Disney Recap – Part 1

 

Happy Wednesday everyone! It is seriously FREEZING here! –30 without the wind-chill…CRAZY!

With weather like this, I can’t help but remember the beautiful weather that we had a little over 2 weeks ago when we were in Orlando, Florida. *Sigh*

Once the chaos of Christmas and New Years were over, Ryan and I began to get excited for our trip!

Finally, on January 5th, we (as well as my parents) boarded a cold plane in Ottawa and arrived in balmy Florida to start our vacation.

Why Florida you ask? Why not an all-inclusive somewhere down south? Well, as a kid I went to Disney quite a few times. I loved it! Still do! Being that my husband is like a overgrown kid, I always thought he would enjoy it too! One day when I asked him if he ever had any desire to visit Disney, he surprised me by informing me that he would love it! That was it! It’s a trip that we have been waiting for since BEFORE we even engaged!

After a very stressful plane change in Toronto, we arrived in Orlando safe and sound. After unpacking and walking around the resort for a bit, we enjoyed a delicious supper at a restaurant called Boma.

The next morning it was time to start our Disney. First up, Epcot, one of my personal favorite theme parks!

Epcot is divided into 2 sections. The first section is more a futuristic world. With rides such as Mission to Mars, Spaceship Earth, Soaring and GM Test Track.

The next part of Epcot is called the World Showcase. This part takes you to different countries from around the world. You can visit Mexico, Norway, Canada, Italy, Germany, China and many more! As you enter each country you really feel like you have stepped off a plane to different place! The people who work at each country even come from said country!

A family tradition is to stop at Germany for their buffet lunch and a giant liter mug of beer! While sipping on beer and eating your schnitzel you can enjoy the live polka band!

Ecpot is a BIG park! And by the end of the day we were too exhausted to stay for the 9 PM firework show!

On the Monday, it was off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios! This was never my favorite park but surprisingly it ended up being Ryan’s favorite! As you walk down main street you are taken into old Hollywood. You are surrounded by your favorite character’s, movies and stars everywhere you turn!

I think one of the reason Ryan enjoyed this park so much was because it had a couple of his favorite rides of the trip. 1. Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Roller Coaster, where you go from 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds as you race off with your V.I.P passes via limo to one of their concerts. And 2. Toy Story- a ride where you compete with the person next to you on shooting targets with a laser gun as you turn and spin around. 

That evening we had a delicious supper at Hollywood & Vine which also gave us V.I.P seating for the show that night, Fantasmic!

We really enjoyed the water show with fireworks and Mickey saved the day from all the evil villains!

It was a busy day but we headed straight to bed to be ready for the Magic Kingdom for the next day!

The Magic Kingdom theme park is a MUST do on every Orlando visitors list! It really is one of the most magical places on earth! You can’t help but feel like a little kid again when you are there! 

We had such luck at the park that day! It was hardly busy at all! Disney has a great program for it’s guests who stay with them that allows you to use this thing called a Fastpass! If a ride’s wait time is super long (sometimes the line can be over 3 hours long!) then you just insert your card, it shoots out a little slip with a time on it (it will say something like 1:30 to 2:30) and you come back at that time, show your card and go straight to the front of the line. No waiting! It’s amazing and we organized it so well that we never had to wait for ANY rides!

The morning started off with Pirates Of The Caribbean, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted House, It’s A Small World, Peter Pan and Mickey’s Philarmagic (one of my favorites!)!

After all that excitement, we decided to grab lunch in Tomorrowland (part of Magic Kingdom) and do more rides over there! We did one of the scariest coasters, Space Mountain and then more calm rides like Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Monster’s Inc.

We were finished all that we wanted to see in Tomorrowland so we headed to Main Street U.S.A for one of my favorite treats, a hot fudge sundae from the old time parlor. A MUST DO if you are ever at the Magic Kingdom.  

We headed to Frontier Land, where Ryan practiced his aim and mom and Dad played checkers while we waited for a parade to start!

Finally, the parade started and we got a good view of our pal Mickey and all his friends!

We then headed in to watch the Country Bears Jamboree show and then headed over to the Swiss Family Robinson tree house!

There is a new area of the Magic Kingdom called Fantasyland! It’s not complete yet but what is done is amazing! You can see Belle’s castle and a replica of her little village from the movie! You can even stop in at Gaston’s for a “brew”.

That night we had supper reservations at Liberty Tree. An old time American restaurant where everything is home home and served to your table, family style! It was one of our most favorite eating places of the whole trip!

