Day 4 - TCH Dryden, Ontario

The restaurant where we ate lunch - a "self service" restaurant. Like a scene from the Twilight Zone. No lie.
Blanket time in Ignace, Ont. Who's watching the baby? What baby?
Read this sign. Arguably the coolest thing we've seen so far.
Don't know if they are called "Totem Poles" here -- but this was neat (from 1976, but still)
Another of the "Rock figures" mentioned in yesterday's post. I hiked a cliff for this pic.
The higher (but better built) statue above the one pictured more closely. RKZ honked to tell me to climb down before I could get up there.
The gas station mural. Love it.
There are "Moose on the loose" signs everywhere along TCH. We've yet to see an actual Moose.
Don't know what this is. Think it's cool, though. And it's a big statue-thing.

It is with shame in my heart and head in my hands that I admit that we have now gone to WalMart every day of this trip. I promise that it was never planned. There just seem to be WalMarts everywhere, particularly when we need to buy whole milk. Normally, I would begin a treatise on the homogenization of the world here...but instead I would like to discuss the fact that nobody (big on the bold today) sells whole milk anymore! Babies are not supposed to drink 2% milk, so finding 3.25% milk has become a sub-quest on this journey. RKZ is going crazy. He has decided that Buck is "fat enough" & will not miss the 1.25% extra fat. I have tried to explain that we would be stealing fat from Buck's brain tissue, but RKZ is not convinced.

Regardless - this is all smoke & mirrors to avoid the fact that we are (here it comes) still in Ontario. We drove 430 miles today (about 8 hours is Buck's limit) - 1100 in total. We are offically 1/2 way to Calgary, yet still in Ontario. Go figure.

We are now in Dryden, Ontario. It's a lovely town ("The best little town in Canada" according to the sign). RKZ has decided that it's the Reno of Canada :) At least we found an indoor pool tonight. The boys spent a good while swimming. We mourned the fact that the beer store is closed (can only buy beer at the official beer store in Ontario). It closed at six pm. We just missed it.

I'm going to let the pictures above tell our story. Hope they are entertaining. I promised real pictures this time!

Lastly, please pray for the Joads and Gma J who is being transported to Reno over the next few days. Her hip is not fully recovered -- but it seems that she is feeling well enough to make the trip from Newport, California to Reno, Nevada in a motorhome. I don't know which of our trips will be more difficult!

Day 3 -- TCH Marathon, Ontario

Yes, we're still in Onatrio :)

We drove around 430 miles today. That is more than the total of the previous 2 days, so we're feeling pretty good about ourselves. We started early today, since Buck woke up around 5:30 am. After arriving first to the hotel-provided continental breakfast, we headed off on our full-day driving tour of the Great Lakes. We covered both Lakes Huron and Superior today (we're only 1/2 way through Superior right now). Neither of us remember seeing (or swimming in) the Great Lakes. The scenery is beautiful. I tried to snap a few pictures of the our constant companion -- the water-- as we raced by. RKZ was big on making good time today after our false starts. I couldn't blame him.

We spent a few minutes chasing geese in Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced "Soo - Saint - Muhree" -- or just "The Soo"). Buck loves to follow geese around parks. I guess his dad does too, because they had a good time doing it.

We passed through Wawa, Ont. and a town that was the "original" birthplace of Winnie the Pooh (which we can't remember right now). We've ended in Marathon -- which is quite a misnomer as it would be difficult to run even a 5K here. We were hoping for a little cottage on the water. There were a lot of little resort places we passed (more missed vacations). Of course, we ended up in a Travelodge eating Pizza Hut & drinking Molson Canadians. We're quite the world travelers, eh?

A few funny thoughts as we traveled:

1. The Native peoples of Canada (refered to as "Indians" in the US, sometimes) are known as people of the "First Nations" throughout Canada. We've been driving through many reservations on our trip. From our touristy perspective, the road-side shops sell similar stuff to that of the Native Ams in the US. Lots of Dream Catchers. Buck loved the drum music that was piped through the loud-speaker, though. RKZ wouldn't let me buy $200.00 moccassin/boots. Spoil Sport. Of course, I think I saw a similar pair at DSW.

