Alvin Parrill Hockey Tournament

This weekend Cooper played in the Alvin Parrill Memorial hockey tournament.  This was the ninth year of this tournament which is now the biggest minor hockey tournament in Labrador and Newfoundland.  Cooper played in several games for the Novice A/B Red Team.

Team Red

Go Cooper #14

All the teams participated in the Opening Ceremony on Saturday. One of the boys said "that was so boring", I am sure they didn't listen to a word that was said but they did stand pretty still out on the ice while the ceremony took place.

All teams on the ice for the Opening Ceremony

Fire!

We woke up very early on Sunday morning because daylight savings had ended, it was still dark and we could smell a burning smell.  Steve went downstairs to check it out and we could see an orange glow behind the trees at the back of our house.  Not long after we got a call from our neighbour to say that a new apartment block was burning down.

The apartment block had only just been completed and there were no residents as yet. There were 178 pre-fabricated apartments so the smell from the smoke was terrible.  Our whole house smelled awful and by Sunday afternoon there were huge embers (5-8cm) all over our yard and car.  The council advised all residents to remain inside because of the smoke while the Lab City fire brigade tried to control the fire with the assistance of IOC and Wabush Mines fire brigades.

The fire continued to burn for days and the hospital next door was evacuated due to the risk of the hospital catching fire and the smoke.  Eventually the fire burned out or was extinguished on Tuesday night.

Before and after the fire

Labrador City Winter Games

I saw this in the local paper recently. The Labrador City winter games are planned for March 2013 and I thought that the events were pretty novel:

• Triathalon (skating, snowshoeing, skiing)
• Biathalon (skiing and target shooting)
• Snowmobile racing
• Dog sledding
• Darts

Halloween 2012

This year Steve and I were invited to a Halloween party.  We searched the web for costumes and finally settled on Alice in Wonderland characters, I was Alice and Steve was the Mad Hatter.

Mad Hatter and Alice

We had a great night and were amazed at the costumes, Mr Potato Head, Twister, clowns, pirates, Danny and Sandy, Angry Birds, Elmo, Cookie Monster, B1 and B2.

The kids had a great time on Halloween also.  Cooper and Ryder both wanted to be pirates and Cooper wanted a beard! We took some quick photos before we went trick or treating around our block. 

Arrggghhh pirates!!

We went out between 5-6pm and the boys filled a whole shopping bag with candy.  Some houses were all decorated with blowups, talking bowls of candy, statues and some people were dressed up when we answered the door.  The kids had a great time and walked a long way, by the end I had to carry the bags because they were too heavy.  Once we got home we gave out about 80 loot bags by 7:30pm, we turned off the lights and went down to the basement to watch scary movies.  Happy Halloween 2012.

Trick or treat?

Ryder

Cooper starts ice hockey

We got back from vacation and minor ice hockey had started.  Cooper has done two years of figure skating lessons so we thought it was about time to move across to hockey.  First we had to go and buy all the gear, this is a challenge for a first timer, just as difficult as getting it all on Cooper to play.  This is what you need:

• Ice skates
• Hockey stick, cut to size and taped up
• Helmet with cage
• Elbow pads
• Knee pads
• Shorts fitted with a groin guard
• Socks that velcro to the above shorts
• Hockey shorts
• Hockey chest guard
• Jersey
• Neck guard
• Mouth guard
• Water bottle that fits through the cage
• Hockey bag

Cooper trying on his hockey gear for the first time.

Steve got him ready for his first practice, he hadn't been on skates since last year but he was fine after a coupl of minutes.  Being able to lean on the stick gave him lots of extra balance.  At the end of his first practice they played a short game, Cooper loved it!

Ready to go play hockey!

Goodbye Nanna

Nanna and Ryder on the verandah

A day in Hollywood and Beverly Hills

We decided to take a tour to see the sights of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It was one famous sight after another, Hollywood Boulevard, the Grammy's theatre, Mulholland Drive, the Viper Room nightclub (think River Phoenix), the Pink Taco restaurant, National Lampoon's HQ, Capital Records, Paramount Studios, Universal Studios, the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, the Beverly Hills sign, the Hollywood Bowl and many more.

Hollywood Boulevard

Another view of the Hollywood sign

We also took a Stars Homes tour, mostly through Beverly Hills which was immaculately groomed.  To be honest a lot of the homes looked old or old fashioned, I guess they are flash on the inside!

