It has been a long time

It has been a long time since my last post. We had a great summer with lots of visitors. Tony even surprised me with a visit from Adam, Bae-Lee and Christian. Kevin, Karen and Lexie came out too. 

Unfortunately I came home in early September when Adam called to let us know he had a brain tumor. I came home and went with him to numerous appointments followed by a successful surgery. He had surgery October 30th that lasted 8 hours. Tony came home for the surgery. The surgeons removed most of it and there is talk about going on to remove the rest. Dr. Mitha, neurosurgeon, prepared us for the worse case scenario but lucky for Adam he was only in the hospital for 2 weeks. He did lose his ability to swallow and his right vocal chords collapsed. He has been practicing his swallowing exercises and is able to eat a blended diet. He sounds like Christian Bale's Batman but his voice is getting stronger. Adam has a horrible cough and I worry about him aspirating when he eats and drinks. He will have another swallow test to see what is happening, hopefully we will learn more in a week or two.

All of the prayers and well wishes truly helped the surgeons perform a successful surgery and with Adam's recovery. Thank you everyone and please continue to pray for him.

End of the first school year and more

Yes, I totally suck at this blog thing!

Bermuda did get a little cool in February-April, I wore long pants and had to use a space heater.

Our good friends, Wayne and Maureen Wakeford, came for Easter break. It was so much fun having them here. They hit the ground running and I believe they saw everything we had planned to show them. Hopefully they will come again before we move back.

I got my Bermudian drivers license at the end of March - perfect score!! It is still strange driving over here.

Tony spent a week in Edmonton (for work) and I had to stay home :(. The students who went with him experienced some lovely winter weather and saw West Edmonton Mall. Elaine, Al and mum drove up to see Tony. He was happy to visit with them.

I went home in May to surprise my family for Debbie's 50th and Mothers Day. Unfortunately my visit was really short and very busy. Andrea threw a wonderful surprise party for Debbie and I surprised everyone there! Josh hosted Mother's Day brunch in his new house (which he rented out, long story), it was so much fun! I met two beautiful babies and snuggled them for hours. Thanks Cindy, Vanessa and Heather for introducing me to your wonderful additions!

Mum/nana and I returned to Bermuda. We had a great flight and an awesome 10 days and then mum got sick. Poor mum ended up in the hospital and was air lifted back to Calgary. As of this writing she is still in the hospital. She was having loads of fun seeing the island, meeting our friends and shopping. We were so happy that she was able to see our new "home" and I think she was too.

Josh came for his first visit to Bermuda. I think he hit everyone of our favourite beaches, took in Harbour Nights, met our Canadian family in Bermuda at a going away dinner, celebrated Canada Day at Warwick Long Beach put on by the Canadian Association, had a delicious dinner at the McPhail's house and is going home with a "little red colour". He is taking nana's wheelchair back with him. I think he was a little disappointed that he couldn't use it to receive special treatment at the hospital lol - silly boy! I miss him already, love it when my boys come but HATE it when they leave.

The online Braille math course I was helping with ended. It was a fantastic opportunity to refresh my Nemeth skills. I worked with an amazing woman who ended up doing the entire exam section because I was busy with mum. I did help a wee bit but not as much as I had planned. This summer I will change up the section I worked on and send it to her to use next year.

Tony has one more week before he is off for the summer. He seems to have enjoyed his first school year at MSA. The grade 12 students wrote their first diploma exams this year and that was a lot of work for Tony. He is loving island life, he swam in the ocean every month this year and gets in as much suntanning as he can. We are both looking forward to Kevin, Karen and Lexie coming for a visit at the end of the month. 

Love and miss you all!!!!!

 

It Has Been A Long Time

Sorry for the big break between blogs - I have no excuse except we have been busy.

Can you believe I flew home for Christmas by myself without any medication? Those of you who know me well know I HATE to fly!! I flew home December 4 and only a few people knew I was coming home. My niece, Angie picked me up from the airport with my winter coat lol. When I walked in the door my four-legged boys were very happy to see me. Chris and Adam were watching some Victoria Secret program so ... I was met by more of a why the heck are you here? But Chris still gave me a big hug and Adam rushed to clean his bathroom lol. Angie had tried to have Josh and Alycia be at the house when I walked in but they couldn't make it.

