Visitors

Today Jordan's sis and family came over to see our new apartment. We hung out here for awhile and then we went to the Curious Kids Museum in downtown Saint Joseph. We weren't sure if some of the things would be to young for Tricia and Parker but it wasn't. They had a great time, in fact I think the adults even had a better time. We got to play with dinosaurs, make huge bubbles and even play dress up. We went downstairs and they had a career day where the kids got to meet a naturalist. He had a live turte and a huge snake.

After lunch we went to the Pump House Grill which we had never been to before. It was pretty good. We took them to the little shops like the toy store, an antique shop, and Perennial Accents one of my favorite stores.

We went bowling at Kelley's bowl again. We got there just as leagues were ending. Parker and Tricia had a bumber lane and the rest of us shared another. Lets just say I am still holding my lead on Jordan 5-3...oh yeah! He can't match me! I bowled a 129 the first game and a 116 the next. It was a lot of fun.

After bowling we went to one of our favorite spots in St. Joe, Kilwins. We each had our ice cream and then sat and talked for awhile. Parker was showing us his tooth which was hanging on by a thread. I asked him if I could pull it and he said ok. So I reached in and gave it a good yank and it came out. I was suprised he let me do it. Melissa was taking a picture but holding it and not looking. She got a great shot of me pulling it. Nice face Parkey! It was a great day. We had a lot of fun with the family.

During all of these events my parents brought up a dresser and brough Jordan's car home to be fixed. Of course my dad got it started right away. He's awesome. Yes, I'm a suck up! Tomorrow they are coming back. They are bringing my curio(sp?) cabinet and Precious Moments up here. My mom offered to help me pack and I'd be a fool to say no so I didn't. We are going to our favorite Mexican Restaurant El Rodeo in Benton Harbor. Yum.

Tonight Jordan and I are going to relax and watch a movie. Catch ya later.

Rematch!!

Tomorrow we have a bowling rematch scheduled. We are going with the Black family some time tomorrow. Parker has already said he is going to kick his Uncle Jordan's butt. We are going to meet them around 10 am tomorrow and show them around St. Joe, show them our Apt. and go to the kids Museum. Somewhere in there I'm sure we'll get lunch. We went to there hotel tonight and hung out for awhile. We are headed back to Kelley's bowl so I can kick Jordan's butt! Oh, yeah, that's a promise!

P.S. Jody the phone works both ways! What are you doing? : )

I'm movin' on...

We are spending our last free weekend here in St. Joe before we pack up and leave next weekend. Tonight Jordan and I went to Roxy's a hamburger joint a block from our house and then we went to the Chocolate Cafe and had cheesecake. We are wating for his sis Melissa, her husband Keith, and niece and nephew Tricia and Parker to get here. They are spending the night and we will spend the day with them tomorrow. My mom and dad will be here on Sunday to help us pack and my dad is going to fix Jordan's Crapalier. I have 4 days left of work and then on Friday we are going home to see everyone b4 we go. My family is going to House of Kobe on Friday night to. We are going to see Lynn and crew also. Jordan will get to see baby Luke for the first time.

I will blog more on baby Luke when I have more time.

Results of Bowling

Jordan and I went to Kelley's bowling alley and I kicked his butt. The first game I won 127 to 101 and then 107 to 103! Yeah! On the last game all Jordan needed on his last roll was 8 pins and then he would have won but he got 3. He wasn't too happy. The bowling alley was decent. It kept score for you which I love. Afterward, we made a Target run. Well, time to join Jordan in watching Law and Order SVU. He watches CSI or Law and Order several times a day. It's quite ridiculous. Later gators....

4 Days Until Christmas

Today I got a nice suprise when I got to work. I was given a nice Christmas bonus. Also, two of the attorneys gave me a gift certificate to the Mall in Benton Harbor and then they said that the office would be closed on Friday. Then, another attorney gave me a gift certificate to my favorite little store in Saint Joseph called Urban Homes. Our office is off on Monday as well. I'm pretty excited about that. It was a nice suprise.

Jordan and I are on the hunt for an apartment in Toronto. We worked on that last night but we don't have anything conclusive yet.

We have made plans to go bowling tonight. I went with my bros a few weeks ago so I should be warmed up! Tehe! Maybe! We get to relax since all of our Christmas shopping is done.

Here is a little Christmas email that I got from my friend Liz that I thought I'd share:

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS TIME
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl. We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.


Well, I'll catch ya later and if I don't blog have a Merry Christmas!

6 Days Until Christmas!!

With Christmas only days away let the chaos ensue. Yesterday, Jordan and I went to Casa de Sutton to help prepare the festivities and I bet my Ma wished we hadn't. Sam and Cocoa had to go to the groomer and Jordan and my Ma picked them up and left Barkley in his cage. Let's just say he wasn't happy about this and left a little suprise for them in there. Gross! It gets worse... Jordan didn't notice Barkley had stepped in it and then he left little brown paw prints all down the hall. Jo mama was furious. They had to give Barkley a bath. Then when they finally got to eat their lunch that they had brought home with them it was cold. Jordan made the mistake of giving Barkley a french fry which made him sick on the kitchen floor. Jordan and Ma could only laugh at this point.

Dad and I made our annual few days before christmas shopping trip. We left early so as to beat the crowds and we did very well, all the presents and got lunch all in under 2 hrs! A new record I think. When we got home I wrapped the presents and helped Ma make cookies.

Jordan, Kyle, Stephanie and I went to the hospital to see my Grandpa. It was kind of hard b/c he was rather disoriented and was telling us how lonely he was and how bad they were treating him there. He would say things that made you want to cry and then in the next breathe make you want to laugh. It's kind of a rollercoaster. You can't believe most of what he says unfortunatly b/c his mind is so fuzzy right now.

We try to keep busy with Christmas activities to keep our mind off of it. It's gonna be a strange and small Christmas at the Sutton house. I am happy to have a fun day of activities planned for Christmas Eve with the Bastians.

