I'm not changing my swing, Gummy worms and another strong showing in TKD

OK so each of the kids has begun to settle into school, extracirculars and the normalcy of life if you use that word when discussing the Loudamericans.....

Jimmy has really taken to school, studying and being responsible , which we really appreciate and just when we started to think "wow maybe he gets it" we find out he is in another competion of sorts. The kid excels whenever he is challenged or when he sees a chance to compete. Turns out at school there is a student of the month award, for the student that excels in the classroom, goes above and beyond around school, turns all their homework in and on time, you know the new millennium of teachers pet. Jimmy wants that distinction!! Hence the drive to get his work done. Now, being competitive is great on the sporting field and trying to convince your child to take that same competitiveness into the classroom is hard to do and that he has gravitated there all by himself tells us we are doing a great job!
He also is trying out for every team he can. (remember, he's a team kid) last year there was a teachers strike and there were no after school sports, which caused a student strike (see post from Dec 2012)Anyway he made the 7 & 8 grade softball team. They had practice after school in preparation for playing in tournaments. The way it works is that of you win the first tournament then your team keeps going and the goal is to play in the all city championship. So after going to practice and complaining about not hitting the ball, we suggested to the lad that perhaps he should adjust his swing for softball as it is under hand and slow pitch, to which he replied, rather vehemently, " I worked all summer on my swing and I'm not changing it for softball, no way"
Needless to say the team did not advance past the first tournament. He is now trying out for volleyball and just found out that even though it is a 7th & 8th grade team, the coach has decided that since the current group of 8th graders did not get to play last year ( because of the strike), and that the 8th graders are taller than the 7th graders, he is only going to pick 8th graders to play on the team. Jimmy's response " Coach that doesn't make since for a couple of reasons, one that means that next year the 7th graders won't be able to play because you will only pick 8th graders and  I am taller than all the 8th graders except for one?" Perhaps another student strike is imminent?

Kay on the other hand has been rolling along biding her time until Halloween, but more on that later. She has been working extremely hard at gymnastics and recently decided to try her hand at acro and dance. Yep she wants to sign up for dance lessons and acro lessons, acro is like advanced tumbling of sorts while dance is well dance, rhythm, beat, in sync things that well gymnastics is not, just making a comparison. She also has taken to putting on this crazy Thing 1 & Thing 2 costume at night she says ' it keeps her warm", which I for one can  understand as it is in the mid-40's outside while in our house it is a mere 62, just saying. Of course she can't go more than a day without trying to create some food related masterpiece. The kids in her class have come to expect, yes expect, her to show up at least once a week with some kind of homemade treat, of the sugar kind, and of course she can't disappoint. She is planning a quite elaborate Halloween treat, which of she actually cleans her room for once she may be able to make, sorry, this creation will consist of chocolate pudding, gummy worms, Oreo cookies and graham crackers, more on that later... She's also joined French club. Why? Because they get to go to a French restaurant at the end of the year:).

Billy is just plain and simply loving taekwondo  ( TKD). He is moving though the belts like Bruce Lee and we are super proud of him. He just competed in a huge tournament and came in second place in both pomsae and sparing. The video below shows him doing the pomsae portion, watch the other kid....he sort of forgets where he is. Poor guy. Billy is now a green belt with a blue stripe and working hard to get to the next level.




Last week Billy and his class went to this cool place called Pioneer Village, which is a historical landmark here in Toronto and Tom volunteered. The class goes to the school there for the week and re-lives what it was like to live in Pioneer times. The kids from Billy's school, Cameron, are the only kids in the city that actually get to do this so it is really special. They all dress up in period outfit's, as all the people in the village do, the class is conducted in the same manner, girls on one side boys on the other, the kids have to stand up when called upon and answer the question asked and sit back down when the teachers asks them to, it was really fun! The kids brough their lunch in baskets and galvanized pails and wrote on the big blackboard with chalk. They visited different buildings like the blacksmith, tinsmith, printers, doctor and even a general store.










So with all this going on it is no wonder that Nikki needs some serious rest!
Next up Halloween more to come.......

Sandy, cousins, Candain Thanksgiving and a visit from Grandma Kay

Wow what a blessing we had with our friend Sandy visiting from Minneapolis, Frankie, Lucy, Grace and a visit from Grandma Kay all at the same time, Oh and Thanksgiving, Canadian Style...

Sandy is a dear friend and we figured out (or Jimmy did) by asking her how long she has known Tracy that its over 20 years! She comes to all of our crazy family events, loves dogs and had to come visit us in Canada, well because she's family! She arrived on Friday afternoon and we spent the next few day's catching up, showing her the sights around Toronto and eating really good food! which is yet another thing we have in common!

