Better Get Used to These

I'm head over heels for my new nephew and got invited back to take more photos of him last weekend, when he was almost three weeks old.  Anne Marie had a few poses that she still wanted to capture and we worked pretty hard for them!

Jake was a very hungry boy the day I was there and he ended up eating a lot, and not falling asleep for very long. 

What a sweetie!  Hopefully there will be plenty more photos of Jake on this blog.

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Introducing My New Nephew!

My first nephew was born on May 1st, to my brother Tyler, and his wife Anne Marie.  He is an adorable baby and they are over the moon.  He was 9 lbs 9 oz at birth, after being 9 days late.  I was very lucky to get the chance to take some photos of my nephew when he was 12 days old.

More photos to come soon!

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We Threw a Baby Shower!

Sheila and I threw a baby shower on March 24th for my sister-in-law, Anne Marie.  My mom did most of the work, and it was so much fun.  The food, games, gifts, and guests were all great!

You can look at Anne Marie's blog to see all the photos I took.  I didn't really have time to post all the photos, so I'm glad she did.

She is due in a week from today and as soon as that baby is born, I will be an aunt for the first time, unless DH's sister-in-law Sunyung has her baby first.  She is due in about 16 days so it might be a race to the finish line.

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Mexico, Part II

I had shirts made for everyone that said "Mexico or Bust" on the front.  This is the back of the guys' shirts.  We were in the golf cart on our way to the hotel room and we were pretty pleased to be starting our week of vacation.

We got to our room and had a nice view of the resort and the ocean.

About half way through the week, there was a 'fire show' and I was nervous the whole time, watching these young people practically lighting themselves on fire!  We were all down at the beach and enjoyed the stars and the sound of the ocean.

After the fire show, we came to this bar, the main beach bar, to dance with the ladies from London, Ontario.  It was a bit of a workout to dance on the sand!   Of course, it was much darker at night.
We went back to the beach bar a day or two later to snap a photo or two on the swings they have.

Jesus was the highlight of the aquafitness classes that took place at noon every day.  Young, tall, dark, and handsome, with blue eyes, Jesus was definitely an attraction appreciated by several of the women.  He was also hilarious and I was cracking up throughout the class, and even got an arm and ab workout out of it.

We spent most of our days by the pool, with the towel game working out alright for us.  We enjoyed four chairs together every day, and in the afternoon, we sometimes gave up two of them as it would be hot enough to spend an hour or two in the pool, sitting on the ledge you can see right behind DH.

Every day at the pool, there were crazy games, and Christian had us in stitches.  DH and I played a soccer game and were pitted against each other in the finals.  I choked and he ended up victorious.  It was a hoot!

Iguanas in Mexico are like squirrels in Ontario.  They're everywhere.  They aren't overly afraid of us until you get a bit too close, and then they do that freaky dinosaur run.

We had such a good time with Ron and Mel, and also spent some time with Luc and Annie.  Luc has a dry sense of humour, and Annie was bubbly and sweet.

The plaza at the hotel was pretty, and there was a bar, tables, and often a band, a singer, or some other kind of music.  In fact, there was so much entertainment going on, that we could barely keep up! We brought cards, but rarely had time to play.

 

On Caribbean night, we enjoyed the dancers and eating under the stars.

Another night, we danced in the plaza to a ton of fun 80's music including Bon Jovi and Journey.

 

We were taking the bus home, and DH was showing his displeasure at our vacation being over.

Goodbye Cancun!

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Mexico or Bust

We recently returned from a fantastic trip to Mexico 'sans' kids.  We really missed the kids, and they missed us, but it was so nice to retreat to a resort with warm sun, all-inclusive, and with no responsibilities.  This is what it must have been like before we had kids, if I could remember that far back.

We went with Ron and Mel, and they were the ones that suggested Mexico.  DH and I had been to the Dominican Republic and Cuba together and we weren't sure how we felt about going to Mexico.  Turns out, it was gorgeous and everything we could have wished for.

 

Our building was three stories and we were on the top floor.

We spent a lot of time by the pool.

And some on the beach.

We had some lovely dinners out.

And saw some wildlife.

I did some yoga and went on a bike tour.

And ate at the fancy restaurants for supper...

And the buffet for breakfast and lunch.

I have more photos to show you, so come back tomorrow for more.

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IKEA how do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

I finally made it to Canada's newest and biggest IKEA.

What did I find?

Well-designed consoles

 Gleaming white kitchens

 Peninsula ideas that might just work at my house

 Amazing PAX wardrobes, completely outfitted.

 Fabrics with gorgeous colourways

 Affordable and fashionable side tables.

 Modern, white sideboards

 Sleek chairs

 A desk I have been coveting for years

 A potential solution for our downstairs music studio

The open spaces at IKEA alone were huge.  Enormous.  Gigantic.
The cafeteria looked amazing.
The room settings were nice, but I didn't have much time in them.

Mr. Boy was sad to discover that he is too tall to go into the famous IKEA ballroom, but was assuaged when he found out he is big enough to go on the adult zip line course that DH and I went to during the summer.  The girls enjoyed the ball room, but they could only stay one hour, which was barely enough time for me to walk double-time through the room settings and through the marketplace.

I'm looking forward to many more visits to IKEA, hopefully to pick up some if not all of the items I picked out on my visit.

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