The next day's plan was to surprise my mom. Debbie had arranged to borrow mom's van, we picked Debbie up and went to mom's. Debbie went in first and got her camera ready, I went in after 10 seconds and mom was looking out the window talking about something. It felt like she took forever to turn around and once she did her expression was priceless! Her chin dropped to her knees and her smile was enormous! I don't think I ever saw my mom move so fast or felt such a big hug.

Josh still didn't know I was home but he had planned to visit mom after work. Adam had agreed to pick up Lee and bring the brothers to grandma's for dinner. Debbie and I left to pick up dinner so when they arrived I wasn't there. When we returned Debbie walked in first and I followed closely behind - Lee looked the happiest to see me. Josh just looked at me and asked me, What the hell are you doing here? Why are you home so early for Christmas? We just saw you a couple of weeks ago in Orlando." But I got a big hug from him too.

It was a little more difficult to surprise my mother-in-law. The first time I went over Alyssa was the only one home and she had the same look on her face as my mom when she answered the door. She gave me a big hug but when I asked about nana and her parents of course they were out for the day. After a few hours I went back and surprised mum, she was very happy to see me too. Jordan and his girlfriend came home, his was equally surprised to see me. Elaine and Al still weren't home and I had to leave. Luckily as I was leaving they drove up, they both had huge smiles on their faces and I was the lucky receiver of more wonderful hugs. I think Elaine was most surprised that I flew home by myself.

I loved surprising everyone, it was worth the little white lies we told everyone. They thought Tony and I would be home Dec. 22-Jan. 3. I came home Dec. 4- Jan. 15 but stayed until the 22.

During the days before Christmas I went to Christmas parties, met with friends, went for drinks, went to my old school, fought with Sun Life, met up with a couple of "old friends" from elementary and junior high (loved catching up), went into the VRC, lots of visiting, went to a funeral, and of course went shopping. I loved going to Timmies and shopping with Tamra, I miss our visits! When I met up with Darren and Lauren I felt frozen in time. They looked exactly like high school, of course I was extremely jealous because I do not. We had an incredible visit talking about school plays, old school chums, our lives now and everything in between. We had planned to get a group together for another visit but having the flu put a stop to that - next visit. Zoria and I went to our favourite curry place. I ate and drank so much this visit, actually gained weight during this trip.

Christmas was awesome! Joyce, Andrea, Jonathan, Evan, Carter, Alexis, Quentin, Tessa, Danica, mom, Debbie, Lee, Dan and Aden came over Christmas Eve day. We had a great meal, wonderful visit and of course we had our "gift exchange". Tony and Quentin loved the bracelets Debbie made. Everyone loves the home made gifts and gift cards - lots of smiles and laughter. Except poor Evan was hurt from Shaq.

Christmas Eve was spent at the MacDonald's home. We have had this tradition forever and it is always a night of great food and tons of fun. OMG I still hurt from laughing! We took a new game over and Matthew was the highlight of the night? Did you know Madison Square Gardens was in Los Vegas? It was awesome having everyone together.

Christmas morning was spent at Dan and Aden's. We had the best breakfast! It was great to see Carlene, I love when family gets together! We did our usual funny gift exchange. I think everyone wants to see what Adam will produce. He has done a calendar with the same picture of himself on each month but in a different colour, chapter one of a book he is writing, chapter two and a screen play co-written by Christian - didn't know how funny my boys are! Josh and Alycia create beautiful paintings (we brought one to Bermuda) and the list goes on and on. There are just too many things to list.

Christmas evening was spent at Al, Elaine and mum's. Mike, Steph and Katie were home, it was so great to see them! Of course the best present we all received was Bob was officially in remission - best Christmas! We played the same game after dinner OMG - Steph and Lexi were both laughing so hard they were crying. Of course it was all Christian's fault, I don't remember what he said but it was totally all him! Man we laughed so much this Christmas! It was awesome to visit with everyone!

Boxing Day the eating and visiting continued at Bob and Teresa's. The only part that was missing were Bryan and Paulette's kids and grandsons. We never did get a chance to see them during our visit. Tash owes me her salmon ring - next visit. I really missed not seeing Theron and Luca, they are so much fun!

Tony and I spent the rest of our trip visiting our friends from Calgary and Vancouver, we went to another funeral. Two of our very good friends lost a parent in December.

We welcomed 2013 with a few family members and really enjoyed the evening. We had a special birthday dinner for Tony and he had to leave the next day. I caught the flu and had to stay an extra week. I now have an inhaler because they suspect I have asthma - yeah NOT!