The kids schedule (as usual) over took the whole weekend with an make up football game for Jimmy on Saturday, which was not supposed to happen, then taekwondo training for Billy, who has an upcoming tournament (more on that in the next installment). Meanwhile, Kay was free of gymnastics for the weekend and helped Tracy as her Julie McCoy for the day at the local high end mall, scary! We had a traditional smoked salmon dinner for Sandy which is on of her favorite's and then on Saturday night after the madness of football, Jimmy and Tom met the rest of the crew at GUU, another awesome food experience!

Sunday was yet another football day with Jimmy and the team heading west to Guelph while the rest of us headed to the airport to pick up Grandma Kay! She arrived without issue and we all headed out to watch the football game, which was a 55 to 6 victory for Jimmy and the Grizzlies. We showed Grandma and Sandy around the town of Guelph complete with a quick stop at the first Target store to open in Canada (really the very very 1st one that opened!), eh! Dinner was this yummy Portuguese seafood stew type thing that Tom has mastered over the years along with crusty bread and the day was complete. We all headed to bed after a great day and it was super nice to have Grandma Kay in the house :).

Monday was a day off for everyone as it was Thanksgiving! Tom put the turkey on the smoker around 7:30am and the rest of the day was full of laying around and wishing there was football to watch.
We had a nice breakfast and went for walks, the kids spent time with Grandma Kay, there was a neighborhood baseball game and then the cousins arrived! Frankie and the girls along with Frankie's friend Jen. We had a blast making a traditional meal, smoked turkey, Grandma Kay's famous potatoes, sage stuffing, green beans and the ever popular 70’s throwback ...7 layer salad, and a canned cranberry jelly thingy along with biscuits and dessert! Perfect!!! Frankie and the girls brought along dessert. We all shared what we are thankful for and concluded that we are all very blessed!






Tuesday was back to reality, Tracy headed out early for work, the kids to school and Sandy to the airport and back to Minneapolis. We were super happy to see her and thankful she made the trip!
Tom and Grandma Kay spent the day exploring North York and the city we live in and Kay got to experience her first Shawarma, which if you don't know what is well, you'll have to come and find out! Grandma spent the evening watching Kay at gymnastics for the first time in her competitive team
and then it was dinner and bed.

Wednesday was a bonus day for Tom (well sort of) as Kay - the younger - complained of an ear ache and stayed home from school, which may be a deliberate move on her part to spend more time with her names sake, Who can blame her!? Tom was able to spend the day with his two favorites Kay's, what a treat! We explored downtown Toronto, the water front, Lawrence Market, along with a quick stop at George Brown so Grandma could see where Chef school is and the a yummy spinach pizza lunch, quite a great day!




Wednesday night Grandma watched Billy prepare for his upcoming taekwondo Tournament and we had another culinary delight, Lemongrass Curried Chicken, Mushroom Rice Pilaf and asparagus. We celebrated Grandma's birthday complete with presents and homemade strawberry shortcake from Kay to grandma Kay, very cute!






Thursday was bittersweet as we said goodbye to Grandma Kay. We had an awesome time showing her around our town, spending Thanksgiving together and having Grandma watch all the kids in their different sporting endeavors. Thanks Grandma Kay for coming and seeing us and making the long trip!
We love you , we bless you and were glad you were here!
more to come.....

A quick lunch Fix

Kay was hungry the other day and asked if she could make her own lunch, why not we said, the result:

First cut a piece of watermelon into very tiny bits and repeat with an Asian pear.

 

Next heat sesame oil and olive oil and butter in a pan and add a ½ cup cooked rice and stir fry.

 

Meanwhile bring water to a boil and add spiral pasta and boil until done.

While the pasta is cooking melt as much Philadelphia cream cheese you can find, in a pan along with a generous helping of 35% cream and butter with a small amount of olive oil, mix until well melted.

Add salt and pepper and then steal as much Parmesan cheese as you can until your dad yells at you because he needed the cheese for another dish, then when he goes to talk with your brother, steal one more handful and melt it in the sauce so he won’t know.

 

Serve the pasta, rice and fruit on a plate with separate containers add salt and devour like you have never eaten before

Kids Update

Well, things have been moving along with the normal crazy pace around here. School, sports, friends, work, neighborhood gossip and all.

Billy has been pursuing TKD belts with abandon and I for one am not sure what the protocol is for the old belts? Fold them up and put them away, nail them in all the glory to the kids bedroom wall or just leave them in a closet? Whatever I should figure out what to do with them because we now have another discarded belt, a green one which was traded in for a green with blue stripe. Billy was in a tournament a week or so ago and won 3rd place out of all the other green belts and we are super proud of him! He came back from the tournament and then tested for the aforementioned new belt. It becomes a bit confusing when one goes from the old belt to the new belt in terms of when do they actually become the user of the new belt? meaning Billy has another tournament coming up on the 25th of October and even thought he is now a greenbelt with a blue stripe he will be competing in the tournament with his old green belt, see what I mean? Either way we have a bunch of belts and are super pound of Billy an his accomplishments!


