day 20

we spent the night at the kitchener walmart and were pleased that the skateboarders chose not to punch the walls of our rv through the night - that had been a concern.

the parks family treated us to the most delightful breakfast and gave our kids a chance to play with someone else's toys yet again.  these guys were SO incredibly generous.

jackson was so sweet..all through dinner he was telling allie "good job" everytime she took a bit of her soup.

and ethan was a cudler.  settled right in my lap for storytime.

christy was my roommmate my second year at briercrest and we haven't seen eachother since my wedding eleven years ago!  it was so sweet to see her and meet her family.  she hasn't changed a bit and i think she's even more gorgeous than he was in college.

crossing the border once again and we were in a distinctively different world.  the home of tinted windows, barbed wire and burnt out buildings.  welcome to detroit.

it was with pure delight that cliff navigated the freeways...and people here seem to love us and our rv.  they were madly waving, but i felt bad for them because it seems many "michiganites" are amputees - they were all missing four fingers on one hand.

we accidentally ended up in downtown ann arbor...lovely city which i'd like to return to someday.  go wolverines...?!

we stayed at the mac daddy of all campsites.  pool, beach, golf course, train rides, carousel, mini-golf...too bad all of those things were closed.  but the people were sure nice!

day 18 & 19

more new york driving.  did the scenic route by lake ontario and stopped for a picnic at the state park.  it was so windy, the seagulls could hover like hummingbirds without flapping as the tide lapped in and they stalked fresh meat.

our kids are sick, as am i...my voice deepens by the day.  cliff especially appreciates my barry white/louis armstrong impersonations when i get all husky.  i can also fake a pretty good southern preacher.

we came back across the border (were greeted by a tim hortons at the crossing - thank you canada, for taking pride in something) and headed straight to niagara falls.

all i can say is that i kind of giggle that my kids delight much more in running through the aisles of the toy department at walmart late at night (that has become a nightly ritual when we stay there) than looking at one of the wonders of the world, something that most people in their whole lifetime won't even get to experience.  i remember visiting niagara falls as a teenager with my family and being a totally grouchy spoilsport (sorry mom).  i think the picture of me looked similar to josiah in our family picture there this week.  it's good.  really good.  but i'm going to keep you waiting.  you'll have to check back if you want to see it :)

we were met by some "bumpin" friends (i hear that's the new word on the street for awesome) who hosted all of us sickies for the night.  good food, ice cream, playing rook until the wee hours...good times.

the next morning, i got to do an engagement shoot for bonner and amber.  these guys are hot.  straight up.  full post to come soon.

did i mention they're all a part of a very menacing biker gang?  wouldn't want to run into these three in a dark alley, i tell ya.

day 17

I LOVE UPSTATE NEW YORK (and if caps makes you feel like i'm yelling, it's because i am).

we crossed over the bridge by 1,000 islands in ontario and i was in awe already.

the border guard seemed to enjoy our children as i held each one up to the window so she could identify their faces.  gotta love cute kids for getting across the border.  she was so distracted she didn't ask us if we had fruit in our car.  not that we did.  really.

the drive was beautiful.  straight out of a movie.  quaint towns, amazing colors, amish girls riding their bikes..you know, the usual.

we stayed the night in oswego...after visiting the divey rv park we had planned on, we opted for the walmart parking lot (yes, it was that divey).

we played in the park as the sun went down and the skyline was amazing.  this was a a good day.

i intended on getting a picture of myself in a gangstah pose (because that's what you do when you visit new york), but i didn't.  so this picture of a steeple will have to do.

the cousins.

oh, the cousins!

little ones...

big ones...

animal ones...

we love the cousins.

day thirteen through...i don't even know anymore.

woke up to the sound of the loon…oh and to allie climbing into our bed at an ungodly hour.  pancakes, bacon, canned peaches and hot cocoa for breakfast and we were on the road (not before allie decided to walk into the lake after which we realized she didn't have any clean pants left).

the day was beautiful and aside from a red mustang that cut cliff off which cliff then muttered at/tailed for the rest of the time he was in front of us, it was rather uneventful.  the kids and i rocked out to a little "baby beluga" and "men at work" in the back…jojo plays a mean air guitar.  seriously.  i'm working on my drums and simon is more concerned with headbanging than actually playing an instrument. we'll work on that on the way home.

i know we've said as we traveled that this trip was more about the journey than the destination, but we sure have been looking forward to this destination.  we were finally in ottawa!  we were greeted by half the family at the end of the driveway and peter gladly got out his chainsaw to clear a path through the trees for our monstrosity of a vehicle.

it was so sweet to see everyone meet simon for the first time and he was SO happy to be out of his carseat.

the next few days involved a fair bit of rest and lots of eating.  the timing couldn't have been better as we were all ready to spend time out of the motorhome.  cliff's mom spoiled us to high heaven and the kids loved playing with grandpa jerry.

it was so special that grandma sandi was feeling well enough to come and see us twice - simon took to her right away.

some of my best memories of time spent with cliff's family come from playing cards with yoka and jerry.  we laugh a lot.  not sure if it has to do with the late hour at which we play or the moderate amounts of alcohol that are consumed, but we all think we're pretty funny.

day twelve

this had to be one of our most scenic days yet.  coming out of sault ste marie was breathtaking.  i didn't really get any pictures because once again i was trying to keep the peace between the littles.  you'll just have to trust me - it was amazing.

proof that we may be the classiest people you know: exhibit B
bedhead, last night's mascara, waking up in the walmart parking lot...

the campsite we stayed at in deux-rivieres (outside algonquin park) was right on the lake...

josiah learned he had to work for his dinner.

goodnight...next time you see us we'll be in ottawa!