On Friday my office closes at 12 and then Sarah Eastman...soon to be Mrs. Nixon will be coming up to visit us here in Saint Joseph. Awesome! I haven't seen her since the summer time.

Tonight Jordan and I got to spend the evening together something we haven't been able to do during the week in a long time b/c he worked nights at the HP. Today was his first day with MLB.com. We played Sceneit one of our favorite games that we played a lot in Canada. He also showed me a couple of potential places that we could be staying at in Florida that are even pet friendly (Barkley might get a tan!).

Well, that's all for now. Back to hanging out with Jordan and Barkley. Catch ya later!

Pops....

In case you have been wondering what happened to me over the last few days this is what has been going on....

My grandpa, aka Pops/papa has had pneumonia for 3 wks. He was admitted to Ingalls Hospital last week. He has double pneumonia which means fluid in both lungs. He had a heart attack before he got there and another on friday. The docs say he has congestive heart failure, his liver is enlarged, and his kidney's aren't functioning properly. I went home friday night and saw him on saturday. My Aunt Connie and Uncle Charlie from AZ came in and Aunt Lenda from CA. I saw him on Saturday and he was very weak. By Saturday night he was a little more upbeat and was even cracking jokes. By Sunday he was his same stubborn self when he gave me a hard time while I was trying to make him drink his barium drink before he went down for his ct scan. He was happy to see everyone. He was supposed to be taken out of ICU tonight, but his blood pressure dropped again so he will remain there. All we can do now is pray so if you could I would appreciate it.

To add to my stress Barkley and I had quite a scare today. After taking him out after work tonight our neighbor was also letting his dog out, a huge pit bull type dog. He wasn't on a leash and before I realized that he was racing down the hallway towards us. I was able to shove barkley through the fire door before he got to him. His owner raced after him and said he wouldn't hurt him. I was pretty scared anyway. He turned out to be a nice dog, but he looked a little scary. It was quite an adrenaline rush.

Well, Jordan and I are going Christmas shopping to get my mind off of things. Also, we are having a cleaning party here at the apartment. Yes, I'm a mean wife and I am making Jordan help me clean. Afterwards, we are going to put up our Christmas tree. AWESOME!! Our first tree! Anyhoo, Jordan is home now gotta run. Keep Hershel Henson, my Grandpa, in your thoughts and prayers.

Update!

Ok, Jody. I finally have a free minute to update my blog. Here is what has been going on up here in St. Joe:

Jordan got offered a job as the Toronto Blue Jays beat writer for Majorleagebaseball.com. (mlb.com). He put in his two weeks notice at the paper he currently works at on Friday. We won't have to move until late January, early February. We will be going to Florida for a month for Spring Training. I have gone to spring training the last two years and it is lots of fun. Jordan is so excited. We need to make plans to go up there and find a place to live.

Jordan's car is in better working order now, but mine is out of commision now. I went home yesterday to help trim my parents tree and when I pulled into the driveway my dad smelled gas coming from my car. My gas line was leaking and at any minute if it caught a spark my car could have been a flaming fireball. I'm so glad we went home. Jordan's wonderful sister Lynn is letting us borrow her van until my dad fixes it. So for now I look like a soccer mom.

Yesterday like I said I helped my parents put up their tree. I got all of my ornaments and some lights and tinsel. All I need now is a tree. Hopefully this weekend we can get that accomplished and then decorate it.

Jordan has been working on our Christmas cards. Yes, my husband did our cards....I am so spoiled. All I have to do is address them.

My parent came up on sat. and we went shopping. Jordan finally got his suit that my mom promised him for his birthday....yeahs he got a new birthday suit. ha ha.

Jordan and I went out to see Pride and Prejudice. It was really good. I finally got to see a chic movie.

Well, that's all for now. I'll catch ya later. Good luck with all of your christmas shopping. I'm about 1/2 done.

A Night Out in Saint Joe!

Last night I decided to have a fun night of doing laundry and hanging out with Barkley. I went to the bank to go get some quarters. I told Sara the girl who always handles our business at the bank what my exciting night entailed and she invited me to go out with her and her friends. We started out at the depot which is this little pizza place at the train station by the beach. After that we went up to the top of the hill to a place called Spinnakers. It was a duelling piano bar. It was really packed, but it was a lot of fun. At 10:30 I called Jordan and he was leaving work so I told him to come there. We hung out and had a good time.

Today I actually got around to my laundry. Jordan was here until 4:30 when he left for work. I might go out with Sara again tonight, but I don't know if I am up for another night of going out. We'll see.

I didn't get around to blogging about this last week, but I took Barkley to the vet and I found out that he might have doggy glaucoma. Poor baby. Every day three times a day I have to give him a pill, ointment in his eye and eyedrops. He wasn't very cooperative at first, but now he rolls over and lets me do it. I feel really bad for him. Next Saturday I have to take him back to the vet for a check up. Hopefully he will be doing better by then. At first the meds made him jittery and have to go to the bathroom a lot which didn't make Jordan very happy when he had to do clean up.

I love my new job. I have been there for 2 weeks. This week the bosses were on vacation and left us a lot of work to do. It made the time go by so fast. On Monday is our holiday picture for work. They send out a Christmas card to all of their clients. YIKES! Next week is a shortened week. I get thursday and friday off for turkeyday. Jordan is off thurs, sat and sun. He might come back on Saturday, but I'm not sure yet. We are also trying to get together with Melissa next weekend too. Well, that is all for now. Catch ya later!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Saturday night I went to my Aunt Torie's house for the Annual Sutton Family Pumpkin Carving contest. A lot of my family was there and we had a good time. It was pretty funny because everyone was concentrating so hard on their projects that it was dead silent. The family members that were there that weren' t carving were teasing us because we were so serious about the event. These were not ordinary carvings because there weren't any triangles or teeth. It was also my cousin Barb's birthday and our family friend Francine made her a spooky cake.

