Random Pics Using Darryl's lens

Just some random pictures from trying out Darryl's new lens.  It was sitting in the box and what can I say....I wanted to play with it.  I am constantly learning how to fix/finish/adjust pictures so these are just the straight up shots, no photoshop here. Let me know what you think!

You have to love just how cheeky she can be sometimes.  15 photos later and she smiled normally.

 Was playing with settings on my camera and this occurred during an episode with the sports feature on. The boys hit hard, and you can see it in the Canadian players face.

 Our new friends. I picked up hotdogs at the game and of course they attracted some unwanted guests, however, it made for perfect photo op. 

I love this picture only because you can actually see the bee's wings as it is flying.  And I got the blur in the background perfect.  Problem is: can't remember how I did it exactly.

Another Rugby game

I think this might be something to look into for next year as well.  I don't know all the rules, I don't have a clue of who the players are, but I do know that watching a live game is super fun.

This game the Canadian Wolverines played against the American Tomahawks, and it was a physical game.  Both teams were engaged and came to play, my favourite type of sporting event.  I am not a fan of athletes who get paid to play the game and don't show up to play, this bothers me when I know there are so many kids in lower leagues just waiting for a chance to prove themselves, but some pro doesn't feel the need to have to be a team player or decides to not play on his A game, end rant.

So back to the game...

Darryl also let me play with his new lens, I have no idea what it is but it is fun, unbalances my camera, but I can also see up people's noses if they are close enough.  Okay now clean off the coffee you just spit on your computer screen and take a look.

Note to self:  Next year learn at least a couple of the player's names.

Canada won this game, and it was the first time ever that they won this championship so we were quite proud!  Canada's Ball Baby!!!!!

Taste of the Danforth

5 rowdy girls off on the bus to the Danforth to eat and have some fun! I love Greek food, but no one else does, however, when you take 4 other girls to eat you always end up with different tastes. 

After getting some free sunglasses from Indie 88 and listening to some great music, we were all a little thirsty.  So I went off in search of something really different, not your typical pop or water, but something that would make some memories.

And I think maybe that I had found it.  And when you are on Danforth you cannot forget to stop and have the most delicious treat ever: Gelato.  I must tell you that everyone ate theirs except Mylee, she got a strange combination that probably wasn't to her liking but the others loved it.

 

And who could resist a picture with the best mascot ever, and tickets to the best game ever.  Yep, tickets to the Argo game!!!!

 

 

It was an amazing afternoon filled with laughs, crowds, good food and good friends.  To top it all off the day wasn't over as we stopped off at a park for some jungle gym fun and we met Paul and Sue for the rugby game afterwards, hence why we are all dressed in red Canada shirts. 



 

Not a baby anymore

This post makes me sad, but at the same time it makes me celebrate.  While at the ROM looking at a display of armor and weapons Mylee was standing behind her sister and when Kiya stood up, well that was when it happened.  Mylee had a loose tooth while on the cruise and was dying for it to come out.  I knew it wasn't ready for me to pull it yet so I tried my best to keep patience and have her try to have some too.   NOT SO EASY.

So yep, as Kiya stood up, she caught Mylee's mouth with the back of her head and there it was....the tooth on her shoulder and Mylee with a bloody smile.  I was sitting on the bench waiting for everyone and they strode over at a quick pace with Mylee in tears.  Of course my mommy radar kicks in and I am in attack mode, until she holds up her tooth and somewhat laughs.  What can I say....don't irk the momma bear. 

She was so happy but she needed to get rid of the blood in her mouth, a) it was grossing me out and b) I could just imagine how awful the taste in her mouth was.  So off to the bathroom to rinse with some cold water to stop the flow. 
So yep total excitement at the ROM, every second a new beginning, a new wonder or a bloody mess.

So many big developments for my baby this summer, I just wish sometimes they would slow down on the growing, it is all way too fast for this momma to process. 

The ROM

You would think after the 800 trips to the ROM in high school that I would be completely bored of it.  Very much the opposite in all honesty.  There is something about history and constant learning that I find so enticing.  I love reading the plaques and finding out just what that weird object was used for.  Plus things in the ROM are always changing, displays are on loan or they have enhanced some sections.  The last time we were there Mylee was just a baby in a stroller, I didn't get a good chance to look around but this time I did. 

We all had different objectives.  Kiya had been to the ROM 2 years ago and could still recite some of the things that she learned while she was there studying medieval life; Mylee was all about the dinosaurs and seeing what and where they were; Darryl had his new camera and wanted to delve a little deeper into lighting and photography; Me, well I was there to look and discover and take pictures of things that might keep the girls busy over the next couple weeks. 

