Toronto and the 3P's

I love my free time with Rick. Recently I tagged along on a service trip with him to Toronto to check out the scenery. Once making it through the interogation and inspection at the border and a full night of sleep we arrived at University of Toronto. I never get enough sleep the first night away from home so I decided to start my day on vacation with a nap. Poor Rick had to deal with Robert and a broken machine meanwhile I'm out snoozing in the car. After a relaxing time, I moved onto coffee, cookie and reading while enjoying a soccer game. Once Rick completed his grueling, tortorous experience he gave me a personal tour of campus. Now I have not the slightest idea how old the campus is but I loved the architecture.

Buildings with faces, how can it be any cooler? Rick's tour of campus also included a sneak preview of Trinity College. We almost got kicked out but some smooth talking sidestepped the dilemma.

Rick surprised me with the hotel's romantic package and great views....of The CN Tower!!

This is where the 3P's come in. Now, anyone who knows me knows of my constant struggle to overcome my fear of heights. I have managed to go parasailing, climb a terrifyingly tall rock building without any safety harnesses and climbing ladders without fear, well, not paralyzing fear. The CN Tower is 1815 ft tall. It was the tallest building from 1975 to 2007 and remains the tallest building still in the America's. The trip to the observation deck was a quick 28 second ride in an elevator with glass floor inserts. This is a terrible design - really, how is this not terrifying to everyone? Racng away from the ground. Now the leak in the elevator ceiling probably added to my fear. Logically I know that it was completely safe but in my twisted mind, I felt like the world was going to end. Rick stated that he had never seen me that scared. He thought I was going to pee, puke and passout. Literally I was so shaken by the trip that my legs nearly collapsed while exiting the elevator. The trip was well worth it - the views were amazing!!

That is our hotel!!

After a night on the beach and a great night of sleep we decided that we would spend the last day of our trip at the Royal Botanical Garden.

I love gardens and the inspiration that it give me. The gardens were amazing. We hit it durring their sculpture event that left surprises at ever bend. We had a great time (minus Rick's hilarious run in the snake). There was so much ground to cover that we couldn't see two gardens but it was necessary to leave in order to get home at a somewhat reasonable hour. I was certainly missing my SweetPea. Rick knew this would make me sad so he surprised me with a stop off at The Grasshopper Imports. Again, more inspiration!! Boy does my man love me and knows me so well.

A Little Love for Grandma

Rick and I had a chance to visit with Grandma on our way home one night. It's always a fun time!

I'm a Mama....

I'm so excited!! My house finch family has decided to come back!! Last year Rick and I bought two huge ferns for our front porch from my favorite nursery Block's. Within a week, a mama house finch took up residency and created a nest. The first nest fledged 4 young. After her babies took off, she decided to move - to my other fern!! That brood yielded 5 young. I immediately purchased ferns this year in hopes of their return. It took a while for them to visit and I feared the feral cats in my neighborhood scared off yet another family. Fortunately it was more a test of my patience. I have 5 babies happily growing!!

What I love even more is the wonderful songs of the happy father as he boasts over his ever-growing family to the neighborhood.

Time to "Catch Up"

Journaling has never been my strong suit, well, anything that requires consistency has really never been my strong suit. I'm going to try to get my "journaling" caught up. Here are a few things that happened since my last post. It's been busy :)

The Oliver Girls Return

Geoff and Cheryl celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. As our gift to them, we took their three beautiful girls for the weekend and spoiled them rotten. It started out with dinner and a movie Friday night after we welcomed Rick back from Ireland. Then Saturday was spent walking through the Farmer's Market in Ann Arbor, The Hands On Museum and Monogolian BBQ for dinner. Sunday we explored the gardens in Marshall before our sad departure. Whatta blast!!