Once we arrived in Whitby, we headed to Andee's parents house to have some dinner. We hadn't really eaten much all day, and we (especially Andee, since he was the driver) were very tired after driving for 10 hours, so a nice home cooked meal was much appreciated! We still had our kitty with us, and unfortunately, he wasn't too thrilled at a barking and lunging dog. After several failed attempts to introduce them, we decided to keep them separate during our visit, but once they were separate, we had a nice visit!
We then headed over to my parent's house, where my Mom was waiting to greet us! Unfortunately, my Dad was in Mexico with a friend, so we didn't get a chance to see him at all during our trip - the only "bad timing" thing about our visit home. Cassie and Trevor arrived shortly after from working, and we had a great time catching up and hanging out! We also tried to introduce Aloe with Mr. Purr, my parents cat, which was quite interesting. I suppose Aloe had a horrible day, so we'll let this one slide, but when he saw Mr. Purr he was scared and started hissing! Bad cat! We didn't even know he was capable of making that noise! So, we decided to try again later and kept the cats separate during the night. Who knew cats were so much work? Hahaha!! Good thing he's cute!
The next day Andee and I woke up a little late, since we were pretty exhausted from the night before! Shortly after waking up, Andee headed to his parents house for a visit, and Cassie, my Mom and I met up with Nicky for a fun afternoon! We started with a necessary Dollarama trip, followed by lunch at Wendys where we had poutine!! Yay Canada!! We then headed back to the house, where an unseasonably warm sunny day led to an impromptu photo shoot outside! Please notice the lack of coats and mittens, as well as the big smiles on our faces depicting the start of warmer weather, and Spring on the way!! A wonderful afternoon with family!!
Afterwards, we had a delicious lasagna dinner with the fam, and got to spend some time together! I love Canada, and I love family! After dinner, we headed to Toronto to watch our amazing and talented friends Dave and Arielle perform with their band! A few of our friends also came to watch, so we were able to both see friends, and enjoy them perform! It was a great show, and we were so glad that we were able to attend! With our original road trip plans, we wouldn't have been able to see this amazing performance!! So fun!! I love friends, and I love Canada!!
The next day was a sleep in again after a late night in Toronto, and so in the early afternoon we headed to my Aunt's house for visit with my Aunts and grandparents! I had no idea they were coming down, and was not anticipating this visit, and was so happy to see everyone!! We enjoyed some lunch and treats, and had some great conversation involving tons of laughter and smiles! Great visit!
We then headed back to my parents house where Dave and Arielle were waiting for us with Hot n' Ready pizza! YAY!! We were glad to be able to see them again - twice in one weekend! Amazing!!
We also tried to reintroduce the cats, and after a little more hissing and having them get closer and closer to each other, it appeared that they were slowly becoming friends!! So cute!! I captured this super cute picture of them starting to like each other! Yay!! I actually think Aloe might miss his large friend! We also thought it would be fun to dress Aloe up in a little Blue Jays Jersey and take pictures.... #crazycatfamily. So cute! Another great day!!
The next day was also quite unseasonably warm, making its way up to 50 degrees and sunny! Sitting in the sun with just a light sweater and a delicious Timmy's white hot chocolate was just the best!! Can't wait for summer!!
In the late afternoon, we headed over to Andee's parents house where the whole family was there. We were treated to a delicious turkey dinner, and great company! There was also ice cream cake and cupcakes for dessert - Yum! So glad to see the whole gang!
After dinner, Cassie and I, as well as some friends of ours, headed to a concert put on by our Canada church! It was so fun - their worship team is just amazing, and their guest Pastor for this event was hilarious and fun! I wasn't sure I was going to be able to attend this event based on previous plans, and was so happy to find out that I could! It was amazing, and I am looking forward to attending another one next time we head back to Canada!!
The next morning was our last day home (sad), and so we went out for breakfast to end off the weekend on a high note! In addition to all the fun activities and visits, we managed to fit in a dental appointment and two specialist Doctor appointments we had carefully scheduled to line up with our little trip home! We also purchased a bed (my parent's treat, yay!) deconstructed it and took it home, and went "shopping" in our closets to find all of our long lost summer clothes! We also renewed our American visas with very little problems, which is a huge praise!! How the heck did we manage to fit all of this into 5 days, with 20 hours of driving? No one knows. But I am so glad that we did!!
We ended up leaving at around 3pm, and began our long treck back to Illinois! Aloe was much happier this time, although was still relaxing with caution, and never falling asleep, which led to one sleepy kitty the next day! We arrived back to our apartment just after midnight, and headed straight to bed, since Andee had to work in the morning! I thankfully had the day off to unpack and take care of all the housework that had been neglected during our trip! And a wonderful and packed trip it was!!
Overall, our trip back was just amazing! Everything that could have easily gone wrong seemed to work out perfectly the entire time! God is good!! God turned our need to renew our visas and attend some Doctor appointments into a wonderful trip back home to see our family and friends! This trip was such a blessing to us, and since Andee has very little time off, it was such a treat to be able to head home! Amazing!! PTL!! Hooray!!!!!!!! I hope to see lots of those same faces in Illinois for visits throughout the year!! We love you all!! And we love Canada!!
So, back to reality! We really do love Illinois also, and we were glad to settle back into our apartment and routine! Harvest Bible Chapel is celebrating their 13th anniversary this week, and before we left we celebrated with a Staff Bowling outing! Bowling, games, cake, and lots of wonderful people made for a great day! We are also celebrating with the entire church this weekend with a mountain of cupcakes for everyone! So fun! Enjoy the pictures haha!
We are also making preparations for Easter, where I will be joining the choir! Also, spring is well on its way, and the warmer weather and sunshine is much needed after a long winter! I am very excited for Illinois in the Spring and Summer, and getting to enjoy all the activities our apartment provides us with, such as fishing, golf, boating, tennis, volleyball, swimming, and beautiful walking trails! Hope you enjoyed the blog!
