Here is Caitlin posing with the car all decked out with my bike on the rack.

It was certainly an investment, but thankfully it only takes a new fit kit to put this on a different car. And thankfully this car uses 58” bars, so I can load it with two bikes and the cargo box.

To celebrate and to break it in nicely I picked up Caitlin from daycare early and took her out for a bike ride. Earlier in the day I talked with somebody about kayak classes and found out where they teach the classes. When checking it out I happened upon a local bike trail. This is the trail that I took Caitlin when we went for a ride.

This was my first real ride since hurting my ankles months ago. It was great to get out and enjoy the great weather. Taking Caitlin out for a ride was also a test to see if she could handle it. I would not want to bring my bike and carrier on vacation if she wasn’t willing to ride. I got her very excited about the ride and she showed some nervousness while I was strapping her in, but that went away immediately as we got on the trail.

We went a couple miles before stopping to take pictures of the river that the trail follows. Caitlin was really enjoying herself.

It was a nice view of the river.

We road 3.5 miles on way and back to the car and then another 2.5 miles in the other direct and then back. In all we did a solid 12 miles of riding. Caitlin was done after about 10 miles, but put up with the last 2 miles. Her biggest issue was that she was hungry. If she didn’t want a snack we could have gone further. She enjoyed the ride and view.

When we got back we walked down to the river where there was a small boat launch. You could launch a kayak or canoe here.

Caitlin told me that it looked like the plants were dancing. I had to get her to say it again on video just to capture it.

Dancing Plants from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Taking a water break. Caitlin insisted that I take a picture of her. I’m one to oblige.

Posing for daddy to take a picture.

More posing. Caitlin did all this on her own without any input on my part. I just took her pictures as she asked. What a ham.

After visiting the water we snacked on a couple of granola bars and enjoyed the silence. It took some coaxing and there was plenty of whining, but I was finally able to get Caitlin on her way to the car. She was very insistent on staying home even when I told her mom was waiting for her. That usually gets her moving, but not this day. She said, “No, not now. I said no now daddy!” Very insistent on staying until she was ready to leave. I guess you could say that she enjoyed herself.

The only complaint I have and I understand the reasoning is the parking fees were higher than we expected. Instead of being $12 as it usually is, the cost of parking was upped to $20. They do this since the Ex was in session and if they kept parking at $12 they would fill up with cars for people going to The Ex instead of going to Ontario Place.

We started the day off as usual with a small breakfast in our room and headed out early. Despite being within walking distance of a TTC stop we decided we would be more comfortable making the short drive over to the park. Many travel guides suggest taking mass transit at all times in Toronto, but with a family in tow and with little traffic getting around town while driving is well within reason. Parking isn’t cheap, but it is not too bad. If we had known this before we definitely would have driven and parked near the harbour front when we went to the CN Tower and islands.

The drive to the park was uneventful. We had trouble finding the place on a map, but we were able to get directions from a guy that was "parking" his bike in the hotel parking garage. He was your typically friendly and more then eager to be helpful Torontonian.

When we arrived it seemed we would have the place practically to ourselves. We arrived early and it wasn’t too busy this day. There were some other families there, but plenty of parking. We opted to try to sneak in some water bottles this time, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the staff didn’t mind if we brought our own drinks. We probably could have brought lunch in as well, but didn’t think of it ahead of time.

Once inside the park we headed over to the area where the kids would have most fun. It was quite a hike since we had to walk nearly the full length of the place to reach the place. Again the kids had the run of the place. There were only a handful of families there. Emelia headed towards the 40" and taller kids play area. It was a large "building" full of places to climb and get lost. Sue brought Caitlin to another building that had lots of stuff for the littler kids. We all ended up there eventually.

The baby place was perfect for little kids. They had a large selection of toys for infants, a large area for drawing on the wall using chalk, play tables and other kid related toys. They even had a number of baby swings for the littlest of infants. My favorite piece in this room was the ball blowing machine. It was a device with various pipes and chutes that constantly blew air. It was fun to play with, but even better used as a device to blow air into your clothes. On such a hot day it felt great. And the funny part is that I wasn’t the only way. There was a family there from Boston and the dad did the same thing.

We spent some time in the baby area before heading over to the paddle boats. The four of us squeezed into a boat and headed out for a nice, cool trip around the park. It takes a little bit of effort to move four people around, but it was worth it to be on the cool water and to get out to see things from other perspectives.

