Well, we thought it would be fun for the kids to spend a night on The Queen Mary.  With strong British roots on both sides…Nan/Grandama/Aunties & Uncles that travelled across the pond by boat…yada yada. As it turned out, The Queen Mary was tired. That said, we had a lovely, traditional meal on board. The kids were great…it was another lovely surprise of the trip. Tal was really excited to see the Princess Diana exhibit (from a far)…and Will was quite content having tantrums and wrecking whatever his little hands could find (we love you Will ;)). Sadly, no pictures. Sorry folks, this team needs a photog on staff. 😉 You van check out a link to the boat here. http://www.queenmary.com

PS – Billy (s) we did do a tour of the bridge,Captain’s quarters and Comms room. You would have loved it! x

Well, quite frankly, Legoland was AMAZING…and a very pleasant surprise.  We originally thought it would be fun for the kids since they had to leave all their cousins in Brockville. As it turned out, it was really fun for all of us. Will was just a little over 36″ so was able to go on almost all the rides. The level of detail in the Lego characters…and Miniland…was really extraordinary. Anyone with a love of architecture, Star Wars, fairy tails, robotics…would love this place.  We stayed at the LegoLand hotel, which was a bonus in that it let you enter the park early…but you could also leave in the late morning to sit by the hotel pool (an perhaps have some cocktails) before heading back for more once the sun died down a bit.  The pool was great…both Will and Tal made new friends, played with the floating Lego blocks…and never wanted to leave. So impressed from the moment we checked in…to the scavenger hunt to find a treasure in our pirate themed room…to the cool pit of lego blocks to ‘free-build’ as you wished 24/7.  Amazing. Would love to go back someday (as would the kids). Next time, with other grown-ups, and we would rent out a Cabana by the pool ;).

What an amazing two weeks in Brockville.  It really is a special place…and there is nothing like it in the summertime. Add in the most amazing cousins, grandparents, uncles, aunts, great uncles, great great uncles, great great aunts…and loads of friends. Well, that makes a trip to remember. Tal really loved every minute, and it was so great to hear her praise of our hometown. Here’s hoping it will be a tradition that long lives on 😉

Highlights for the Kiddos:

• Family – not to call out anyone in particular…but the cousins were a HUGE hit with the little people
• Swimming…Tal is now a little fish
• Friends…great to see friends like Sophie Jenkinson 😉
• Sleepovers – with all the grandparents (the grown-ups thank you!)
• Animals – Nan’s brood…and Pen Pen…Indie might still be a smudge scary to the little people – next visit she will get high hugs for sure!

Highlights for the Grown-ups:

• A ridiculous dinner with Ali & Jer…Jay is buying a sous vide machine on our way home. Easily one of the best meals I have ever had…ever.
• Stu’s Wedding – so incredible to be included in such a special day. We are so happy for you Stu! Hips 2.0 had some serious moves on the dance floor…I think he is still a little sore 😉
• Fam Jam across the board. So great to see everyone.
• Mr. C – this one is important for me, especially as Tal is starting to have relationships with teachers. Mr. C was my Grade 9 Math and Grade 12 Outdoor Ed teacher. He made quite an impression on me…he made me work hard…and try even harder. I think he saw my potential…and wouldn’t let me ‘Go through the motions’ (as he called it when you didn’t give it your best). We had a great catch-up…so glad he is doing well…and seriously hasn’t changed a bit. Tal – love your teachers…they are good peeps.
• Seeing Uncle jeep, Sandy, Betty & Dick…my Nan would be so happy to see us all in the same room together, catching up. And bot do I ever love that special man. What a gem.
• Tait’s Special…add bacon..extra special sauce.
• Jay would also add in seeing all of his mates. He wishes every weekend was stag weekend ;)b

What an amazing day in San Diego!  Love this place – can’t wait to come back post B-rock to see some more.  Today we went to the San Diego Zoo. Honestly. I think you could spend 2-3 days here and still not see it all.  Off on a red-eye tonight to Brockville for some fun with our family! See you soon!

