Happy Birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

We Love you so much! Hope you had a fun day!

Bloomin' Inn!

No kids

Good friends

Lots of laughs

Yummy food

Lack of sleep

Fresh country air

Piles of paper, pictures and embellishments

=
A FABULOUS WEEKEND!!

I was very lucky to be able to spend the weekend on a Scrapbook Retreat with some friends. It is a couple of hours away at the Bloomin' Inn. We had such a fun weekend! We can't wait until we go back again next year!

Happy Birthday to Mateya!!

Mateya turned 9 on Saturday! She chose pancakes and sausages for breakfast and then we let her open her gifts. The rest of the day we just played and hung out before heading over to my mom's house. Kim and family were in town for the weekend so the kids played for a bit before we went out for dinner.
Her new dressNew jacket and Bed Set


We decided to take Mateya out for dinner and invited Lolo, Lola and Uncle Tran to join us. Mateya chose Tony Roma's because she loves ribs. We left Holton at Grandma's house because he is too wild to take to a restaurant. We had a really fun time. Lolo and Lola gave her some money in her card and she opened her gift from Don and Abbi which was a new purse, 2 American Girl books and some American Girl lotion, body wash and lip gloss. She also got a Webkin from her sister. What a lucky girl!
Happy Birthday Mateya!! You are such a wonderful big sister and a great help to your parents. We love you so much and are very proud of you! We hope you had a fun day!

Jaidyn Lost a Tooth

Jaidyn is 6 1/2 years old and just lost her first tooth on Friday at school. She said she was playing with it and it just came right out. Jaidyn was so excited to show me after school and couldn't wait to see what the Tooth Fairy would bring her. She must have been really good because the Tooth Fairy brought her $2. I can't believe my little Jaidy girl is growing up so fast!

Day 10 & 11 - Rome

Cyril and I loved Rome! It is so full of history and there is so much to see. We saw mostly what we planned but we would have needed to be there for weeks to see everything. Each day was spent in the extreme heat, walking endlessly on cobblestone streets from one crowded site to the next and we loved every minute of it! Our legs and feet were so sore by the end of the day but it was truly worth it.
One of our favorite parts was getting to try so much amazing Italian food. Pizza, pasta and gelato...YUM! It was nice to be at a restaurant with no kids and actually be able to enjoy the food.
We also really enjoyed the Colosseum which was massive. We both couldn't help thinking of the movie Gladiator and imagining being there during the shows and fights that took place there.
It feels so surreal that just a month ago Cyril and I were walking the streets of Athens, Sicily, Ephesus, Crete, Ostia, and Rome. We are so blessed to have travelled to Europe to see so many amazing historical sites together. We have so many memories that will last a lifetime.
Thank you to my wonderful husband who planned such a FABULOUS trip for our 10 year anniversary. It was more than I had imagined! I love you so much!

Day 9 - The Vatican

To finish off our trip we spent 2 days in Rome before our flight on Wed morning. We had a Vatican tour on Monday at 7:30am. The tour included the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's square and St Peter's Basilica. The Vatican was full of amazing artwork of Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Botticelli and many more. The ceilings were so beautiful. I can't imagine how Michelangelo painted all those amazing ceilings...it makes my arms and neck sore just thinking about it! We could not take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel and my memory card was full halfway through the museums but luckly there was a gift shop nearby. St Peter's Basilica was massive! It is hard to explain how big it is and how high the ceilings are without seeing it yourself. I think it can hold 60,000 people inside!

After our trip to the Vatican we took a taxi back out to Ostia where we spent the rest of the day with Jenii, Mario and the kids. Auntie Margie put the kids to bed so we could go out for dinner and spend the rest of the evening with Jenii and Mario. We had dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant. The food was SO YUMMY! After, we walked around the pier where there is so much going on. Then we sat at a cafe and had some more gelato. It was such a beatuiful night and we had so much fun hanging out with Jenii and Mario again. We were so happy to have been able to spent 2 days with them. We miss you guys!

Day 8 - Our Day in Ostia

On Sunday after we disembarked from the ship we took a taxi to Ostia where we spent the day with Cyril's cousin Jenii, her husband Mario, their 2 girls Analisa and Sienna, and Cyril's Auntie Margie. They live in London but they vacation in Ostia for the month of August. We were glad we planned our trip so we could meet up with them in Italy. The last time Cyril saw them (and I met them) was 14 years ago when they visited Calgary.

We had such a wonderful day! We spent the entire day at the beach where we played with the girls, ate gelato, walked along the beach front shopping area and marina, had the yummiest Italian food, and of course just talked and talked about everything. It was nice to catch up and get to know them better. Analisa and Sienna were so much fun and so sweet. We only wished our kids were there too! It was such a wonderful visit we didn't want to leave, but we had an early Vatican tour the next morning.

Thanks Jenii and Mario for everything!! We wish we lived closer so we could see you more often. Eating Italian food just hasn't been the same!!!

Day 6 and 7 - Crete and Last day at Sea

We had a very short day in Crete. We had to be back at the ship by noon so we spent the morning walking around on our own. We toured a Venetian Castle called the Koules Fortress. It is on the harbour walls and was built in the early 1500's. It was great because we were pretty much the only visitors there. It was neat to think of all the battles that would have taken place there. Cyril really enjoyed it! We also went to an archeological museum and walked around the town for a bit before heading back to the ship.

Back on the ship, we decided to try out Johnny Rockets for lunch. The food was a little greasy but we had a fun time. Cyril even got up to dance along with the staff as they did "Stayin Alive!"

The next day was our last day which was at sea. We spent most of the day packing, exploring the ship, relaxing and getting caught up on sleep. We also watched the Ice dancing show which was amazing! We had to be up early the next morning as we disembarked at 7:30 am. Overall we really enjoyed the cruise and especially loved all the amazing sites we were able to see during the week. It always goes by way too fast!

Day 5 - Ephesus, Turkey

I learned so much during our day in Ephesus. It was so cool to be walking down the same streets that the Apostle Paul walked on 2 thousand years before! The grand theatre was exactly that...GRAND! I felt so small standing there picturing the thousands of people crowded in to hear Paul speak. It was very humbling to realize how these people lived so long ago and the amazing structures they built with much less technology than we have today. I am really greatful for the opportunity to travel to these biblical monuments and experience the gospel in such a different way!

Day 3 & 4 - Day at Sea and Athens, Greece

Athens was so amazing! I didn't know much about Acropolis and the Parthenon ahead of time but I was fascinated by the magnitude of the structures. It amazes me how they could have built these buildings over 2000 years ago.

We had a tour of the Acropolis in the morning and then spent the entire afternoon on our own exploring the city and ruins. It was extremely hot! It felt like about 40 degrees celcius. We drank tons of water but by 2 pm I thought I was going to faint. We decided to go find a cafe to take a break and have some lunch. We had souvlaki but were a little disappointed. We thought the souvlaki here in Canada is better.

After lunch we both felt much better and enjoyed the rest of our site seeing and shopping. We got back to the ship just before 6 pm. We had such a great day!