogs. Most days i sit on a bus and type away on this little fabulous laptop that i got for my birthday.

Wednesday March 17th..Pompeii, Brindisi and our ferry to Greece

Today we are heading to Pompeii, we checked out of the hotel at 7:45 and had a 45 minute drive to amazing old city of Pompeii, in A.D. 79, a neighbouring volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted, in the am people woke up to shaking world and thought the earth was ending, but it was the top of the volcano, erupting with rock ash, people were paniking ran outside, some went to the water its a miracle only 4000 died in that erruption.
People were coverd in ash and stone, it was like a air tight seal which suffocated the peolple in Pompei, people rebuilt houses but they were struck again 1600 years later with a earthquake, why would people continure to rebuild there, one reason why they kept going back was because the land was very rich and had excellent soil for farming.

In the year of 1600 people started digging and realized that they were finding another city, the city and people were found exactly they were when the people were buried alive, people siting at the tables, out side farming.

The bodies were found like an imprint in the land, so when the archeologiests were researchering this ash covered town,

they had a story of the life that use to live there, this town was literally frozen in time, everything was preserved things like paintings, tools, so the archieologists could get a descrition of what life was like for these people in Pompei.

Here is a person that was found in this state of survival, he/she was found crouching and protecting their face from the ash that was filling their world.
When we were touring this old hidden city we went through a brothel, and the parents were warned that some of the old paintings on the walls where a little sexually graphic or explicit.

Here is a picture of an actual bed that was used in one of the rooms in the brothel.
We had a laugh at this point because they were pigs back then too...they had rooms with a picture of what specialty the women in the room had or could perform. I added some pictures to show the beds that were found in this brothel. It was overwhelming to be walking through this old town knowing that people lived and roamed these streets over 1600 years ago. It is believed that this place is one of the richest archaeological sites in the world.
After our tour around Capri and Pompeii we then again boarded a much larger ship tonight, the superfast ferry it was called. The tour guide Christianne made the mistake of warning our girls that on this ship there are truck drives who board this ferry to cross the sea with cargo. Well unfortunately these dirtbags pray on the little girls, and if any of the girls give them any type of attention even a simple smile, the truck drivers will pursue them aggressivelly. The girls were warned not to look at them, or make contact, these men have no shame in their actions and would even follow them to their cabins. They were told to never be alone always stay in a group. I nearly had a nervous breakdown, I did not settle well at all with that. We sat down for dinner, and I was nearly in tears with fear and anxiety..also missing Paul and feeling very out of control. I did drink alot of wine quickly at dinner because i knew it would take the edge off. It did't take long and it was like kailey who?? no seriously, we decided to gather all the kids in one area of the ship and one of the dad's plays in a band so he pulled out his guitar. It was nice to have all of the kids together nice and safe singing songs with their friends, teachers and parents. Colleen and I headed to bed a bit early and left the group, Colleen was a little nauseous and me homesick..we settleed the girls nicely in their rooms and retired for the night, of course we stayed up in our room and chatted,it ended up being a very nice evening...once I settled!
I am sending out a big Happy Birthday wish to my bestest friend Candy..miss you much and wish you where here with us!! XOXO

Tues, March 16th..Sorrento, Naples and Capri

Today we are heading to Sorrento, and Naples Capri. We will be taking a fairy boat across. Our tour bus driver is from Naples, his name is Guisseppi he is very nice and loves the kids but his patience is short. Typical European man. Let me tell you about last nights walking events. Guiseppi was lost after one of our tours and he couldn't find us. So our tour guide Christiane had suggested that we walk to the restaurant to have dinner. She said it was only about 20 minutes away..sure we all agreed and thought the exercise would be good. Today we visited Capri, and Naples..i must admit that Capri Italy has Cozumel Mexico beat out in beauty, it is officially my favorite place in the world so far,
We boarded a small ferry boat and crossed the Bay of Naples to the captivating Isle of Capri. We had a tour of some shore and mountains of capri.

it was so magnificantly beautiful, truly nothing I have ever seen before the boat ride was so fun, the captain let us sit right up front where there where no kids and only 6 of us adults. The mountains and caves we witnessed were surreal, really words could not ever explain the beauty that we witness..i have put some pictures up of the mountains for you too see. the tour guide had shown us a villa that Jay Z and Beyonce had rented for a month, he also stated that they were a very demanding group and expected to have anything they wanted whenever they wanted it. He felt they thought because they had money they could get anything. he seemed annoyed with them. he also stated that his father had a problem wih P Diddy years ago. While in beautiful Capri we shopped in some small family runned buisnesses, and picked up their selling features as souveingers. They have this alchol called Lemoncello which is served usually in Capri after dinner time. WOW, talk about amazing, one shot and we were already feeling warm and fuzzy. It was a wonderful drink and we got some shots for free. The locals were very friendly and seemed to enjoy having us overtake thier little village. As you can see by some of the pictures this place was so dreamlike, it was a place for serenity, love and harmony. When I am ready to write my book, this is a place that I would love to retreat too, rent a villa a spend 6 months alone, finding all the right words needed to make my book a success!! No one said I couldn't dream while I was there!!
I am apologizing know for all the typing errors and spelling mistakes, most of these blogs were wrote while sitting on a bus, while everyone else slept..I wrote.