I think the best part of being at Disney right after the holidays was that they hadn’t taken down any of their Christmas decorations yet! Lights, garland and everything festive was still up! Even the castle at the Magic Kingdom was draped in lights! 

The first few days at Disney were absolutely nothing short of Magical. It is still one of my most favorite places to visit and it was already such a joy to share that with my husband who was seeing everything for the first time! The best part? Our trip was just getting started!

To be continued…

xo

Back To The Daily Grind

 

Happy Monday everyone! WOW! Do I ever feel lost and like I am starting new! Truthfully, I haven’t even been at this computer since January 4th! That’s CRAZY!

Back on January 5th, Ryan and I left for Florida for a 10 day stay and visit with this guy!

 

We had a blast and I want to fill you in with all details but I couldn’t when I got back last week because the day after I got back I just put my suitcase right back into my car and drove to a 2 day tradeshow/conference!

Finally, I was at home but then at 2 AM Thursday morning I woke up with the flu! I spent the next two days focused and willing myself to get better because one of my very best friends was getting married!

Luckily, the flu passed through my system quickly and I was well and able to celebrate Bekk and Josh! (Recap to come!)

So, I’m back to work for the first time in over 2 weeks and I am sure today will be crazy but this little blog is back to it’s regular schedule!

xo

New Years Resolutions

 

I know, it’s January 14th…Why am I talking about New Years resolutions now? Well for a couple of reasons.

1. I really wanted to catch up on my holiday recap and talking about the year that just passed. 2012 was a big year in my life. There were some amazing things that happened last year and I wanted to remember them.

2. I am not a huge resolutions person. Truthfully, New Years has never been a big event in my family. Christmas? Huge! But not New Years. We’d be lucky to have anything planned and actually watch the clock hit midnight. Most years, we were in bed early. This year we ended up having low key plans which was perfect!

I know most people think of the new year as a fresh start. A brand new year to change something. But, not me. Any resolution that I did make in the past if asked, I wouldn’t even remember come April.

There are always the obvious resolutions; lose weight, eat healthy, save money, spend more time with family.

But to start this on January 1st versus December 31st seems a tad silly to me.

Throughout the year I have ideas. Something might happen in my life at that moment that makes me want to do something. So, I do it immediately instead of waiting until January 1st to start a goal.

When I got the idea to run a 5K in March, I signed up and started jogging.

When I wanted to eat healthier in September, I changed our meal plan to reflect that.

And, with the idea of a wedding to prepare for I had to CONSTATNLY remind myself to take time for myself and relax.

But none of those things were New Years resolutions. No, I don’t make a New Years Resolution. Instead, I made up my mind a long time ago that if something in my life doesn’t make me happy that I change it immediately. In that moment.

Make a significant change for the better immediately rather then wait at the starting line for the gun to go off.

So, in April (or whenever) when you may have fallen off the New Years Resolution band wagon, remember that any time of the year you can change your life. Don’t delay. Don’t wait for a specific day to make something in your life better. Start right away! Make the most of your life instead of waiting with un-satisfaction for it to happen.

xo

A Year In Review – Part 2

 

July

Even though the summer months are so busy work-wise for us, we still managed to get lots of fun in!

In July, 2 months after the wedding, I explain why I was not ready to have children yet.

Canada day was celebrated and then an all nighter happened because Ryan and I had to go into work! Yuck! I realized that weekend that I wasn’t as young as I use to be.

We also took two special kids for a day at the water park for celebrating them completing and passing their school year!

August

Ryan and I decided to host out annual pool party in August this year since things were very busy with wedding stuff at the beginning of the summer! We had a blast (as usual) at the pool party! This year we really started to notice how many kids there are now!

 

The middle of August Jill, Bekk, Ryan and I boarded a train to Toronto for a fun filled weekend! We ate out, relaxed and went to see a Toronto Bluejays baseball game!

September

The month of September started out as it always does, with Shawville Fair! I had a great time eating junk and listening to great music!

Ryan and I attended to beautiful wedding of friends Shawn and Vee! We had a wonderful celebrating the happy couple and were soooo excited to be snacking on Lonestar chips and salsa at the wedding! (AMAZING!)

That same weekend we also had a very special farm tour! We opened our doors and invited people to take a full tour of our operation!

At the end of September, I ran my very first 5K race. The army run was so crowded which made the race very difficult but I completed it! I was very excited to accomplish this goal and run for such a wonderful cause!

October

At the beginning of October a very special boy was baptized in our church. Tanner is the son of friends Ricky and Stacy!