I arrived home after a long delay in Toronto!! We were on a plane, off a plane and back on the plane but after a 3 hour delay I made it home safe and sound. And I still didn't take any medication, like Teresa said I must be growing up lol.

Since I have been home I have visited my Bermudian family and friends. Tony bought me a gym membership for Christmas oh yes, he also bought a car (picture to follow). Anyway, I have been trying to workout 4-5 times a week and absolutely love it! I hope to be in my bathing suit by June.

I surprised Tony by getting my learner's permit yesterday. I will need a few lessons before I go for my licence. It is very different driving over here and I want to be able to get my licence on one try. I have a goal in mind but only Louisa knows the date but ultimately it is up to Cal, my driving instructor, to book my test. Send me lots of positive energy and prayers - you all know how I get anxious/stressed basically make myself physically ill worrying about these things lol. You should have seen me before I wrote my learner's - use your imagination lol.

Tonight is date night, our first movie in Bermuda. Take care everyone, miss and love you all! Until next time stay safe and happy!

P.S. I'm too lazy to proof this so it is as is which is the way life is in Bermuda.

Orlando Family Fun

We had a blast!! The resort was perfect, the weather was perfect, the parks were spectacular and everyone was happy to be together in a magical place! I did have to hit Wal-Mart to buy a hoodie and jeans because it got cold at night.

Tony and I landed in Orlando Friday afternoon. We picked up the rental vehicle and went to the resort. After we dropped off our bags and checked on the kid's flight we headed off to Epcot. Tony went on a couple of crazy rides and we did a few that were more my speed lol. We left the park and headed to the airport to pick up the kids. Once we got to the airport there were no Air Canada flights, of course I started to get upset. Lucky for me to be married to Mr. Cool and he found a flight that had arrived from Denver. YIPEE, they arrived safe and sound.

The resort was awesome, enough room for everyone! After a good night sleep we hit the park running! Seriously I think we opened and closed each park we went to.

Animal Kingdom - one of my favourites! We did all the rides and took in the Lion King Show. It was pretty much the same as when we went in the early 2000s. But they did add a trapeze act with the monkeys. We went on this crazy water ride and it was ssssoooo much fun! Yes people, I was SOAKED and walked around the park with wet clothes. If I had brought another set of clothes I would have gone on it again. We went on a safari ride and took some amazing pictures, it was great! The Bug's Life show bothered Alycia a wee bit because it sprays water in your face. I think everyone had fun at this park.

Magic Kingdom - Wow, everyone (not me) went on all the roller coasters. Of course we wanted to ride Pirates but it was having mechanical issues, we decided to come back the next day. Josh and Alycia missed the Jungle Cruise because they wanted Space Mountain, Tony and Chris managed to do both. Thank God Small World was shut down because Tony would have insisted we ride it.

Universal Adventure - OMG where do I begin? The Hulk was one of the top roller coasters, I bet they went on that ride 10 times or more. There were so many rides that were simulators so of course I was ecstatic! I'm very happy when my feet stay on the ground lol. My favourite was all the Harry Potter stuff. We had Butter Beer, absolutely delicious but I can't begin to describe it. Kind of like a gingerbread slurpee with whipped cream on top but different. You just have to go and taste it yourself. I went on the main ride in Hogwarts but I kept my eyes closed, screamed every time I managed to peek and my back was in agony when we got off. The second time Tony and Chris went on it the ride everything went dark and they were stuck tilted back for a couple of minutes. For first timers they probably thought it was part of the ride I would have totally flipped out. I went shopping in downtown Hogsmeade and checked out the wand shop. No, I didn't buy one because not one of them picked me out lol. We had such a blast at this park.

Disney Hollywood Studios - Star Tours was my favourite ride, we went on it twice. Adam and I sat out on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror but he did go on Rock 'n' Roller Coaster featuring music by Aerosmith. We took in all the live entertainment, hit every single ride. Hecht I even sat in on an American Idol Experience. People visiting the park audition and they pick the top performers and have a grand finale sometime but I forget what the Ryan imposter said lol. It was fun to watch and vote using the handy dandy control. Apparently Carrie Underwood and Skyler from last season were finalist from Disney auditions. The big winner gets a front row pass at the auditions in Florida so it can be a big deal. Unfortunately the backlot tour was under regular maintenance, I really wanted to go on it. I made Tony go on the Little Mermaid ride and I took a ton of pictures because Alycia loves that movie. We ran out of time and missed the animation studio, had a blast there when we were here years ago. I thought Josh would love doing voice overs but hopefully we will get there again.