The girls all geared up and ready to hit the water. These two had no issue or fear with being on a paddle boat in the water.

Caitlin was very happy today.

The heat was getting to the girls so they don’t look too happy here, but of course that could have just been the affect of my presence.

After our boat trip we hit up an entire building that had nothing but machines that blew sponge balls around. With the number of machines blowing balls around and others sucking them up the building was a cacophony of noise. We stayed there a little bit and would have stayed longer but the noise got to us all. Not to mention there was a large number of older kids there that took control of every available device. There wasn’t much for our little girls to do there. So, we headed out into the heat again and walked back towards the water park.

On the way back I took pictures of some of the dinosaur statues that we saw along the way. I’m not sure what these were there for, but they probably were part of some older display or attraction.

More dinosaurs behind fences.

A permanently (?) docked boat.

It was a treat to see this ship in action. I’m not sure if they were associated with the park or not, but it was nice to see.

On the way to the waterpark we also passed by a helicopter tour ride that takes off from the park. Had Sue been willing I would have splurged and brought the whole family for a ride. It was expensive for single persons, but for a family of four we could have gone up and see Toronto from the sky for a mere $200. Not bad considering what you’re getting; a personal helicopter ride. I almost went with just Emelia, but decided against it due to the cost of just the two of us. I also really wanted Sue to enjoy it too. Having a weak stomach she thought better to keep her feet on the ground.

Once we got to the water park we decided to grab a bite to eat and rest in the shade. It isn’t that these days were physically exhausting, but spending so much time in the sun, while carrying gear and kids you are just drained of energy. Fueled up on hot dogs and french fries we changed and headed to the water.

The water park on Ontario Place is decent. Larger than that which is at the Toronto Zoo, but smaller and less crowded than the one at Canada’s Wonderland. The shining star at this park was the huge bucket of water that filled and then spilled over the entire place at regular intervals. Sue and I both partook, but the girls were too small and were not interested in getting soaked.

We spent a long time trying out the various stuff in the park. Many of the good areas were crowded by larger, more aggressive kids so Emelia was a little bit intimidated and therefore didn’t get to do all she wanted to do. I did want to bring her on one of the larger tube rides they had. The kid area measured her at 40", but without shoes the water park so it was a no go. I talked to the girls there and told them about how they measured her early and they forgave the difference in height and let us pass. It was nice of them and I was going with her so no big deal.

The walk up and wait for the tube ride was long, but Emelia did well. We got a chance to see the entire area from the stairs on the way up. Some older girls (8-10 years old) talked with her on the way up. When it was our turn we got a big tube and grabbed hold. On the way down I went backwards and basically pulled her down the whole way. I outweigh Emelia by about 190 pounds so I made the ride fun, but we didn’t turn much. She had an absolute ball. She really surprised me in that she didn’t get scared at all on rides.

Since it took so long we could only make one pass and then we headed back to the locker rooms to change and get ready to head "home". The girls partially wanted to stay, but also were exhausted. Neither had taken a nap so they were wiped out. We headed back to the hotel to shower and rest a bit.

One the drive back I brought Sue around to the St. Lawrence Market area of town. Caitlin and I had been there the night before to buy food at the supermarket and got a chance to spend a couple dollars on donations during a street fair they had going on.

A shot of King Street and the clock tower at the old city hall.

One of the many churches in town. I forget the name of this one. The picture would have been nice had it not been taken through the spider web of cables used by the street cars.

After resting at the hotel we headed out yet again. The girls could not get enough of being out and about so I decided that we could walk over to Nathan Philips Square and see both old and new Toronto city halls.

Here is a nice shot of the nice looking old city hall.

The clock tower attached to the old city hall building.

Another shot of old city hall from Nathan Philips Square.

The water fountain at Nathan Philips Square.

New city hall.

The area is okay, but not much to do. There were a handful of homeless here and a bit of graffiti, but not much else. If you like architecture it’s worth the walk, but otherwise you can get the same feeling driving by  it in a car.

Nathan Philips Square from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Caitlin!

Emelia!

Sue!

Another shot of old city hall.

The back of old city hall. We took this on our return trip to the Eaton Centre. I wanted to check out the maps for the area at Indigo.

