Five days of just Scott & I together – who knew that was still possible!!???

We flew out early Wednesday morning and arrived in Quebec City, Canada late Wednesday. After a late-night stroll and some yummy early-morning crepes we headed out to the place that had drawn us to Quebec to start with – the Hotel de Glace!!

I have no idea when we first heard about the ice hotels, but we’ve talked about staying in one “some day” for a long time now. When we started thinking about doing something fun to celebrate our 10^th anniversary (and when we discovered we could use miles to get there) we knew it was time to cross one of our random life-goals off the to-do list!

The hotel is built in December each year and opens in stages as they complete sections throughout the month of January. It is typically demolished in early April, as the weather starts to warm. We decided to go in early February because it coincided with another annual Quebecois tradition – the Winter Carnival.

In a nutshell – we had a blast! We ate amazing food (actual multi-course meals in restaurants… with conversation… not once cringing about how long it was taking…), experienced one of the oldest cities in North America (Quebec was founded in 1608), hung out together and even learned a bit about Canadian history (yes, we’re nerds - in the middle of a fabulous festival we took a couple hours and toured the local history museum).

A gallery of pictures is posted here– along with somewhat extensive captions that will walk you through our journey. (Videos to follow in the next few days.)

I hope you enjoy a peek at our winter escape as much as we enjoyed escaping!

We're finally escaping on an anniversary trip in Quebec City, Canada! First impressions? It's beautiful!
The architecture and dining is like being back in France (we're about to head out to a creperie for breakfast), it's not nearly as cold as I expected it to be and I don't speak a word of French (I try, but it comes out in Spanish). Will post more about our winter adventure soon - not sure if we're going to have power tonight or not:)

I just realized there are now three pictures of my kids watching TV on the main page of the blog. Apparently I need to think of some other things to do when it's raining:)

"Please Mommy, can we eat our breakfast on the couch and watch Monkey George?"

Shortly after finishing (decimating?) his hot dog last night Carson discovered ketchup, mustard and fry sauce, with the aid of a straw, can be used for painting pictures on the napkins, table, fry bag – pretty much everything. The poor sweet college couple sitting behind him (who were obviously on a date) tried to play along, but were noticeably terrified each time he turned around and laughed at them with a giant clump of mustard poised precariously on the end of a straw.

I like to think of taking my kids out in public as a service to the community... it keeps young people from thinking they’re actually ready to have children. :)

Is anything more efficient than a parent with an hour alone? Everyday at lunch I marvel at the number of things I can accomplish during lunch. I used to think lunch was about “me time”, but since I’ve given up on my current life involving any “me-time”, lunchtime is all about getting things done. Typically you can find me doing at least two of the following:

Shopping for kids clothes ... Shopping for mommy’s clothes ... Grocery shopping ... Running to the bank ... Purchasing gifts for yet another upcoming birthday party ... Lunch with Scott (We try to do this at least every couple weeks. Heck, we’re already paying for the daycare and lunch is cheaper than dinner out anyway…)... Lunch with a friend (some co-workers I’d really never see otherwise)... Laundry ... Vacuuming (Really, when do you do this otherwise? Nolan likes to try and ride the vacuum if he’s awake, and vacuuming after the kids go to bed risks one of parenting’s few simple rewards: kids sleeping.) ... Cleaning bathrooms ... Cleaning the kitchen ... Mopping (I love cleaning at lunch because I know it will stay clean for at least four more hours. Nevermind that no one is home during those four hours – I know it’s still clean!)... Changing sheets ... Getting a haircut ... Consigning clothes ... Toys to Goodwill (A favorite activity for me!) ...then I come back to my desk and eat.

The funny part is no matter how many things I try and cram into that hour, it still feels relaxing to be doing it all alone. So I guess maybe I’ve just redefined “me-time” more than anything else – which is at least half of parenting in general:)

We spent the entire afternoon at Great-Grandma's house today with Uncle Rob, Aunt Vicki, Melissa and her six-month old daughter, Stella. The boys destroyed pretty much the entire house, but secretly I think Great-Grandma enjoys the challenge of trying to locate all of her things and remember where they go... so she's fine with it overall. Twice the boys retired to Great-Grandma's room to watch a short movie they like on her bed, which was supposed to be "resting" time, but really looked more like this. Oh well! Thanks for the fun afternoon everyone!

 

Ahhhh....

You spend so much time trying to get your kids to stop doing some things that eventually you just have to stop and document the behavior... and so it is that we now have these pictures of Nolan a.k.a. the butter monster. If he's missing, and you hear the refrigerator open, you can bet he's trying to sneak butter. Apparently I used to hide in the closet and eat butter when I was a child. Based on this I blame the nasty habit on some genetic nutrient deprivation... rather than the more obvious complete lack of taste!

There are some advantages to playing in the backyard at home - like not having to get dressed! And it takes a true Oregonian to run outside between rainstorms, dry off the swing and play 'til the drops start to fall again.