Cooper & Ryder on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA.

Chillin' Out in Malibu

On our way back to Canada we flew via LA and decided to take a week to warm up in Malibu.  Malibu is about 45 minutes drive from Los Angeles along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). We arrived on Sunday morning and headed straight to Malibu and our condo which was right on the beach.  We were amazed at just how 'on the beach' it was, the waves washed right underneath it!  Our condo was on Carbon Beach, a once exclusive beach that was closed to the public.  It was a short walk to the historical Malibu Pier and close to nearby shops so we didn't have to drive anywhere.

Brekky on the deck in Malibu

As planned, we relaxed for five whole days on the beach with another day in downtown LA and another at the premium outlet stores.  We stayed on the beach until 7pm most nights, still swimming and watching the surf comp at Malibu's first point.  The surf comp was the Malibu Surf Association Invitational Classic so we got to see Tom Curren surfing, it was very cool. 

What I enjoyed watching most was the cool laid back style of all the surfers at the competition, setting up home in their campers and Kombies along the PCH, changing into their wetties, surfing then cooking their BBQ's on the on the footpath next to the beach.  It was a very cool, casual feel compared to across the road where everyone looke like movie stars shopping at upmarket stores like Ralph Lauren and Vintage Malibu.


Malibu Pier and Malibu First Point



New York New York!

After flying to Montreal after work on Thursday night we took a lunchtime flight to New York on Friday.  We were staying at the Marquis Marriot right on Times Square and headed straight out as soon as we dropped off our bags.  First stop Toys "R" Us then supper at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Times Square, NYC

The following day we decided to buy a 'hop on, hop off' bus tour to see all the sites. We took a seat on the double decker bus while the tour guide pointed out landmarks and told us some interesting facts about the city of New York.  I didn't realise that the SoHo district is the area that is South of HOuston St, Tribeca is TRIangle BElow CAnal Street and DUMBO, the suburb just over the Manhattan Bridge, is Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

Steve took Cooper to a Spiderman show on Broadway in the afternoon while Ryder and I visited the Disney Store in Times Square.  Cooper loved it; he was so pleased to have seen the 'real' Spiderman and Green Goblin.  That night I went to the Wintergarden theatre on Broadway to see Mama Mia! I had a seat in the centre, four rows from the front so I sung my heart out.

On Sunday we took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and on Monday we visited Central Park. We went back to Central Park on Tuesday morning to let the boys play on the playgrounds before our long flight to Australia leaving that afternoon.

Central Park

Regatta Day Long Weekend

Another great weekend just gone! We started on Thursday night with a BBQ and fire, Friday was Regatta Day and we visited our neighbours place (the Kuhne's) for a big brekky, perfect after the previous night.  We spent an hour or two at the regatta on Jean Lake in Wabush and let the kids jump on the bouncy castles and run around crazy before the rain set in.  Saturday morning was hectic in preparation for Cooper's sixth birthday party in the afternoon.  Luckily the sun stayed out and his party was great fun.  Cooper asked for a Hot Wheels theme and he had a car pinata.  Steve lined all the kids up with Cooper at the front, he tugged on a black string and he was lucky enough to choose the string to spill the pinata!  All the kids dived in and picked up a cupful of toys and lollies.

Andrew, Cooper, Gavin and Ryder at Cooper's 6th Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Cooper!

On Sunday we celebrated Cooper's birthday a day early so he could open his presents.  It was a gorgeous and the kids stayed outside all day playing with Cooper's new toys.  I started preparing for our vacation, tidying up, packing and generally getting organised; very satisfying.  The Kuhne family had a fire and invited the kids over for s'mores.  I wanted to get the boys in bed, hoping they were too tired but after their bath at 8:30pm they were still keen to go.  "You can stay 'till nine o'clock", I said and off they went while Steve and I enjoyed our coffee in peace.  At 9pm they came home, Ryder had melted marshmallow all over his jacket and down his chin and he was carrying another s'more in each hand.  Cooper didn't have any s'more's, he just enjoyed being by the fire like his Dad.

Screeched In

Last weekend I went to a wedding in Port aux Basques. We flew from Wabush to Deer Lake then drove three hours south.  We were warned by at least five people to keep an eye out for moose and about half way there at 10pm Simone slammed on the braked for two big moose in the middle of the road.  Unfortunately we couldn't get to our cameras in time and the moose wandered off into the woods.

