Strong Women

We have been blessed with a whole brood of might strong women in our family. My mother is one of four girls, I am one of three girls and my sister Allie has three girls of her own. One of the days we were in Toronto, 9 of the ten women got together in the same house. These pictures are of our "estro-fest". These pictures are so special to all of us, and they will be cherished :)

My sister Catherine and Allison, my Mother and me.
(L-R) Catherine, Ella, Allison, my Mum, Paige, Me and Morgan
(L-R) Aunt Lorraine, Ella, Allison, Catherine, Mum, Paige, Me, Morgan, and Aunt Jan

The ROM

While I was in Toronto, I went to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the ROM with my cousin Jamie. I loved seeing all the fossils that were apparently hidden in the basement for years. The Canadiana exhibit and Darwin exhibit were packed with fascinating stuff that I couldn't get enough pictures of. It was a great place, and I'm so pleased I got the chance to go while I was there.

The entrance to the ROM
This is a proposed ancestry tree from earliest bipeds to modern human. I did an entire class on this, so I got a little excited when I saw it :S
This is a hand made birch canoe that must have been at least 20 feet long!
I Stegosaurus
A Triceratops
My Cousin Jamie...as a Knight.

The Grand Babies!!

One major drawback about living 5000 km away from where you grew up is missing your family change and grow up. Especially the younger members. My three nieces: Morgan (7, 8 in November), Paige (almost5) and Ella (2 years and 5 month old) are ever changing and active but we over in England see this in slow mo through pictures and online videos. It was so great seeing them so frequently while we were in Toronto. Allie and the girls came over to Toronto and had a great visit with their Great Aunties and their Nana. I also had a sleep over at their house where I saw Morgan playing piano, Paige bowling on the Wii, and Ella colouring every minute she could. When two big eyes look at your and plead "please colour with me" with the accent of a two year old, how could you resist that? Aunt Jan also opened her home to everyone and we went to a nearby park where the girls had a great time. To top it all off, we all went and had a Dairy Queen, one of the best ice cream places around :) Each of these girls are different, and each will be wonderful no matter what they do!

Porter Flight: Montreal to Toronto

Instead of taking a train or a Greyhound bus from Montreal to Toronto we flew. We were all very impressed with the service from Porter Airline, a private national airline. It took the whole of an hour and was half the price of a 5 hour train trip! I had a great time flying over Montreal seeing the West Island, and imagining where our old house was, then seeing lake Ontario, and the snow over the fields. Then as we headed further South over the Lake it warmed, and the snow disappeared. Toronto neared sooner that I'd expected, and our little double propeller plane landed on Toronto Island...I didn't even know Toronto had an Island. What a view! As you can see by these photos, the weather was perfect and we got a great eye-full of down town TO, with the CN tower, etc. Apparently, Mum and our friend Jim Peck used to pick-nick on the Island back in the day. With views like the ones we were looking at, they chose a great location!

The propeller from the window
The West Island, Montreal
Lac-Saint-Louise, West Island and the Bridges Galipeault (far) and Ile aux Tourtes (near)
Western Quebequois field under snow.
Toronto and Lake Ontario from the plane.
Main land Toronto from the Toronto Island.

My 22nd Birthday!!

I had the privilege of spending my Birthday in Toronto with my Aunties and cousins. Taking a brief break from studying to go to Lulu Lemon with my Mum and Aunts for my birthday present from them. I love my Lulus, and wanted to wear them every day after I got them! Thank you Aunties :) We chowed down on Swiss Chalet and rich Chocolate cake in the evening. All in all, I had a great birthday!!

Aunt Jan and Mum with me at Lulu Lemon

Me with Auntie Christine and The Cake

Me, at the end of the day opening presents!

HABS Game!!

As a Birthday present, my friend Daniel took me to one of the HABS (Montreal Habitants) playoff games! I had never been to a real game before, just Daniel's games a million years ago. What an experience this was! We were right up in the 'nosebleeds' and the guy I was sitting next to smelt like cheese, but that didn't matter because we were center ice, and could stand up without bugging anyone behind us. Daniel got a flag, so I wore that around my shoulders as well as the sparkly HABS shirt my friend Rob bought me. It was stressful for most of the game, because after a strong lead they ended up going into overtime, but won in the first period, so it was not prolonged too long. When we left the stadium, there was such a buzz in the streets with people beeping horns, and cheering. I wasn't actually planning on seeing any games while I was here, so it was a great treat!
xox

On the Wrong Side of the Road

Most of the time, when people come to visit in England they take pictures from the car whilst driving "on the wrong side of the road." I thought I'd do the same. The trick with doing this in Quebec, however is the horrible state of the roads where the pothole are so big, you could hide in them, therefore getting a good shot was difficult. These are just some signs from my Childhood that I thought were worth sharing.
xox

This reads "Express tires and oil"

"Superior high quality windshield wiper fluid for all seasons"
I just love the "-45C"

Mum Got 'M.A.C.'ed!

Our second day in Montreal, Catherine got here wish and finally got Mum into a MAC store where she got her make up done for her. An hour later after much brushing and padding, Mum looked fabulous in her plum and peach eye-shadow. It worked out well because we joined friends of ours for dinner later that evening, and Mum looked like a million dollars (or pounds, cause they're worth more :D)
xox

SNOW!!!

While we were in Montreal I was really pleased to have been able to see some snow. It's my favourite type of weather for many reasons. It's bright, fluffy, clean-looking, romantic, and I love the sound of snow crunching under winter boots. I spent a day with my MD Pam, and she snapped this one outside her house.
There's not a lot of snow in England, so the moments I had in Montreal, surrounded by snow will be cherished :)