2. We don't know who builds them, but it must be a lot of travelers...there are tiny stone "figures" that line the rocks along the TCH. I will try to snap a few pictures, but we pass them quickly & they're pretty small. The figures are generally shaped like stone "people" (see the figure being used for the winter Olympics in Vancouver 2010). A group of pranksters made similar figures but with rocks that made the heads look like penises. Sorry that I didn't get pictures of all of that. We'd already lost too much time to stop.

3. Along that artistic vein, there are also a lot of "giant" (meaning really big) statues along the TCH. Just today we saw a giant goose, a large moose with a man in his mouth, a bronze horse and a waterfall with both a jet-ski and 4-wheeler at the bottom (all statues or sculpture or whatever, mind you). Again, no pictures. This is turning into a blog where you have to use a lot of imagination. I vow to take funny pictures tomorrow.

Today, just scenery.

Day 2 - TCH Sudbury, Ontario

Our car on the tow truck - Point Severn, Ontario
The Shell station -- point severn
Always time to take a few photos!
Please ask me what a cougar is!!

Well, we're off like a wooden leg, as RKZ would say.

The van was finished around 2. Wouldn't you know it? Getting the tire is what took the longest amount of time! It took a total of 2 minutes for the mechanics to put it on the van and then we said good-bye and were off. We were incredibly glad to finally see Parry Sound!

Today's drive was through beautiful country. This area is called "land of 30,000 islands" and it sure has been living up to its name. Gorgeous waterways and bridges and small groups of people canoeing through rivers surrounded by early fall colors (green, red, yellow & orange). RKZ and I are already planning a cottage get-away next summer (or sometime...if we can). We can't believe that we missed all of this beauty! Of course, when you live somewhere for only 9 months (with a new baby) -- it's hard to see too much of it.

We've stopped because Buck was ready to sleep. He's the boss of this road trip. When his "praise baby" video began to fail...it was literally "all over but the crying." At least we've found a hotel with internet access. Might not always be this lucky.

I've included some pictures of our unplanned 'stop'. I'll start taking some prettier photos on the next leg. Oh, and a funny sign they have in Toronto. 'Cuz it makes us laugh.

Day 1 - TCH (Midland, Ontario) [Updated]

True to form, we have spent an entire day and only gotten 60 miles.

Yes, we've had an accident already. RKZ didn't see it. I didn't see it -- but we hit it. RKZ caught a "glimpse" of a long strip of metal that has seemed to rip up both a back tire as well as our plastic gas tank.

I will tell the saga tomorrow because it is time for Buck to be in bed. Everything turned out alright in the end. Small town Canadians are some of the nicest people I've ever met. Helpful at every turn & very worried about the "American couple with the baby."

Details & photos when we've gotten our fixed truck back tomorrow (Yikes!)

[Begin update: We were making really good time yesterday. Buck was up at 7am & it only took us 1/2 an hour to finish loading up. Only a small squabble btwn RKZ & I -- miracle -- and then we hit the road running.

Not so sure about the turning around of the baby seat just yet. It seemed to make Buck more bored than before (now he can see how dull driving really is for a baby). We listened to 3 different "sing-a-long" CD's and RKZ & I only sang a long a few times. Overall, it was shaping up to be a good trip & RKZ was happy with our distance covered by 9 am. Already out of Toronto, we were looking at open roads and beautiful weather!

At 9:30am, we hit whatever it was. I heard a loud exploding noise and the truck started to swerve. I was praying like crazy that we'd just get under control. Thank God we never came close to flipping or anything that dramatic. All I could think of was Buck in the back (who didn't make a sound).

RKZ and I totally believe that God was looking out for us. We were able to pull off of an exit directly in front of us (this is when we started to smell gas) & we pulled right into the parkinglot of a Catholic Church -- St. John the Baptist in Port Severn, Ontario. I do feel badly that we leaked a good deal of gas on their asphalt, but what can you do?

This was when we realized that we had no idea where we were or whom to call. There is CAA - AAA for Canadians, but we don't have it (yet) -- and we didn't even know where to say to come! A nice lady in a camping trailer (we were next to a lake "resort" and stumbled upon someone's breakfast) told us that we could walk literally around the corner to the nearest gas station.

