Catching Up - Again

This seems to be a regular occurrence on here lately - posting a blog about our weekend events, five days after it happens, just in time to head into another weekend. Oh well, I'd rather post late then not post at all.

So, last weekend started out pretty quiet, we were home Friday night and Saturday, and just kind of took it easy. The weather wasn't great on Saturday, so we actually ended up having a 'movie marathon' - we watched Duplicity, The Invention of Lying and The King's Speech. We both enjoyed all three movies, and were glad to have a nice lazy day around the house.

And then on Sunday, we were off for another little overnight getaway (the coupon was only good from Sunday to Friday, so we both took Monday off in order to redeem the coupon). A few weeks ago, Curt bought a 'coupon' on Wagjag - a website that gives deals on events, restaurants, activities, etc. in various cities - for a golf getaway near Bancroft. The coupon was $99 and was good for a one night stay and two rounds of golf (with cart) at MartinWood Resort. Great deal right?!?

In the end, I think it was all a little too good to be true...and, we weren't overly impressed with the resort, or the golf :(

The accommodations...

The resort actually has an interesting history...if you can't tell by looking at it, it used to be an office building - built by the owner of what used to be a large logging company in that area. When he was done logging, he decided to turn it into a golf resort, but, he ran out of money (I think) and it's changed hands a number of times since then. The current owner just took over in September, and started working on changes in April...and you can REALLY tell that it is under construction.

The golf course also seems to be under construction, and because we were there in early August, it was pretty dry and brown.

Our view of the first fairway...

But, there were various spots on the course where you could see it's potential, this is one of them...

Overall, it was an enjoyable time away...but, when we're back in Branson in two weeks, we will be that much more appreciative of our accommodations :)

Anniversary Getaway - Part 2

Our first day in Ottawa was obviously a lot of fun, but the main reason for being there was to see 'The Lion King' on stage on Sunday.

The show was at 1pm, so we had time to sleep in, check out a few more buskers and grab a bite to eat before heading to The National Arts Centre.


I was really surprised, and super excited, when I found out where we were sitting. When we got to the theater, Curt led us up to the balcony and then I showed one of the ushers our ticket, so he could direct us from there. He told us that we had to go up one more level, and then we were in the front box. I thanked him and walked away, and then told Curt we should show our ticket to another employee because that guy thought we were in a box?!? I looked at Curt and saw the huge grin on his face, and realized he had managed to pull off another surprise...we really were sitting in a box!

Not a great picture, but this is me sitting in 'our box'...and, if you look to the right side of the picture, you'll see the box equivalent to ours on the other side of the theater (the last one on the top row)!

Now, as if the box seat wasn't exiting enough...the first thing we noticed when we sat down was that our box only had two chairs, whereas all the others had four, and, where the other two chairs were supposed to be, there was a taped 'X' on the floor. I don't know if Curt knew for sure or not, but he suggested that maybe it was because actors would come into our box. And, that is exactly what happened!!! At the beginning of each Act, we had an actor right in the box with us. I'm pretty sure I was smiling from ear-to-ear when they were right in front of us like that.

Again, not a very good picture, but it kind of shows just how close we were to the actors (Curt didn't zoom in at all for this picture). Really, this is a horrible picture, but keep in mind we weren't supposed to be taking pictures, so Curt just held the camera low and didn't even look at the display screen...he just snapped away and hoped that one of the pictures would turn out.

It was an amazing show, everything I expected and then some! The puppetry was AMAZING - the costumes spectacular - and the props/set incredible! I would highly recommend it to ANYONE and EVERYONE...I can't imagine someone seeing it and not being impressed.

A big thank you to Curt for planning such an awesome weekend - and for spoiling me with box seats at the show - you're the best!

Curt has said that next year I get to plan our Anniversary celebration?!?! I better start now if I want to top this years :)

Anniversary Getaway - Part 1

This past weekend, Curt planned a little weekend getaway to celebrate our anniversary. He told me we were going away weeks ago, but I didn't know any other details until Friday evening...at that point, he told me we were going to Ottawa and that we were going to see 'The Lion King' on stage, that way I would know what to pack. I was soooo excited - I love Ottawa, and I've wanted to see 'The Lion King' for years, so it was an awesome surprise.

