It's all over but the laundry

This year, my mom brought my niece and one of my cousin's daughters to visit, and there were no injuries.

I couldn't believe it, either.

They flew into Toronto on a Friday night. They got in around 5 and checked in to the airport hotel, and Wanda and I drove down to meet them. We got there a little before 10.

The girls were a little ridiculously excited to see us.

Saturday morning, we met up with my cousin and all six of us drove to Niagara Falls. Another cousin met us there, and we spent the day going on the Hornblower (which used to be the Maid of the Mist), eating at the Rainforest Cafe, and walking around the falls. (My niece didn't want to go on the boat because it would be boring, but I made her go anyway. She loved it.)

A monkey in a tree

The falls

We went back to Toronto Saturday night.

Sunday morning, we checked out of the hotel and drove to a subway station with parking. We left the car there and took 2 trains to get downtown to meet up with my cousin again. We walked around downtown and ended up at the CN Tower.

The girls are somewhere around the R

We'd originally planned to go to the Ontario Science Centre - the girls have passes so would have gotten in free - but it was hot, and I was afraid that if we got back to the car, no one would want to get out of it again to go to the science center, so we went to the aquarium instead. I really like aquariums, and this one was good, despite the fact that it was crowded and there were too many people with empty strollers and wagons.

We came back to Ottawa on Sunday night, so Monday was a quiet day. We watched movies, and the girls got their hair cut. (My niece didn't want to watch Captain America because she doesn't like superhero movies, but I made her and she loved it.)

We also went to Menchies for frozen yogurt. (My niece didn't want to go because she doesn't like frozen yogurt, but I made her and she loved it.)

Not enjoying the frozen yogurt

A friend brought her kids over on Tuesday and we made stilts. We didn't' quite finished them - it was ridiculously hot - but it was still fun. After lunch, we went to Britannia Beach and the kids played in the water. We finished up Tuesday by going to see Inside Out.

We had planned to go to Calypso on Wednesday, but the cabanas were booked, so we moved it to Thursday and went shopping instead. The girls had a good time spending every penny they'd brought with them.

Shopping

Thursday was Calypso. As usual, we spent a lot of time on the lazy river, and tried a bunch of the other rides. It rained Thursday morning, so it wasn't terribly crowded. The adults got sunburned, and the kids (who have t-shirt bathing suits) were fine.

Calypso

Friday morning we went to see Age of Ultron (since the girls had watched the first Avengers movie at some point - I don't normally let them watch as many movies as they did this trip, but it was really, really hot out). We went for lunch, and then I cruelly forced them to go for a walk in the woods. We tried to feed the chickadees, but they were apparently on vacation as they were nowhere to be found.

Can't wait to go for a walk

Saturday we went to Ray's Reptiles. I've somehow never been there, although I've seen their traveling show. (My niece didn't want to go, but she seemed to have a good time, anyway.) This is also when I made a terrible mistake - I bought the girls magnetic rocks. They played with them constantly. It was very irritating. (I think this is also the day Wanda took them mini-golfing. It's hard to remember exactly.)

Waiting for the show at Ray's Reptiles

Kissing a turtle

Sunday we went downtown to the Busker festival. (My niece didn't want to go, but ...you know the drill.)  We didn't have much time there, but they enjoyed it, and they got to take the bus there, so all was well. After the festival, we went out to my cousin's aunt's cottage. It was a beautiful day for it.

At the cottage

Monday morning I took the kids to Minions (even though it was the third movie they'd seen in theaters since they got here), then it was time for lunch so that they could get to the airport. They flew home last night.

Decade in review

I'm catching up on various blogs today, and I saw this idea on Lynn's blog. Instead of a year-in-review, here's a review of what I've been up to for the last decade. I'm sure I've missed things, so if you remember things I don't, feel free to remind me.

2000 - Bought a house. Went to PEI for a week. Went to Winnipeg. Went camping in Manitoba and hurt my arm crossing a waterfall, then fell in the lake. Took a pottery class. Continued ballroom dancing classes. Took Irish Dancing. Bought a new car.

2001 - Tech meltdown started. Watched as friends and colleagues got laid off. Had the shingles replaced on the house & the chimney repaired. Went to Niagara Falls and Toronto.