After this trip we headed back to the hotel room for the night. We ate up left overs for dinner and headed to bed. The next day was to be a big day on the road as we made our way home. We only had a couple stops planned, but most of the day would be spent in the car driving.

Taking the side streets made for a nice and pleasant trip. We got a chance to see real life Toronto, not the big city bit. It’s not amazing to look at, but it is real. The streets were not crowded so we made good time getting through them.

When we arrived in Vaughan we made a quick side trip to the store. We happened upon a huge Asian market the size of a typical supermarket. We almost went in and thought we might hit there on the way home. We ended up not going at all, but I’m still amazed at how big of a store it was and to find it in a suburban area.

Regardless, we made our way to the park, paid for parking and trudged to the the entrance. It was early and not full yet, but there was plenty of people there. The girls took a pee break while I stood in line with Caitlin. Some woman told me that they wouldn’t let me through the line I was on since I had a stroller. There were dedicated stroller lines, which I clearly missed. I wasn’t happy about having to switch lines after waiting so long, but in the end it was the best thing that could have happened.

The lines for the strollers went fast. The security check was minimal. I ended up having to get off line again just to wait for Sue. We had to find each other the old fashioned way since were were not using our phones while on vacation. $0.80 a minute can add up quickly when you’re racking that up per phone per minute. Nearly $2 to make a one minute call. No thanks.

We headed in, creamed up and got the girls measured for the rides. The kids get wrist bands indicating which rides they can go on. While on line I shared our sun screen with a family with five kids that were behind us. It was sunny and very hot that day and they forgot to bring sunscreen. I felt bad for them. Afterwards we reviewed the map and came up with a  plan. We headed out to the kiddie section.

The first ride of the day was the swan boat ride. It seemed like a nice easy start. In the end the girls waited nearly 45 minutes to get through line. 45 minutes of standing in the sun. Not a good way to start off the day. The girls were patient and enjoyed the ride.

Here they are. Mommy is showing them where I am.

Swan boat ride from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Waving hi to daddy.

Hot and in the sun, but enjoying themselves nonetheless.

The kiddie section is named "Planet Snoopy". Most of the rides are Peanuts or Snoopy based. Here is the requisite picture with Snoopy.

The kids section has a decent setup for the families. We got the kids updated with our cell phone number. In case they got lost the staff would call us on our phone. Well worth the $0.80 a minute in my book.

Also in this area is a building that has a couple of large rooms for little ones. One room for nursing mothers with microwaves for heating bottles and food. Another room with multiple changing stations to allow for an army of moms to change diapers. They were very ready to accept plenty of families with hungry kids and dirty diapers. I expected to at least find a changing station in this area, but the park shocked and amazed both of us by being so family friendly.

Next up was some other rides. Emelia rode on a small, kiddie swing ride. It was borderline for her. Next year she’ll be too big for something like this, but she enjoyed it.

Kiddie Swing from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Around and around she goes.

Holding on for dear life!

After the rush of the swings I brought Emelia over to a small roller coater. She was barely big enough for this ride, but with an adult to join her she was okay to go. I barely fit into the kid size car, but Emelia fit perfectly. I wasn’t sure if she could handle it, but she did. The ride was fast and it goes around the track twice. Emelia held on and when I told her to put her arms up in the air and yell she did. She is going to be our wild child. She had no fear of doing that even on a fast moving roller coaster.

Here is a short video I took of the ride after we got off.

Kiddie Roller Coaster from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

While we were on the roller coaster Sue had brought Caitlin onto the train ride. Emelia wanted to go as well so we took a leisurely ride on the train. Not much to do other than sit there on the train. It was cool in the shade and relaxing.

This is not a self portrait. Emelia took this of me using my camera. Not bad for a little kid.

When we got back Sue was filling Caitlin with ICEE to cool off. She’s sweating just sitting there.

Next up was the carousel. The kids both wanted to go on it so we abandoned the stroller and we all went for a ride.

Caitlin really had a great time on this ride. She was nothing but smiles.

Emelia was full of real (and in this case, fake) smiles.

Emelia looking at the mechanisms to see how it works. She’s such an inquisitive child she had more fun trying to figure out how the carousel moved the horses up and down than she did actually riding it.

Carousel from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Next up with the Red Baron ride. Emelia took the pilot’s seat and worked the stick to move it up and down.