It was awesome. I won the contest, but some of the other contestants thought it was rigged b/c my parents, my brother kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie were the judges.
This is my pumpkin. It's a witch with a cat in the center. It's hard to see in this picture.

Today my parents came over. My dad had not been to our apartment yet. We went out to lunch and showed them around Saint Joseph. My mom brought a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert. My mother and I also went on a walk through the neighborhood and on the high school track. Well, that's it for now catch ya later...

What a day!

Yesterday got off to a rocky start. I was woken up early in the morning to a dog laying on my pillow who was shaking like he was freezing. He wouldn't stop for about ten minutes. He was sick for most of the morning. If was kind of scary. He was much better by the afternoon. He was jumping around and wagging his tail.

I went on a job interview yesterday at a law office. It went pretty well. I have a second interview on tuesday to meet with the lawyers. Wish me luck.

My parents are coming to visit us on Sunday. Yeah. Well, that's all for now. Catch you later!

Barkley Bastian

Our dog, Barkley, was doing well adjusting to his new lifestyle as an indoor dog. He hadn't had any accidents until yesterday when his "Birth" family came to visit. Lynn and her crew came to see our doggy oh yeah and us for the day. They also brought along their little terror of a pup named Buddy. He's blind, but he doesn't let that stop him. I think he thinks he's a Great Dane. He started fighting and biting Barkley and he scared the pee out of him...literally.

We really enjoyed their visit, but I think Barkley was more than happy to get some rest after they left. He likes being top dog now and takes any chance he can to get love and affection. He loves the one on one time he gets now. Our furry "baby" is very spoiled.

Tonight we went to Battle Creek, MI to see our friends Julia and Chad (Jordan's best man). We met them at Chili's for dinner and then went to the movies to see Flightplan. The dinner started off bad b/c the waiter had two huge parties besides us and forgot about us. Julia's dinner was burned and mine was slightly undercooked. Later, about a 1/2 hour into the movie it looked like the film melted in the projector and it took them about 10 minutes to get the film back up and running. It was pretty funny actually.

It was great to see our friends and have a night out. Poor Barkley though he was alone for the longest he has been since we moved up here. We found an excited pup at our door, a stain, and our salt and pepper shakers knocked over. Looks like he had a bad night. Hopefully he'll get a little better as time goes by. All in all I am impressed at how he has done so far.

I'm searching for a job. Hopefully tomorrow will be more successful. Jordan doesn't work until tomorrow night so I'll be watching the series here at home w/ my pupster. Jordan had his first article published with the new paper. It is about why cubs fans should root for the sox. Well, that's it for now. Catch ya later...

Saint Joseph, MI

We arrived in Saint Joseph, Michigan on October 11, 2005. My brother kyle and his girlfriend Stephanie helped us move in to our new apartment. We live in a wooded area and it's really pretty up here right now b/c the leaves are changing colors.

On Wednesday we went to the Sox game. It was game two and the infamous drop third strike game. My brother-in-law, Keith and my sister-in-law Melissa invited us to the game. We had a great time. The crowd was crazy the entire game. We kept sitting down and standing up all night....It was like going to a catholic church service. It was extremely loud. We had a great time.

On Thursday my mom came up here and helped us to wash all of our new kitchen items and put things away. Our new apartment is great. We have everything put away. The only thing left to do is to hang our pictures on the wall, but I am waiting to get our wedding pictures. I got our album, but not our wall pictures.

Sunday was Grandma Bastian's 90th birthday party and Jordan and I traveled to Elk Grove Village, IL. We saw a lot of Jordan's relatives from other states.

After the party we went to my moms house for her birthday. I made her a cake. My Aunt Susie, Kevin, Kyle, Grandma and Papa were there.

We've already had our first visitors. Jordans dad and stepmom Patty came up on tuesday night. We showed them around St. Joseph on Wednesday.
Lynn, Jordan's sister, gave us one of her dogs a 2 yr old shitzu named Barkley, or as the kids call him broccoli. He's adjusting very well to his new place. We love having a dog. Jordan started his new job at he Herald-Palladium which is the Benton Harbor/St. Joe paper. Well, that's all for now. It's been awhile since I last blogged so this was kind of long. Catch ya later!

Go Sox! Red Sox That Is!

Well, my wonderful husband has done it again. Scored me some free tickets to tomorrow nights game. The Jays are playing the Red Sox. It's the last game of the series here in Toronto. I'm pretty excited b/c I've only gone to one baseball game this entire season where as my husband on the other hand will have gone to 52 by the end of the season. I went to one earlier this summer with my bros and Stephanie. I'm going to this one by myself. Anyone wanna join me? Maybe since Johnny Damons injury isnt' that bad he can fly in from Boston and sit with me! I'll rub his shoulder! I mean no I won't! Just kidding Jordan! I love you!

Today I stopped by this cool pottery place. They sell the pieces and you paint them. They had all kinds of dishes and figures. Looks like fun!

I must have been a good girl b/c today was mail day. I got three letters from people back home! Love you guys! See ya in 3 wks!

Ok...I'm officially depressed...

So last night Jordan and I were relaxing watching TV. It's about 2 a.m. and we're watching some show about firefighters and our apt becomes pitch black. Crap! Our power goes out. Wait! No it doesn't the fan is still working. Oh, no! It's the TV! We franticly push the power button. Nothing happens. We unplug and then replug the TV. Nada. Yeah our TV is broken and we have a month to go, I've almost finished my project and I am sick of reading my stupid book. I don't know what I'm going to do. Stay tuned to see how whiney Kelly can get over the next month!

Happy now?

My husband has been nagging me to post a blog. So here it is. There hasn' t been a whole lot going on around here and that is why I haven't posted. Jordan has been off of work since Monday and I will get to keep him at home until next Monday! He has some side stuff he has to do, but he's actually here which is a good thing. I don' t have to talk to myself anymore! Tehe just kidding.