Kay has been excelling at gymnastics and is practicing so hard that her unconscious has taken over her eating habits, I mean the word carnivore comes to mind, the kid has become a protein eating machine! Her first competition is not until February and by then watch out! In the mean time she decided that cross country would be a fun thing to try? You know running a mile or so just cause you get out of school for one day, Hey why not. There were about 330 5th grade girls from around the area (yes 330 5th grade girls, yikes!) that competed in the TDESAA cross country event, I have no ides what the letters stand for but I am guessing the T is for Toronto. Kay came in # 155 not bad for no practice and running without socks in a pair of pink and black shoes! As well as, we had to remind her that winning was the goal. Her response "oh yeah". We are proud of her tenacity and fearless approach to her choice of sporting interests.





Jimmy has been playing up to his old ways in football, creating openings in the line for his running backs, running patterns from his spot as tight end and even causing a fumble or two and making sacks on special teams and from defensive end. The coaches are now working with him to take his game to the next level, meaning instead of just working the play the way it is written, they are encouraging to  start reading the field and making decisions based on what he sees not just what they play say's. He is starting to understand the concept but putting into play, so to speak, is not that easy. The coaches are hoping over the next three games he can grasp the concept and if so it will make their play off fun all the better. In the last game they let Jimmy be the kick off return guy and he did a great job. Not he only had one kick off but he caught the ball tucked in and ran for about 15-20 yards, didn't stop when he hit the pack took a big hit got up and said " that's how we do it round here"! The clip below shows his run, it is a bit hard to see but if you follow the ball in the air it will land in his hands.
We are proud of Jimmy's tenacity and his devotion to his team, his friends and his family!
more to come....

Now thats some good Vittles!!!

This past weekend we were able to get an overnight sitter and we were off to points unknown, well at least to Tom.
Tracy surprised me for my birthday with an overnight adventure and I had no idea, where, what only the when.
We pack a duffel and headed about 2 hours north and west of Toronto. There is this very special place where all foodies and food enthusiasts must visit, however there are  couple of caveat's, 1: photos are very personal use only not to be published on the Internet and 2, no vegetarians, pretty simple. So in keeping with tradition I am only going to break one of the rules, and since this blog is our personal space I will claim writers privilege/prerogative  and post a couple of pics :).








The place is known as Eigensinn Farm and it is own and farmed by a world renown and very nice guy named Michael Standlander.The place has pigs, ducks, turkey's and other assorted farm animals wandering around. The path to the dining areas was paved with wine bottles from past diners and the trees were full of inspirational signs, overall a very interesting place! we were greeted by the farm dog, a very friendly herding kind of a fellow who knew his way to the food!








The setting was a picturesque valley with sunflowers planted in a circle around the valley, a tee pee, and three log pole type structures with tin roofs and no walls, no electricity and no running water which added to the overall serenity of the place. The menu for the diner was;
Oysters, amuse, beef consomme with braised oxtail ravioli, white fish, lobster broth, farm duck, sorbet, fresh farm pork and garden vegetables, cheese dessert and petite fours.
The directions from the kitchen were: the event is outdoors but we have a roof. Good walking shoes and please dress according to the weather.

So with all that in mind off we went. We arrived at 3:55 checked in to the Pretty River Valley Inn and at 4:00 were in the shuttle to the diner, it started promptly at 4:15 and if are were late you missed out simple as that, Germans are a punctual lot! You may be wondering, as we were, with no running water what if one needed to use the washroom? The answer was a one seater composting outhouse complete with wood chips and a shovel, along with hand sanitizer and the coldest water out of a bucket ever, lights you ask, that's what the flashlight app on your smart phone is for!


After dinner we were then picked up by the shuttle and returned to the Pretty River Valley Inn, to find a warm wood fire waiting for us our room and we watched a silly Indian film about cooking to keep things in line with the night!
There were several cool aspects to the PRI, the fireplace in the room, Reindeer, yes real Reindeer hanging out waiting for the snow so they could get back to work!

We had a nice breakfast at the PRI accompanied by there two little dogs both of which made sure there was no need for a vacuum!








There were about 16 of us lucky diners and we had an incredible meal full of interesting conversation and eclectic food presentations.it was an awesome surprise that Tracy found this and we were able to go it was a very Happy Birthday!
Thanks Tracy, I love you!!!

Happy Birthday Tom!!

Happy Birthday (only 2 days late) Tom!! This year it was a weekend birthday celebration. I surprised him but that's another blog. I'll let him fill you in:) We just wanted to say...Tom, we love you, we bless and we are glad you are in our lives. Tom is amazing. He is not only a great dad and partner but he's a great friend and neighbor. AND...he's a great cook on his way to being a great chef (only 90 days until he's got his chef certificate!! woo hoo!!) Tom is funny, smart, athletic, flexible, caring, loving, thoughtful, messy, cuddly, handy and friendly. As Kay would say ...'he's a friend to all'. and... 'Dreams DO come true on birthdays'. and... 'I have him wrapped around my little finger'. Happy Birthday Tom!! (shout out to Rica and Wade - Happy Birthday to Tom's birthday buddies!!)