I turned 25 in the month of October! A big quarter of a century old now!

For Halloween, I took you down memory lane of Halloween costumes past!

November

The beginning of September, Jill and I headed to the VERY busy Crazy Horse bar to see a performance of Dallas Smith and Chad Brownlee!

Jill and I also played together as partners in a Euchre tournament! With only one week of practice my partner and I won the whole tournament and the cash prize! We were so excited!

December

The beginning of December, our home was all ready for Christmas because we were opening our doors for the 2012 Christmas House tour! We had a wonderful time showing off all of our hard work from house renovations!

Ryan and I also headed to Toronto on business and shared with you our road tip secrets.

We ended the exciting year with a wonderful Christmas and New year with family and friends!

What an amazing year it has been! It feels like it has gone by so quickly! We are so blessed and are so looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us!

xo

A Year In Review – Part 1

 

January

Ryan and I rang in the new year at a wedding reception!

During my time off during the holidays I finally got to meet a special little guy! Landyn arrived very early and got home at Christmas! He was the smallest baby I had ever held!

I made lots of wedding decisions like what shoes I was going to wear and another dress to wear at the reception.

February

A very special couple got married in the month of February. We celebrated the union of Amanda and Luke!

Ryan and I celebrated Valentines day by going snowmobiling!

 

On the wedding front we got alot done! Invitations got sent out, table numbers got made and we had our engagement announced in the local paper!

March

March is always such a busy month for us! Lots of things to celebrate!

At the end of February till the beginning of March, Ryan and I headed to Vegas for a work conference and a trip! We had so much fun and even got to see the Grand Canyon!

I couldn’t believe a year had passed already since Ryan had got down on one knee to ask me to marry him!

We celebrated Ryan’s, my brothers, Faiths and Clarks 1st birthdays all in the month of March!

I was SHOCKED by a surprise bridal shower! My first shower of 3 and I was completely taken aback by all that we were blessed with!

April

April was a big month mentally for me! It was one month before one of the most important days of my life, our wedding day!

The month of April was FILLED with wedding activities.

My lovely bridesmaids planned and executed an amazing bachelorette weekend for me where we all had way too much fun!

Ryan and I also had our stag in April!

I also had a shower from my family which was amazing!

Our family business, Mountainview celebrated 35 years!

On Easter weekend, Ryan and I finally got our new car! We also had a great time with family over the long Easter weekend! 

 

 

May

Wedding month!!

The weekend before my wedding I was somewhat surprised by an amazing shower from all my wonderful girlfriends!

On May 12th, 2012 I walked down an aisle surrounded by family and friends and married my best friend!

Ryan and I had an amazing honeymoon week in the Bahamas!

June

With the wedding over, it was back to reality and back to our regular scheduled lives. The big difference was now Ryan and I lived together and we were married!

I attended a bachelorette dinner, had our church Sunday School Picnic and went to see a men’s choir all on one busy weekend!

One of my longest and dearest friends (not to mention 1st cousin) was married in June! Shannon and Casey had a beautiful wedding and we were so blessed to be able to share in their special day!

To be continued….

Ringing In A New Year

 

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I just wanted to finish off my holiday recap! I don’t really want to forget the 2012 holiday season!

Once we were all rested from Christmas, we spent boxing day relaxing! We put away presents and never got out of our pjs! It was glorious!

Ryan and I both actually had to head back to work on the 27th for a short work day. Boo!

On the 28th, I was lucky enough to have the day off so I headed to the city for some boxing week sales! I was in DESPERATE need of a new business suit and I found one for 50% off! Woo hoo! I also got some nice clothes and stuff for our winter trip for a steal!! Everything was 50% off and most was already on sale!

Got this shirt for 4$! Yes!

After spending the morning shopping, I had worked up an appetite! I was so excited that one of my best friends was free to join me for lunch! Bekk and I had a great time chatting about her upcoming nuptials!

On the 29th, Ryan and I got some things done around the house and then got ready for a fun night at friends Josh and Amanda’s. We had a fun night having a delicious pot lucky supper, gift exchange and playing Catch Phrase! I had a blast!

The next morning (30th) I was feeling pretty rough after all that fun and not to mention the 2 bottles of wine…:)

After recovering all morning, I got ready to head to the city with best friends Sharon and Jill for a movie day!

First, we went to see This Is 40 which I loved! It was a hilarious film with the characters of Knocked Up! My only complaint is that I thought Seth Rogan and Katherine Heigle would have made a small appearance.

We then headed to supper at Montana’s where we had the best waiter! I think him and I were kindred spirits! ha ha!