One thing I found incredibly interesting was the Axolotl, the girls thought it looked like Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon, and I must admit, they are pretty bang on.

 

 

I have also vowed to take the girls to Drumheller, AB at some point in our lives to see where the dinosaurs were dug up and to see the awesome museum they have there.  I keep telling them that I visited there, but being kids they always look at me like I am telling fibs. 

 





And I could have sworn something like this flew into my face when we visited Margarita Island.  The grasshopper things down there look the size of birds...and I don't mean finches...they were huge.

 

We all had a great time.  The girls learning something new, Darryl taking over 200 pictures and me, well I got the Greek and Egyptian alphabets to bother the girls with, as well as some pretty cool info on some art projects for Kiya.  Overall it was a great day, lots of walking and some sleep time in the car.

 

And another amazing thing happened but that will be in the next post.



No More Connecting Flights Ever

17 hours, 3 airports in 3 different countries and 8 suitcases lost in transit.  Yep that was our nightmare on Saturday.  Tropical Storm Bertha sent us on a crazy whirlwind adventure that I don't care to go on again. 

It all started Friday night when the captain told us that Puerto Rico's port was closed but he had managed to get clearance to go in.  Bertha decided to throw an intense amount of rain on the island and there were "puddles" at least 3 feet deep all over the place.  So getting to the airport was an adventure to say the least.  The tidal wave splashes that our taxi drove through made us all nervous. 

Then the 3 hour delay our flight had was going to be interesting as we would have missed our connection in Philadelphia.  So a flight leaving at 2:35pm was delayed until 5:30pm guaranteeing we miss our connection.  Hello airport lady....help us....

Rerouted to Chicago and a 3pm take off time...YAY airport lady!!! however our luggage was still on runway awaiting Philly flight.  So as we wait 2 hours in Chicago, our luggage is somewhere.  Then we board my biggest fear, granted I am not a good flyer as is, but put me in a small plane and have it be bouncy....yeah.....my panic button kicks in pretty good.  It was under an hour flight and most of the time I was trying to concentrate on the 2 games of hangman I was playing with the girls, but geeze I HATE SMALL PLANES.

And then our adventure through customs.  I think the guy was laughing hysterically at us when we told him all 8 suitcases were missing, the look of unbelief was one thing but then when we explained the chaos I think after we walked away all he did was giggle. 

Arriving home, I almost killed Dad with the garage door.  Yep batting a thousand on this adventure. 

The good news:  Our luggage came at 10pm the following day and we had all our goodies and clothes back.

The bad news: I am still doing laundry. 

Would I do it again...yep....but I would make sure I had a direct flight.

Our Last Day

The last day was a sailing day; on the ocean all day sailing back to Puerto Rico.  The kids spent the morning in Kid's Club and I went out to suntan and read my book.  3 hours later I collected them for lunch and then we went to play mini golf and swim. At some point I knew I had to pack, ugh, and I went in to do that as I thought Mylee could have used a nap.  It was our last day before we had to fly back and we were all a little sad.  Plus I had too much stuff to put in the suitcases and knew they were heavy. 

Barbados

Barbados is gorgeous.  The beaches are stunning (still think Cuba is better though) and the life there is quite interesting.  We arrived just as their carnival was starting so all the tents and display areas were being set up.  We did a quick tour of the island seeing where Rhianna grew up, Tiger Woods got married and so on.  I am not a star gazer in that sense, I would rather see life in Barbados but our taxi driver wanted to show us the best. 

We also visited Harrison Caves, and I must advise to put this on your bucket list.  This place is a marvel beyond belief and to describe it to you would be no where close to experiencing its beauty.  This was the 2nd place that I took oodles of picture because I wanted to remember it just how it was.  Darryl had gone in 1984 and they have updated it quite a bit since then. 

As we were leaving the caves we also got a small visitor.

He was almost close enough to touch.  But yeah we didn't even try.

Then it was time to hit the beach.  And the white sand and turquoise water was nice and refreshing.  We all played in the water, and watched a lady pull a star fish up for everyone to see. 

 

Later that night the kids went to the Ocean Adventure Club to play with some kids their own age and we were treated to a pirate show just before the comedy act that was going on that night.  We all had a good laugh at the display of fun and then we went to sit under the stars and enjoy the night.