Emelia looking at the controls.

Red Baron from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Flying high in the sky.

After the Red Baron was a "space" ride. Both girls got to go on this one. It was Caitlin’s first ride without Sue or I to help her. She did excellent. Nothing but smiles and no fussing.

Caitlin and Emelia trying to look at us as they fly by.

Space Beagle from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

One excellent service provided by the park (for a fee) that everybody should take advantage of is the buffet lunch. It sucks in that it is only available online and only for advanced purchases, but the $7 charge is well worth it. They clearly want you to buy in advance so they know how much food to prepare. As usual I was skeptical, but pleasantly surprised. Despite the huge numbers of people eating the buffet lunch the entire thing was well run, well stocked and worked out well.

The buffet lunch was all you could eat, picnic type fare. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, potato salad, green salad and fountain drinks. The food was nothing special, but it fills you and you get to eat and drink as much as you can handle. Seeing as bottles of water run $4 a piece and food is very expensive the buffet is worth it. We ate our fill and even refilled our Starbucks cup (from a drink we bought earlier in the day). They won’t let you take food or drinks out of that area, but they didn’t care about us because we were not using their cups.

On our way to the water park area we stopped for a shot of Sue (infamous Starbucks cup in hand) in front of the waterfall. It was man made, but huge.

On the way over you walk over a stream filled with koi. The kids enjoyed watching them.

Koi Fish from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

I didn’t break out the camera for the rest of the day at the park, but we had plenty more fun. The water park is large and has plenty to do for the kids. The sky was going overcast and looked like rain again and again, but it stayed dry. The place was absolutely packed with people and kids. Getting a changing room was difficult because you had a lot of single persons using the family changing rooms. I guess some people are just not comfortable changing in front of others. Best they stay at home next time.

The girls played in a series of shallow wading pools. These were popular and nearly as fully of kids as they were full of water. Emelia took a couple rides down a small waterslide. I talked Emelia into going onto a large waterslide ride that you go down on using a tube. She had a great time and wanted to go again, but it was busy.

Lastly we stood in line for the lazy river ride. It’s a ride exactly like it sounds; it’s a shallow, slow moving river of water that you can ride on while on a tub. Emelia got to sit on my lap on the tube. Since the line was so long Sue got back in line while we were in the water to hold a spot for me to take Caitlin. That was a mistake as Caitlin was so exhausted she spent most of the time on my lap screaming bloody murder. It was a relief to drop her off with mom when we were done.

With the afternoon quickly approaching and the kids exhausted we decided to leave. Easier said than done. The area around the park was in the throws of afternoon rush hour. We stopped to buy some iced tea and a milk shake and Mickey D’s and proceeded to take the back roads back to the hotel. The girls slept and we entertained ourselves checking out the local area.

One fun thing we did see was a Canadian Price Chopper store. This is not the same chain as the Price Choppers in New York. Sue took a quick picture of the store front while we drove by.

When we got back we rested for a bit, but the girls again got anxious to do something. So, I talked Sue into coming out to the Eaton Centre to at least check it out. We had been there the night before and I thought Sue would like to see what they had in store.

The girls had a great time pointing out things as we went to and through the centre. With out whacky schedule we ended up getting hungry and decided to eat there. We were going to just get some nuggets at McDonalds, but they don’t have a dollar menu and if we were going to spend any significant money it would be on something a little better than chicken nuggets.

We ended up at the food court eating Thai. The food was pretty good and we had plenty to take back and have for a meal later. They were a bit stingy with the cups of water. Two small cups for four people doesn’t really cut it, but maybe I’m wrong. Seeing as Torontonians head home early we ended up leaving by 9pm to crash and get ready for day 7 of our trip.

The trip downtown wasn’t much of a trip since it was short. We walked down most of the way. This gave us a good look at downtown Toronto. Most people were on their way to work, but the streets were not crowded at all.

We ended up walking by Union Station. It is Toronto’s equivalent to New Yorks Grand Central Terminal. We didn’t enter the building, but from what I could see it was quite bit and had plenty of GO trains going in.

The girls posed for a pic in front of an ad.

Our destination was the CN Tower. No matter where you were, if you had at least a partial view of the skyline you can see this thing. It’s friggin huge! We were still quite a distance away when I took this shot. We didn’t have great directions on how to get to it, but it was pretty clear which direction we should head in.