I have been glued to my TV watching the hurricane news like many other Americans I'm sure. I have to turn it off many times because it is so draining to watch. Especially today when I watched Oprah do her take on what's going on down there. It was terrible. I need to stop watching TV.

Tonight, one of our favorite shows is on, RockStar INXS. We are big dorks, but it's one of the only reality shows that we can stomach. It's on three nights a week and tonight is the performance show. We missed the house episode last night b/c we went and saw The Brothers Grimm. It was decent, but more of a renter.

I've been hearing from a lot of people from back home which is awesome. It's kind of lonely when I'm here by myself all the time. It's good to hear someone else's voice besides Dr. Phil. Well, I'm back to my stitching project while Jordan is busy playing GameCube. If any of you have time shoot me an email and say hi.

Taking it easy...

Since we returned we haven't done very much. The laundry is still piled on the floor, dishes are in the sink, and Jordan is still in bed. Yesterday, we did get something accomplished during the day. Our air mattress was having technical difficulties the night before we left for the USA and we decided to exchange it yesterday. It's nice to sleep on something a little stiffer, but this one is a little bit smaller. It's supposed to be the same one, but it's not. It's ok I dont' mind b/c I actually got good rest on it. We also found a new grocery store that we like and it kind of reminds us of Jewel.(in the suburbs of chicago for all you out of towners!) It was much cleaner than Loblaws the one right next to our apt. and there was more food we recognized unlike Loblaws which has a lot of kosher and ethnic food.

Last night we enjoyed good old American Hamburgers cooked by yours truely. I am really getting the hang of cooking in this teeny tiny kitchen. You gotta make due right? After dinner we relaxed and watched Mickey Blue Eyes on TV. It stars Hugh Grant.

Today's tasks are hunting down change for the laundry, doing the laundry, dishes, and taking a run. Exciting I know. Jordan is off until Friday. Well, that's all for now catch ya later!

Road Trippin'

On Thursday Jordan and I headed out on our 2 day journey to Niagara on the Lake, Niagara Falls, and Cooperstown: The Baseball Hall of Fame. On our way there we stopped off in a small town to get gas because Jordan was so excited to see their name:

We arrived in the town of Niagara on the Lake and were pleasantly suprised. I wasn't quite sure what we would find when we got there, but what I saw was better than I imagined. There were tons of quaint little shops, beautiful flowers everywhere in large hanging baskets, and horses and carriages. I ran into my leading man in town, Bogey.

The scenery was beautiful when we wandered down by the lake. There is an old fort off in the distance and a nice park to sit and enjoy the view in.
After lunch we headed to Niagara Falls after stopping off to watch a glass blowing demonstration. Jordan had been to the falls when he was 10 or 11 and I was there when I was 14. We stood next to the falls and got quite wet by the mist. This is what greated us: Then we took a ride on the Maid of the Mist which is a boat that travels to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls on the Canada side. I had done that once before, but Jordan had never done it.

We stayed around in the Falls and had dinner at one of our favorite places, Rainforest Cafe. We have now been to one in each of the countries in North America. Yes, we're dorks, but we like the food. We waited for it to get dark so we could see the lights on the Falls. They were awesome. At first it was just huge white spotlights, but then they began to change colors. It was pretty sweet! We stayed in a hotel that night on the American side near Buffalo in Tonawanda. What did we find across the street from our hotel? Yeah, a Chili's and we stopped for chips and queso of course.

The next morning we headed towards Cooperstown. We enjoyed the drive through the hills and taking in the scenery. I loved looking at all of the old homes along the way. When we got to the town Jordan almost caused me to crash off the road and get rear ended when he saw this sign b/c he wanted to take his picture there.

We reached the Hall of Fame and the main street that it was on. This was another cute little town. It had a lot of shops that I had to drag Jordan out of. It was so strange b/c all of the towns along the way were vacant and this one was teaming with people.

Here is Jordan with his childhood heros and one of his main reasons for going to the hall.

I don't see any Bastians in the Hall of Fame, but it was easy enough to find a Sutton!Don Sutton This one's for you Melissa.

King KellyLay off the high ones. I like the high ones. Mule! Nag!

This is for all you Sox fans!

Going to the Islands....

The Toronto Islands that is! We tried again today to head to the islands, but unlike yesterday we were successful this time. We traveled by subway and arrived at the ferry dock. We took the 10 min boat ride across the lake to the Islands. The water was very calm and I was very thankful for that. The last time I was on a boat like that I did not have a good experience. I get motion sickenss rather easily and the thought of getting on a boat again was not very inviting. This time went much smoother. I did not feel ill at all. The trip was very quick which helped.

When we got there we decided to rent bikes and ride around. Before we got there we stopped off at a hedge maze and explored around inside for a bit. When we got to the bike rental place and they handed us our bikes I had to chuckle a little. They were very old fashioned bikes. The handle bars curved up excessively and the only way to stop was to push the petals backwards like a small childs bike. It was funny. Nothing like the bikes I have been riding with my parents on the trails in Glenwood back home. Jordan hadn't been on a bike since 8th grade/Freshman year of high school. The bikes didn't have any gears and mine was really squeaky, but it was still fun. My legs are really tired now after our long walk around the city yesterday and the biking from today.Here is a picture of our wonderful bikes. Other people rode tandems and quadricicles too which were funny looking.




We biked all around the island. When we got to the far west end we arrived at the place where Babe Ruth hit his only minor league homerun when he was 19 years old. There wasn't a stadium or a statue like we imagined we'd see by the symbol they had on the map. There was a small little plaque screwed to a rock in some woodsy/weedy area. We laughed outloud when we saw it. I took Jordans picture anyway. At least we'll see some better stuff on Friday when we head to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Yeah, USA I can't wait. We're going there after Thursday when we go to Niagra Falls.

How do you spell Crabby?

