Winter Vacation 2013

This Ride Requires Tylenol and a Sense of Humour

We have had a busy week!  Last year, we had sun, sand, and ocean surf- but this year we took a different approach to our semi-annual get away adventure.  So we made our arrangements, packed up the kids, and headed East (and slightly North!) into the strikingly beautiful and rugged Laurentides region of la belle province!  This location was perfect for a number of reasons-

• It is approximately 5 hours away from home, which means that we can drive it in less than a day, and not have to add the cost of hotels to our vacation bill.  That means I can shop more.  
• Since the kids end up missing a week of school, I want the vacation to serve as a learning experience.  I mean, technically they can learn something anywhere they go, but this was a lesson in cultural diversity and language, not to mention geography, science and physics (more on this later!)
• We were almost completely "unplugged" from technology and tuned into each other.  Though it pains me to say it, we (including myself) rely way too much on TV, the Internet, DVD players, computers, gaming consoles and tablets.  While the cabin had enough cell service to connect our tablets (one at a time!) to check email and send an occasional Tweet, we spent the entire week with only a radio for DJ O-man's dance music.

We spent the most wonderful week near St Adolphe d'Howard, Quebec, in a beautiful 1940's log cabin.  It turned out even better than I had hoped!  Imagine waking up to this every morning-

Sunshine and Happiness

Spending your day time hours watching three active kiddos skating (first time ever for the littles!) on the gorgeous lake in the back yard, toboganning down the slopes beside the cabin, and discovering the joy of tunnelling in the snow!

And then, finishing off the day cuddled up with the ones we love, warming feet at the fieldstone fireplace.

I miss it already!

Of course there were a few side trips, like the trek to Montreal during a snowstorm in search of the best latte in the world.  So I'm told anyway, its hard to know if it is the best when you don't drink coffee.  Daisy accompanied Daddy on this visit to the big city, because Daddy-Daughter time is incredibly important.

There was food- lots of it!  And all really yummy!  What would a fire (or my day) be without s'mores?  Not very exciting!  As an extra special treat I added some peanut butter- and as an extra EXTRA special treat Jon and I snuck downstairs after the kids were asleep and ate them all ourselves.  I know.  Life with kids really changes your perspective on what constitutes special!

Epic Peanut Butter S'mores

There was time spent on homework, and time spent playing games.  We watched our children's imaginations bloom.  We read from "big books" to all three for the first time ever.  Amazing!

I ended up with a little bit of time to snap some photo's of things around the cabin.  I will be the first to admit that I take odd pictures- I like snapshots that show colour and texture, and I love pictures that capture the detail of the things I will remember forever.  So often the shots end up looking at a smaller part of a larger item.  I don't often take pictures of an entire room.  It's odd, but so am I! :)  Check out the video below, and if you have taken the time to drop by, please don't be afraid to say hi!  I look forward to seeing your comments!