Homeward Bound!!!

Well- we got up and ate a delicious free breakfast and then we headed home...
We had an awesome time in Montreal and Ottawa- it was really fun! Thank you Clark and Jayne and Ainsley for coming with us and entertaining Ruby!

Some of my favorite moments from the trip are:
When Clark told a lady that Ainsley was 8 years old
When Justin told the old french man that Ruby was his granddaughter
When Justin asked for a 'hit' of cheese instead of shredded cheese
The NUNS- seriously
Jayne and I always being unsure of whether or not we should pretend to know what is going on in the conversation or just look lost....
The best pitas in the world
Free breakfast!!!
The history of Canada that we got to experience!
Least favorite parts of the trip

THE DRIVE
Singing Snowman a million times
eating out everyday- every meal....
Carrying a 25 pound baby in the carrier

It was awesome!!!! I am so glad that we went!


Now stayed tuned for some real blogging! Coming SOON- to a computer near you!

Almost done!

This is the last day that we were in Montreal- the day before had been hard and long so we took it easier to start. We got up ate a delicious and free breakfast- and then we had a nap! It was awesome!
Then we all got ready and went into Montreal
We went to a mall and ate
Clark and Jayne went to the Mission Home
While:
I searched for a pair of boots but found none that I loved
Ruby investigated the Mannequins


Justin helped me look for boots and was very supportive- even though I dragged him to every store possible
and....
We saw a Chinchilla, Parrot (that said hello to us), a dog that looked like Winston, and toucans- they are really amazing birds!


THEN...
We tried to find a creperie but it was turned into a Vietnamese shop so we went to the French bakery a few shops away and had- Chocolate Eclairs, Raspberry sorbet, and Orangina


Then we went to the Temple and spent a few hours there- it was wonderful!


After- we went to subway where Justin ordered me a chicken bacon ranch sub and asked for lots of peppers but instead got lots of PEPPER- my lips and tongue were tingling after that one! We sat down to eat and the only thing that ruby would eat was my chicken- and she ate all of it- then Justin moved the table and it moved faster then he thought and the metal pole got me right in the knee and the cookie that I got was hard and had a hair in it! So needless to say- not the best subway experience...

We headed back to the hotel and went over the 'cool' bridge... so we were all happy!
And to end out the day- we went SWIMMING!!

The Highlight of the day was the temple
Quote of the day-' kids are so beautiful these days- they used to be as ugly as chickens!'- old french man at the stake center...

Ruby's Self Portraits

NEED 4 SPEED- Snelldog Version

Just for your pure enjoyment!!

Montreal meets the Snydes!

This day was full of adventure!
We got up and ate a delicious free breakfast
Went to Old Montreal- and took forever trying to find a parking spot
Saw some confusing street signage
(notice the one way sign (left only)- and the way people were told to turn (right)....)

Went to Notre Dame Basilica (did you know Celine Dion was married here?)

Saw the oldest building in Montreal (unfortunately for us it was being reconstructed)

Saw the first skyscraper in Montreal

its the brown one....

Saw the place they founded Montreal
Went to the underground shopping

got lost

Had the best pitas EVER

Took the metro back!

Carried a 25 pound baby in the carrier for 2 hours

Went to the old port and drove on the 'special' road where most cars aren't supposed to go- seriously...

Went to St. Joseph's Oratory

Saw Brother Andre's Tomb

Saw Brother Andre's Heart

Had our first ever nun sighting- exciting I know

Ate the best poutine in all of Montreal- thank you Madam Bolduc

And to end out the day we went swimming!!!
Quote of the day- 'Can we get a picture with you? We've never seen a nun before.'- Justin
Highlight of the day- Watching Jayne follow a random guy into Madam Bolduc's thinking it was Clark and asking him what he was doing when he went all the way inside instead of stopping to get a picture taken... you should have seen her turn around when she realized it wasn't Clark- IT WAS AWESOME!

Some more of Ruby's Photographic ART!!

Tally HO! TO MONTREAL!!!

Tally-ho dates from around 1772, and is probably derived from the French taïaut, meaning a cry used to excite hounds when hunting deer (thanks to Wikipedia). So I thought it was appropriate to use since it is derived from a French word and we were going onward to a French province!!!


BUT- Before we were able to move on we had to make one stop at the National Gallery of Canada (it was free because it was family day)

This is the place:
Where Ruby fell into the forbidden flowers in the courtyard area-
Where she threw a tantrum in the cafeteria because Justin had to go to the bathroom
Where we took pictures even though we weren't supposed to
Where we got in trouble for eating in the courtyard area
Where we had the second stroller and underground parking incident
Where Ruby became a Baby Einstein addict
and Where we were very glad to leave from......

Then we made our trip onward to Montreal- but before we did that we had to stop at a gas station and go the bathroom, feed and change babies, and get food for ourselves....

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY- Going to McDonalds and getting a ton of free food...
The Men in all their free McDonalds glory!!!


Quote of the day- 'This is NACHO CHEESE'- Cheryl and Jayne simultaneously....
And 2 hours later we were in the great city of MONTREAL!!!

SNYDE ADVENTURES (DAY TRES)

I DECLARE TODAY FRENCH DAY!

