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The Great White North

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Garret and I had the last of our Toddler and Me classes this past week.  The learning discussion was on tantrums...how we react to them, how to handle them, what calms them down, etc.  I thought that G was going to have his usual 7pm meltdown at class, so I could practice what I learned, but to my surprise, he was very well behaved and sat on my lap during the last 15 minutes of class...until he threw a plastic duck at the girl sitting next to us.  Sigh.

My week was pretty busy getting ready to head out of the country. On Friday, I told Ava that she needed to help take care of Daddy while I was gone.  She gave me a really funny look and said, "Isn't he supposed to take care of us?"  Scott will have no problems taking care of the kids while I'm gone...it's all the small things, like remembering to pack her lunch, getting her dressed in the right, required outfits for Summer Power, paying daycare, etc., that he needs help with.  He even told Ava that she needed to help remind him about those things.  Tough luck, kid, you're not off the hook for helping!

Emilie and I had a great flight to Montreal...first class is the way to go! Wine, food, and a free movie (I choose Lucy, and was just 10 minutes short of the end, when the wifi was cut due to the descent...10 minutes!  And it's a pretty intense movie!!)

I'm pretty sure we walked the entire airport just to get outside...and it was really empty. Like, we walked for 10 minutes, and saw only a handful of people from our flight. At one point, we were talking to the guy behind us, and he disappeared, mid-sentence! Creepy!  And, I thought our northern neighbors were supposed to be friendly...the immigration agents that Em and I had were both very intense. Thank God I had been paying attention to what we were planning on doing while here! Em's lady wasn't satisfied when Emilie said we were going to go shopping, to the spa, and do touristy things...she wanted more details. And then when she asked who she was there with, and couldn't see me, she got snappy with her. Yikes!

Regardless, we were finally allowed to enter the country, and have had a very pleasant time since then. We have an amazing room at the hotel...it's on the top floor, which doesn't even exist on the hotel map (don't worry, Mom, I scoped out the fire escape route!) It has vaulted ceilings, and a HUGE private terrace (20x20) that we share with just one other room. We've spent a lot of time out there, relaxing and chatting in the sun.

We did finally venture onto Rue Sainte Catherine, which is a street well-known for shopping, people-watching, etc. I've been doing my best to help increase the power of the Canadian dollar. You're welcome, Canada

We have a very loose itinerary for our time here...hop-on/hop-off tour of the city, going to Old Montreal, checking out a spa, more shopping, more eating, etc...and whatever else pops up. Looking forward to the next several days of adventures!

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