Our Trip to Canada

As many of you may already know, we made a last minute decision to go to Ontario, Canada a couple of weeks ago. Kurt has an ailing aunt up there, so he and his parents were going to drive up to see her. Then Kurt had this idea of - "Hey, why don't we just all go as a family and make it a little vacation of sorts?!" Especially since we didn't know when we'd be able to do a trip like that with his folks again. So we tossed around the idea. Then a couple of days later we got word that his aunt was getting weaker and made the official decision that we were going. That was on a Friday afternoon. We packed and loaded up and headed out the following morning.... all seven of us. Yup, Kurt's folks joined us in our van. It was a long two day drive up, but thankfully the kids did quite well.

Once there, we did a lot of visiting with relatives (Kurt's dad is from Canada and that's where a majority of his relatives still live), meeting aunts and uncles and cousins we'd never met before. (And as of this writing, Kurt's aunt is still hanging on! She had a rebound while we were there and was quite alert and able to talk with us. It was great to be able to see her that way.) The kids were troopers through all of that. But we really did try to do fun, touristy stuff throughout the week. And we got to see a bunch of really neat stuff!! Yes, everyone we talked to said we really needed to come back in the summer time when everything was green and beautiful, but I still thought it was all very pretty covered in snow. ;)

After five days in Ontario, it was time to head back. Again, the kids really did well on the drive back down, considering our close quarters in the van. And they have LOTS to share with their friends ... pictures, places we visited, Canadian money, Canadian sweatshirts, etc. I think this was something they'll never forget. We're glad we made the trip!!

So, the pics you've been waiting for.....

This first one is of the kids at the place we stayed for the first four nights. We were beyond relieved when one of the relatives offered to let us stay at their home (we hadn't contacted anyone for that; had just assumed we'd be hoteling it the whole time). And this relative had a huge rec room - so the kids had fun playing in there (and not making a ruckus out where the rest of us adults were!). Here they created a castle with some big blocks (and begged me to take pictures of it, so here they are!).


Then the boys' main entertainment at the house:


Nate won this time around:


Now to some sight-seeing. Our first stop was to Niagara Falls. We went to the top of this Skylon to look around the city.


This tower is much like Seattle's Space Needle. On the viewing level there's the gift store in the center and viewing windows all the way around. Then you can also step outside and see things "in the fresh air". And oh my, was it COLD out there!! We only stayed out for a few minutes. I got a few pictures, but my hands were freezing. Here are the kids with a tiny bit of the Horseshoe Falls (the Canadian side of Niagara Falls) behind them.


Then some shots of both falls:
The American Falls


And the Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls


It was quite breathtaking!

Then we went down to the falls - up close and personal. :)

I had no idea the guard rail thing was right ON the falls. As in, the falls are just a few feet on the other side of the railing. There is no security - someone could easily just hop on over into the falls if they so desired. Crazy!! I figured there'd be a clear plastic barrier or something more than just this railing between you and the falls. Nope!

The kids loved it, though.


They would scrape snow and ice off of the posts and things and then throw it over into the falls.

They wanted to be able to watch their ice chunks go down the falls, but they just weren't in a position to be able to see them go that far. But they imagined it. :)

Here's Karis with her big ice chunk:


And Ben with his:


Not sure what happened to Nate's ice chunk? (Probably already went over!) But wanted to get a picture of each of the kids in front of the falls. And I'm not sure what's up with Nate's tongue. Oh well. It's the only shot I got!


Here's Kurt's folks.

They were so gracious to share their trip with us. Of course it was very helpful to have a native (Kurt's dad) there to show us around.

And then I couldn't leave without a shot of Kurt and me in front of the falls. It's a "self portrait" and you can hardly see the falls behind us, but I guess it's proof enough that we were there. ;)


Now looking from the Horseshoe Falls downstream to the American Falls - which are to the right of the bridge.


