Seriously--grab a drink for this one...you'll thank me at the end.
This summer, we all flew back to Canada. It felt wonderful to reconnect with so many of our friends--and family too (which should go without saying).
The travel itself was not hard--but it was awfully long, and that in itself can become a hardship.
Watch this little video I made of our trip from Abu Dhabi to Orlando (which essentially took us about 26 hours, door-to-door). We arrived in Florida around midnight, and were seen shopping at the 24 hour grocery around 1 AM (with all three kids alert and singing). Business class is not a hardship, by any stretch of the imagination--the children were great and well-behaved the whole flight. I was perturbed to discover a grey hair (the first I have ever found) in the bathroom mirror, on our first leg of travel--damn french braids!
Abu Dhabi to Orlando
(**Warning--I haven't upgraded to the PAY version of the replay app--and the music is slightly annoying--but a lot of cute pics of the kids counterbalance it.**)
I really enjoyed Orlando. Florida was a lot more green and lush than I remember. I got to finally see the words "Spanish moss" and "magnolia" come to life, travel to one of the groves that produces the orange juice we buy in Abu Dhabi (what we were thinking was a knock-off Tropicana box--called
Florida's Natural), and of course, the highlight of our trip was celebrating little A's seventh birthday with FIREWORKS (as we had always hoped for our
fourth of July baby girl) at DISNEYWORLD! We were lucky enough to be joined by our most favourite college student (now a University gal at UCLA), Jasmine. Jasmine and I both did a lot of work with our hands this holiday--she was the balloon artist, and me--I worked with gauze ;-)...lots and lots of never-ending gauze....Our dear friends from West Palm Beach also drove up to spend some time with us--we all get along fabulously and it was thrilling to see the love carry on through to the next generation.
 |
| Monster Truck |
 |
| Anthony and the banana spider |
 |
| Magnolia |
 |
| Three princesses |
 |
| Until next time--the Hillbergs |
 |
| Princess tea time |
 |
| Ready for my birthday fireworks! |
 |
| Resurrecting Disney |
 |
| Ready for F1 |
 |
It's a Small World was
Magoo's favorite ride--at the end she stood up and shouted
"Again! Again!" |
 |
| Go Bruins!! |
From Orlando, we flew to Calgary, via Houston. We pretty much spent an entire day in transit--why can't they have a connecting flight? (hint: probably something to do with Air Canada and their monopoly being threatened...oh wait...we don't have monopolies in Canada...put THAT in the
'things that make you go hmmmmmm' box...). We stopped in Calgary for a night, and then head off to Edmonton the next morning.
 |
| Celebrating A's bday in Calgary |
 |
| Grandpa's backyard--with Grandpa's special tools |
 |
| Looks just like daddy--but hairless! |
 |
| JPP Class of '93 reunion |
 |
| Discovering dandelions |
 |
| Lunch with the Boers |
Peter spent about two weeks in Edmonton with us, and then went back to Abu Dhabi. While he was gone, we spent the time in Calgary.
 |
| With the cousins |
 |
| A gift from Grandma to Naniji |
 |
| Mushroom pickers |
Here is another little video to share what we got up to while we were there:
(**NB: the music is the same and just as annoying).
I really enjoyed the time with my family. Our simple days involved dog-walking, raspberry picking, trips to the library and nearby playgrounds, and joining the Cookie Club at Superstore. We managed to also see so many friends, more than we were expecting! And the summer storms--ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! I LOVED them! Only could have been better if I had a quiet room, a blanket and a NAP! I managed to become a runner, for one month, running regularly around my brother's neighbourhood. Calgary is a beautiful city--even a former Edmontonian such as myself has to admit it. I celebrated my ten year wedding anniversary with my three lovelies in the
Canmore Butterfly Spray Park--we had a blast! And we managed to win over the heart of one very stubborn little pomeranian (yes--I am talking about you Snuggles!).
And then we drove back to Edmonton again--and it was quite emotional for me, because I knew it meant my time with my parents was almost done--just a few more days at the end of the trip, before we were gone again. However, we had some more friends to catch up and THE FAMILY REUNION (in capitals to express its importance).
 |
| Count 'em! |
 |
| BFF's |
 |
| Make way for the ducklings... |
 |
| Clowin' cousins |
 |
| yawn or roar? you be the judge |
From Edmonton, back to Calgary, and then onwards to Ontario. There we saw the Niagara Falls, stayed in cottage country, in Muskoka, and then spent some time in Toronto, before heading back home.
 |
| row, row, row your boat... |
 |
| Girls of summer |
 |
| marhmallow masters |
 |
| ribbit |
Then it was back to Abu Dhabi, where we were launched immediately into our old lives, complete with starting school (one week late!). This meant no transition for Pickle--who was started EY1 (FKA Pre-K) at little A's school. Magoo suffered the worst jet-lag (and by association, I suffered along-side her as her go-to person...). Thus cementing for me why we don't go back home every summer...it was a rough week back...
So--thank-you for getting this far in the "My Summer Holiday" entry.
For everyone who made our time back in North America so memorable--our families and friends--I thank-you! Thank-you for all the lunches, the dinners, the coffees...for all your time, and for picking it all up so easily...just where we left off, six years ago...
For Malou, who gave me the two hours I needed to update this blog, I thank-you too!
Eid Mubarak!
No comments:
Post a Comment