My lovely pumpkins!!
This is what our tour guide calls our touring group, the children are called her pumpkins and the teachers and parents are called her pumpkin keepers! Our tour guide is quite nice and friendly and very knowledgable. Today was a very long day...we did so much, it was probably the busiest day of the trip. We were up again at 7am and boarded the bus for 8am. We headed directly to Vatican City which is actually its own country. Like I said before I have waited years to get to the Vatican, just so i could have the opportunity to pray, i kinda figured that if I wanted god to hear my prayers than that would be the closest place to be. I prayed and prayed...lets see what our future holds!
We also went into the Sistene Chappel, where Michaelangelo painted the ceiling with gorgeous paintings of various scenes from the bible. We learned so much in such a small amount of time. This experience was unbelievable, of course the children didn't understand the significance of the history involved with the Vatican, but i did. I stood, in the middle of the chapel looking up for 15 minutes.


It was so important for me to soak in the atmosphere, feelings and all around powerful aura. It was peaceful, Colleen and I went into a private chapel and prayed amoungst nuns and priests. How could you not take advantage of that chance to speak out and thank god for all the blessings you have in your life? Besides, I still have dreams, wishes and hopes...what does it hurt to try?
We also went to the colosseum, that was amazing.We toured it and walked around, we witnessed the place that Ceasar was killed and where his ashes are layed to rest. The history regarding the colloseum is so powerful, can you believe the entertainment that use to happen at that place? Gladiators would fight till the death, it would be the people in the stands who would determine if the weakest gladiator would live or die. If one of the gladiators went down and was injured, the king would look to the stands and if the crowds cheered for the man to die, then he would be killed by the other gladiator. They would also send in animals to fight till death, and that would be their entertainment. Seating in the colloseum would be the rich and wealthy would get the first rows, middle class men would get the middle parts of the seating and then the poor, finally the women would get the seats farthest away. The rich women of course could sit with their husbands. We managed to do some more shopping before dinner and that was nice, we bought a couple small souveingers but had a beer in the streets of Rome, literally walking down the middle of the street with a beer in hand and no rules to say we couldn't do that!

Well good night my friends...hope everyone is well...its late, off to bed!!

Day two..Today was much better we are somewhat rested but tolerating the tours with much better patience. We had to get up this morning at 5am to shower and have a light breakfsst, then hopped on the tour bus for 7am. Wow we were tired, but we did it. Florence was 3 hours away, but so worth the drive. Looking at the country side as we drove through was just breathtaking. There were hills and valleys small homes set right into the hills with orange clay roofs. Many of the homes and villages were very old and Italian stricken, just like the movies portray. Actually many movies came to mind while driving through..it was so beautiful, sometimes surreal.

Once we were in Florenece, we took a tour and went through so many little towns, stacked with old wine shops, leather makers and pizza shops. I must say that the Italian people are really not that friendly and the service you recieve in the restaurants is embarrassing. They are very rude and have absolutely no manners. Our tour guide explained that this place is such a tourist area, the locals dont mind the tourists its just that I guess we put them out...make them work harder?? They like their quiet, serene lifestyle, us toursits just send them over the edge. The tour guide gave us a tip and told us to do 1 of 3 things..first, let it go!! You won't win..secondly..cry, if in doubt bust out in tears (probably my approach) thirdly..give it back to them, yell scream and let them know you won't back down..i guess they respect that!! LOL, For lunch today during our free time, we had a wonderful experience in Florence, Italy..we sat in a restaurant, outside and enjoyed wine, brusetta bread and greek salade. Colleen, Jackie, Kristen, Randy and I had some laughs in the sun.
We just soaked in the sun, live band, smells and culture of Italy. Honestley we just sat back, people watched and took in all there was too offer..everything about the atmosphere was perfect..an afternoon in Italy. We are on our way back to Rome, i am sittling on the bus with many around me blogging on my new cute laptop..thinking of Paul because he thought of this for me! Thanks babe! \kailey is in the back of the bus..with the kids I can hear Kayla laughing...unfortnately Kailey is really not feeling well..she's hanging in and not complaining but I can see it in her eyes. Colleen is here beside me..snoring away, I have to nudge her when she gets to loud..people laugh at her and she gets self concsious..lol..i love her tho! Hope you enjoy the pictures..i had fun taking them..so much history there. The cobble stone roads are so old an d contain so much character. Sometimes i just look up at an old window and wonder how many people have looked out that one, and wonder what they were looking at?Lovers? Coming or leaving, children going to school, husbands leaving for work?? This town is certainly a town of mystry and intrigue..I love it here. I do understand how they feel this is the most romantic place on earth!
.The structured most stricking aspect is in fact its impressive dome. it was beautiful


Home of David the statue was created by michaelangelo in 1504. Sculpted by when michaelangelo was only 26 years old and recently cleaned to prefection, the David is kept in its original form.
It is know 12am and i am just too tired to fill you in on any more! The pictures tell a story..and by the look of us...its a tiring one!! Good night everyone, have a safe march break!!