2002 - Not a good year. Another year of layoffs. Went on a canoe trip in Algonquin park. Went to Niagara Falls once and Toronto twice. Had to pull a bird's nest out of the bathroom fan vent. Went to Cornwall a couple of times. Went to New York City twice. Went to Philadelphia, Hershey, and Gettysburg. Went to Sask. for a week. Finally decided to stop traveling for a while. Turned 30. Quit Irish Dancing. Painted the downstairs bathroom.

2003 - More layoffs. Still not me. Was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding. Took a week off to paint the siding on the house. Finished Thursday morning. Thursday afternoon the power went out throughout much of Ontario and the Eastern U.S. Spent the next week on a forced vacation. Bought a computer & had internet at home for the first time. Went to Sask. for the Labour Day weekend. Tried archery, yoga, and belly dancing. Played laser tag for the first time.

2004 - Went to Sask. & was in the delivery room when my niece was born. Started a new job in customer support. Went to Brandon for my aunt & uncle's 50th anniversary. My niece, mom, and two sisters came to visit. Did a bus tour of England, Ireland, and Scotland.

2005 - Lived through a kitchen renovation. It was painful, but the result was wonderful. Painted the living room. My parents came to visit, as did two sisters. My mom came back in the summer and brought my niece with her. I did a Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Malta, followed by a week in Italy. My bag (with my camera in it) was stolen in Pompeii. Replaced the shingles on the roof of my porch, which reminded me that I don't like heights. Went back to Sask. for my dad's 70th birthday. Quit being a leader with Girl Guides.

2006 - Went to San Francisco, Sequoia National Park, and San Jose. Spent a weekend in Syracuse & Albany. Started strength training and boxing. Had the bathroom renovated. Spent the year very unhappy at work. Started Irish Dancing again. Went to Sask. for a family reunion. Helped my sister paint her living room.

2007 - Got laid off from the rapidly shrinking telecom company and spent 7 months job hunting. Joined a new gym. Went to Sask. for Easter. Went to Toronto & Niagara Falls. Started a new job doing software development with a small aviation company. Moved to level 2 boxing. Three sisters came to visit (not all at once). Did an aerial trek and realized how weak my muscles still are. Got a new furnace.

2008 - Did at least one new thing every day and started a blog to record them. Went to Botswana twice for work. Spent a day in Munich on the way. Spent a weekend at a game reserve in South Africa. Went to Boston, Sask. and Edmonton. My niece and sister came to visit. My youngest sister moved in with me and took over the basement. Started as a leader with Sparks. Quit Irish Dancing again.

2009 - Started level 3 boxing and learned to hit the reflex bag. Tried fencing. Went on a Mediterranean cruise to Italy, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. My mom and niece came to visit. Went on the Wakefield Steam Train. Went to Quebec City. Discovered the basement leaked at the windows and got the window wells re-done to fix the problem. Got laid off from small aviation company. Discovered that there is a lump on my thyroid. Went to many medical appointments. Did 92 days of a 100 day anti-procrastination project. Met my niece's puppy.

To be continued

Apparently, it's hard to get out of the habit of posting every day.

So, anyway. I decided to do a new thing every day in 2008 in October, 2007 when I read about Jen's In The New blog.

At that point, I didn't know if I'd be able to do it. I also couldn't have anticipated some of the things that would happen in 2008 - such as going to Africa twice.

There were also things I knew I wanted to do - like 10-pin bowling, cooking spaghetti squash, and fencing.

There were things I thought I would do - like finishing level 2 boxing & starting level 3.

Now 2008 is over, and I did something new every day - some days more than one thing. (Admittedly, some of them were pretty sad, and only happened late in the day after a great deal of panic.) Obviously, the year didn't happen exactly as I expected.

Doing something new was definitely a good experience. The interesting part is that it has changed the way I think.

I've also enjoyed getting to know (virutally) other people who are crazy enough to try to do something new every day.

By nature, I am a planner. I'm also the kind of person who tends to go to a restaurant a second time and order the same thing as I did on the first visit.

I've noticed that after a year of doing something new every day, I'm far more likely to choose something new just because it's something I've never done before.

There are also things that I had wanted to do that I didn't get to do.

This year I'm not going to do something new every day - but I will continue doing new things and writing about it here. Stay tuned.