For those of you (non-Canadians) who saw the blog title and thought I just accidentally mis-spelled the word Narnia...you are wrong.
For those of you who read the word "Sarnia" and are aware that it's a town in Ontario, but believe (like me) that it is pronounced like "Narnia"...you are wrong.
For the rest of you, you are probably my husband, mother- or father-in-law, husband's grandmother, or one of his other Canadian relatives who read my blog :)
To all of you, I say...here is the first part of the recap of our recent adventures to the "Province of Opportunity" (just learned that Ontario nickname from Wickipedia...what on earth would we all do without Wickipedia??)
And when I say adventure, I do mean adventure. Because that is how I would describe a road-trip with a toddler...and a family reunion with my husband's extended family. Ha, j/k Neenah!
Well, lest you be uber-impressed that we would dare to travel all the way to "the True North" with a toddler in tow, I should tell you it was actually only 6.5 hours and Sarnia is JUST over the Canadian border.
But still...really, feel free to be impressed. Because this little boy does not enjoy sitting still.
He did a great job though. In fact, my darling husband, who is known for his much-appreciated rating of the dinners I make, gave him a grade for each trip. He got an A on the way there and an A+ on the way back. The A+ behavior could be due, mostly in part, to the fact that the poor boy got a lovely viral infection (I diagnosed it as the infamous hand, foot, and mouth disease)(FYI, that name always scares parents...somehow it sounds much more dreaded than saying "Why yes, your child has a coxsackie viral infection") the last day we were there, so he was just sick and miserable on the way home. As many of you fellow parents know, sick and miserable means zombie-like and sleepy.
It also means cuddly...the poor boy wouldn't let go of my hand. Awwww....
But don't you worry. We did survive - ALL of us.
We made it over the border (apparently customs officers are not all that concerned about Americans smuggling the cutest boy in the world into Canada...they are wise, as they realize the country would be better off with him as a citizen) and reunited with Will's great-grandma Neenah.
Woke up the next morning and heard the best words in the world coming from my m-in-law's mouth..."Why don't you let me take him and you guys can sleep in a little."
Have you ever realized that vacationing with extended family is THE way to go?
When we finally did drag ourselves out of bed, we lounged around and Will had fun exploring Neenah's toy collection.
But these toys were so fun. They just don't make toys like they used to.
I had AT LEAST as much fun as my son moving these little people around their little house. Gears, gadgets, cranks, slides, conveyer belts, doors and windows that open! What more could a toddler want?!
Later in the day, when this toddler was ready for a nap, again, wonderful words from Grammy, "We'll stay here with him and you guys can go hit the pool and sauna." Oh Grammy, thank you. Remind me to ALWAYS vacation with extended family!
Later on in the day, we got to go move into the little cottage on Lake Huron.
So fun to explore every nook and cranny of this quaint, vintage little cottage on the beach.
And to relax on the deck and enjoy the view
I was fortunate to grow up visiting a cottage on Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin.
This place reminded me so much of Door County. No digs to Canada or Lake Huronians or anything, but the whole time I was there, I was just happily imagining that I was on the shores of Lake Michigan. Either way, it was a great place to unwind and get away from the city and just enjoy nature.
And this little guy loved exploring every nook and cranny as well, and playing with new toys from his great aunt (Thanks Auntie K!)
Sarnia...to be continued...