A quick visit and a total blow-out

This past weekend  Grandpa Jim and Grandma Bunny stopped by on their way home from their 2 week tour of western Canada and Alaskan cruise. They had a blast and although Grandpa Jim had a cold, as well as half the crew on the ship, the trip was totally worth it. We had a technical issue trying to view the photos via electronics so when we get together at Christmas we can see the paper or as they say these day's 'the hard copy'.

The trip was full of many great experiences for them however, they said their trip via bus to deep into the Denali was the best part. I will let you hear from them as to their experiences. Suffice it to say they enjoyed themselves, which we are glad!

The weekend was fairly mundane as far as the Loudamericans go, neighborhood blow-out Friday night, where Tom was the guest Chef and deep fried a Turkey and a chicken, smoked two chickens and BBQed a couple of pounds of steak. I guess when the word is out that you are about to graduate from Chef school.. why cook yourself? Tracy asked why we weren't just hosting the party since we did all the cooking and tehn realized....clean up! Best of all worlds, make a messy yummy mess for 30 people in someone else house. Brilliant!  The kids had fun and young James (who is trying out for yet another baseball team) was a late arrival and unfortuantly did not make the team. But... what time does he have?! It's FOOTBALL SEASON, and fantasy football where he is competing with half of Target Canada and he is the one to beat, quite funny.

Billy is now deep into taekwondo training with two tournaments coming up.He is now training for 3 extra hours on Saturday and it's paying off! Kay is into 12 hours of gymnastics a week and was the center of attention when she pulled off some crazy move, that no other kid in the class can do! So much so that all the other coaches stopped their practice to come watch her and she was just ... "oh well that old move? "  Seoul Olympics here we come!

Sunday is football around here. Carb loading around 10:30, Gatorade around 11:00 and off to the field. Jimmy was given a talking to a couple weeks back and was almost placed on the bench for not being aggressive enough. We feel sorry for the other teams because since that talk he has been a beast. The game was against the Guelph Bears and they were supposed to be a good team with depth and speed. Well, without reliving the whole game, late in the third quarter we had to punt, Jimmy made a huge tackle and laid out the other kid, caused a fumble and we had the ball back on their 35. One play from scrimmage touchdown. The Grizzlies had only 8 offensive plays in the whole game, held the Bears to 2 first downs, scored 2 defensive touchdowns and won 55 to 0, against a team with depth and speed, the kids are playing out of their minds.

All good things must come to an end so Monday morning the kids headed off to school and Grandma and Grandpa headed home.  We will see them at Christmas and it was fun to have them see the kids in all their athletic glory!

Now it is our honor (and I must say privilege) to report a truly heartwarming story. I do not want to get into to many details of our friends personal lives as you never know who know what or what people want to be know about themselves. However since I received this in an e-mail I could not help but share:

"We are very proud to let you know that this morning, on September 19th, 2013, two new members of our family arrived!

Victor Ferraz entered the world at 8:39am, weighing 6 pounds and 9 ounces with a length of 19.5 inches.  Like the rest of the men in the family, he is handsome, strong and healthy.  Sofia Jeanne-Marie followed her brother a minute later at 8:40am, incredibly at the same weight, 6 pounds and 9 ounces, with a length of 20 inches.  She is a perfectly beautiful little girl.

Katie, our sister-in-law, has been our partner on this journey.  She did wonderfully throughout the pregnancy and the delivery, and this morning is recovering.  We feel amazingly blessed that Katie cared for & carried our babies so well the last nine months and gave them the best start they could ever have. We are filled with gratitude toward Katie and Mateus for their grace and generosity throughout this process.  

JoAnne and Lucas"

Miracles happen every day. Look around you:) Embrace them, and God Bless!!!

A year later...

We have been so busy lately that we didn't even realize that we have been in Toronto for over a year! YIKES!

The past year has been full of new things for all of us, new school for the kids, new job for Tracy, Chef school for Tom, different dog food for Nikki,, she basically has the same routine lets face it. She's a dog, sleep, eat, walk, poop, repeat, she has it made.!
(Picture taken at the Toronto Zoo September 2012)

The kids on the other hand have been busy growing, learning and for the most part not complaining as much, which is nice. Jimmy is way into music lately and has even come out of his music shell and telling people at school he is a drummer, which is a way big deal for him. In fact the music teacher is so blown away that Jimmy is now teaching new riffs tot he 8th graders wanted to learn drums. He is interested in playing the trumpet this year just for the heck of it but the music teacher is not having any of it! He is was deep into football. The coaches were a bit concerned about his lack of physical play and told him he needed to step it up or he may not be in the starting line up, and boy did he listen. The last game they creamed the other tem and Jimmy lead they way, he has earned his starting spot! 