Apparently this morning it's J-O-R-D-A-N. We are heading out to early church and Jordan is moving in slowmo. Last night we stayed up really late reading The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Well, actually he read it aloud to me. Yes, we're dorks, but it was really good. It's full of suspence. Even if the events aren't historically accurate we are still enjoying the story. It was funny how when we were reading we kept getting phone calls from people. It must mean you all love us. Thanks! Love you too!

After church, we are headed to the Toronto Islands. They are a series of 12 islands right off of the shore. We found the web site yesterday and it looks really interesting. Yes, ma you can rent bikes on the island we should have done this while you were here. Also there's a Babe Ruth monument so you know we'll check that out. Well, that's it for now crabby is finally ready for church. Later gators!

Two weeks with Jordan

Yes, that's right. I get Jordan all to myself for 2 wks. Well, almost. He might have to do the occasional minor league story or something, but for now there will be no going to the ballpark for him. The Blue Jays are on a road trip and will not return until the 26th. Yesterday, we did one of our favorite things and went to the movies to see the new Kate Hudson flic, The Skeleton Key. It was quite creepy, but I love a good scare at the movies.

I would like to apologize for not posting in quite a long time. Jordan was giving me crap about how I haven't been updating my blog regularly. Let me update you on what I have been doing:

While my parents were still here in Toronto we went to the beach. Afterwards we came home and then went to dinner at a place called Montanas. On the way home we stopped to take a look at the smart cars that they have here in Canada. They are only 8 feet long, get 60 mpg, and have changeable faceplates like a cell phone. They're really cute and are only two seaters.

We drove home on Sunday, but the ride didn't seem that bad. When we got home it was 104 degrees in Thornton so we decided to jump in the pool. I made sammy, my dog go swimming with me. He was not too happy. The rest of the time I was home he would run away from me if I was on the deck and head onto the porch. He normally would be laying on a lawn chair sunning himself, but he wanted nothing to do with me. I know I'm mean.

I visited with my Grandparents while I was home. I went over to my Aunt Torie's for a BBQ and to see my Aunt Sheila who was visiting from Alabama. We had the Sutton's over for a BBQ for my bro kev's b-day. Yes, I ate a lot of BBQ, but it was great b/c I dont' get any of that up here.

I hung out with my sis-in-law and her crew a few times. The kids are great and we had a great time in the pool one day. I sure got a work out carting them around in the water. They were like little leaches, but cute leaches. I loved their swimmy suits. They were the kind with the floatation device in them and it makes them look like lil football players. I got attacked by her heard of dogs on my way in and out of their house. It was really muddy there and the dogs would jump on me and by the time I got to the house all I could do was laugh because I was totally coated in mud.

It was fun to be with my family for the 2 wks, but it was great when I got home to see Jordan waiting up for me when we arrived. We got here really late and my bros and stephanie headed straight to their hotel.

The next day we went to the casino/horsetrack b/c kyle is 19 and you can gamble at 19 here in Canada. I had never been before either. We came back and hung out in our apartment while Jordan was at work. We ordered pizza and watched tv.

The next day Jordan got us free $65 tickets. We also got into the Press box and the Jumbo Tron room. It was great. It was so hot outside and we had to go up by the bar to cool off for awhile. After the game we went to Milestones for drinks and Jordans favorite Spinach artichoke dip. We saw two yankees there-Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez. Later that night we went to the movies and saw Wedding Crashers. My brothers headed home on Sunday and Jordan headed to work. I was pretty lonely. : (

Jordan and I might go to Toronto Island tomorrow to see what is out there. You have to take the ferry across to it so hopefully I won't get sick. I don't do very well on things like that. When we were in Cancun we took a ferry to the dolphin discovery and on the way back it was very choppy and I was making Jordan very nervous. Anyhoo, I hope the island is interesting. It would be great if we could rent bikes and ride around on the island. We'll see I'll let ya know.

USA

Today my parents and I drove back from Toronto. We got home around 3 pm and headed straight for the pool. It was 102 degrees! After dinner my brother, Stephanie and I went to Dairyville in Lansing. Now I'm just trying to dig out a place to sleep because my room is very crowded. That's it for now because I'm pretty tired. Goodnight!

Toronto Adventures

Today we began the day disappointed. It was gloomy and rainy so we called off our trip to the beach. Instead we visited Casa Loma, which was the second largest private residence until it was sold in the 1930's.

It is actually a castle that was built by Sir Henry Mill Pellatt, a prominent Canadian Financier, industrialist, and military officer in 1911. It cost around $3,500,000 at the time to build over a period of 3 years. It was never completed because during World War I all of his workers had to leave to fight.

The rain let up so we could go out and see the beautiful fountain and gardens. We took the guided tour. We heard the story of how the place was built and what happened to Sir Henry that caused him to loose all of his money. There was an auction that was run by his bank when he defaulted on his loan where all of his possessions were sold off. They did a very poor job of it too. They sold his things at an open auction where there was no minimum bid. A $170,000 pipe organ was sold for $40. Yes not $40,000, but $40. Crazy!

Several movies were filmed there - X-men, Cocktail, Vin Diesel's the Pacifier, and a few others. It was cool b/c Jordan has Xmen so we went home to check out the scenes. After we visited the grounds, the rooms, the tower, and the stables we headed home to change our clothes.

My parents and I at the skywalk between Union Station and the CN Tower.

The CN Tower

Our next stop was the CN Tower where we dined at the 360 restaurant. The Restaurant spins at the top and we got to enjoy the view while we ate. The food was great. Afterwards, we went to the glass floor to look down. That was pretty sweet. Jordan thought it would be really funny to take bad pictures of me all day long. Here is one.

We're pretty tired now. We are going to try and hit the beach again tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

They're here!!

My parents got here today at 3:20 pm. Jordan was still at work so we just hung out in the apartment for awhile. They left at 5 am this morning like a couple of nut jobs. They went through the border and when the guy asked them what they had in the back seat my dad said, "An air conditioner" and my mom chimed in, "A pizza." The guy probably was confused. The pizza was an Arrenellos pizza from Glenwood, which was requested by Jordan. I bet that was the longest pizza delivery ever!

