The Great Wet North

No not a typo, it rained 8/9 days we were up in Canada. But a nice change from the scorching heat and dryness of "fabulous" Las Vegas.
It was so great to see family after such a long time (Buddy hadn't been back since we got married). He certainly fits right in, though. He didn't win the traditional Jell-O Slurp, but he participated, which is a step in the right direction.

Good, wholesome family fun.We visited Parkwood Estates, a mansion that belonged to Colonel Sam McLaughlin (the brains behind GM) that happens to be in my hometown. While the tour guide was well-equipped to tell us all about the artwork and architecture of the estate, she was less knowledgeable about the really important historical facts like whether or not the bathtub in which Adam Sandler had the great shampoo vs. conditioner debate was actually in the mansion. That's right, Billy Madison was filmed there. The penguin stood on this very doorstep. Select scenes from the first X-Men movie were also shot here...recognize it? It was raining too hard for us to go back to the gardens with the huge fountains, but I'll be sure to get there next year.Another highlight: The Bulk Barn. My first real job was at the Bulk Barn, a magical place where food comes in gigantic tubs and you can scoop out as much or as little as you want. Buddy's posing with the chocolate covered raisins, but we went for plenty of sour worms, Cheetos, macaroons, peanuts, chocolate covered peanuts, Ringolos, fruit gummies...you get the idea. My beautiful mother treated us to all sorts of treats and we took full advantage of the opportunity. (Thanks again, Mum, I'm still finishing off my Gummi Frogs.) It's amazing I was so thin in high school considering I got a discount at this place!

Here's my sweet cousin, Baby Stephen. It took a while, but we became friends over the week.As you can see, he has good days and bad days. I think this day he was very concerned about something. Wise beyond his years, that one. That's why he and Grandad get along so well.On Mum's lunch break, she took us to the lake to play. She's such a good woman. I make a habit of having people in my pictures, but I thought this was kind of a cool one. Besides... ... pictures with people in it don't always turn out well:Speaking of people, I had so many tell me how much my little sister looks like me. We weren't sold, so we decided to take some pictures. Turns out I call her Mini-Me for good reason.Another look-alike in the family: my brother, Harry Potter. When he was about this age, he went Trick-or-Treating as a vampire, complete with cape, fangs and blood dripping from his mouth. After correcting about 25 people who said "Oh, you're Harry Potter!" he gave in towards the end of the night and in a defeated tone, told everyone, "Yeah, I'm Harry Potter" through his bloody fangs. He's a good sport.
It was brought to my attention by an anonymous source that this post was severely lacking Kristina, the brunette, the second child, the black sheep, blah blah blah. So here she is outside a fine dining establishment when I visited at the beginning of the year. I think they're hiring, Wedge! But I'm not the only one with funny siblings. Here's Mum and Uncle Steve playing Rock Band. Uncle Gary opted to converse with people instead of completing the McDermott Trio.

Oh, Canada. Hopefully we'll get to go back soon. We took family pictures (with my dad, even!) whilst there, and I'll post those when Auntie Heather is finished photoshopping a few pounds off Buddy & I.