Houses at Port aux Basques

Saturday morning was raining so we did some souvenir shopping and took some photos of the gorgeous scenic town surrounded by water.  The ferry and the ferry terminal are very prominent in the middle of town (the night before we thought the ferry was a hotel!).  The ferry connects the island of Newfoundland to Novia Scotia and it travels out through a small ice free channel in Port aux Basques.  I was taking a photo of Simone and Jeff on the main street when a car pulled up and a lady called out, "Do you want me to take that?" "Sure" I replied.  She responded in her thick Newfie accent "Me knows how hard it can be to get a photo of da tree (sic) o' you".  She proceeded to park her car on the main street and stood on the other side of the street to take a photo of Jeff, Simone and I. Meanwhile the traffic stopped on either side to wait for us to have our photo taken.  Each visit to 'the island' I am more impressed by the hospitality of Newfie's.

Diana and Damon had a lovely ceremony in the lush green Codroy Valley with a reception at a local hotel. There is a Newfoundland wedding tradition of tapping on your wine glass to get the bride and groom to kiss so there was a lot of glass clinking.  Later in the evening the MC announced that he was going to conduct a 'screeching in' ceremony.  I had a look of horror on my face because I knew they were talking about us three Aussies at the wedding.  I was right.  We were hauled up on the dance floor, lights were turned on and the spotlight was on us. 

Screeching in is a ceremony to become a honourary Newfoundlander.  You have to say a difficult Newfie phrase, kiss a codfish and drink a shot of screech.  The MC told me what I had to say, very quickly, "'deed I is me ol' cock, and long may your big jib draw." I was the first to try and say the phrase into the microphone, I couldn't even get out half of it, the second time was closer and he said "that'll have to do". Next the MC said "Get the hoar" and Diana's mum came out with an oar, you see Newfie's add 'h' to the front of most words. We got down on one knee and the oar was placed on each of our shoulders.  We kissed a picture of a puffin because there was no codfish then we sculled our Newfoundland screech. Yuk!

Down the hatch!

We were each given a souwester hat and had to dance a Newfoundland jig on the dance floor with the Bride and Groom.  After that we were presented with our Screeched In certificate.

I am now an honourary Newfoundlander!

Screecher's Creed Translation

You might be a bit lost, so here's a basic translation:

Deed I is: Indeed, I am.

Me Old Cock: And old English Cockney term of endearment, meaning buddy or friend.

Long may your big jib draw: A mariner's term meaning good luck - may there always be wind in your sails.

Canada Day 2012 in St Johns, Newfoundland

We decided to spend our Canada Day long weekend in St Johns, the capital of Newfoundland. We were warned to pack warm clothes because the weather in St Johns is always damp and foggy.  On Friday we visited Signal Hill and walked downtown for a beautiful dinner at The Gypsy Tearoom.  This was also Taylor's last night with us and living in Canada.  On the way home we stopped by a lovely little park with cast iron statues of Labrador and Newfoundland dogs just right for climbing on.

Dinner at the Gypsy Tearoom

Labrador and Newfoundland dogs

Despite the warnings we had awesome weather, 30 degrees, so we were unprepared with the clothes we packed.  On Saturday we took the O'Briens whale and puffin tour from Bay Bulls.  Once we got out of the bay the wind got icy and the water was choppy, we hung on tightly but the excitement of seeing lots of whales made us forget our fears.

On Canada Day we headed up to Cape Spear, an hostoric lighthouse on the most easterly point of North America.  What a great day!

Long Weekend in Montreal

I was fortunate enough to visit Montreal for five nights on my own in June.  Every other time I have visited Montreal it has been a transit stop to come or go from Lab City or a hectic work visit.  This time it was work and pleasure so I had a chance to shop on rue Sainte Catherine, visit old Montreal as well as a couple of days in the office on rue Sherbrooke.  Each morning I walked up Mont Royal to the lookout as well as walking all over the city. On Sunday I walked to old Montreal and took a tour on an amphibious vehicle taking in the city from the street and the St Lawrence River.

I also took a tour of the Notre Dame Basilica, the organist performs a show every Sunday afternoon but I was so worn out and wanted to get back to the hotel so I missed it. I hobbling home with blistered feet.