Ahhh, Chet's "H&S Shell" in Port Severn. These were some of the nicest people I have ever met. The gas attendants and the owner, Chet, started looking up and recommending places the minute we told what had happened. They spoke to locals for us -- even the "locals" who might be working on our car -- and they called back to the tow truck company to make sure they sent a king cab for Buck's baby seat. They even called the Buick dealership who told us that there are no replacement gas tanks in all of Canada. No, I am not making that up. Then, the local Napa parts man came in and he called the store that specializes in gas tanks. Sadly, the dealer had been correct. But still, wasn't that insanely nice of all of those people? They didn't even need to help us -- let alone use their phone and double check things for us.

The tow truck came & we loaded up our silver van which was pouring gasoline. Buck was excited to ride in the bouncy, noisy truck. He brought us to the Buick dealership in Midland, but only after telling us the places to watch for speed traps on TCH once we'd restarted our trip. I reflected (to RKZ) how nice it was that no one commented on our crazy cross-country trip. They only said things like "you gotta' go where the work is." & "things are really booming out there. It'll be good for a young family." Those are real people things to say. And it made me happy that we've chosen to drive to RKZ's new job -- even after this mishap.

The "Stoneleigh Buick dealership" and Ken, our service guy, have only continued the friendly help. No sooner had we left the dealership for breakfast, than Ken called to give us an update on the van. They had put it in immediately! He told us that he'd have to order both a new tire and a the gas tank - but he'd found a used one for significantly cheaper than the newer tank would be. Side comment that I do think it's strange that a dealership doesn't have replacement parts for the cars it sells. Guess they can't have everything. All of this ordering meant we had to spend the night (hence, last night's post). And we found a nice Best Western with a pool where RKZ & Buck have already gone for 2 swims.

I'm writing now because they are supposed to finish the van by noon today (it's 10am) & we must make a trek to WalMart for diapers (bulk were left in the van) & a stain stick. I have decided that over the last 5 years, it has become possible to walk to a Walmart from almost anywhere.

We are hoping that the van will be ready by noon and we'll be spending the day/evening & night making up some time. We're still not in too big a hurry, but it'd be nice if we were only one day back in the end. Hopefully, I'll be able to post again at our next stop.

See ya! ]

"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."

OK, not quite. Our van stuffed to the grill (ha ha. See what I did there?), but we're still doing a load of laundry and dishes -- good old parenthood. We begin our "Canadian Odyssey" tomorrow morning after we feed Buck and take a few last pictures.

I have downloaded the entire 20 hours of the fourth Harry Potter novel (Goblet of Fire) to hear on the trip. I spent a summer (a few years back, thank you E) reading all of the HP books and got a little tired by the 4th book. I decided that I was sick of Harry Potter by that point, so I didn't really pay attention as I finished 4 & 5 (no 6 back then).

Poor RKZ, he is going to do penance for my lack of interest. I am amazed that the book is 20 hours of audio. RKZ is irritated. He hasn't really "caught the HP fever" as it were. Muggle -- through and through. The trip will be 40 hours long -- at least -- so he can find something to fill up the last 20 hours. That is, if we haven't been forced to sit through 35 hours of baby videos and CD's. But I do think we have that many. "Can we build it? Yes we can!"; "Doo doo doo doo - Elmo's world" (Dante's third rung, I'm tellin' ya).

Our entertainment might be up in the air, but our itinerary is focused. We're using the Trans-Canada Highway and a nifty, very spefic website of similar name:
transcanadahighway.com/index.htm

We found it funny that its much faster to drive to Calgary through the United States, but RKZ and I reasoned that we've already seen a lot of the States we'd need to drive through -- and we've never driven across Canada (nor shall we again, most likely). It should take us about 5 days of driving if we drive around 8 hours/day. With Buck along, we'll need to stop about every 2 hours for a crawl/potty/sanity/hey-I'm-only-one break. It will give us a chance to see a little Canadian scenery as well. I'll try to have pictures that do not only feature parks & fast food restaraunt play areas.

I will briefly list where we're headed on tomorrow's leg of the journey (Day 1 of TCH):

Toronto (Etobicoke)
Parry Sound
Sudbury
Sault St. Marie

It will take us 2 days to get out of Ontario -- and we're so excited to see the beautiful area around the Great Lakes. It will be a mini vacation if Buck is agreeable. We've turned his car seat to face forward (a perk of being 1 year), so he will be able to see what we see - or to see a video if he's acting a bit cranky. I have to say that the video-watching should be quite a bonus for all of us.