Universal Studios Florida - I went on the most rides at this park and was doing fine until I went on the Simpsons, my back was in agony again. Men In Black was a ton of fun and I beat Adam and Tony's score. Lucky for me Josh came in my car and told me what and when to shoot, so I had a little help. We went in this disaster ride and part of the show was getting a group of volunteers to act out scenes in front of a green screen. They were down to asking for the last volunteer and we twisted Christian's arm - the guy picked him. The volunteer before Christian was an older slightly chubby guy (named Chris) that was supposed to play a young hot male role. When Christian went on stage the other Chris switched places and the audience laughed. Christian had to act like he was terrified and falling in slow motion. At the end of the ride we watched the little disaster trailer for the "new Universal movie". It was great and the last scene was Christian falling down a cliff.

He has performed in NYC and Orlando, he wants to get a job as a cast member at either of the Disney parks. They had signs up advertising they were hiring new cast members, it would be a great experience. All the Disney employees appeared very happy at their jobs and so did Universal employees. Heck Toby and I could retire and work down there lol.

We left Wednesday and the kids had two more days. They went to Blizzard Beach and Epcot. It was so cold and windy their last day they hung out at the activity centre in the resort instead of hitting another park. They seemed to have enjoyed their last two days without us.

That will be our last family vacation until Tony's contract is up in Bermuda. He said people can holiday here since we have two spare rooms. When we are done here Tony said something about him and Christian going to The World Cup and then taking us all to England to show us where he lived before moving to Calgary. It sounds like it would be great and I'm getting much better with my fear of flying! Never took any Ativan at all this trip - that's a big deal for me!

I will be posting pictures on Facebook soon.

Weeks 9-10 and Maybe More

Had a great visit with the boys! Adam didn't have a lot of time in the sun because Hurricane Sandy was off the cost. We spent our time catching up and he taught me how to find my favourite TV shows on the internet. Unfortunately he introduced me to Breaking Bad, I have 2 episodes left to watch and I will be caught up.

Adam did help us with the Mini Gulf stall at the school bazaar. No, we did not win the car but we did finally get our washer and dryer. I am sure my landlord thinks I am completely crazy because I did my happy dance when they arrived. I did four loads of laundry in 2 days. We also bought a big garbage can which is a big deal for me because it means no more ants in the garbage!!!!!

The day after Adam left Jim and Zoria MacDonald arrived for 8 days. We have hit some beaches, shopped and tried out some new pubs. Zoria and I had lunch at a pub in St. George on Saturday and our table was out looking over the ocean. We kept hearing some splashing in the water but couldn't see anything. We did notice some little minnows in the water but nothing else. Our server asked if we would like to feed the fish and of course we said yes. OMG you should have seen the fish! Naturally I didn't have my camera but we plan to go again before they leave. When we threw bread into the water the fish came to us. We saw a variety of small colourful fish, Brills (they are long thin fish that have a trumpet shaped nose) and these large disc shaped fish that were silver with a large black circle on their tales. The large fish actually jumped out of the water to eat the bread, they were our splashing noise. We watched them for over an hour.

The weather has been great since they arrived. Sorry everyone but we have had 24-26 degrees Celsius with humidity running 59-70%. There is another storm approaching from the south but they predict it will stay off our coast and head to New Jersey again. Thank God it is only a storm and not another hurricane.

Today we took a taxi tour and found some beautiful spots to take visitors to. We discovered a spot where you could see some beautiful fish in the water. Jim went back later and discovered some caves that you can swim in. He will share his pictures and I will post them later.

Tony and I booked Jim a tee time for his 70th birthday (Nov. 10) tomorrow so Zoria and I are going shopping again. The plan is to start in St. George and finish in Hamilton. Wednesday I am taking them to the Crystal Caves in the morning and we will end our day at the beach.

They leave Thursday morning and we leave Friday morning to meet the boys and Alycia in Orlando.

Sorry, I will try to write my blogs once a month to let you know what is happening. After Christmas things will quiet down over here. At this point our next visitors might be Josh and Alycia if they come in the spring. The Wakefords may come during the Easter break.

