I know I promised I'd be back soon to recap our trip to Canada for Nana's 90th birthday party. To be honest, I have been quite overwhelmed by the task of blogging about the trip. I have brainstormed about the best ways to do it without posting TOO many pictures (I did, in fact, take over 300 pictures while there...once weeded down, there were still over 200!!) I think I'm ready...but this post might take a few days to actually be complete and ready to post... Bear with me!
The photo snapping began on the flight up as it was Eli's first trip on a plane. We've taken one long car ride to NC last summer where we stayed overnight in a hotel, so this was a big deal...being gone for so long and staying in so many different places. But the biggest excitement was definitely that it was Eli's first airplane ride. He had been counting down the days all week until the big plane ride, and of course I captured it on camera!
Eli did wonderfully on the plane. No trouble with his ears or his tummy. Since he's too young for gum chewing but too old to nurse during takeoff, we gave him gummy bears as a treat, and it worked well for him. And the ginger ale on the plane I think headed off any upset tummy. With this trip under our belt, I'm a lot less nervous about flying alone with Eli out to Denver next month to meet baby Asher and visit with T & Ricky...
So, after landing in Buffalo, we hopped in our rental cars and drove to the "Great White North" to Uncle Doug (who Eli lovingly refers to as Uncle "Digger," and now so will we!) and Aunt Debbie's house in Stirling, Ontario. For those who may not know...Debbie is Matt's sister. We were greeted eagerly at the driveway after 12 long hours of traveling by cousins Brock and Brayden. Eli was reintroduced to many of the aunts, uncles, and cousins that night. We stayed here for 3 nights and had an absolute blast.
Debbie and Doug were amazing hosts to us for our time there. We were not allowed to lift a finger to help although I tried many many times to pitch in with meals or clean-up. Their house is just amazing...designed and built by them. Stirling is one of the many farming communities in the area. One of the largest working dairy farms in Ontario (maybe even Canada??? I could be making up this factoid!) is right down the street from them. It is so great that so many of the siblings live within 30-40 minutes of each other. We loved getting to just relax and hang out with them all. Not shown in the slide show was our lunch at Aunt Sheri's restaurant (delish!!), the boy's afternoon on the golf course, the grill going up in flames, and all the chilling, bonding, chatting, and relaxing that went on. We can't wait to go back up for another stay and are already looking ahead to when we could go again!
After our time in Stirling, we made our way to Barrie (just north of Toronto) for Nana's party the following day via Oshawa to see our nephew, Brandon's awesome new house. We are very proud of him and his new mega purchase. We had another tasty cookout there and then made the rest of the trip into Barrie.
Nana's party was on Saturday and HUGE! As it should be for a 90 year old who doesn't act a day over 55! :) She is one amazing woman!! 80+ people showed up to celebrate her big day with her, and it was great to see her in her glory. We walked in the door and were quickly greeted by several great aunts that Matt hasn't seen in ages, and Eli and I had never met. You should have seen the cars crammed into the cul-de-sac! I should have taken that picture. Instead, we took a lot of others. What a reunion!! Nana's children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even great-great grandchildren were there in addition to her sisters, sister and brother-in-law, and many other friends and well wishers. Pretty amazing, truly. It was hard not to tear up myself as she welled up while everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her. What a day...and the pictures I took are only a mere glimpse into the day. I wish I had taken more...but with trying to keep tabs on the boy and visiting, these are the best of the best.
I have to also give the younger nieces and nephews major props here! They did a super job of keeping an eye on Eli and playing with him. Matt and I were able to hang out and visit as much as we did thanks to the cousins all playing together. Thanks kids! We love you!
OK, I think I'm going to stop this post here. Whew! Lots of pictures and so much family love to share. After the brunch on Sunday, we said a tearful goodbye to all of our Canadian family and went our separate ways. I was a wreck and wish we lived closer. Seeing each other every year or sometimes longer just isn't enough! We love you all and can't wait until our next time together.
Our last days in Canada before the drive back to Buffalo to fly home will have to recapped another day...hopefully tomorrow.
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