Well French day ended up landing on a Sunday- so we went to church. We went to the Gatineau, Quebec branch. It was only french speaking so it was actually really interesting for me! Justin was able to translate- and though he had a few mistakes--- such as telling me that the speaker was saying that 'we all need to be hard hearted' and that 'we only need to be less wicked than those around us' --- I would say all in all he did a great job! I was impressed.

DID YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH TO EACHOTHER- AND THE CRAZY PART IS THAT THEY PREFER TO SPEAK THIS OTHER LANGUAGE- OH AND THEY UNDERSTAND EACHOTHER- It was a crazy realization for me!!! I mean I knew that there were other languages (of course) but it was weird to be in that situation....

Anyway we had a fun time there- Justin and I spent most of our time in the nursery with Ruby- she was the only kid and there was no nursery leader- But they had the BEST toys!!!

This is Justin's favorite nursery book and highlight of the day!

He loves the french sounds for the animals!!

We went to the hotel after and had a nap and swam while The Hyde's went and visited some people from Clark's mission...

Highlight of the day: Having a husband that can speak french- it made me want to go to France!
Quote of the day- 'This is where I store things'

And here is another sampling of Ruby's fine photography-

These were all taken from Ainsley's crib

that quickly became Ruby's ride as it was on wheels!
Justin would wheel her around the halls-
She loved it-
and got some good shots too!!!

Day one extras

I forgot to add a little bit to day one-
Highlight of the day- Justin finding a free 50 cents in the vending machine!! YEAH (it was a rough day- we were happy with little victories)
Quote of the day- there were so many to choose from- when you are stuck in a vehicle for 9 hours you are bound to chat a bit- 'You are in the hood when you are wearing a hood'- Clark

Now on to DAY TWO.....

SNYDE ADVENTURES (DAY 2)

VALENTINE'S in OTTAWA

9:15 We all woke up to Ruby calling for Ainsley at the top of her lungs- pleasant wake-up call...

Our first order of business was to see the ice sculptures at Confederation park and and obtain and eat a beaver tail! -yummy (that's for you kim)

SO WE DID!
This is the FIRST incident we had with the strollers
and trying to park in underground parking...
yes we had more than one incident...

mmmm... beaver tails...

Then off to Parliament we went- but first a little pit stop in a random building because

Ainsley got cold

And then Ruby got cold

Then we finally made it!

We made a pit stop at the Centennial flame- where we were entertained by a very cold woman on stilts
Then we got to the line- who knew they had airport security at the Parliament buildings?
Jayne and I waited while the boys and the babies went to another building to warm up.
Finally we were in- it was awesome-

We went to the Senate
The House of Commons
The Library
The Tower

After that we were hungry- so where else to go on Valentines day but Boston Pizza for a heart shaped Tropical Chicken pizza! OUR fav!

Then Justin secretly ordered me my favorite BP dessert
and we all went back to the motel to relax- it was a long day!

Quote of the day- ' I spend half of my waking hours combing my hair' -justin
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY- (there were two)
#1- When Justin and Clark serenaded me and Jayne for Valentine's day
#2- All the random pictures that were on our camera from Ruby taking pictures throughout the day- here is my favorite for you to enjoy!

Random girl in line who liked Ruby and was helping her use the camera-
this one is my absolute favorite- what skill Ruby has!
I felt like she really captured the moment!

SNYDE adventures in Montreal and Ottawa!

We just got back from a trip to Ottawa and Montreal.

One word to describe it- SUPERFUN! That is one word right????

DAY 1
Day one was alot of driving but we finally made it to our destination- an nice motel on Prince of Wales street in Ottawa....

Inventory of Day One
9 hours of driving
2 stops at Wendys/ Tim Hortons
60 minutes of Einstein for Ruby (who has since become and addict!)
1 bag of cool ranch chips
35 repetitions of the Snowman song
10 baby books read
90 minutes of Twilight book on tape
2 screaming children by the end
4 tired adults
2 white spiders killed in our room
4 am- the time Ruby actually fell asleep
9 am- the time Ruby woke up and started calling for AINSLEY
5 hours of sleep

And the fun had only BEGUN!!


This is the cutieface that Clark and Jayne got to watch the whole way there. (I am not sure what is on her lip- I think it is slobber)

I Gave In!

I DID IT!
I know it is probably hard for some of you to believe- but I have started a blog.
Just like gmail and facebook I gave in... I should learn and not waste precious time!! Just do it! New motto....
Anyway I am sure that you all are wondering- what made me decide to blog? What put me over the edge? Well it wasn't my writing skills- that is for sure- something that i am sure you will learn soon enough. It wasn't that I needed an outlet... It was just a combination of lots of things so to put your mind at ease I have made a list of all the reasons that I decided to make a blog....
1. I love my family and I live far away from them so this is a way for them to see what my day to day life is like!
2. I feel like I am going to look back on my life and these years will be some pretty amazing ones so I want to remember them!
3. Ruby is seriously the cutest thing ever- How can I keep that from all of you?
4. Justin and I are pretty cool too!
5. Everyone else is doing it....
6. Pressure- you know who you are
7. I have been inspired...
8. It is a way for Ruby to see what her early years were like
9. I like to be creative and this is a different form of creativity than I am used to so it seems interesting- oh and I walk around all day thinking- I could put this in my blog and word it this way- so I figured it was time!
10. Let me entertain you! Hopefully I can...
and Last but not least- 11- I want to be World Famous!!!