I’m not sure of the purpose of this display, but it was a humungous pole and wood peckers. If you don’t believe me when I say they are big compare them to the van parked next to the pole. They are enormous. You can also see the roof of the Rogers Center in the background.

After trudging across the grass and around other obstacles we made our way to the entrance. We chose a great time to visit the tower. It was a weekday and early. We made our way through the security where we were sniffed and blown by some machine. Having been to the Empire State Building two times I know what standing in line feels like. There was no line for us. It wasn’t that they were deserted, it was just good timing.

We had the elevator practically to ourselves going up. The trip up is interesting too. The elevators move smoothly and very fast and the floors are partially glass so you get a chance to view the height as you fly up to the top. I took many pictures, but have little idea what is in each.

I like this one mostly because you get a chance to see the shadow of the tower.

There is plenty of green areas in Toronto. You really get a chance to see it all from up high. I believe this is looking north.

This is facing west. The train tracks are just left of center. On the far left you can see the elevated, Gardiner Expressway. That’s the highway we took when we arrived in Toronto. The highway goes straight through downtown giving you a good view of the city.

A shot of the immediate area. Judging by the red logo I bet that is a Rogers building.

Not one of our best photos, but better than nothing. Caitlin was upset and wanted mommy. Emelia was distracted and scratching her face. All the while I’m doing my best to not get upset.

Caitlin was much happier in mommy’s arms.

Another shot looking west. It was too hazy to see Niagara Falls, but on a really clear day you’re supposed to be able to see the mist rising.

The roof of the Rogers Center.

The far western tip of Centre Island (where the airport lies). Later on we made our way to this island, but on the more woodsy side.

Some nice water front parks/homes.

A hazy shot of the Toronto Islands.

You have to give it to the kids to feel safe pressing themselves against the window of the observation deck.

Not to be left out Emelia climbed up and posed all on her own.

This is looking towards the eastern end of Toronto.

Just to the left of the previous picture is this area. Somewhere in there is our hotel.

Off in the distance you can see much more greenery.

And another one.

Here you can get a good look at Union Station and the lovely train tracks.

Here you can see the "new" Toronto City Hall. We took a short trip there later during our vacation.

Some more pictures of the more distant areas.

Here is the inside of the observation area. Pretty easy to get around and see out any window.

Afterwards we made our way outside. We walked around the open area below the observation deck. Nothing but a little rebar and mesh to keep you from dying. Yay!

A shot looking south east. We walked all the way around. For the most part it was pleasant, but on one side the wind was really strong. You don’t realize it being inside, but the tower does get pounded with plenty of strong wind. After this trip outside we made our way to the glass floor area.

Emelia didn’t waste any time or hesitate to run out onto the glass and lay down. For somebody who can be a bit skittish at times she had no trouble at all going onto the glass floor. It wasn’t like she didn’t see how high she was. She had her face planted against the glass looking at the ground very far below.

Here you can see the ground in in the distance.

Emelia and I took our obligatory picture on the glass together.

Here is Emelia on the glass floor.

Emelia on CN Tower glass floor from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

More Emelia on CN Tower glass floor from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Caitlin did well too. She walked up cautiously too the edge, took a look and then walked over to her sister. Despite what you see in the video she didn’t have any trouble going out on the glass. She was a bit more cautious at first, but didn’t have any fear either.

Caitlin and Emelia on CN Tower glass floor. from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

I had to take at least one shot of the ground directly below my feet. It’s an amazing view.

This are was a bit more crowded than others, but as you can see the glass itself is not too full. Most people didn’t dare to go near the glass let alone walk on it. Sue took the "safe" route and stayed off the glass.

Crowd around the CN Tower glass floor from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Afterwards we made our way down to the gift shop. The girls had the run of the place. Their favorite was the Mega Blocks display. We picked up a few things for the kids. It was your typical gift shop, but the stuff was pretty decent. Not cheap, but well made enough to last more than a minute of play.

Playing in the CN Tower gift shop from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

When we got out it was getting hot again. I took another shot of the tower. It’s hard to believe that the glass floor only takes up a couple of sections that you can see from here.