 

 

 



St. Lucia

When we woke up the day we were ported in St. Lucia it was raining.  Now St. Lucia was the beach I wanted to visit, I have been told they are just beautiful.  So I was a little disappointed.  But we did do an island tour and it was well worth it.  We got to see quite a bit of the island, though not the volcanos as that was a 4 hour drive.  Instead we ended up in a place that taught you what life in the island used to be like.  A place called Lushan Country Life, where we got to sample snacks and fruit, got to see some wild life that was indigenous to the island, and see just how Lushans used to live way back in the day.  It was a great place and we tried some new things that we hadn't tried before. 

It cleared up in the afternoon but we just ran out of time, so we did our small shopping and then arrived back just in time to shower and change for dinner.  I would love to go back to St. Lucia and see more of the island.  There is quite a bit to experience and we just got a small piece of it. 

Antigua

Possible my least favourite island, but I am so glad we visited.  Antigua is small, and I found it a little claustrophobic, however I also didn't go past the main shopping street.  Darryl also wasn't with is so that might have made it a little different.  I guess some days I need a big strong protector, especially when the taxi drivers are always asking if you need them.  Everyone needs to make money and of course that is the main source for the island but it can get trying when it is the hottest day of the cruise and everyone's not in the right temperament. 

Now for the positive: this is where the girls got their hair braided.  After trying to sit through meals where they didn't want their hair in a pony and it ended up in their food, I made sure it was out of their faces and off their plates.  While I waited for them to get finished the island was alive with music as it is their carnival time, lots of really nice music, easy to dance to. 

St. Kitts

St. Kitts we concentrated on the beach.  We did a slight drive around the island to get to the beach, and I must say, thank goodness I don't drive in the islands.  I am not sure how these people get used to it but the sheer drops, closeness of the cars passing and the fact that many islands you drive on left side of road makes me either car sick or missing the quintessential picture because my hands are over my eyes and I am deep breathing.  St. Kitts was one of those places, where you went up high, curves were just unreal and the cars pass so incredibly close you wonder how they do it. 

The beach in St. Kitts was lovely, water was warm and so clear you could see the tiny fish that liked to swim by you.  The girls love the water, they always do and could swim for hours.  I loved watching my family enjoy themselves and then there were some interesting sights on the beach as well. 

 

can you see the little friends we were swimming with at one point?

 

 

There was also the coolest toy on the island.  It reminded me of the Green Goblin's riding board, but instead of air it worked with water.  Watching the guy catch his balance was quite entertaining as we kept routing him on from the beach.  Next time we have to get Darryl to give it a shot!!!



St. Maarten/St. Martin

Depending on which side of the island you land/arrive on it could be spelt two ways.  One side is Dutch and one is French.  There are some really big differences but everyone gets along.  For example: you can drink and drive on the Dutch side to a degree, however the French side has the breathalyser test, there are many fast food places on the Dutch side, but you don't find one single one on the French side, on the Dutch side you follow Dutch law, on the French it is France governed. 

The people in St. Maarten are so friendly, everyone says hello or greets each other.  We ventured throughout the island and tried their guavaberry liqueur, all I can say about that is YUM.  It has a distinct taste but it was soooo yummy.  We visited the capital of the French side, Marigot and went to the scary beach where the planes fly over your head and you get sand blasted.  This is not a fable, a plane came in while we were at the bar and it was a little too close for comfort.  Definitely an experience to try, although you will never find me right in the planes path, the sand looked like it hurt.

We also visited Orient Beach, and it was stunning, white beaches, clear water and so picturesque.  Mylee had fallen asleep at this time, but Kiya got to experience the water at this beach. 

The Cruise

This year our adventure out of town took us on a cruise ship into the Caribbean Ocean.  I have to admit, seeing the turquoise water always gives me a feeling of warmth and the ultimate sunshine.  There are so many pictures to go through that I am just going to give you a few from every island.  We landed in Puerto Rico and then traveled to our ship via taxi.  Then after all the registration was finished (easier than I thought it would go honestly) we hopped on board on the 5th floor, yep practically ran across the gangway as I didn't want to look down. 

As we boarded the Jewel of the Seas I couldn't help think "and people say this is the smallest boat in the fleet", the ship itself was huge.  With 3 swimming pools, a casino, and oodles and oodles of activities it was easier to believe that it was a hotel on water. 

We visited 5 islands on this trip; St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Antiqua, St. Lucia and Barbados.  What glorious places, blue water, interesting people and food like no other.  The crew was wonderful and we would definitely do it again in a couple years.  I was very concerned I would be sea sick, but I felt fine, I did feel a couple lurches of the boat and it was difficult keeping my sea legs but I was pretty amazed I wasn't ill.

So on to St. Maarten, our first stop and my favourite island of the 5.