A weDDiNG aNd CanAdA

I was supposed to be in Orlando for 2 weeks, it turned into 5! I love how that happens but I also loathe it. I love it because I get to see my family and friends longer but that just means I have to spend more money and that part I loathe. There were a few reasons for me staying longer than I did. My parents closed on their new house so I wanted to be there and help move in, I also hadn't seen the property since it was just dirt. Darin had to leave but was coming back a week after I was supposed to leave so I just decided to stay and go back with him, plus Gemma is at a really cool age, her walking is getting really good (oh yea, she's walking....since 11 months but it wasn't all that great, i'd say 50/50, she'd walk or crawl, decisions decisions) and she's a lot of fun, so I wanted our family to enjoy her as much as possible. 

My brother got married the end of January, and we couldn't miss that for the world. It was a very sweet ceremony and you could see the love between Craig and Kait the whole time. What a cool experience sitting in the front row watching my brother get married. For sure I thought i'd cry but I held it together pretty well. Kait's dress was so incredibly pretty, it was perfect on her.....when she was getting ready you could see the excitement on her face just being in her dress, she loved it! The reception was a fun one with lots of dancing and having a photo booth was a bonus! We had a lot of our family come and it was so great to see all of them and spend sometime with them during their visit. Kait seems to fit in great with our oh so large family....you'd think it would scare some (i'm pretty sure it scared Darin lol), but Kait doesn't seem to mind, I think she likes it :) I'm so happy for my brother, that he found someone like Kait to share his life with and make great memories with in the future, i'm glad I get to make memories as well with our new sister! Congrats to Kait and Craig, love you both! xx

The week after the wedding I ventured up to CANADA!! I have a friend who lives up in Vancouver and since I haven't been to Canada before, I figured it was the perfect time to get a trip in! Gem stayed with her grandparents so I could go enjoy time with Jen. Vancouver is a great city, lots to see and lots to do and only an hour drive from Whistler!! I'll be going back to ski for sure and go to the tube park! They had a weird winter so there wasn't much snow except for what was on the mountain. We sat and ate lunch out on a patio of a cool restaurant at the bottom and watched people wipe out coming down the mountain.....something the nice heaters and a few cold beers made super funny! It was cold in Vancouver but nothing like I thought it would be....you could get away with a long sleeve shirt and a jacket and be just fine, I was expecting layers and layers but that didn't happen lol. I got to go to my first hockey game which was so fun, but they lost :( Got to visit a few of Jen's usual spots, a few lounges, fun bars and restaurants. I was really excited to have a Tim's coffee everyday and also poutine (which is fries with chunks of cheese curds and gravy, sounds super gross, but it's super awesome). It was a great 5 days and so nice to spend time with Jen, hope to make it back soon!!

Upon my arrival home, it was time to help my parents move, so every day after my mom got off work (11:30am), we'd load up the car while Gem was napping and when she woke up we'd take the 30 min journey out to the new house and unload the car, do something at the house, wait for furniture, alarm people or someone and make it back in time for dinner either at their old place or at my grandma's house. So....that was a fun week. Darin came in again that Friday afternoon and had the weekend to spend with us before he had to go to meetings starting the next week, every day for work. 

As always the weeks went by super fast but we were ready to leave and get back home to barbados. It's nice after being so busy and visiting so much with people to sit and do nothing again lol. It's nice to get back to our routine and have it be just us again. I miss our evening walks to watch the sunset on the ocean....reminds me everyday why I love living here. We have a few things coming up that we're looking forward to and the first is Easter week in Bathsheba! We've gone every year since moving here and it's a great little escape that sort of gets you rested before the crazy summer starts with all the Kadooment crazy events. This year in Bathsheba should be fun with Gemma since she's old enough to play with the kids and not have to just sit in a bouncy seat on the beach like last year, I think she'll fully enjoy it and that means a good night sleep for an exhausted 1 yr old every night, SCORE for mom and dad!!!  

About Gem:

*loves playing with the neighborhood kids and her own ride on toy

*skateboarding with daddy

*picking up and bringing you invisible things

*giving "closed mouth" kisses and says mmmmmmmuh doing it

*sometimes she says "thank you" lol, it's funny

*still really loves bathtime and sleeping

*her "pretending" is really fun to watch

*she's completely on the move, walks/runs everywhere, the beach is the best to watch    her walk around on....she looks like she's had one too many daiquiris hahaha

*says her version of kitty, dog, woof and a pig oink which is hilarious