Family, Life

Sports! From the Girl’s Corner

The saying “and from the girl’s corner…” is a familiar one in my household.  My husband, an avid sports lover, likes to use that term whenever I make a sports-related comment or question that usually has nothing to do with what is actually going on in the game.  To be fair, he doesn’t mind that I watch sports with him and he doesn’t mind that I ask questions, he just thinks that some of the questions I ask are a bit “ridiculous”.  The thing is… I don’t really care if the Jays lost because they’ve had a string of injuries or that the Leafs can’t win because well…. from what I understand you can pretty much blame anything for this one?

I do like watching the games though and I like them more when I understand the rules of the games.  There are however, some rules that I still, no matter how many time they’re explained to me, will never understand. First example: Icing. I don’t know how many times have I seen icing called and I still couldn’t for the life of me explain this mystery “icing” rule to my son.  Second example: When a baseball player strikes out but ends up running to first because the back catcher didn’t catch the ball. What is that all about?

ah?
ah?

Third example: All of football.  This is probably my least favorite sport to watch (Superbowl excluded).  I honestly have no idea how anyone, including the players, understand the rules to football. If my husband is watching football I immediately reach for a good novel (Ok I reach for my phone to check Facebook – stop judging!).

Here are a few things about sports that do interest me (these will probably give you a good indication why my husband comments “from the girls corner”): Continue reading “Sports! From the Girl’s Corner”

Family, Life, Parenting

Are we raising the next Sidney Crosby?

While my husband and I (okay, mostly my husband) are completely devastated that our beloved Leafs, or any other Canadian team for that matter, didn’t make it (far) in the playoffs this season, we may soon have another reason to cheer.

It appears that our 19 month old son is slightly obsessed with hockey. Every morning when he wakes up, he immediately heads downstairs, grabs his two little hockey sticksand net, and says “Goal” while heading to our front door. Yes, that’s right, he wants to go and play hockey! Not to mention, “Goal” and “Ball” were two of the first four words he learned to say. Continue reading “Are we raising the next Sidney Crosby?”

Family, Life, Parenting, Travel

Day and Night; Tremblant, Quebec has something for everyone

We just returned from our 2nd annual family ski trip to Mount Tremblant, Quebec.  Unlike last year, Kyle and I flew there while the rest of the gang made the seven+ hour drive from Toronto.  Kyle and I flew Porter (www.flyporter.com).  I can’t say enough good things about this airline.  The experience was amazing and so fast.  I only had to show up 30 minutes before take-off, even with a toddler!  We received tons of snacks and drinks at the lounge and Kyle loved watching the airplanes.  Before I knew it, we landed.  A shuttle bus took us right to the village where Kyle and I had a few hours to kill before everyone else arrived.

First stop, FOOD!  We went to an Italian restaurant (http://www.pizzateria.com/) and shared a salad and a pizza.  I unfortunately didn’t plan his clothes very well as he was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweatshirt in the (Montreal) Canadians home turf.  Thankfully no one made a comment about it.*  After lunch, I took him to the indoor play pool located in the village – Aquaclub La Source (http://www.tremblant.ca/activities/winter/activities/aquaclub/index-e.htm).  There was a great wading pool for babies / toddlers with a water slide that I was able to take Kyle down.  There was even a jacuzzi the size of a small pool that wasn’t too hot and full of little kids.  It was also pretty neat to watch the skiers from the glass windows surrounding the pools.  Kyle and I ended our two-hour adventure in the jacuzzi.  We warmed up, changed and made our way to the chalet to meet the rest of the gang and daddy. I had to make a quick detour for a Beaver-Tail.  It was sooooooo yummy, I couldn’t resist!!!

The next day, John and I got to hit the slops while his family watched Kyle.  We made it to the gondola at 8:30 and we finished our first run by 9:00.  It was amazing to get back on the skis after a one-year hiatus.  The snow conditions were great but the weather was a little on the chilly side (-16 degrees on the top; but felt much colder due to the wind).  Since this would be my only day of skiing, I wanted to take advantage of it.  We skied about 5 runs, before we had to go inside for a quick break.  My toes were frostbitten and my fingers extremely cold.  After warming up by the fire and drinking some coffee, we hit the slops again.  We were able to ski right into our chalet for a quick-lunch break and continued until the last ski-lift at 3:45.  I don’t know if it was the time of year, the weather or the overall winter seasons that we’ve had, but the slops were empty.  It was amazing!  On some runs, it felt like John and I were the only ones there.  We had the whole trail to ourselves, and we loved it.  Of course, the best part about skiing is the ‘apres ski’.  We stopped at “Le Shack” in the village and ordered a few pitchers, some POUTINE (when in Rome) and shared a few laughs and stories before we headed back to the chalet for dinner.

Tuesday morning, after Kyle’s morning nap and before we had to leave for the airport, I took Kyle to the village.  The weather was warming up and we hung out at the bottom of the hill watching the skiers go by.  Kyle loved just “running” around in the snow and sliding down on this bum on a small hill.  He tiered himself out enough that he napped the entire ride to the airport.

If you’re looking for a fun, quick and great family get-away, look no further than Tremblant.  Whether you’re a skier / snowboarder or just there with friends or family, there is something for everyone.  If you happen to be there with the kiddies but no one to watch them, Tremblant does offer daycare (Kids Club) for children 1 to 6 years old.  http://www.tremblant.ca/activities/kidz/index-e.htm

Hope you have fun 🙂

* Its possible everyone was mesmerized by Kyle cuteness so they weren’t capable of speaking!