My dad started to fix our air conditioner. It is really cold now! Jordan will sleep like a baby and I will have icicles hanging from my nose and will be reaching for another blanket. My parents and I went to check them into their hotel. We stopped and had a little appetizer at a place called Rocky Mountian High while we waited for Jordan. When he finally got home we met him at our place. We hung out for awhile and then Jordan said he was starving so we went to East Side Marios. It's kind of like Olive Garden with a more gimmicky New York theme. They call it American Italian food I guess.

We also stopped at Home Depot to buy stuff to fix the air conditioner. We had to drag my dad out of there or else we would have never gotten to go home. While he fixed the air conditioner my mom and I went on a walk through the neighborhood. We only did a mile and a 1/2 b/c she didn't have very good shoes on.

Tomorrow we plan on going to The Beaches which is you guessed it a section of town with a bunch of beaches. Jordan and I went there once before. They have a boardwalk and then you can go to a bunch of shops along Queen Street. After that we'll head home, clean up and hit the subway to downtown. We will also go see the CN Tower and eat at the 360 restaurant. Busy day, but it'll be fun. Saturday we are going to go to the Island and check that out. Sun we will be heading home very early I'm sure. If anyone would like to get together while I'm home give me a call after sun b/c I'll be around aggravating my family I'm sure! See ya soon!

One more day!

My parents get here tomorrow, Yeah! There are leaving at like 4 or 5 in the morning like crazy people. Jordan will not be here when they get here. He has a 12:37 game tomorrow which is weird. This should be a great weekend and I'm really excited about it. The one thing I am not excited aboot is the 8 hr drive back. Hopefully my parents won't have as bad a time getting in as we did. Jordan came home tonight with yet another picture of the CN tower. Maybe he'll stop taking pictures of it after friday when we finally go up in it. Well, that's all for now b/c we have to get up earlier than usual.

Fantastic Four

Today Jordan and I went on our run. I was a little slower than usual which kind of annoys him. He's a motivator when he runs w/ me, but sometimes I just get mad at him. I know he's just trying to help and I'm a brat.

Tonight I went out w/ a woman from church. We had dinner at a place called Montana's which kind of reminds me of The Texas Road House minus the peanuts. We went to see Fantastic Four which turned out not to be so fantastic. Jessica Alba is a terrible actress and needs to learn how not to miss buttons on her shirt.

Tomorrow I will be cleaning my apartment and doing laundry before the folks get here on Thursday. Real exciting day. Jordan covers the Mariners tomorrow.

Higher Ground

Today after dropping Jordan at the subway station , (It was raining) I went to church. I like a dummy wore sandals and pretty much soaked my feet. I sat near the back with my shoes off during the whole service trying to dry off. This church has carpeting that feels like felt, it's weird. The pastor was talking about the story of Zacchaeus. It was really funny b\c Jordan referred to that last week when we went to the Yonge Street Festival. He was trying to see over a crowd of people and he couldn't b/c he's so short like Zacchaeus. It's funny sometimes that you can go so long without talking about something or hearing about something and then it randomly comes up more than once in a short period of time. Must mean something right?

I ran home after church to change my shoes b/c I was freezing. I can't complain b/c it was better than being in my hot apartment. I came back for what is called Higher Ground. They have a small coffee bar in the church and people get muffins and coffee and chat with one another. People meet in the gym and they have someone speak about a designated topic and then there is a discussion. Today, they ran it a little different and they played a video. Afterwards the two woman at my table and I began talking. They were really nice and we decided to get together on Tuesday.

Tonight after Jordan got home from the ballpark we watched a movie. What else would we watch, but a baseball movie of course. We watched the movie, The Rookie with Dennis Quaid. It was cute. Jordan was on the edge of his seat like a little kid. He loved it.

Jordan has the day off tomorrow. I' m not quite sure what we're up to yet, but if it's hot then we'll be headed to the beach or the pool. It rained today which made it a little cooler, 88. What a relief, J/K!

There is no can't...

Today, Jordan and I decided to head out on our run earlier than usual. We had to get out of our apartment before we suffocated from the heat. We ran our normal route, but we kicked it up a notch from what I usually run at. I have a big problem with running....yes I know, I do it all the time. So how, you might wonder, could I possibly have a problem with it? It's not that my body is not in shape -- I have lost 40 lbs. since January and I am feeling better than I have since high school. So what's the deal you ask? It's my mental attitude. I defeat myself before I even begin.

When I have someone pushing me it's much easier to keep going b/c you don't want to look bad. On the other hand when you're by yourself you're more prone to let up and take the easy way out. The only one it hurts is me. I get less out of the workout, feel guilty, and have wasted the time I set aside to exercise. It's not the time you work out, but the intensity.

Jordan pushes me hard when we run. As a former cross country runner, he knows how to push through his mental road blocks and get past the "point of no return" in order to get the most out of his run. Slowly I am learning to push past my own self doubt and can't-do-it-attitude.

As a reward for our good run and a precaution against passing out we are going to the pool at the Goulding Community Centre, which is a couple blocks away. I called there today and they said it's FREE! I am so pumped to jump in the refreshing water and we don' t have to drive all the way to the beach. Well, we're off to get pruney!

Lake Ontario

Toronto is having a heat wave. It was around 95 degrees today and it was ridiculous. We decided to go to the beach instead of cooking in our apartment. It was great. We went to a place called The Beaches. There is a boardwalk along Lake Ontario which runs about 2 miles. Jordan and I walked it and enjoyed the view. Eventually it became too hot so we decided to hit the beach and run in the water. We hit the water and froze, literally. The lake was ice cold. It was no Cancun. We had to inch into the water slowly, but it was still refreshing.

After awhile we decided we needed to have lunch. We walked to Queens street where we had lunch at Licks which is a hamburger joint. We walked down Queen looking at various shops. It was so nice to get out of the apartment. It is so hot that we may head back there tomorrow to cool off.