Despite being early in the morning we got some ice cream to cool off. We had to make our way to the harbour area so that we could find our way out to the islands. Thankfully, the local tour companies post a lot of kids/young adults in the area to help out the tourists and hand out free maps. We got some directions and made our way east.

Due to the number of pictures I took this day I broke this post up into two separate posts. Read on in the next post for the rest of this day’s activities.

Our first stop was Chinatown. We fed the girls a little food for breakfast in our room before leaving since both are hungry the second they wake up, but headed out late morning to Bright Pearl for a dim sum brunch. Being Sunday morning we were expecting a decent meal, but it seems we headed there a little too early. They don’t really offer much until after lunch time. We were there around 10:45 and left just as it got busier.

They offered many of the more common dim sum dishes you can get at just about any dim sum restaurant, but they offered a few that we were not as familiar with. The food was decent, but not spectacular. It doesn’t hold a candle to the dim sum at Mandarin Court in New York, but that place is tough to beat.

One dish that Sue was aware of, but was new to me was a fresh, silken tofu dish. It was scooped out warm from a big pot and you were given a side dish of sweetened water to go with it. It was quite good. The other interesting dish was a huge bread like cake. The entire cake is about 20 inches in diameter and is cut into a grid. I noticed that many of the older Chinese folks ordered up a big chunk of it for breakfast. It was cheap and looked a lot like corn bread. We usually get the more savory dim sum so we didn’t bother trying this one.

After lunch we walked around Chinatown for a bit checking out the available wares. There was a Chinatown festival going on this weekend so much of the area was blocked off for pedestrians, a stage and dozens of stalls. Since we were on vacation and not in the mood for shopping we didn’t go into any stores, just soaked up the atmosphere. We made our way over to the ROM using public transit, much to the delight of the girls.

The ROM is located on the north side of the University of Toronto campus. We skirted the campus numerous times during our trip, but never actually made it in for a look. I’m a little disappointed, but I know Sue wasn’t up to more walking and the girls would have been bored out of their minds.

The building that houses the ROM used to be your typical, old style building with nice architecture. It was renovated and I believe enlarged not to long ago. The newer portions of the building burst out of the old.

The older portion:

The new portion bursting forth.

The girls decided to relax before heading in.

The are immediately around the ROM is an interesting mix of old and new.

Oddly enough our first stop (after a potty break) was to the Asian section, which is easily accessed on the main level.

Tomb gate.

Asian roof.

Tomb.

My favorite piece in this section; a money tree.

Even though we had only started our visit the girls were getting out of hand. They were very loud and had fun yelling to each other. Keeping them under control was definitely a workout for us our our patience. So, we headed up to the paleontology section in hope that they would find it interesting.

The kids were not too interested in the dinosaurs, so we took a few minutes break and headed on to the Canadian history section. I didn’t take but one picture in this section, not because it wasn’t interesting, but the kids were a handful. I had to take this picture though. As we passed by Emelia commented that she knows where that if and that we had just been there. She was right. It was a painting of Niagara Falls painted about 150 years ago.

Lucky for us the ROM has a decent hands-on section built just for kids. We headed there without delay and let the girls loose.

The girls playing with a medieval set of toys. They did well here, but apparently one of the girls (most likely Caitlin) accidentally hurt the hand of a little boy that came to play.

Sue took a well deserved rest and watched Caitlin play with the fake fruit and vegetables.

There were other more interesting sections that we visited. Emelia and I sat down and learned about meteorites and even got a chance to play with a magnet and pair of meteorites (which are magnetic). We also headed down to an area where you can "dig" for dinosaur fossils. The girls working there were nice and knew how to handle kids. Emelia popped on some goggles, grabbed her brush and began to sweep sand off various dinosaur bones. The girls told her all about each fossil that was uncovered.

The area had some other exhibits, but our girls were too small to play with them. Maybe next time. Afterwards we headed off to walk through a couple of other exhibits before leaving. The kids had enough and we had enough of trying to deal with them and with walking to ensure that we were very tired.

Playing in the hotel room from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

The girls planning out the next day’s activities.

Caitlin studying the map of downtown Toronto while we watch some TV on the beautiful flat screens that we had in our room.

Caitlin ready to head out.

And now for a tour of our suite. We start off with a view into the main room from the entrance. You cannot see it, but on my immediate left is a nice coat closet.

The living room with a desk/table in the rear.

