>We took the subway down to the harbor front and then took the ferry over to Centre Island.

The girls also loved riding the old fashioned cars, the train, and the carousel. I think Im still spinning. Thank goodness for Stacey, who rode the teacup with the girls because those little crystals in my ears were starting to revolt!

>Welcome to Canada!

Man, Canada is cold! Seriously, we had to wear jackets last night as we walked around. Problem was that we accidently left the girls’ jackets in London, Ontario at the place we stopped for lunch. Its OK, at least they sat us at a table with enough hot sauce to satisfy me:

However, this morning is beautiful and sunny. We found a really great running route that took us through several parks, by Casa Loma, and onto a dog park. Cho-Cho we’re coming!

Our drive here was punctuated by a detour through Allenton (where Cho Cho lives). We didnt stop but just passed by Rick’s house to get a glimpse. Then we got a “random” checks at customs and immigration where we had to vacate our car and have them search it for illegal items. Thank goodness they didn’t find the friendly martians hiding in the trunk.

Our place is located right on the edge of the University of Toronto. We felt right at home near student apartments, and a few fraternities, and the Casa Italiano right down the street. We have 3 playgrounds in eye shot. What a great location!! There is even a little kid’s rocking chair in our apartment, and the owner asked if we needed to borrow a stroller.

Today we are off to the harborfront and centre island. They have a little coaster there! This is going to be Bee’s first roller coaster ride! I can’t wait!!

>And we’re off to Toronto! We found some great reviews of ice cream places and also of playgrounds so I think we will be all set! New “border crossing” rules went into effect yesterday, so we will let you know how it goes when we enter Canada. They weren’t in effect last week, so we had no problem going into Ohio. Sorry Brutus.

We have tons of strawberries coming in this year! I wonder when they will ripen? Or if birds will get them before we get back? There is something that is eating in our garden. We’ve planted several sunflowers and once the plant gets about 5 inches tall with big leaves, something eats the leaves. We even planted new ones in a pot and placed the pot on the front steps to protect it from the “wild” that is east lansing. Of the two in the pot, one was eaten in the last couple of days. Im hoping the other one makes it, but suspect it may get eaten too. So far, nothing has eaten the basil, which is thriving like we’ve never seen before. We sure do miss the Markster, but that dog LOVED to eat basil. We’ve also got tomatoes and onions and corn growing. The corn is complements of Bee’s kindergarten class. They were studying how plants grow and she brought home a cup with 4 plants sprouted so we stuck them in the ground. We also cleared out the area next to the Doll House (aka the shedd), and a new herb garden which includes: Mint (which is growing really well!), rosemary (which is hanging in there, though now sure how it will do in this climate), chives, oregano, and the aforementioned basil.

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We started our three country tour in Ohio this past weekend. (ha ha). Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you and thank you for sharing your wonderful marriage with us! We were at the playground yesterday (back in MI for a short recovery before heading off to Canada) and Frankie ran into her friend Liam at the playground. She told him all about “the 14th floor of the skyscraper”. He kept saying, “wow frankie that is cool!” It was really funny! Here are a pic of Frankie at the Rose Garden in honor the rose petal festival!

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Friday was Bee’s last day of Kindergarten. She is now a big first grader! Her school had “walk to school day.” Bee actually walks to school (or at least home from school) most days we only live 0.8 miles from her school. But friday her she and her school mates were to meet at the hannah center and make the 1.3 to school together. Sparty led the way! It was a beautiful sunny day, so I think the sun was in Bee’e eye when i took the picture. Frankie wanted Sparty to lead the way to her school too, but she has to wait till kindergarten i guess.

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have i not posted since april 29th? What an amazingly crazy last few weeks! Well, here is a picture of Cho-Cho with her mama and brothers and sisters!!!

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Here are the girls with the tulips before school. How cute!

In an effort to diversify what we eat, I will report that on Monday i made salmon with a roasted red pepper sauce with apricot couscous and broccoli on the side. The couscous was good but the salmon seemed a little bland to me. I baked the salmon for about 20 minutes at 475, and while that was baking, I toasted some almonds (about 1/3 cup), i also chopped up some red peppers i had roasted, crushed some garlic, and also chopped up about 1/2 cup small grape tomatoes. Then I blended it all in the blender with a pinch of salt and pepper and put it on top of the salmon. Now doesnt that sound like it would taste good. But it was bland. Now what i did for the couscous was to cut up about 1/2 dried apricots, grated about 1 table spoon of fresh ginger and cut up 3 scallions, and some garlic and I sauteed it all lightly in olive oil for about 3 minutes, then i added 2 cups of water, waited for it boil and added the couscous and let it sit covered, just like you would normally cook couscous. that was tasty. the broccoli we did like we usually do – “popped broccoli”. So, last night we had San Su …yum! Tonight we are making pizza at home tonight so that should be fun!

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The girls were talking about wanting a puppy and Scott told them that he thought the puppy (if we get one, or should i say when we get one) would probably love to sleep on their bed with them. Bee looked at Scott and said “dogs cant go up the stairs!” I guess those are the conceptions you get when you’ve only lived with old gals. So, we had to dig out this photo to show the girls what puppies can do! That was Koomps way back in williamston!

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Here are bee and frankie working out on the stairs!!! Bee invented this activity!

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The tulips all bloomed yesterday and today, and we all think our yard looks beautiful! The leaves on our trees all started to sprout open too! I am always amazed at how quickly springs comes once it finally decides to arrive! But its really weird hanging out in the yard with the girls but no dogs! Also weird is having to vacuum under the table after we eat everyday. I dont think I ever realized how much food the girls spilled and thus how much the dogs really ate! Its been quite surprising! I hope you enjoy our tulips as much as we do! These were tulips that the girls and I planted Fall 2007, and that scott had gotten for us when we has in Holland. This is their second year popping up and they are just so enjoyable. I have half a mind to plant about 200 this fall because I love them so much!

And now I realize we’ve been lame bloggers and lame eaters so I am resurrecting the report of what we cook and eat tradition. Starts tonight. We’re having the age old pasta y fagioli with some yummy bread and “popped” broccoli on the side. So, we’re in a rut but at least we’re admitting it here! Stayed tuned…

For those who are interested here is how I make pasta y fagioli.

1 small onion
a few cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt to taste
cannellini beans (1 or 2 cans depending on how bean-y you like it!)
ditalini pasta (about 1 cup uncooked)
Rosemary
about 4 roma tomatoes

Put olive oil (a table spoon or two) in a pan over medium heat and cut up onion and sautee. Chop up your garlic and add that. Let sautee for a couple of minutes. Add a pinch or two of salt. then add your beans. If you are like me, you get them in the can, so drain them first. then chop up tomatoes and add those. Then add about 1 cup of water. if you have some white wine throw in about a half of a cup, if not, no worries. then crush up some rosemary and add it. Then let this simmer for a long time. a few hours maybe. then cook up the ditilini and then throw that in. I like to let this sit for a few hours, or overnight to get all of the flavors to their fullest. Then serve with yummy bread. This makes about 3 or 4 servings. I know not so precise, but that is how we do it here!