Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Ottawa!


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Well Mark and I are back in town. We left first thing Saturday morning and flew to Ottawa to celebrate mark’s 40th birthday weekend. What a great weekend we had!! We were picked up at the airport by Mark’s cousin Elizabeth and niece Ashley and went back to their home. We had time to drop our bags, grab a quick bite and then we were off. We headed downtown to go skating on the Rideau Canal. This is something that mark and I have always wanted to do. There were 6 of us – Mark and I, Elizabeth, Ashley, Shannon and Hannah. What a great atmosphere it was down there. There were lots of people, ice sculptures, activities, Beaver Tails, Hot chocolate etc. The sun was shining and we really enjoyed ourselves. HOWEVER – we did discover that skating is NOT our forte!! We did sit down and enjoy a Beaver Tail and a hot chocolate. A visit to Ottawa is just not complete without a Beaver Tail. After skating we went to see the ice sculptures. They were really amazing. I do wonder HOW someone would discover that that was where their talent was.

After our afternoon adventures we made it back to the house. We had time to get ready and the 3 of us headed out to dinner. Elizabeth’s husband Jeff was on a business trip. We really missed him over the weekend – except perhaps when we were skating as he would have made fun of us!

Dinner was at the horse race/casino. We had a wonderful buffet dinner and made our way to the slot machines. Mark and I decided that we were playing with $20 each. I picked the best machine ‘cause in about 10 minutes, my $20 had morphed into $70!! I cashed out!

Sunday was another great day – it was Mark’s birthday party day! We were having a big celebration dinner. Elizabeth and I went out in the morning to pick up some supplies and the day was a realizing one – Just what we needed. We decorated the dining room fit for a 40 year old party dinner and Elizabeth made a FANTASTIC dinner! There was lots of gabbing and laughing! A great party!

Monday was some shopping and Scrabble playing with the girls when they got home from school. I didn’t win:( Ashley was the winner! Another great family dinner followed.

After dinner everyone disbursed. Krystal decided that she wanted to practice the piano. I proceed to the living room to listen. What an INCREDIBLY talented woman she is!! WOW is all I can say. She was playing a BEAUTIFUL song and when she was finished I told her how much I enjoyed it. She told me that she wrote it herself. She then played it again and sung the words that she wrote. I was transported away while listening. I was transported away while listening. It was stunning!

Tuesday morning was HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK day and it was great and relaxing – in the morning.... We had to leave the house at 11:30 to catch our flight. Before we left the house, we checked to see that the flight was on time. Everything SEEMED fine and Elizabeth dropped us off at the airport. But wait…Our flight was CANCELLED! We told the check in lady that we just checked and it was on time – she said it was cancelled 5 minutes ago.

For those of you who don’t know, Ottawa is about a 5 hour drive / 1 hour flight from the Toronto area and there are basically flights every hour back and forth. We were too late for the hour before flight so we got on the hour later flight that was set to depart at 2:00. The flight was PACKED and was late getting away from the gate. Then there was ‘de icing’ and a line up for that and then we FINALLY made it to the runway and HOUR after we pulled back from the gate! We should have already been home by the time we took off. Did I mention it was Mark’s birthday? Not the way he would have chosen to spend it! We made it back to Toronto right smack dab in the middle of rush hour! AAAGGGHHHH!!!

We made it home at 4:55 and were out the door 15 minutes later to be at Mark’s parents for dinner for his birthday...can you say RUSHED!!

PHEW!! We are home safe and sound and now are trying to get ourselves back in order!

Please stay tuned for the Adventures of the Golden Pig – coming soon...

9 comments:

Unknown said...

What a fabulous weekend. You guys always have so much fun! Yummy...Beaver Tail sounds good, even to this vegetarian.

Sugar Cookies And Hope said...

Happy B-Day Mark!! Glad you had such a lovely time in The 'Wa! I feel so completely homesick after reading your post about Ottawa. My best friend lives there and it is very close to my home town. I am in love with Beavertails!!! I like the cinnamon ones.

4D said...

Sounds like a great weekend!!!

Busy but fun.

Keep smilin!

Anne Marie said...

Another great weekend for you guys. We just went skating two weekends ago, and nope, my body wasn't having it. I swear, i think we went around the rink two times and I was sore.

And good question, how does one make a career decision to become an ice sculptor?

Mark's birthday celebration sounds amazing. Glad you had such a fantastic time (minus the airline delay, of course).

D & S said...

Wow you guys sure had a busy weekend...again.

I hope Mark had a great birthday, even if he was stuck on a plane, at least you were together.

dawn said...

You need a vacation to recover from your vacation. It sounds like you had a really lovely time.

Calico Sky said...

What a wonderful trip. I soooo love Ottawa, the perfect place to visit any time of year!

Anonymous said...

cool pictures.

Anthony & Crystal said...

Happy Birthday Mark!
What a perfect way to spend your 40th!
Ottawa is one of our favourite places and we go there often.
And the beaver tails......ahhhhhh, there is nothing better!

Glad your home safe and sound!