On a "posting" note, I'll be changing the Titles of the posts as we travel. No songs, just -- Day ___ of TCH (Trans-Canada Highway). I'm sure that's pretty basic.

Finally, we said good-bye to our new close friends here and even spent a few minutes having espresso with our Italian next door neighbor. I cried a few times. It's hard to leave, but we're excited to be out West again.

Talk to you tomorrow!

"Yeah, we're goin' to Jackson, ain't never comin' back."

It's been about three hectic days -- I'm missing my "every other day" quota. I have a feeling anyone reading this also has begun the spiral into fall. Too bad about August coming to an end. I love the summer.

Had a lovely dinner with RKZ's co-workers. A tearful good-bye and really good wine (not necessarily in that order). Everyone loves RK...he's "easy like Sunday Mornin'."

Yesterday was a crazy "mommy" day. Poor Buck -- ever since his one year shots, he's been a little sick. That MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) really seems to take it out of them. He's never had a reaction before, but this shot has left him more than a little zoned. Never one to be mother of the year, I still invited tons of moms and babies over to our house yesterday. Originally planned as a picnic in the park, the rain forced us all inside. The pictures above record the chaos. It was great to be able to say good-bye to some nice aquaintances. I will have to find a new crowd of women to discuss ovulation and poop. Not always an easy combo.

Last night, RKZ and I had dinner over at Moxie Manitoba Momma (MMM) & her husband, Archie Banker's house (outta control comma issues there). We stayed until the wee hours of the morning (for us new parents) playing hearts and basically reminding us how nice it was to live here. We will be looking for a nice house next door to us in Calgary for our favorite Canadian family...

T minus one day until the move. I am supposed to be packing while RKZ runs to the store with Buck. I'd better get packin'.

"Bittersweet - more sweet than bitter"

Buck turned one today. He's 12 months.

I understand all of the monthly counting -- since we have to know the months for things like shots and...well, that's about all really. I guess I don't know why people don't just say their kid is one or one and 1/2. 18 months? Doesn't that seem like unnecessary math? At least for the nice lady who asks how old my baby is at the deli counter. Does she really need to be doing subtraction because I want to be precise? It's like people who correct grammar of adults during a normal conversation. I am an English teacher and even I don't do that. My plan is to always say that Buck is one. I'll add the "and a 1/2" next week when he's grown another 3 pounds.

Speaking of math (my favorite topic), we had our 12 month doctor visit today. I have a doctor who recently returned to Canada from France, so she only gives stats in metrics. Invariably, (such as today) I forget how much Buck weighs and how tall he is by the time I walk out of the office because I don't really understand what she's saying in the first place. I admit my mental incompetance regarding the metric system -- and I now have no idea how big Buck is on his first birthday. I do know that he is at the 90% in both height and weight. This means that if there were 100 one-year old kids (I'm assuming in both Canada and the US), that 10 of them would be taller and weigh more than Buck. 90 of them would be smaller.

I wish that there was a personality chart: Buck would be on the "laid back laugh all the time" side of the chart and I'm guessing that he'll be the kid telling jokes to those other 10 really big kids. Hopefully not jokes about his mother & father.

The bittersweet aspect of this birthday deal is that our baby is already a "toddler." He points at airplanes and crawls around the house banging his big head into things. And he loves balloons. Thanks, so much Coach K 1 & Hoonka!

"Can you take your little hand and wave 'bye, bye, bye' ?"

Hunter :)
Buck climbing up the chute
Many of the Gymboree moms (Manitoba-Momma next to me w/Hunter)
Buck's teacher, Nancy (real name b/c she's the BEST) holding him in front
baby chaos on the equipment.

This post is actually for yesterday. There will be two today.

So sad. Final TO Gymboree for Buck & me today. Snapped some great shots. It's so hard to believe that he went from a 5 month old lying on a blanket to a crawling/standing one year old in this group. The moms have become some close friends through our shared new experiences. These photos are a bit fuzzy (I can figure out a blog but not a digital camera). I promise that this isn't just my 'hazy goodbye' to Etobicoke Gymboree. The top photo is Hunter (his mom will laugh at that), Buck's close buddy. When they're one, we get to choose their close friends, right? They are the people with the cool moms.

Genuinely sad to leave this group (More on that Friday).