We left home on Saturday morning, and once we arrived in Ottawa, we parked near our hotel and then set off walking.

We checked out the ByWard Market, had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, shopped at the Rideau Centre and watched some buskers on Sparks Street. The buskers were an added bonus, we didn't know until we got there, but it was Buskerfest 2011, so there was some great entertainment.

A self-take in front of the Rideau Canal locks.

We saw bits and pieces of different acts throughout the weekend, but one show we saw from start to finish was 'Bendy Em' - a contortionist.


The shirtless guys with bad tan lines in this next picture were pulled out of the audience to help, poor guys. And yes, that is 'Bendy Em' in that box (and in case that's not crazy enough, there is a basketball in there too!).

Oh, and I can't forget to mention that Curt and I both had our first Beaver Tails!

By late afternoon, we needed to give our feet a break, so we went to the hotel to check in, and then went to the pool for a swim. We stayed at a Marriott only two blocks from Parliament Hill, so it was really convenient. The hotel had a rotating restaurant on the top floor, and although we didn't eat there, we did go up to check out the views.

Saturday night, we went to Parliament Hill to see 'Mosaika' - a sound and light show that used the Parliament Buildings as a backdrop. It was a great show that explored Canada's physical, historical and cultural landscapes; it was more then Curt and I expected, and we were both truly impressed with various parts of the show.

The show is at night, in the dark, so it was hard to get a good picture, but we tried...

As you can tell, it was a great day, and the best part (in my opinion) was yet to come. More on 'The Lion King' in my next post.

Looking Back

Tomorrow, July 30th, 2011, Curt and I will celebrate our SIXTH wedding anniversary!

Crazy, right?!? In some ways, it seems to have gone by so fast; but, as I was thinking about writing this post, I realized just how much has happened during those six years.

Here are some of the 'major' events of our life, so far :)

We've moved...from an apartment in Trenton, to our first house in Thomasburg (designed and built by Curt), to our current house in Foxboro (also designed, and mostly built, by Curt).

Our first house.

We've worked...Curt was at a housing company when we first got married, then he took a job at CFB Trenton, where he currently works, but, he has also started his own engineering company, Three Hills Engineering. I started at Bay of Quinte Golf & C.C. within weeks of moving to this area, and worked there for five years. And then last fall, I said good-bye to the golf business when I took a job with the Ministry of Community and Social Services. I have also been coaching skating since we got married; I've coached at four different area clubs over the years.

We've traveled...starting with our honeymoon in Bermuda.
Since then, we've been to Orlanda, Florida (four times); Las Vegas, Nevada (twice); Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (twice), Los Angeles, California and Scottsdale, Arizona; Branson, Missouri; and we went on a cruise with stops in Mexico, Belize, Grand Caymen and Honduras.

Yes, we like to travel!

And, we've just enjoyed every day life...together!

It's been a great six years, here's to MANY MORE!

More Camping

This past weekend was our second family camp-out, and this time we were camping with the Vreugdenhil side of the family.

This is actually the first time we've gone to Vreugdenhil camping and stayed for the whole weekend. It's always held on the same weekend in July, and in this past, it's been a busy weekend for us, but not this year.

The weekend always starts with 'The Vreugdenhil Classic' - a golf tournament held at a nine hole course near the campground. Curt won the guys trophy last year, and I won the girls trophy a few years ago - this year we each wanted to bring the trophy home, and we took it pretty seriously :) We both had the afternoon off work, and once we were all packed up, we went to the driving range for some practice....and, then we got to the golf course early so we could practice chipping and putting on the putting green! Yeah, we were hard core.

I'm happy to say that the practice paid off and I brought the trophy home! I shot a 44, and I think the closest lady shot a 51...so I was pretty happy!

Curt played well too, and ended up coming in third amongst the guys. His brother, Mark, took home the trophy after shooting a 37 - so Curt couldn't be too upset.