After a delicious meal and a quick stop at Starbucks, we headed to go see another movie, Breaking Dawn Part 2. Yes, you may remember that I have already seen it! But this Twi-head really didn’t mind!

It was back to work on New Years Eve day. In fact, the first 2 hours of my morning was spent at the police station clearing up an outstanding warrant for not appearing in court as a witness…woops. That afternoon, Mom and I headed up to the bank and then went for a LONG lunch! When we got back to work, everyone was gone for the afternoon!

After a quick nap, I got up and got ready to head to town to Elizabeth’s house who is Jill’s mom. We spent the night there having some food, drinks and playing Euchre and Trivial Pursuit! It was so fun and the nice low key night we wanted!

We rang in the New Year and then headed home, straight to bed! We are so not use to staying up late anymore! ha ha!

January 1st, marked 5 years since we began dating. Although we are no longer celebrating that anniversary, we did spend the day together! With an old gift card (saying Ryan would take me to any movie that I want) we headed to the movie theatre to see Les Miserable! I loved the musical but Ryan HATED it! ha ha! I guess it all depends on what you like! He was a great sport though and didn’t complain!

After a full 1-2 weeks of random days off and holiday activities it’s kind of nice to get back to normal schedule! The holidays were wonderful. So memorable and fun but very relaxing as well! It was a great time for Ryan and I to spend time together as well as with family and friends!

xo

Christmas – Back To Reality

 

Hi! Remember me? I know I kind of took a little blogging break over the holidays and truthfully, it was wonderful! Time was filled with festivities with family and friends. It was also filled in with Ryan and Lindsay time spent relaxing and being together. Here’s a little Christmas review for you.

The Christmas festivities started on the Friday before Christmas. It was the last day of work for a while and I celebrated by getting a good buzz on at 8 AM. Who knew you weren’t suppose to put the whole bottle in the coffee mug at the same time? Woops!

The festivities continued at lunch time with our annual beer and music Christmas party before the holidays began. I had yet to have anything to eat and the beer hit me hard! But, it was a super fun party with a small group of us singing and laughing.

I stumbled walked to the house and the plan was to continue wrapping Christmas gifts up. I only had gifts left for Ryan to wrap. Well after one hilarious attempt, I just couldn’t keep focused and fell asleep on the couch instead!

I woke up with 15 minutes to get ready for an annual movie night with Jill. We opted to go to a movie in theatres this year but had to quickly change our plans because of bad weather. We stayed in, made supper, snacked on chips and watching Trouble With The Curve instead.

Finally, after a busy weekend preparing for Christmas, Monday (aka: Christmas eve) had arrived! Christmas eve is spent with my family having turkey dinner and exchanging gifts. This year I volunteered to have the meal at my place which meant cooking all the food! The house smelt divine that morning.

After a delicious turkey lunch/dinner we all headed to the tree to exchange gifts. Faith was great opening gifts but Clark was not having it! Eventually Clark went down for a long sleep while Faith got to play with some of her new toys and continue opening gifts.

That evening, we all freshened up to head down the road for the Christmas Eve church service. It will always be my most favorite of services.

After church, Mom and Dad came back to our house for a night cap and Christmas Eve snacks! We also read, “T’was The Night Before Christmas”, a Hamilton family tradition.

I MAY have broken down into a full on panic attack after the church service when we got home. I began shaking and crying complaining that I don’t think I could EVER handle children! The craziness and mess got to me and I proceeded to doubt if I would ever be able to do that full time as a parent. Eventually a glass of wine calmed me down! ha ha!

 

Early Christmas morning I laid awake in bed just like a child! There is something still so magical about Christmas! After coffee, Mom and Dad came over for stockings and presents! We are all so spoiled and so blessed.

 

Bacon bunny breakfast! Yum!

Ryan and I picked up a bit and then got ready to head out for Christmas at Ryan’s parents. Funny thing, I had mentioned that one of my “Santa” gifts was not under the tree when “Santa” told me it would be there. Ryan argued with my that in fact I had opened this gift and then he quickly changed his tune. We headed back to the tree where Ryan proceeded to go on a search and rescue mission for 8 of my Christmas gifts that he had forgotten to give me. Woops! ha ha! It was like Christmas morning all over again!

We got to Ryan’s parents where we had a great time visiting, exchanging gifts and eating with family.

We were pretty tuckered out from all of the fun and eventful Christmas festivities. With full bellies and hearts we headed to bed after an amazing time! Christmas 2012, our first Christmas as husband and wife.

xo