"When you call, I will answer; When you fall - I'll pick you up"

A fun day today (with one exception). Met up with one of my favorite TO moms & her little beauty fresh back from their time at the cottage up North. It is a big Toronto tradition (from what I hear, a Northern US thing as well) that the majority of Torontonians head up to a cottage (with a wide range of definitions as to what that means) every August. Reba and her baby, Betty B are no exception. They have returned after nearly a month up in "cottage country." They are really only home now because Betty turns one the day before Buck (although she walks, says about three words and knows how to make a fart noise--with her mouth--on command). Betty's parents are throwing a big party this Sunday (which is the only reason we're staying through the weekend). We were excited to meet up after such a long time of not talking.

So, we descended upon a favorite local coffee place, Java Joe's. They have great salads & sandwiches & room for the kids to get into trouble -- and that is unfortunately what happened. Quickly after the pictures above were taken, Betty fell onto our table and cut her lip or did something to her mouth. She was screaming and bleeding. It was relatively traumatic and especially so since Betty couldn't really explain what was wrong. Her mom left to take her to the doctor. I'm still waiting to hear what happened.

It's hard that we have to begin to expect these falls and the blood and the agonzing crying. I think that this is the part of being a parent that strips away all of our selfishness. That instant when we would do anything to take away the child's suffering. From what I hear, it never goes away.

On a happier note, Buck is learning to walk slowly using his Fisher Price car/walker. It sings as he walks and he just yesterday began to use it to cruise up and down the 30' hall. I'm glad because we're finally getting some use out of the 29' rug we searched for. And if YOU'RE in the market for a 29' rug, look no further. The baby spit is not even extra.

Lastly, I've turned the comments back on. Had a little mix-up the other day & I have some technical difficulties with the blog which should be worked out ASAP. I'm going to try and allow people to post. Thanks for all of the emails asking where the comments went.

And "hi" to Hermione and Wayne, we miss you & can't wait to see you soon!

"Meet me in St. Louis, Louis! Meet me at the Fair"

OK, so we weren't in St. Louis, we were in Toronto -- but it turns out that what I dubbed as "a little fair" was actually the Canadian National Exposition -- CNE for short. It's the National fair and it had the insane carnies to prove it. It was really a fun night with RKZ. We are definitely "fair people." There were a lot of rides (we rode the giant ferris wheel) but even more shops. You know, those little booths where you buy things you'll never use again because when the demonstrator uh, demonstrates them...you just can't help yourself?

We were able to avoid the "clean up quick" gadgets but leave it to me to spend a lot of money in a very short time on a purchase that is more sentimental than practical. Shawn and I were walking around a corner (and I was, ironically, thinking about how much people spend on those "sit in your closet" items) when we stopped dead in our tracks because we came upon a beautiful picture of a town in the Cinque Terra. The Cinque Terra is a tiny strip of 5 towns along the Italian coast. Shawn and I went there for our second anniversary and it is a really special place.

The picture is actually a photograph of the main plaza (plaza is kind of a big word for this place) in Vernazza -- a beautiful little fishing/tourist town. I got a little teary-eyed when we came upon it, I'm ashamed to admit. It is a great picture (sorry for the tense switching. I'm emotional). We just stood and looked at it. It is quite a large nice picture. It also had a nice large price tag to match, of course (but not too large - it's not a picasso, or anything). Anyway, RKZ & I had quite a talk about the necessity of our buying this picture -- guess who was for and who was against.

And so, we bought it :)

I would attach a photo of the photo here, but we're keeping it in the box until we find a house in Calgary. Only 7 more day until our trip begins! Then, I will illegally post the picture here.

To finish on the CNE, RKZ & I spent the rest of the evening drinking Labatt's Lights & listening to jazz bands -- also watching fireworks from the beer garden. A good night, really. I forgot to snap a picture of our sitter (who is really just the person we pay to watch "The Hills" as Buck is always asleep). She's off to Peru on Friday. Hopefully we'll see her again & I'll get that photo.

Today, we're trying to finish up the preliminary packing -- and RKZ wants to video our house before it's dismantled (the furniture of course, not the actual house, that'd be silly). We've packed away all old baby clothes (sad) and started accumulating our winter gear. The rumor is that it will be getting cold sooner rather than later on our journey.

It's already in the 60's today (which is cold for the summer, I find) and a little windy. But that feeling of fall is really romantic (in the classical sense - this is not that kind of blog). I'll try for pictures tomorrow!