Mark and I with our trophies!

Once we were done at the course, it was off to set up the trailer. And, funny story...we were one of the last 'families' to arrive, so most people were set up and sitting around camp when we pulled in. One of Curt's cousins was set up right near the entrance, and he was sitting around with his family and four or five other people, and he hollers out to us "Hey, Mickey Mouse called, he wants his trailer back!" Ha! People are always making fun of our trailer, including me, but that was a new one, and we were amused.

I don't have any pictures of the trailer from this past weekend, but here is one from a past camping trip.

We had a pretty low key weekend - there were close to 140 people camping, which was a little overwhelming at times, but also meant that no one noticed if I just went off to our trailer to read a book or something.

Even with all those people there, we probably spent the most time visiting with Curt's immediate family - his dad, his brother Mark and his wife, Jeanette (his mom had to work, and didn't come until late Saturday night).

The weather was great, aside from a little rain on Friday night, but that just gave me an excuse to go to bed early :) And any rain over night doesn't matter, because our little trailer does keep us dry. The rest of the weekend it was REALLY hot! So hot that I even went into the water...in, and under! The campground is right on Lake Ontario, so the water is usually freezing...and I've never made it in past my knees.

Overall, it was another great weekend of camping - I think I've come a long way when it comes to camping, and honestly, I probably can't say that I "hate" it anymore. But, I will ALWAYS prefer a hotel/resort over camping!!! :)

July Catch Up

I can't believe it's already July 21st...this month is going way too fast!

I haven't blogged since the beginning of the month, ooops. I think I've said this before, but we've been really busy, and when we're not busy, it's too nice to be sitting inside behind a computer.

But, I do want to keep things up to date here, and one weekend in particular was a good one and it's worth blogging about.

Two weeks ago we went camping - it was the annual 'Wielemaker Camping'. That's my MIL's side of the family, so all of the aunts and uncles, and lots of cousins, come out and camp for the weekend.

I actually always enjoy this weekend, even though there is camping involved :) The Wielemaker's are a great family, and although it's a relatively big family, it's not so big that it's overwhelming.

Every year, the family responsible for organizing the weekend, also decides on an activity for everyone to compete in for the 'Wielemaker Cup' - it can be anything, past events have included a euchre tournament, Frisbee golf and horseshoes. This year, Curt's mom was the organizer, and Curt suggested that we play 'ladder golf'. After randomly pairing everyone together, we had 16 teams competing for the cup!

Some of the ladder ball action, we had three games going at a time - there were a lot of games to get through to find the winners.

I was paired with Curt's cousin, Tim, and Curt was paired his brother, Dave. Tim and I made it to the finals, and went head-to-head against my sister-in-law, Sarah, and Uncle Jack! Tim and I put up a good fight, but, unfortunately we didn't win.

My MIL also organized lots of games for the younger kids - a water balloon toss, bike races and a few different relay type races - and, there was a pinata!

One of the bike races - Josh had to race against some of the boy cousins and his two uncles.

The two youngest kids had their own bike race - they each had an uncle push them!
I have a really cute video that I'm still trying to post here...

Noah, pretty happy after his win!

The medal/trophy presentation. The back row is Uncle Jack and Sarah - the ladder ball champs! And in the front, the little kids and their medals - Luke, Josh, Oliver, Noah and Malachi (Isaac is missing, he was already asleep after his busy day!).

Overall it was a great weekend - the weather was perfect all weekend, which is important when you're camping - and we really enjoyed our time with that side of the family.

And, this weekend we get to do it all again, but this time we'll be with the Vreugdenhil side of the family.

Oh Canada!

I hope everyone had a great Canada Day weekend!

Curt and I really enjoyed our weekend...we got to spend it here...


Doing this...


and this...


and this...


And, ending each days fun with this...


Thanks to these people for making our weekend so fun...

(Curt's Aunt Laura and Uncle Jack, and some of his cousins and their girlfriends)

I have to say, I am really enjoying weekends off this summer! This coming weekend we'll be getting our trailer out, it's time to go camping!