Notre-Dame Basilica

Old Montreal

On Tuesday night before I left Montreal I went to Cirque du Soleil Ama Luna held in a big top at the Port of Montreal.  I learnt that Cirque du Soleil originated in Montreal.  It was an amazing show, especially a performance by the star of the show in a huge water bowl.  I have never seen anyone get their body into such positions, she was a contortionist!

I had a great time in Montreal,aw some sights, sampled the awesome food and shopped till I dropped.  I was planning to return home rested but I was totally worn out on Wednesday night when I got home.

Sunny Days

What awesome weather we are having at the moment!  Two whole weeks of sunshine and warm days with perfect weekends.  Right now I am sitting in my front yard on my Adirondack chair while the kids are racing around with water guns trying to squirt each other.  There are seven noisy kids from our street in the yard who are finished school for the day.  With temperatures in the low 20's I wonder how I ever coped with +30.  This feels just right, I don't need it any warmer.

The sunshine brings everyone out, people are cleaning the sand off their lawns, trimming edges,  mowing, planting bulbs, painting houses and cleaning up.  The lawns are greening up after being covered in snow for so long and today our lawn getting mowed for the first time since October.

Eating ice cream on the front step at breakfast time!

Ryder turns three!

I planned Ryder's third birthday for the his actual birthday which was a Saturday but the weather forecast was lousy so I changed it to Friday afternoon to make the most of the hot weather.  This meant I had a bit of rushing around to do on Friday but it all came together just in time for 4.30pm Friday afternoon.

Ryder asked for a Backyardigan's party so we ordered a whole lot of Backyardigan's gear online, helium balloons, party favours, table cloth, napkins, cups etc.  He was so pleased with his Pablo pinata.  Of course our guests included all the boys friends in the street plus Liam and Ethan.  It stayed warm all evening even though it was a bit windy.  Taylor made a great birthday cake with Kit Kat's and M&M's - yummy.  We played pin the mask on Pablo as well as the parachute game with lots of balls, the kids had a blast.

Happy Birthday to Ryder, Happy Birthday to you!

On Saturday Ryder got to open all of his gifts from family, what a lucky boy.  He got a ride-on quad bike, Mr Potato Head play-doh, Alphie the robot, dress ups, puzzles and Star Wars toys.

Playing with the parachute

All inclusive means everything in the Caribbean!

We were staying at Dreams Punta Cana resort which is one of many all inclusive resorts in the Caribbean. I wasn't sure what an all inclusive resort really meant, expecting to arrive and have to pay extra for everything I liked. It was great to find that all inclusive really meant all inclusive. Of course there were plenty of choices for food, a buffet restaurant, an adults only Italian restaurant, a seafood restaurant, a steakhouse and a Japanese restaurant. There were also BBQ's on the beach and by the pool plus a pizza place for snacks. We ordered room service a few times too and that was included as well.  The kids made the most of the soft serve ice cream and popcorn by the pool.

All the drinks were included and we tried so many different cocktails over the eight days. The kids swum up to the bar with us and ordered chocolate milk shakes, banana smoothies and icy drinks (frozen daiquiris without alcohol).

All the activities were included too.  Pony rides, paddle boats, water slides, aerobics, Zumba, water trampoline, kayaks, mini golf etc etc.  Since we were there to relax we didn't even leave the property on a day tour.  We could have been anywhere warm in the world for all we knew.  It was a good break with no stress.

Taking advantage of the all inclusive mini bar

Pony rides on th beach.

Cooper ate a hamburger every day

Down South

We spent almost a full day at the airport hotel relaxing by the very trendy pool, soaking up the sun through the window. It already felt like a holiday! Our flight didn't leave until 3:55 so we had plenty of time to have lunch, a rest and get to the gate. The flight was only four hours and it passed pretty quickly, we spent $50 on some pretty average food with less than average service, it reminds us of just how good Qantas really is.

We arrived at Punta Cana airport in the Dominican Republic around 8pm. The Dominican is in the same time zone as Montreal and on a map is almost directly south of Lab City. Taking a vacation in the Carribean is referred to as 'going down south' by Canadians and I am sure that most residents of Lab City head down south at least once per year. The airport was very basic, we walked off the tarmac into a large open air building, got our passports stamped and then got on our minibus transport to our hotel.

I couldn't see much on the way to the resort as the boys were falling asleep on me. The roads were bumpy and we passed through a few roadside towns during the hour long drive. We were glad to get to our rooms, get some room service and go to sleep.