Santa Monica – San Diego

Distance: 200 kms

Actual Drive Time: 2.5 hours

We made it! We had so much fun last night with The Barker’s…we were a little slow going this morning. After a quick stop and In-N-Out Burger …we hit the road for San Diego. We have a no fast food rule this trip…In-N-Out Burger is the exception to the rule because we don’t get to have it at home…and it is so delish! We had thought we would drive the coastal road today…but it was so slow going, and we couldn’t see the coast anyway, so we opted for the freeway to get us their faster.  What a wonderful surprise when we pulled up to our Hotwire hotel. It was AMAZING. The stars really aligned today…we had such a great evening here at the Inn at Rancho Santa Fe.  Our room had a big private deck with lots of room to play…wonderful pool…beautiful lawns where we played (or tried to play) croquet…and a delicious, grown-up, dinner, where the kids were good the entire time.  Thank you stars 😉

Santa Monica

Distance: None!

What a great day today! We met up with The Barker’s, just in from Brazil, for some fun in Santa Monica. We watched the world cup, hit up the promenade, took a spin on the ferris wheel on the pier, and splashed around the pool. Really cool how the next generation made instant friendships.  Until next year, Barker’s!

From my boy! I’m one lucky momma!

San Simeon, CA – Santa Monica, CA

Distance:  400 kms

Actual Drive Time:  5.25 hours

Well…we hadn’t anticipated driving all the way to Santa Monica today, but it was such a beautiful, sunny, day…all the beach hotels en route were booked solid.  So, we drove all the way to Santa Monica to stay at the hotel we had planned to meet The Barker’s at tomorrow. The warm chocolate chip cookies and dip in the pool were welcome rewards to our star mini-travelers.

Tonight we’re going to hit up the Third Street Promenade for some dinner.  Tomorrow The Barker’s arrive mid-morning from Brazil and we can’t wait to see them for a day of fun!

*the below pic of Tal giving her best pose is for a video she is making for her friend Charlotte. Our little poser…we are in so much trouble in (hopefully) 10 years 😉

San Francisco, CA – San Simeon, CA

Distance: 345 kms

Actual Drive Time: 5 hours

Today was another mostly drive day…it was so beautiful! We did do a little shopping in SF.  Tal & Will helped Dad pick out some new kicks  (not the ones in the pic;)) for Stu’s wedding 😉 We drove HWY 1 from SF to San Simeon.  The drive was so amazing…can’t wait until our trip back when we can take our time and make stops along the way.  We have a list going of all the places we want to see.  The drive between Big Sur and San Simeon was fairly long…and not much in terms of towns to go through. We were pretty happy to find a hotel and food when we hit San Simeon 😉  Tal and Will even turned down snacks they were so hungry and sick of the choices in the snack bag 😉 Next stop…we’ll have to wait and see 😉

Santa Rosa, CA – San Francisco, CA

Distance: 100 kms

Actual Drive Time: 1 hour

Highlights:

• Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
• New stuffed dogs and a book from the hotel, dogs named Francis after the Westin St. Francis
• Cable Car ride
• Fisherman’s Wharf – Carousel ride…ice cream!
• A new toy cable car to go with Will’s car collection (slash obsession ;))
• Sea Lions sun bathing at Pier 39

We put a big drive in yesterday so we could have a fun day today in San Fran.  What a great choice…it was an amazing day! The kids have both been so great… it was really fun to just have an easy day out of the car.  We’re staying at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square.  Back in my High Road days I used to stay here all the time…really great hotel. We got a steal of a deal on Priceline for a great room. The service was so fantastic…they gave us a room with a view of the square, a late check-out tomorrow and have more than pampered our kiddos. Once we got settled they sent them up stuffed animals and a bedtime story to read tonight. Really, really amazing.

Today was just one of those days…you want to pinch yourself for being able to have such a great life. We are so lucky to be so happy and making such great memories.