We used the boardwalk as our exercise for the day and believe me it was enough. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the beach. It was crazy how many people brought their dogs there. When we first arrived a man and a woman both got out of their vehicles and each had 4 or 5 dogs. The end of the boardwalk must be dog beach b/c they were everywhere. It made me miss my sam-o. I may try to kidnap him when I come back to Toronto. Although, he wouldn't want to be here b/c he's quite the pampered pooch who sits in the air-conditioning every day. Must be nice, Sam!

Jordan climbed out on these rocks to give me a heart attack. He's not very coordinated and he has a bad ankle which is a lethal combination. Luckily he made it out ok. I can't say as much for when we left the hamburger joint. He almost fell down the stairs and his shoe went tumbling down. Then he yelled at me like it was my fault!?! I was in front of him, but somehow it's still my fault.


Tonight we are watching the All-Star Game at home. Go, National League!!!!

Giraffes!!!

Last night we went to the Toronto Street Festival. We took the subway down to Lawrence Street. There wasn't much going on there except a small singing competition called Toronto Pop Idol. Yes, Jody in Canada they have Canadian Idol, but their host is no Ryan Seacrest! We had a hotdog and homemade fries because we were dissappointed that the Taste of Lawrence wasn't exactly located on Lawrence street. It was very far east and we wouldn't have had time to get there and then go see the Giraffes.

We jumped back on the subway and traveled to Dundas Street. It was a zoo. There were gobs of people everywhere. They had these two guys building sandcastles.

We had an hour to kill so we decided to see if we could find the lake. We walked to the end of Yonge street and after a little searching we located it. It wasn't very obvious to find. They had a little boardwalk, but no beach. It's no Lake Michigan for sure.

We trucked it back to the square to wait for the Les Giraffe Urban Operetta. It was rather creepy and a lot of it was in French I think which made it hard to follow. They had these huge giraffes that were red and were manned by 2 people that were sitting on a tripod inside of the giraffe.




The men had stilts on their legs and the front man controlled the head w/ 2 wires. They walked through the crowd which forced the people to move around chaoticly in order to avoid being trampled. It made me a little nervous. Once they got to center stage the ring master would put rings of fire around their necks. I saw it all ending badly in my head: the giraffes could catch on fire and the people would stampede in order to save themselves. Luckily this did not happen. After watching for some time we decided to catch the subway and go home to avoid the mob of people.


We went to church this morning at Bayview Glenn, the church we tried once before. We like it. Afterwards we decided to go for a "Sunday Drive" and ended up at a new mall we have never been to before. We also decided to see a movie. We saw Bewitched with Will Ferrel and Nicole Kidman. It was pretty funny. I'd give it about 2 stars. It's rentable. Anyway, that's about it for now. Jordan is taking a nap because we stayed up until around 4 last night. Our schedule is so off b/c of his job. He usually gets home at 1 a.m. and then we stay up for awhile. We usually sleep in late, but this morning we went to church at 9:15 so we couldn't. I'm going to make dinner now which will be pork chops. Yum....wish we had a grill to cook them on, but the stove will have to do. Adios.

Toronto Street Festival

Tomorrow Jordan and I will be going to the Toronto Street Festival. The city closes down a large section of the street we live on, Yonge, and has a curb to curb celebration. It's free to get in and there are many events going on at each intersection and all along the way. Jordan and I are excited to see Les Girafes Urban Operetta. It looks really neat. There are these huge puppet- like giraffes that are controlled by guys on the ground. The giraffes are 8 meters high they say. (Whatever that means I dont' know meters! Stupid Canadians! J/k!) They giraffes put on a show and interact with the crowd. It should be fun.

I'm also looking forward to the Corso Italia Toronto Fiesta and the Taste of Lawrence. Good thing Jordan and I are getting in our run today and walking to the festival b/c these events are supposed to be like the taste of Chicago where you can try portions of all kinds of food.

I'm pretty sure both my bros and possible Stephanie will be bringing me back on the 4th or 5th. I don't know how we're all gonna fit, but I'm sure we'll have a great time. I plan on hitting the beach at home if they are not closed due to bacteria. Anyone know how the beaches are doing in Chicago?

Jordan was on sports centre, yeah I said sports centre that's how they spell it in Canada! My bro the Inglish Teecher has been crateacking my bloog and is mad that I dont' no how to spel theengs or use corect gramer. How am I doing kev? oh, anyway jordan wasn't really on sports center. Only his hand and his digital recorder were on tv while he was interviewing a player. We were still excited.

Well, I'll let you know how the festival goes tomorrow. Jordan and I are headed for a run. We might go see a flic later, but I'm not sure. Also, I wanted to say hi to Kevin and my cousin Kristy who are hard at work at Holland Asphalt Services and are avid readers of my blog. Hi guys! See ya soon!

Running in the Rain

Yesterday I went for my usual run around the neighborhood, but there was nothing usual about it. I was probably about 1/2 way through it, which means I was at the farthest point from my home when it started to downpour. Yes, with no escape I had to run the last mile and a 1/2 or so in the rain. At first I was irritated but after a couple minutes I couldn't help but laugh at myself. I was soaked all the way through and my gym shoes are still wet this morning. There were people sitting on their porches laughing at me. Two little kids were looking out there front door and screaming whoa look how wet she is. The worst thing was, that right before it rained I was running the hardest I had so far and I was about to slow down and walk a little, but with the rain I had to run. It actually made for a good workout although it did get a bit difficult at the end w/ my shoes sloshing with every step. Oh, well at least I made people laugh yesterday.

I feel special. Both of my brothers are offering to take me back to Canada after I go home. I haven't decided which one to go with because one means I leave Canada on the 24th and return on the 31st and the other means I come back on the 5th or 6th. We'll see.

