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Toronto, Part II – Around town.
While Michelle wrote her exam, Belle and I checked out the distillery district, had lunch with my good friend Briony (I had a bacon sandwich, she had a swordfish sandwich, at the St. Lawrence Market), and explored Queen street. The next day, after Michelle finished her exam (which we just found out she totally passed!), we toured around town with Yvon and Claudine, starting with lunch at the Mill St Brewery and ending with some serious exploration of The Beaches. That evening they also helped us do some serious celebrating. We had an absolute blast staying with them, and we can’t thank them enough for how welcome they made us feel, and how much they helped us get around and get things done. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We should also thank Harley, the bulldog, for putting up with, and entertaining, Belle so much! They were like two peas in a pod!
We were also able to visit with Graham and Emily, who you might remember from a wedding a few posts back, and we were able to check out their new pad and have a great brunch. We also had a great dinner and visit with our friends Myrna and Jim in Burlington. All told, we were able squeeze in some great times! Thanks everyone!
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Toronto Part I, High Park
So off to Toronto we went, for Michelle’s last exam ever! We were hosted by the fabulous Yvon and Claudine and we had a great time in the moments around Michelle’s studying and exam writing. Belle and I also explored our surroundings, and on our first day, spent the day in High Park, playing in the playgrounds (where she had her first solo slide) and checking out the mini-zoo.
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New Furniture for Belle!
So we had this bouncy chair that Belle was using as her personal mechanical rodeo bull, and after a few near-gorings, we decided that she needed some new furniture! We went to Ikea and picked out some kiddie furniture, with her help of course, and set it up after she went to bed. Judging by the look on her face the next morning, Christmas was in September this year.
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High River Wedding
At the beginning of September, we loaded up the car and headed down to High River for Graham and Emily’s wedding. It was a fantastic time, and the backdrop was stunning. It was great to see such wonderful people get hitched, and we’re so glad that we were able to be there.
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Vickers!
While in Langley, we were able to spend some time with the Crescent Beach Vickers (my cousins)! Belle had a fantastic time playing with Luke and checking out her brand new cousin, Eli, while the adults had a great time visiting. Can’t wait to visit again!
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Langley and Vancouver
In the second part of our summer holidays, we jetted out to Langley, to relax at our 5-star pool resort in Walnut Grove and visit friends in Vancouver. Belle had a fantastic time playing in the pool, and in the hottub, and in the dripping water from the sprinkler systems, and pretty much anywhere there was the tiniest bit of water. While Michelle did have to study, any time not studying was spent eating fantastic food, drinking amazing wine and enjoying awesome company. Parties, picnics, cross-border shopping trips and more were all on the itinerary, and we had a great time. Thanks Tousignants and Goldies for the fantastic hospitality! We’ll be back!
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New Pool!
So with Belle being such a water baby, we decided that we’d better get her a pool. Pools seem to all be on sale now, so we picked up this fancy wader for twenty bucks. It looks like it was a good purchase.
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Lake Wabamun
Arriving back in Edmonton, we ran into Chuck and Sonya at the airport (there was also a Ryan Nugent-Hopkins sighting as well) and were able to have a super quick visit and meet and greet between Olin and Belle. Running into them was incredibly lucky, since it required us staying on the plane until everyone was off (which we never do), plus the elevator being broken (so we came out in Departures instead of Arrivals). It was destiny!
We arrived home with just enough time to unpack and do laundry, spend one night in our bed, and then the next day we headed off to Ryan and Kathryn’s cottage on Lake Wabamun. The cottage has been in Kathryn’s family for a few generations, and it’s an amazing place to relax. We also happened to get the one sunny day in weeks of cloudy weather, and had an incredible day boating, swimming and relaxing. Isabelle couldn’t get enough of the lake, and even when she was violently shivering, she’d scream and cry when we took her out of the water for a snack and a warm-up break. We had a great dinner and relaxing evening with Ryan and Kathryn and their 4 month old son, Sam, as well as Kathryn’s parents, her sister, Joanna, and our friend Jordan, who was able to squeeze in a visit between flights (he’s a pilot). We headed out the next morning after breakfast. Thanks so much, Wynns, for your hospitality. We had an amazing visit and hope to do it again!
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Visit Up-Island
We spent our last full day on the Island visiting with family up-island. Isabelle still has all four great-grandparents on my side, and they were extremely excited to see her. She was also able to catch up with two great aunts and a second cousin. It was a fantastic visit and was a great way to finish up our trip.