Kay is now in gymnastics 12 hours a week, 3 4 hour shots and comes home and can barely make it to the coach. She is going to compete in 5 competitions this year and jumped from level 2 to level 4 and let me tell you the kid is ripped. She has been going non stop and I think her body is telling her she needs more protein because she has been eating hamburgers twice a day for the last week, seriously she is off seaweed and on beef! School is just starting to shape up , she has a couple of new as well as several old friends and she is doing great. Meanwhile stay out of her way in the kitchen, she has to be creating something constantly. I think we have got her to realize that during the school year she can cook on the weekend, so this weekend she is planning on making, desert pizza. Rice Cripspies as the crust, red frosting as the sauce and chocolate chips and M&Ms as the toppings along with whipped cream, just because.
( Picture taken at the Toronto Zoo 2013)

Billy is in the middle of Taekwondo training. He has to tournaments coming up in late September and late October and he is dead set on keeping his metal streak alive. Billy lucked out at school as he now in 3rd grade has the same entire class as last year and the same teachers his response to how was school today Bill?, awesome. He was recently on a bike ride with Tracy and they were taking about life and all it has to offer when Tracy turned to Bill and said, what are you thinking? He replied, nothing, then a moment later he said " that's impossible, you cant think about nothing, once you do you really are thinking of nothing which is something". The other Tracy was asking Billy some questions that he answered all with, I don't know and then after some contemplation he said you know what Mom I do know 3 things today, I don't know much, its a beautiful day and I need to exercise more. So Tracy's talked him into a walk and they were leaving the house he turn and yelled to Kay, " Stay out of the kitchen and don't burn the house down! Kids say  the darndest things, where do they hear this stuff??? more to come.....

The Basil's Arrive! & School Day 1

We had well laid plans to meet Tammy, Jeff, Georgia, Joey and Herby at a place called Pinery, a campground 3.5 hours from each of us however the best laid plans... With to many moving parts we decided to abort the camping trip and Tammy & Jeff made the journey from Grand Haven to Toronto, all the kids were upset about not being able to camp and the adults were excited to sleep in a real bed, age and youth the old debate!

In record time for both travel and border crossing they arrived unharmed around 7:00 on Friday night and the fun began. In order to offer the best of both worlds we set the tent up in the backyard, the kids moved all of their worldly belongings into it and began fighting as to who and who not was a member of the elite "camping club", really.  We had a great night catching up. eating awesome smoked tenderloin, mashed potatoes infused with smoked garlic, baby back ribs, fresh green beans and of course fresh cold beverages! The sun went down and the moon came up and the camping club began to waver and by the time the dust settled the tent was empty and the basement was full!

Saturday morning was a bust time as Jimmy headed off to football, Tammy and Tracy to get pedicures Tom, Jeff and the rest of the kids had coffee and organized the leftover chaos from the evening before. Lunch was served, backpacks were filled, sunscreen was not liberally applied and we were off to explore Toronto. First stop the historic Lawrence Market, which is a city itself. Vendors from all over the world have fresh produce, meats, cheeses and prepared culinary delights for sampling and enticing one into their web. The kids moaned and groaned at first then finally got into it and we had fun seeing all the different ethnic foods and wares.








The trip to Center or as they say 'round here, Centre, Island is a hit or miss kind of event. There is rally only one way to get there and that is by boat. You have a couple of boating options, big public fairy type boat, small boat taxi, renting a manually operated boat, you cannot however swim. The lines for the boat dictate whether we stay or go, this time we were fortunate and the was no line and we made the journey with ease. The Island has many options, an amusement park, swimming/ splash pad, several beaches, electric trams, and picnic areas.  No trip to the island is compete without a photo opportunity with a deranged looking batman and whomever his green side kick is!We wondered around, found the small petting zoo, the kids finally gave in and swam in Lake Ontario, we spend an arm and a leg for 5 ice creams and then headed off to our new favorite place, Jack Astor's for dinner, beverages and sports on the 300+ TV's the seem to have. The tent was a repeat of the previous night and again the basement was full.

Sunday was a big breakfast followed by Jimmy's first football game of the season. The excitement was building and the Grizzlies took the field, the whistle blew and we were off the Grizzlies' Football 2013! The team was in awesome shape, played extremely well and at the half were up 18 to 6. Jimmy is playing tight end as well as on special teams and also 2nd string linebacker. He only had one offense opportunity however the throw was way behind him. The Grizzlies' won 28 to 12 and the opening day was a success. The afternoon was full of a whole lot of nothing as they kids just wanted to play and hang out, so that's what we did. We ended the weekend with the traditional Hickey family fare, Challupa's, awesome.( Basement 3, tent 0)






Monday morning was spent packing up saying goodbye and planning our next vacation, Christmas, skiing, skating and lobster tails! The Basil's set out for home and the Loud Americans began the end of the summer ritual, packing the backpack. In keeping with tradition we had an full scale Indian Feast for dinner complete with butter chicken, Channa Masala, beet root, chapatti, rice and Dal. Tuesday came rushing up at us as everyone hopped out of bed at 6:30 ready to go to school. 6:30! The kids were all excited to see their schoolmates and catch up. It was a great summer, fast, fun and furious!








