Sister Act 3 - Part 1

On Victoria Day weekend Jen and I headed west to the picturesque town of Stratford, Ontario. It rained when we went to PEI, it rained when we went to Savannah, so it was no surprise that it was raining as we drove to Stratford! Next year we are thinking of going to the desert to test out the theory that it rains for every sisters trip.

We made the most of our drive and stopped in a little town called Shakespeare for some fresh baked butter tarts and at "Castle" Kilbride (which was really just a big house) in Baden.

Saturday we saw "Kiss Me Kate" at the festival theatre and it was fantastic! Hilarious group of actors and their mishaps while putting on a production of Taming of the Shrew. Very entertaining and well worth the walk in the rain and the resulting blisters on the bottom of Jen's feet.

Foster's Inn provided our accommodations and delicious food - highly recommended. After dinner Saturday we saw "Jacques Brel" which was really just singing. Mr. Brel was a French song writer from Belgium who's songs told poignant and emotional stories. The first act was good, and the musicians excellent - but we could have done without the despressing songs in the second act.

Captain Von Trapp (aka Christopher Plummer) was in town starring in The Tempest but unfortunately we didn't see him. Truthfully we could have walked right past him but without his Austrian military uniform, whistle and seven children we likely wouldn't have recognized him.

Sunday our men joined us for lunch at the famed Pazzo and then we took a little boat cruise down the river. Stratford has a few mating pairs of swans who are very territorial and were, at that time, waiting for their eggs to hatch. As most of you know I don't care much for birds, but it was neat to be so close to them - they are huge!

Part 2 of our sister trip will be to Florida in November with Brayden. Jen is heading to Disney as part of the DQ marketing team to put on this year's Miracle Network event. Brayden and I are going to tag along, should be fun.

Shameful!

I cannot believe it has been 8 months since I blogged. And I swore facebook wouldn't take the place of blogging! Well enough's enough. I have been working closer to home since September and really enjoying the extra hours that have been added to my day. For a change I am working in a positive environment for people who appreciate what I do. Who knew!

In November, Luigi and I were honoured to become Godparents to Susan & JP's little guy Alexandre Jean. Alex and his big sister Madeleine are growing fast and always happy to see us. Even though Alex's middle name is for his French-Canadian Grandfather, I might just tell him he was named after me one day :) And for those of you keeping track, that's 4 Godsons (Ryan, Brennan, Luca, Alex). Well 4 for me, 3 for Luigi. Somehow I think this leaves us destined to have a daughter one day.

Alex - 8 months


Those of you on facebook will already know that we had a busy holiday season - as usual. We enjoyed a weekend with my dad, Christmas Eve at Jen & Jason's in Hamilton, Christmas Day at our place and then jetted off to Bahamas for a few days with Troy & Jess.










Luigi and I also took a trip to Miami at the beginning of March. We appreciated the quiet pace of North Miami and enjoyed the pool and the huge mall across from our hotel. The weather was nice and sunny but definitely not hot enough to swim in the ocean.






Jess and I saw our fave, Bon Jovi in Montreal in March and look forward to spending more time with Jon and the boys when they come to Toronto in July. The answer is no, there is no such thing as seeing Bon Jovi in concert too many times!

Up next, Jen and I take our annual sisters trip (appropriately down-sized for the current economic climate) and Luigi and I will be heading to Vancouver to see some relatives. Stay tuned! (Pictures to come soon.)

Dog days of summer

Unfortunately the weather this summer has left a lot to be desired. It's still been a busy fun-filled few months though!

Luigi and I spent the first week of July at a cottage on Fairy Lake in Huntsville. It was on top of a boathouse and as close to the water as you could possibly get. We had a very relaxing week and look forward to going back next year.







Also in July, the Hayes ladies welcomed Mona to the family. We started with a shower at my house in the afternoon and then took a limo ride to the Sultan's Tent in Toronto for a Moroccan feast and belly dancing.









My friends Julia and Dennis got married at the beautiful Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas on August 1st and Jessica and I made the pilgrimage to Nevada without our husbands to witness the nuptuals first hand. Julia sure was a beautiful bride. It was a quick and memorable (and hot!) weekend and we look forward to celebrating with them again at their Ontario reception in November.











A week later Luigi and I (and the rest of the family) headed to Ottawa (well Manotick but close enough) for Chad and Mona's wedding. It was probably the nicest day of the summer and the wedding was beautiful. Both the ceremony and reception were held at the groom's father's house - well more like an estate really. Everything from the I do's to the watermelon martinis to the mariachi band to the late night poutine bar were thoroughly enjoyable and we were happy to be a part of their day.



















We got a new cat! Abby came to live with us in early July. It's taken her a while to adjust but she's getting there. I don't think she's too sure about Luigi though.... She's a gorgeous 8 year old grey kitty.



Luigi's 'Zio & Zia' came from Sudbury for a visit - their first trip to Oakville since our wedding. We had everyone for dinner while they were here. Mattea, Emilia and Luca patiently posed for the family papparazzi!



I have changed jobs and am looking forward to working much closer to home. The commute was becoming very tiring and expensive. In between jobs I took some time off and we spent a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - one of our favourite islands.













Fall is in the air and it's back to reality I'm afraid.