French style doors heading off the bedroom.

One of the two flat screen TVs that were in the suite.

A view of the entrance.

The kitchenette complete with microwave, sink, fridge, coffee maker and minibar. The minibar was on a scale, which is a nightmare when you have kids, but thankfully it also included a lock/seal. So, despite being bumped into and moved around (which triggers the scale) a lot we didn’t get any undeserved charges as the seal was never broken. The girls we good enough to not even try to play with it. Buried down in the drawers are a small set of dishes, cups and flatware.

The fruit, cereal and box of pastries are ours and didn’t come with the room. That was our breakfast and snack food. Sue is intently watching TV as you can see. The $5 bottle of Evian and $9 jar of cashews were part of the minibar.

The two double beds. Emelia and I got the one next to the window, which Sue and Caitlin had the other.

A very exciting picture of the window.

Our second entertainment center and French doors.

The entertainment was fully equipped with TV, kids books, spare diapers and a night light. It was all ours except for the TV.

Emelia helping me take pictures of the entire place.

A pocket door into the bath rooms.

Despite paring down what we use at home two adults with two kids ends up with plenty of toiletries. Diaper changing pad, butt paste, razor, etc. It all adds up to a mess.

Caitlin playing in the bath portion of the bathroom. Plenty of hot, high pressure hotel water. I really liked the bow-out shower curtain.

That does it for the tour. The suite was very nice and comfortable. I believe we were the noisiest room on the floor, but the thick walls seemed to have worked in our favor as we never had any complaints about noise. I happened to talk with a woman who has been to this place many times with her kids and she said that the place gets plenty of kids and they are never upset of the sounds of a family staying there.

Sue and the girls playing.

Despite being late and passed her bedtime Caitlin was very happy.

More playing in the hotel room from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

We crashed and tried to get some sleep before our next big day.

Somehow we (just the three of us) made it through the day. I wasn’t so sure how I could do with the girls since both were sick and Caitlin is very attached to mommy and difficult to deal with when sick. I got lucky and Caitlin took a quick nap in her high chair after eating lunch.

Emelia wanted to take a nap on the couch. She surprised me by actually sleeping there. I made her a “bed” out of the love seat and a tucked in blanket. Emelia slept well, but Caitlin woke up after 40 minutes and proceeded to torture me for another 40 minutes. By three o’clock I broke down and took the girls out for a ride. The little one took a nice short nap. We had ourselves some ice pops to soothe throats.

Unfortunately, they ended up getting me sick. I did my best to avoid it by washing my hands, not sharing with them, etc, but it’s likely I got sick the same time Emelia did, I just didn’t realize it immediately. I almost went to work on Thursday, but ended up staying home again. This time Sue stayed home to watch the girls. We ended up taking turns, but she still took the lion share of the work. One fortunate thing was that the kids are nearly fully back to normal. It’s a quick sickness.

Sue kept Emelia busy with painting. Caitlin spent time “coloring”.

Sue teaching Emelia to paint some sun catchers that we bought months ago for Easter.

Caitlin’s masterpiece being made.

Caitlin had more fun putting the crayons back into the bag and then dump them than she did actually coloring.

A little video of the kids being creative.

Being Creative from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

By Friday morning it appeared that both girls were almost completely healthy again. They went to daycare I was good enough to take advantage of my already scheduled day off. High humidity and hot temps kept me from doing all the work I wanted to do, but it was a very productive day overall. The car finally got washed after many months and waxed for the first time ever. All I can say is that I’ll be glad to go back to work on Monday. Having a few days off, albeit sick most of the time did wonders for my mental health. Couple that time off with weekends front and back, and a couple days of atypical work and I’ve been able to clear my mind. Finally, for once I’m not thinking about work.

Silly Dancing from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Just Having Fun from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Here is a quick video of Caitlin in an extremely playful mood. She was just happy to jump around and entertain daddy.

Caitlin Walking from xiaoniu on Vimeo.

Caitlin really has taken off walking around. She’s getting better by the day. She has improved dramatically since this video was taken. Now, she can walk around the house without falling once.

Updated: Now that I look at the video again I realize how horrible Emelia’s hair looked. She had pretty braids in her hair, but decided to yank it all out. The result was a messy, mat of hair.

Pizza Night from xiaoniu on Vimeo.