Breaking up the pictures a bit, I have a funny story to share. On the drive to Canada we were really playing it up with the kids, about how exciting it will be to be in Canada (hey, how many other Midwest 6 and 8 year olds have been out of the country??!), etc, etc. So they were pretty pumped by the time we got to the border. There are two ways to go over - a bridge and then a tunnel. We opted for the tunnel. About halfway through the tunnel is the "line" between the two countries, with an American flag on one side and a Canadian on the other. So as we drove over the line we told the kids, "We're in Canada!!!" And Karis burst out, "Oh, I'm just so excited! Someone give me a great big hug!!" It was quite hilarious. We got a good laugh out of that one. :)

Okay, and as if this post isn't already long enough, I have another batch of pictures here.

Next up - the Butterfly Conservatory. Now I realize you can go to these things in the states, too, and at some zoos, even - but we had never gotten the privilege of visiting one. So this was our chance! Karis, especially, was ecstatic! And I was really looking forward to it, too. I envisioned butterflies flying all around us, landing on us, etc. But while it was a very neat experience, it wasn't as "extreme" as I'd imagined. But still worth it, to me.

Here are the kids posing in front of a butterfly feeding spot.


Then the highlight of the day.... Karis got one of the butterflies to hop onto her hand, and then another one landed on her head!


And even though these butterflies don't look super pretty with their wings closed, see what the other side of their wings look like.... gorgeous!


Later in the week we took in another attraction at Niagara Falls (the city is full of them!)... this time we went to LEGO Brick City. Oh my, our kids were in heaven. They are all LEGO lovers, so this was a real treat.
Here Karis is standing next to a LEGO clown:


I have scads of other LEGO pictures, but will spare you all the details. Just know there were a LOT of LEGO creations to look at.

At the end of the week we decided to splurge a little bit since we had been able to save money by staying with relatives (as well as to give our house guests a break from us!) and stayed at Embassy Suites right in Niagara Falls. It was amazing to look out our window each morning to see this:

Just a wee bit of steam there, eh? (You knew I had to throw one of those in there!)

And what's kind of funny is the kids' highlight from staying at the hotel was their time of swimming in the hotel pool! They thought that was such a treat. Ha!

Our final evening in Canada ended up being a memorable one. A relative had given us a tip and I was determined to give it a try. In the evening in Niagara there are big colored spot lights that shine on both falls. Well, we found out that if you go to the building where they do the spotlights, go to the back and knock on the door, they'll let you in and have you change the lights.

In this picture here:

... you can see this building. It's the round one at the center bottom of the shot.

So, we drove around until we found this place. You can see the driveway rounding up to the back there, but from our view on the street (and being at nighttime), you couldn't see all the way around. Plus, there was a sign that said, "Authorized Vehicles Only". So, we didn't want to drive up there. So Kurt and I and the kids got out and troopsed up there, not knowing what we'd find. We got to the back and saw a man behind a fence standing next to one of the spot lights. Kurt yells out to him, trying to explain that we were from out of town and a relative had told us we could bring the kids up to change the lights... when the guys disappeared, then reappeared again as he opened up the building door for us. He invited us right in. He took us through this old building over to the computers that control the lights. He showed the kids how to change the colors, then let them have at it. They each got to change the colors for both falls.

Here are the boys:


Then Karis:


Sadly, my pictures don't even do it justice, but this is one of the spotlights on the right, and the Horseshoe Falls with the lights on them.


And of the American Falls, too:


Before we left, the man gave each of the kids a certificate saying, "I Lit Up Niagara Falls". Talk about a cool show-and-share item for school!! :)

Then I had to laugh, because when we walked back down to the van where Kurt's folks were waiting, they said they were watching the falls and saw all of the colors changing, so figured we had been able to get inside. I can just hear people observing the changes, "Wow, they really change those colors all around, don't they?".. having no clue it was our KIDS who were doing it. Ha!

So, a BIG week. And a good week. One we surely won't ever forget.