"Yesterday..."

Once Upon A Time, the world's best book club. This is a recently unarchived photo of a few Christmases back when our book club was thinking of putting together a little shindig (We should have known better than to try something during the holidays). It brings back some great memories of the HBHS crowd.

I will make up a few names for some of my favorite women:
A-lister; BonnyBlue; me sporting the Mexican shirt; Bucket (just b/c that makes me laugh); RosaritaMolita; La-LaLiz; & Hermione (see? you got a name after all).

I know that there is still a book club with a new crop of faces, but this will always be the "Big V Club" to me. Stay tune, my bookish sistas -- I'll be telling about the trek to Calgary in just about 8 days!

"Haters - what a drag, what a waste"

Here's a pic of Buck on his very happy early first birthday. It's a Kelly attitude about birthdays, I think.

Return to talking all about me & the boy & beloved.

We've got big plans to go to the Toronto Ex today -- the Canadian State Fair if you will. In RKZ's words: "We're fair people." Leaving the boy home with our favorite sitter, Cuba Libre. I'll try and get a photo of her tonight because she's leaving for another crazy trip next week.
Hope everyone is doing well. More later.

"Not a lot to lean on, I need your light to help me find my place in this world..."

Buck is sleeping, so I thought I'd throw up a strictly info post today. No plans to do anything more than pick up a coffee. Currently skipping a mommy's group this morning. We only have about 9 more days, so I'm playing favorites with my time. Also, Buck is doing some serious teeth cutting today.

I wanted to put a little excerpt from an interview with Pope Benedict XVI. He's commenting on the fact that he didn't offer a lot of "you can't do this or this" while he was speaking at the recent family conference in Spain. I like what he said, so I'm including it. You can skip this post if you are looking for just day-to-day family info. This is a rare divergence. Come back tomorrow & it will be filled with myself, RKZ & Buck :)

Here's what the Pope said on zenit (http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe.html):

Firstly you have to know what we really want, right? Christianity, Catholicism, isn't a collection of prohibitions: It's a positive option. It's very important that we look at it again because this idea has almost completely disappeared today.

We've heard so much about what is not allowed that now it's time to say: We have a positive idea to offer, that man and woman are made for each other, that the scale of sexuality, eros, agape, indicates the level of love and it's in this way that marriage develops, first of all, as a joyful and blessing-filled encounter between a man and a woman, and then the family, that guarantees continuity among generations and through which generations are reconciled to each other and even cultures can meet. So first, it's important to stress what we want.

Second, we can also see why we don't want something. I believe we need to see and reflect on the fact that it's not a Catholic invention that man and woman are made for each other, so that humanity can go on living: All cultures know this.

As far as abortion is concerned, it's part of the Fifth, not the Sixth [adultery FYI], Commandment: "You shall not kill!" We have to presume this is obvious and always stress that the human person begins in the mother's womb and remains a human person until his or her last breath. The human person must always be respected as a human person. But all this is clearer if you say it first in a positive way.

(this is me) Feel free to comment below. I'm not sure if people even really read this blog, so I guess I'll just continue to post what I want & you can comment if you have something to add or detract.

Peace!

"The wheels on the bus go round & round..."

My favorite picture ever of weird Sal. I love her & miss her.
Buck ordering something from our favorite resteraunt in HB.
Duns Scotus or Archie - take your pick because he LOVES nicknames!!! Take some time off!!
Fr. J & Buck just because it's such a nice picture.
The Little Flower & Texaco with their beautiful boys!
My "spa-sistas": Auntie Advice (for the good advice she gave me); Oprah; KissQueen; Buck's blanket-maker; rash-guard girl; myself and Gayle (as in Oprah's best friend - the rational one)
Livin' the dream on Peter Pan's adventure in D-Land
Rosarita Clarita & bun-in-oven: "Don't you even use this picture!" (Ha! I live in Canada!)
Fr. J & Fre-meister (names changed) with Buck @ St. V. d. P BBQ
The Budd & Tanner kids. So cute!

Just finished a "two-fer" diaper change. This is how I affectionately refer to the diaper changes that seem to happen only 5 minutes apart but where both diapers are completely filled with equal amounts of poop. I know, it's a glamourous life I lead.