Today Jordan took our car in to be fixed. He drove there and ran back. What a trooper. It was 3.36 miles back. It turned out to be the o-ring on the thermastat, dad. They said it was the wrong size or something. They said they'd get to it today and we should have our car back this afternoon. Nothing major which is a very good thing.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for all the comments people. I really appreciate the feedback.

Next on FOX....When Neighbors Attack!

Yes, it has happened again. My parents have had to call the cops again on our neighbor. Earlier this week I mentioned how our neighbor set fireworks off on my car, but now SHE has attempted to physically assualt my mother. My mom was mowing the grass, minding her own business, when she saw rocks wiz passed he head. She turned to see our neighbor throwing rocks and cussing at her. My mom had her cell phone in her pocket and dialed 911. The cops came, but she took off before they arrived. They said they needed to see the rocks, but my mom had no idea where they were b/c we have rocks all over our backyard. They left and when my dad came home they noticed a large rock on the back porch and a huge hole in the screen. the cops returned and video taped the damage and my car that had been damaged earlier in the week. My parents have to go to court and will be getting a restraining order against our neighbor. It's really ridiculous that you should have to do all of this because your neighbor can't control herself. Our neighbor has been out of town all weekend and b/c of this my parents have enjoyed a restful holiday weekend.

We also have enjoyed our holiday weekend. We haven't been able to do a whole lot b/c of the rain, but it's nice just to be able to spend time togther before he has a 3 game homestand. Jordan will be covering the Oakland A's.

My parents like I said will be visiting us on the 21st. They will head home on the 24th and I will be joining them. It would be nice to see some of you while I am at home. I'm not sure how long I"ll be there b/c both of my bros have offered to drive me back. Kevin said he could bring me back on the 4th or 5th and kyle also offered. I'll let you know when more details have been confirmed. If I went home I'd be there for my brothers 25th birthday on the 31st of July. Happy Birthday Kev!

My mother has my wedding proofs and as soon as I come back to Toronto Jordan and I will pick out our shots for our wedding album. If anyone would like to see the pictures in the album you can contact my mother or check the website.

Well, have a happy 4th of July. Eat some BBQ for Jordan and I and enjoy the fireworks!

WORST FIREWORKS EVER!!!

Last night we went to see the fireworks for Canada Day 2 miles south of where we live in Yonge st. Let me start off by saying that I don't think they know what the term firework is in Canada. They sent off these little beams of light directly up in the air for about 50 feet and then they drop and fade back to the earth. There were no explosions. There were no crackles. There were no children crying and covering there ears. And why? The fireworks never exploded. There was not one firework that exploded into a large circle to light up the night sky. It was a great disappointment. I am very sad to say that I will not be able to attend the show in Thornton on monday.

In Thornton, the fireworks aren't the greatest, but they look awesome compared to what we saw last night. At least in Thornton you can look over the quarry and see all of the neighboring towns displays off in the distance. It's great.

After the fireworks Jordan and I went to this little bar called Milestones. We had Jordan' s newest favorite food spinach-artichoke dip. I know you can't believe it. He's eating something green eventhough it looks and smells funny. What next? We walked home which was about 2 miles. It was a nice walk. When we got home we played our new favorite game again, Scene It. We only played it twice instead of the best of 5 series Jordan made us play the night before. It was a duel to the death, but in the end Jordan one and thank God too! I didn't want to hear the poor baby complaining all night how he's the DVD Master he should have won, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah he's like a little kid when it comes to playing bored games. He has to win. Spoiled last born! Tehe.

Well that's all for now. It's time to make the DVD Master something to eat. Have a happy Saturday!

Happy Canada Day!

Yes, July 1st is called Canada Day. I think it's very arrogant to name a day after your country, but that's just me. This is Canada's birthday. So instead of seeing fireworks on the 4th of July for the Independence day of the United States of America we will see them on the 1st. There is a place about 2 miles south of where we live on Yonge where we will be seeing fireworks. We are going to walk there because a) it will be really good exercise, and b) are car is acting up.

We found a place that our landlord said is reliable when it comes to fixing cars and we plan on taking it there in a few days. There is something wrong with the radiator and it overheats very quickly. It's kind of annoying, but it is forcing us to walk and get some exercise more often. It does kind of annoy me when we have to walk from the grocery store with arms full of bags. By the time we get home are hands are so cramped up that we can't even move them.

Last night Jordan and I stayed up all night playing a game I bought while we were back in the states. We are both big movie buffs and so it's perfect for us b/c it's called Scene It. It has a dvd full of movie trivia, cards with questions, and buzz cards with consequences. It's fun because you have to be the first to shout out the answer on some of the questions and it can get pretty intense b/c we are so competitive. There is this one part where there's a fill in the blank and you have to shout out the answer as the letters appear very slowly on the screen. It was really great when the puzzle started appearing and Jordan screamed out The Pound of Munic for the answer to The Sound of Music. Yeah I gave him a hard time for that one.

The weather is still kind of warm which is kind of aggravating. I do miss having the pool at my parents house. Although I'm sure that if I were in Illinois I would be hiding in the air conditioning watching tv or something, but it's a nice thought now that I can't do it.

Earlier in the week I got a phone call from my dad. He began by telling me this story about how my mom came home and saw our neighbors were lighting off fireworks. This is never good I thought. She looked just in time to see a flaming fire ball land on the hood of my car that was parked on the side of the house. She went inside to get my dad. He came out to see a big burn mark on the hood of my car. My parents are so sick of dealing with our terrible neighbors and have decided that they aren't gonna be nice anymore and just called the cops. She of course denied it. The cops know better b/c she is notorious for causing trouble in Thornton. So my parents are going to get 2 estimates and she is gonna have to fix it.

Well, I better get going. I'm going to read my book on the balcony where it's nice and cool. I'm reading Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. It was on Oprah's book club list last summer and I'm finally getting around to reading it even though I've had it since last summer. It's like 815 pages long so I'll have plenty to do this summer. Well, that's all for now...catch ya later!
~Kelly