Girls Trip to Toronto!

Girls just wanna have fun! Prior to this trip, I had never been to Toronto and in fact had only ever walked over the Rainbow bridge and stayed right by the Falls. My besties Brigid and Jessica and I were all able to coordinate an elusive day off work together so we got out of town!

It was about a 2hr drive from Buffalo (we accidentally took the 407 and are anxiously awaiting to see how much the toll is...) and we stayed at the Liberty Suites Hotel right outside of Toronto in North York. It was a great room with a sitting area, kitchenette, and a beautiful view from the 18th floor.

Our first evening there was chilly and rainy, but the rain cleared up during our rush hour drive into downtown and by the time we parked it was clear! Perfect for walking the city.

It was dinner time and we were getting hangry so we stopped into an Irish pub (and just happened to have a waitress from Ireland!). We shared some appetizers and drinks before hitting the streets again.

We headed for the Ripley's Aquarium and spent a couple of hours checking out the amazing tanks and exhibits. I highly recommend it! We even got to touch a shark, stingray, and horseshoe crab.

When we finished up there, it was almost 10:30pm so we started making our way back to the car. We popped into a Tim Hortons for a final cup of coffee and just happened to catch them right before closing...which resulted in us getting 2 bags full of free donuts!! We love Tim's.

The next morning we got breakfast in the lobby then got ready for the day and checked out of our room at about 11am. We headed back into downtown for a beautiful sunshiny morning of more sightseeing!

We headed for the St Lawrence Market to see the vendors and hunt for lunch. There were so many great things to see in there.

Crocodile and Kangaroo meat!

The cheese and olive bars seduced us, so we made a couple of sampler bowls with crackers and a side of turkey pot pie for our lunch! The cheese is goat cheese with thyme and honey. YUM

We walked a bit more downtown (and got Tim's again of course!) then headed back to the car to battle rush hour once again getting away from downtown. We stopped in at Ikea (which is a day trip in itself) for a couple hours of browsing, then finally headed for the US border and got back into Buffalo around 7:30pm.

Such a fun time with my girls! Lots of memories.

An Interesting Opportunity

Last week we all got to "act" in a production of a promotional video! We were hired thru a casting agency with a few other people to be in a video for an arcade company making a video for a couple new games they are coming out with. 

Basically it was a few hours of watching the kids play games and acting like it was the greatest thing we had ever seen! While we were waiting for the cameras to get moved they even let the kids play on other games!

It was a neat experience, and we all had a great time. Easy money! I look forward to seeing the final video when it's released.

Mom and Sons Getaway Weekend

This past Saturday I took the boys on mini road trip to Cobleskill, NY for a little adventure! There is a popular cave there called Howe Caverns so we just based the trip around it. There is a second cave as well but unfortunately it is closed till April.

After discovering that our car DVD player was busted...we packed up the car and drove the 4 hrs to our hotel. Nick stayed home to enjoy peace and quiet--and watch the animals! We went to a local diner for some grub, then relaxed at the hotel the rest of the evening. 

The next morning we had breakfast then headed NE to the cavern! We were in the second group to go down. After an introduction video on how they were discovered, we rode an elevator down to the beginning of the cave tour.

Our guide was great, and gave us lots of information on the history and different structures in the cave.

Halfway thru we got to go on a boat ride on the cave river!

The boys loved it, and we all got souvenirs in the gift shop when it was over.

The next day we headed south about 30 min to check out a hydropower station and visitor center by the NY Power Authority. It was very interesting to learn how they made their own reservoir at the top of a mountain to use hydropower in times of electricity shortage.

The staff there was very kind and really enjoyed the boys' energy and curiosity.

After that headed to Middleburg, NY where we attempted to do a short hike to Vromans Nose...but unfortunately the snow pack had melted and refrozen so the trail was ice and we couldn't do it without shoe spikes.

Being the frugal person I am....we got creative for dinner and hit the grocery store for microwavable meals we could cook in the hotel room! We saved a lot of money that way, and more healthy options for me! That way the boys could watch their shows while they ate.

We hit the road after breakfast on Tuesday and it snowed heavy for more than 2 hours of the trip. My GPS took us on some crazy back mountain roads with several inches of snow! Thankfully my AWD truck handled it just fine and we finally made it to the interstate which was slightly more plowed ha!

The boys are out of school this week for break so we just have to entertain them a few more days...

My Oklahoma Visit

Last week I got to take a solo trip to Oklahoma for some much needed family time! I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and started out the visit with my dad. We had dinner at our favorite Greek cafe.

The next couple of days were filled with family visits, great food, nails, Farkle, dominoes, and snow! Oklahoma got a rare snowstorm that dropped about 6". I had to show the Okies how us Yankees handle snow....Ha!

My last evening there was Friday night and my brother and SIL had me and my dad over for dinner. We had a fun time and after I said goodbyes to them, I went to my mom's to say goodbyes to her and my brother. I left bright and early Saturday morning, and returned to work a couple hours after I landed!

Next weekend I have a fun outing planned with just me and the littles! Stay tuned...