Playing in the pool

A hectic week

We had a hectic week juggling work and family commitments, Steve and I worked split shifts with a couple of very early 4am starts to try and get everything sorted at work before heading off on vacation. Lucky we packed on the weekend. By the time we headed off to the airport at 4pm on Thursday afternoon we were worn out. We flew Air Canada so this meant a stop in Sept Iles then Quebec City before arriving in Montreal at 8pm. While waiting on the tarmac in Quebec City the flight attendant invited inquisitive Ryder up to the cockpit where he spent the wait sitting in the co pilots seat, wearing the captain's hat and jacket and chatting about all the buttons and lights!

We arrived at the Montreal Marriot at the airport and kept an eye out for our good friend Paul who was passing through Montreal from Australia this evening as well! We have hooked up with a few Aussie friends at this hotel which is amazing. We spotted Paul and it dawned on us just how long it's been since we last saw each other, it was when we left Boyne Tannum! Cliched, but time really does fly. We had a nice meal and made plans to catch up when next in Australia.

Ten snowflakes....

I have been slack blogging but to be honest not much has been going on apart from cold weather and working.  This weekend is gorgeous at just below zero degrees except the boys both have a cold.  We have just come in from outside playing on the snow fort in the front yard and sliding down the hill behind the back yard.  Steve dug the snow mobile out and took the boys for a ride up to Smokey Mountain and Ryder fell asleep on the way back.

Today is the start of Cain's Quest, Canada's longest snowmobile endurance race.  The race started in 2006 and has grown in popularity each year.  It is now 2500km long through rough terrain, deep snow, dense woods and across lakes.  There is plenty of hype in Labrador City around race time as many of the teams are locals including many team members who work at IOC.

The other news of the week was a rabid fox handing around Cooper's school.  The fox attacked three dogs in town and has not been caught yet. Plenty of panic ensued.

Cooper brought home some homework this week which I will keep forever as a reminder of jsut how different it is in Canada compared to Australia.  He was practicing his numbers and had to draw:
1. Ice skate
2. Snowmen
3. Ear muffs
4. Hats
5. Snow shoes
6. Skate guards
7. Ice creams
8. Icicles
9. Snowballs
10. Snowflakes

Off to school in his fur boots

It's cold out

Almost the end of February and I am looking forward to some warmer days.  For the past two months the temperatures have been in the minus twenties and thirties so our time outside is short.  It certainly doesn't stop the boys from being outside and they are so good at gearing up now which makes it a lot easier for me compared to last year.  The past two weekends have been lovely because the temperatures swung up to about -8 degC which is perfect for playing outside.  Last Friday we spent two whole hours playing on the snow fort (as the boys call it) in our front yard!

On the weekend just gone Steve took the boys for a ride on the snow mobile to a friends cabin.  Cooper sat on the seat at the back and hung onto the handwarmers while Ryder sat in front of Steve.  This was the first time both boys had been on a long snow mobile ride and they loved it!

Our driveway

I often get asked about driving on the ice and snow.  We have winter tyres on the car and the speed limit in town is 40 km/h and you rarely see anyone doing more than 50 km/h.  The ice forms a lovely pavement over the top of the road which is often smoother than the potholed road below.  The roads get a workout due to the deep frost and thaw cycle so there are plenty of road repairs for the town once the ice melts.  The town sands the roads continuously to avoid slippery conditions.  Sand is used because it is too cold for salt here apparently.  This means our car is so dirty and we can't clean it until summer time because it's too cold and of course the hose does not work.  The worst road conditions are during snow fall or just after a snow fall because the snow lays on top of the ice making a slippery layer.  I am now used to taking corners very slowly, not darting out into traffic and applying the brakes gently and well in advance of the intersection.  It can be very unnerving when you have your foot flat to the floor on the brake and you just continue to slide.  This has happened to me several times when I have least expected it, my car slowly movong towards the rear end of the car in front, my foot pressed on the brake and the tyres crunching on the snow.

Looking down our street

We park our car in the garage, which is uncommon here, snow mobiles and quad bikes are parked in the garage with the car out front.  This keeps the car warm and we don't have to plug it in.  Both of our work cars are plugged in though and yes I have driven off with my car still plugged in!  I drove all the way to Walmart with people waving and pointing at my car, half way there I realised "Oh, shit! The extension lead."

Where else in the world?

I was looking through the paper on the weekend and saw this:

Where else in the world would you see an ad like that?