True to my word, I'm posting some pictures from the California trip that I just loved but didn't have the chance to add. They are probably on top of this post, but I felt I should explain anyway. Still missing California -- but we had a lovely walk in High Park today (TO's central park). Spent some time fighting with a 5 year old for a swing. Yes...downright ultra-chic, that's me. I'm living the dream, man. (OK, I really am very happy - I cannot really complain. It's just funnier.)

" 'cuz I'm leavin' on a jet plane. Don't know when I'll be back again"

Now, I understand totally that the TSA is making minimum wage (like $5.75/hr) to ensure my security & the security of my entire family...so I have no real beef with them. It's hard enough to be motivated for a job that one is well compensated for (see all jobs I have ever had). But, yesterday, we made it through two levels of security with:

1. a backpack -- unsearched
2. a bottle of suntan lotion
3. a bottle of body lotion
4. a bottle of infant Tylenol
5. 6 baby bottles filled with powdered formula (not illegal, but not even checked!)
6. two teething toys filled with gel and
7. A cel phone

I'm no MacGyver, but I think even Buck could have constructed a bomb out of those substances if one of them had been liquid explosives. Our sadness was that no one even checked us out. The poor people on their way to Managua, Nicaragua (plane next to us) were doubly searched by the California National Guard! Come on, now! Didn't anyone remember that the second to last terrorist subjects arrested in North America actually came from Toronto? Anyone?

So, while it's not the fault of TSA or the poor, villianized security personel -- it was sure easy to bring in (I had actually forgotten about them) things that are classified as "restricted" during this period of "orange alert."

And if the baby was the reason for the lightness of the checks -- I wouldn't put it past any of these psycho bombers to "bring their children with them" to paradise. Seriously.

But on a positive note, at least there wasn't anymore damage to my stroller :)

Aside from my rant, we had a nice trip back to the big TO. Air Canada did something right for once and made the entire rear of the plane "family only" -- except for one really pissed off guy who got a free meal and drink (I'm glad). The 5 hours went fairly smoothly & now we've shifted gears to everything that needs to be done in order for us to move in two weeks.

There is a lot of stuff -- especially when Buck must be gated in any room so that he cannot make a quick escape down the stairs to toward a light socket (I bought the plugs today). Maybe I can offer some TSA worker moonlighting as security for Buck. It's sure to pay better.

Also, if you're reading this, Wayne & Erin, Buck totally misses your dogs. He tried to chase around his "crawling monkey" today and just got frustrated that it wouldn't run away but always comes back. We already miss everything so much.

"Until time makes history of us"

Well, Buck is asleep and we are happily re-established at my aunt & uncle's in Orange. Many of my cousins are here and we're discussing babies and losing weight and how much we don't trust doctors while kids announce that they found their underware at the tops of their lungs. Typical family conversations. Favorite quote: "Those people without a pancreas are so lucky." (google Type 1 Diabetes to laugh at joke).

RKZ and I went to visit Gma J today at the rehab center. She was able to prop herself up and grab onto the walker so that RKZ and I could wheel her outside for a smoke :) The rehab center is surrounded by gardens and it was fun to sit in the Newport sun and talk to Gma about our family tree. She let us know, ironically, that her parents were from CANADA! Winnipeg, to be specific (can you believe it, Christa? We're more bonded than we thought!). RKZ & I decided that it's probably destiny that we've returned to Canada. We're bringing our family full circle!

O, Canada! Our home and native land!

Tonight, we're getting ready to leave in the morning. With the airline scare from a few days ago, we're packing tonight so that we can make sure all of our liquids are packed away in a suitcase. We're looking forward to the security screening of Buck's formula :( Of course, any extra airline safety is reassuring.

I have many pictures left from the bulk of our trip. I will post random pictures over the next two weeks as I mourn leaving HOME. Our focus has definitely shifted to our looming move from Toronto to Calgary. The blog will surely go on - so please stay tuned!!

"We'll be together, now & forever, in a blue heaven rendezvous..."

Another quick post of pictures:

HB Vice & Sweet Valley Twin 1 - "Peace in the Middle East" Man & his daughter, Goolia w/ RKZ.

PT-Tanner;
SDJ & Sweet Valley Twin (SVT 1);

RKZ & me; "livin' large LT;

Mookie; The Queen & Sleeping Beauty;

UCLA 1 & Teach; & Buck's anticlimactic 1st b-day (7 days early)