Happy back to school to everyone and enjoy! more to come...

Happy Birthday Jimmy & Sue and OMG its R5

It is nice that in this ever changing world in which we live in some things never change and one big one is that Sue and Jimmy celebrate their birthdays together! Sue made the trip from Green Bay and arrived in Toronto to kick off the celebration weekend, and what a celebration it was!!!







This year Jimmy is doing his birthday in 3 part harmony, so to speak. He decided that since most of his friends are away at camp that he would have his actual birthday after school starts so that he can maximize the gift potential. Then as a result of that decision he had a sleep over with three of his baseball buddies, because they go to a different school and once school., starts they will be busy. And finally... it came down to part three with the family and Sue! Football practice took precedence over the birthday dinner and having a chef for a Dad, Jimmy was given the option of choosing anything he wanted for dinner and he chose... Mom's Pot Pie's.  Kids brilliant when it comes down to household management issue, 'just saying'. Jimmy is in the tough age for presents, gone are the days of a bunch of toys, a few sweets, sealing wax and other fancy stuff. A successful birthday, in are the expensive electronics items which will give way to things like a car, trips to sunny beaches, season tickets to.... where is Puff the Magic Dragon....

Friday Tracy took the afternoon off and we headed downtown to the always entertaining Busker Fest. The City of Toronto along with Scotia Bank present this festival and the proceeds go to the fight against Epilepsy. This year was no different. We wandered around, catching the sights and scents off the street and then lucked out finding a spot in front of the make shift stage. First up we saw a fella by the name of Scott Johnson, who you may say is he, well only the raining Beat Box champion of Canada that's who! Jimmy was mesmerized at the sounds and noises and beats this guy belted out using only his vocal cords, amazing. Then it was back home for Sue's birthday and favorite dinner spaghetti, meat sauce and crusty bread!






Sue chose a trip to the zoo so Saturday (after football & a much needed massage for Tracy) we were off to see the Panda's and the other less drawing but equally cool inhabitants of the Toronto Zoo. Pulling into the parking lot the entire car fell silent as we were directing past not one but two FULL parking lots and into the dreaded zone 3.













We braced ourselves for crowds and headed towards the main gate. We had decided one of the adults would stand in the Panda line while the others wandered the zoo and check out the animals. Much to our surprise there was no line, no line...really... lets go!!!. The Pandas were just doing what Pandas do which is eat bamboo, make room for more bamboo and then eat more, quite simple really.
Then we explored some areas of the zoo we had not seen before because this would be our last rip to the zoo as members, being we chose to keep our Science Museum membership, much more useful in the winter! The kids rounded off our zoo experience with a couple hours in the cool calming waters of the Amazon or locally known as the zoo splash pad and then it was off to our friends the Clark's. Russ and Kim have three awesome kids, Maddie, Ryan and Adam, they live a couple block from us and we had a great night of kids running in the back yard, parents relaxing and enjoying a very nice night.

Sunday morning we had a free pass from any sports or kid related events so we slept in, had a late brunch and just relaxed, had we known what was in store for us that afternoon and evening we may have never got out of bed in the first place. It all started innocently enough when we received an e-mail from Groupon announcing The Big Ticket Summer Concert, a Disney event featuring all the current Disney singers and actor/actresses, so we said hey why not, consulted Sue, she was in so we bought the tickets printed them off and stuck them in our pocket. Jimmy received info from his football team about a special offer from the University of Toronto's football team offering reduced price ticket, a hot dog, chips and drink for anyone and since Jimmy and Sue usually attend some type of sporting event on or around their birthday's it was a perfect fit.

The game started at 1:00 we took the subway and a bus to get there and enjoyed watching the London Western Mustangs destroy the Toronto Blues, fortunately we were in the Mustangs section so we sheered for them! Then it was off to the concert, which at this point we had not told the kids about nor really paid any attention as to where it was...I mean the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, just look for the big Molson can, right?!  not even close. Side bar: In Toronto there is a yearly event that closes down most of the downtown lake front and it's called the Exhibition, by the locals or the CNE or "the X", by everyone else, in reality it is a State Fair, freak show, intense food setting and more all rolled into 1. And ....it was between us and the Amphitheatre. After a grueling hour of wandering through the CNE we found the concert along with the other 10,000 or so people crammed into the venue. We thought, how long can it be, it starts at 5:00 should be over by 7-7:30 tops we can head to Jack Astor's have a couple cold beverages, dinner be home and in bed by 9:30, 10 at the latest... right?!  not so....

At 6:15 we realized (a little late) that we were here until way past 10:00 and Tom headed out to the food line to get the kids something to eat, figuring Sue, Tracy and I would eat later.  Thoughts of a Jacked up beer and a Waffle Burger were still in my mind.  At 7:30 Tom made it back with a chicken wrap, 2 chicken nugget dinners, 3 drinks and was out a mere $55.00, really... Bottom-line the kids had a blast, sang along with the noise (I mean songs) and even Jimmy was into it, so the fact that we got home at 11:30 was not even an issue.

