And Now It Is Time To Blog

I know. Long time, no posting. No excuse. I have been a slacker. But we have been having so much fun with much more to come that it hard to find the time. So now I will try to make up for it. Here are the recent headlines from the lives of the Duttons...

North by Northwest and Delta

For spring break this year, we planned to visit the Margenaus. Just one problem. They no longer live in the greater DC area. No, they moved to Ottawa. Yes, cAnAdA! So you say, no problem, just fly. Have I mentioned at this point that I had never flown commercially before? Well, it was true. I am 33 years older and this was the first time that I had been on a "big jet" as Sam calls it. I mean, he is not even 3 yet and he has already been in the friendly skies. Good for him. Good for me. The trip was a blast and we had such a good time getting to see Kyle, Lindsay, & Luke. It was going on a year or more since they had had the opportunity to see me (us) and I didn't want them to suffer. So I cowboyed up and got on a plane in Cincinnati that took us to Detroit for our connection to Ottawa. Now most people like to go somewhere warm and sunny for spring break, but not the Duttons. We are not conformists. We left behind 60 degrees Fahrenheit and blossoming fauna for -2 degrees Celsius and 6 feet of leftover snow. But all was well, we didn't go for the weather. We actually had fun showing Sam what real snow looked like considering we had at most 6 inches one time this year. So here we go...

Tiffy & Sammy at the Airport

First full day there, we went to a local mall with a kid friendly play zone. The kids had fun!!!

Dudes at the Mall on the way to the Kiddy Play Place

Sammy & Luke climbing the big toy at the play place.

Day 2, we went to the Cultural Museum where they had a wonderful exhibit on First Nations (Native Americans we call them) Peoples.

Totem at the Museum

The museum also had a great kids exhibit which lots and lots of things to do. It was great.

Sam's breakfast at the Museum (hey, it was vacation!)

Practicing Parallel Parking at the Museum's Kids exhibit.

Making a call. Hey, international long distance is expensive kid!!!

Day 3, the Duttons were off to do some sight seeing on our own. We ventured around Ottawa and took in some of the local scenery and places to shop. Later that night, Kyle and I went to a hockey game. It was the hometown Sens vs. the Boston Bruins. The Bruins won mainly because the Sens squad was depleated due to injuries. For pics, check out Kyles blog. If you are Kyle and you are reading this, why is it everytime I go to a sporting event with you, I cheer for the losers???? Think about it...Philly vs. Skins? Giants vs. Philly? Sens vs Bruins?

Anyway, did you know that they make maple syrup in Canada? Who knew? On day 4, we went to a maple syrup farm which also had a breakfast buffet with everything maple. Nice!

Maple Syrup Farm w/ Restaurant

Straight from the tap!

Tiffy enjoying the farm.

Tiffy and the "Lollipop"

The sugar buzz has worn off!

It was a wonderful trip to see the Margenaus in the great white north. Canada was a nice visit and a good way to break in the non-flying Duttons (Sammy & me). Our next trip up, up, & away will come in June when we go to Hawaii. Stay tuned...