I will put more pictures on Facebook. Take care everyone and I miss you all very much!
Leanne

Week 8

Dan left Thanksgiving day and two of my boys arrived the next day. The weather has not been very cooperative since the boys arrived and Christian is going home tomorrow.

We have gone to a couple of beaches and the aquarium. When we went to John Smith's Bay a man ran out into the ocean towards this strange looking rock. He swam to the rock, grabbed it and swam back to shore. He actually pulled in a 100 pound Rock Fish (watch for pictures).

One rainy day we went to Sears because we needed a new TV and decided to purchase a washer and dryer too. We brought the TV home and once the new order of washers come in we will go back and buy a washer and dryer. The salesman was hopeful they would be in tomorrow, hope so because it is almost time to do laundry again. It will be so nice to not have to go to the laundromat anymore.

Yesterday we had another hurricane 100 NM off the coast of Bermuda. There was lots of wind and rain, our tank is probably full again. People keep telling me Bermuda is due to be hit and I just keep praying for them to pass by us. I have been told that winter storms are worse than hurricanes. I will let you know once that happens lol.

Today the boys and I went to the Dockyards. We walked through the shops and went to Snorkel Beach. There were two ships in today. When we took the ferry we had entertainment on the ferry. First time this has ever happened. The gentleman was playing the steel drum, yes I took a picture.We walked down Front Street too.

Poor Christian only had a couple of nice days this trip but he did manage to get his school work done. We are supposed to have sunshine for the next couple of days and then rain off and on for the weekend. Summer is over in Bermuda.

Adam is going to help us with the our mini golf stall at the school bizarre. Not sure if he will want to help out the entire time because we are there from 10 to 10 for both days. I hope we win the first prize - a new car! Adam still has over two weeks here and we plan on taking him to some more beaches.

Saturday we Skyped the family for my mom's birthday party. It was great seeing my mom, Dan, Debbie, Laurie, Joyce, Andrea, Daleney, Tessa, Evan and Carter. Missed the boys who were playing video games in Dan's basement. We also Skyped Ang on Sunday. She has my dogs so well trained now. Monday we Skyped with Josh and Alycia. Found out Josh was in emergency because of suspected kidney stones. I still don't know if it was stones or something else because he changed the subject. He said he did want his mommy but called for Adam instead. He didn't want to worry me because he knew I would have taken the first plane home.

It has been great having my boys here and in a few short weeks we will all be together in Disney World for five glorious days! The kids will be there for a week but Tony only has a five day break.

Hope everyone is well, miss you all!
Leanne

Week 7

The school has their HUGE fundraiser coming up October 19 and 20. I have been calling families looking for volunteers to help at the "Jack and Jill Mini Golf" booth. It seems like we will be working long hours on Saturday because I couldn't line up any volunteers. We did buy a raffle ticket, the first price is a new car! I would love to win that.

I was helping Tony and the music teacher Monday mornings and reading tests to coded students but found out I am not allowed to. Apparently immigration looks at it that I am doing a job the school could pay a Bermudian to do. Immigration is very strict here so the admin team will write a letter asking permission for me to volunteer in the school.

We have been hosting Dan Osborne, he gave a two day PD on diploma exams. He and Tony went to 11 beaches in 3 days. Dan loved going on the scooter with Tony. He really loved snorkelling and taking in all the sights. He leaves tomorrow but plans to bring his family here one day.

We met up with friends Saturday night. We all walked along Clearwater Beach in the moonlight and saw a bright shooting star - it was brilliant! I spoke to mom, Debbie, Lee and Dan Saturday night after our Skype attempt failed. I loved talking to everyone. Much later Dan and I were able to Skype until the wee hours of the morning.

Tony and I Skyped with his family tonight as everyone was gathered for Thanksgiving. I missed two dinners this year but people ate all my favourite dishes for me! Tony and the Canadian teachers are making Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow for their fellow teachers, Bermuda doesn't have Thanksgiving.

I will post more pictures that I took well Dan was here and I took a picture of a whistling frog. They are very cute and about the size of my thumb nail. How the heck something so tiny makes so much noise is beyond me! I still have trouble sleeping because of their noise lol. If you ever call Tony's phone you can hear them in the background. Even the locals ask me what the noise is. I think it is exceptionally loud hear because we are surrounded by open spaces.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Leanne