Thanks Sue for coming and celebrating her birthday, Jimmy's birthday and enduring the Big Ticket Concert featuring R5, who it turns out have not even made 1 album yet!

PSA: Here in Toronto they refer to up north as, cottage country. The government reported last week that there is a scam: that people are renting cottages to people and when you show up there is no cottage, saying that the prices are inexpensive and the cottages are grand, the governments view on this was  "beware, if it sounds to good to be true, it is!"
More to come....

 

One down and One to go oh and football

In the never ending sports a'thon that is Jimmy's world, outside of music, he finished one season of baseball this past weekend. He has been playing on two baseball teams this summer because , well why the heck not? He plays in a house league which consists of any player with the financial wherewithal to come up with the fees, and then teams are divided up based on a magic formula which no one really knows, and a season is born.

The house league players are then invited to try out for they Select Team, which as you may have guseesed is made up of the players that are ' Selected" from the tryouts. There are 6 house league teams with an average of 15 players so doing the math the select pool is around 90 of which 12 are chosen, and as it turns out Jimmy made the cut and made a home on the roster as the starting catcher, and he is great at it! (note, he was also the youngest kid on the team - go Jimmy!)

The teamed finished first in their division, won a couple of tournaments, lost as many and one of the highlights, Jimmy was chosen as an MVP in one of the tournaments! The past weekend they drew a bye on Friday and had two games on Saturday, one of which they had to win to continue in the tournament. The team played hard but they were pretty much worn out and were just 1 Large Double Espresso per kid away from making it. The boys were happy with their season and we had the whole team over for the end of the year party. It is tradition around here that at the end of the year party the coaches are fair game and Coach Brooks and Coach Dana were not let off the hook! It was a great season and many great memories and new friends. (Note, Coach Brooks and Coach Dana not only coach together but they played North York Blues/Mets growing up and through high school into university. They are amazing coaches, encouraging and teaching the kids at every inning of the game. Super hopeful that Jimmy makes Select next year as well so that we can continue their coaching of Young James)

The house league tournament started last night and runs the next 2 consecutive Tuesdays with a championship Saturday scheduled for the 7th of September, more to come on that.

So having missed the Sunday baseball cut off what does a young boy do to fill his time? Head out to the first football scrimmage, a mere hour and a half from the house (you gotta have a Sunday contingency plan for sporting events) . So we saddled up the ole gray mare and headed east to Clarington. We were unsure what or where Jimmy would be playing this year as he has missed most of the June and July Tuesday night practices (defense) for baseball but has made all of the Thursday/Saturday (offensive) practices. He started out on special teams and we were a bit concerned, however in the second half things started to change. Jimmy was now full on in the game playing both offensive and defensive line, line backer and tight end, his favorite spot.

Now many of those of you who follow this crazy kid know he has been passionate about football above all else. He has been playing since second grade, mostly with the motto " Sack the quarterback", he was not really the offensive type, hit or be hit. So besides the occasional forced fumble, or dropped potential pick 6, the kid has never really touched the ball, that is until now.

The Grizzlies were in the lead late into the 4th quarter, with just seconds to play, Ronin, the new quarterback calls and audible, fakes right cuts back and hands the ball off the to the new tight end, number 77 Jimmy Murphy. Murphy cuts right, beats cheeks around the line heads downfield, out runs the would be tacklers and busts over the end-zone for his first touch down!!! Grizzlies win!!  Tracy was yelling the whole time " holy cow, he has the ball, he actually has the ball!" We are hoping that this is a promotion of the upcoming season.

More to come sit back and enjoy, the show is free.....

A little help from our Friends

The rock stars, while attending KCC, were also fortunate enough to have several sleep overs and play dates with their cousins and friends from the OL' neighborhood and school.

Jimmy was able to connect for several sleep overs with his cousin Ben and even hang out with Kaden Murphy, an added bonus. Kay hooked up with Carmen, for 2 ...yes two... sleep overs as well as an afternoon play date. She was also able to see Mia and Grace, making the trip home in her words, "totally awesome"! Rounding out the schedule was a double play date for Kay and Billy with Ella and Cole both stating "don't bug us",,, Kids same the darndest things.

Into the mix of things was Tracy having to work as well as havung a day out with Angela for pedicures, bike riding and accesorising. She was able to finds an awesome basket along with both Canadian and American flags and a drum here Jimmy of you please... a pinwheel...awesome. Tim and Patrick along with the rest of the Gated Community had us over for an afternoon of lazing by the pool. Kids swimming adults catching up and as always tearful laughs at the expense of ourselves and others.


Photo Bombs and other crazy fun:

Out of nowhere we were able to arrange sleepovers for all the kids on the same night which translated into da da da: DATE NIGHT! We meet up with Wendy and Annemiek for a trip to The Pig ate my Pizza, the owners of Travail, our favorite restaurant in the world, are in the process of buying a building and creating a new space for the restaurant so in the old space the created this crazy awesome pizza joint, complete with a 4 course tasting menu followed by a liquid nitrogen infused desert, quite simply awesome!

















Kay and her God Father, Uncle Mike had a special night planned and of course it was all about Kay, her birthday and getting a special present from Mike and Libby:)
















The Reception:
The best for last ...Jim and Jen Fellows had scheduled their Wedding Reception for the last weekend we were in town and let me tell you cute has nothing on these two. The evening was full of great fun, dancing and a heated argument over which song Tracy and I danced to at our Wedding. There was not an actual agreement but the vote was in favor of Joshua Kadison, Painted Dessert, which I must say was the song.
We headed back to Jim & Jen's place for what Kay lives for, the After Party, which was going great until the tequila came out, enough said! (kids and tequila don't mix) Happy 6 Months to Jim and Jen and many many more, we love you guys!

(as an aside, Jim works as a teacher to special needs kids. He teaches them life skills and one thing he's come up with is "where in the Twin Cities is Jim?" He creates videos and the kids have to figure out where he is, and then figure out how to take public transit to find him. Its brilliant, education, unique and super fun. That's our Jim Fellows:) here's a clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMN4d1US9Kc


Thanks for all the fun, hospitality and love.. more to come

Living in Fast Forward

Irish Korean Rock Stars out of control, the kids have been living life in fast-forward, time to cool down... real slow....

The Summer Camp part II came screaming up at us as the wheels touched down in Minneapolis, no sooner had the announcement by the flight attendant " The local time in Minneapolis is.." and the kids wanted to know when the first sleep over was, who are we seeing first, who's on second... whoa, we still have to get our luggage, and that's how rock stars start their vacations!

The 10 day period was so full of events that it will take 2 blogs to do it all justice! Friday after we cleared the rental car and had lunch we stopped by Target to get supplies and then into the rental house for un-packing and planning. Friday evening found us at Rhada & Krishnan's home along with several of the other ex-pat friends and families we met while in India and the reunion/ get together was full of laughter, great food and awesome memories. Jimmy racked up his first sleep over as his friends Jessie & Preston had him over for the night. The 3 musketeers were back in action!



Saturday found us able to sleep in(a bit) and ready for what has now become our annual trip to Dicks Sports Barbers for the boys haircut's and catching up with Dick. Tom has been getting his haircut there since he was 13 and it was the place of each Jimmy Kay and Billys 1st haircuts. Its a family tradition and they have the best haircuts on the planet!  Saturday night was a fun filled bash of full on boys as we went to the Orvedahl's.  Doug and Jennifer along with James and the twins Sam and Sean provided a night of energy burning and great burgers. Kay hung in there even swimming in their above ground not so heated pool. However girl power won out and Kay headed over to Carmen's to lodge her first sleep over and night with her bestie. (Sam and Sean are seriously Billy/Kays alter personalities. They just "fit" and James is one of Jimmys besties) 

Sunday we celebrated birthday's for both Kay and Grandpa Jeremiah complete with zip lining and an afternoon at the park. The Grandparent's had a blast catching up with the kids and sharing stories, along with planning a trip to Toronto in the coming fall! Then Sunday night was the beginning of the craziness known as KCC or for those not in the know, Korean Culture Camp, the second main event in kiddom only behind, the big guy, A number 1, SC for short. We met the Van Meter's (less Jeff) at the Buckley's new home in Edina. Sherra, Rich , Robbie and Joey had us over for great food, and of course S'Mores and great way to start the week!

KCC, is in its (who knows how many years somewhere around) 35+ years, the camp runs the last week of July, it's full of great fun, great food and about 400 Korean Adoptees, their families and about 200 volunteers.  Tom works all week in the kitchen, well 2 Toms and a bunch of other great people who work tirelessly  to create classic Korean Food from scratch for 600 people, everyday of camp AWESOME! (The kids have literally said its the best week of their whole year and that they'd trade their birthdays AND Christmas if they could go everyday.  We had to promise to come back every year we are in Canada otherwise we weren't allowed to move. I have to admit, Tom and I agree!)

The kids just love it and Jimmy is now one year away from one of his first goals, teen helper! The campers themselves are finished after 6th grade and then can go on to be teen helper. This year Robbie was the new helper on the block and chop, chop. Jimmy and his brother Joey along with Shin Be and Noah tormented him ruthlessly about lemonade, more food and the like, remember Jimmy.... what goes around comes around!

Kay was super excited to participate in the Korean Dance and to learn about all the cool dance moves while Ol' Bill was somewhat to cool for Taekwondo school, being a greenbelt and all! The camp teaches the kids about their culture, heritage and spends sometime on self esteem, which they all love.

Next up, sleepovers, dinner parties,  Jim & Jen's reception







and even a date night! More to come...