Our Trip to Niagara Falls (Finally!)

Okay, so I've been promising to tell about our trip. In a word...Fantastic! We got to Niagara Falls, Ontario on Saturday afternoon and drove to the hotel we had reserved. Ed parked out front and went in to check us in. A few minutes later he came out and said we were staying at a different hotel. I, of course, was confused. He seemed a little confused too but the guy inside had asked Ed if he'd rather stay at the Fallsview Marriot right down the road instead of this Courtyard by Marriot. He assured Ed that we'd have a family suite (2 queens and a pull out sofa) and a view of Horseshoe Falls all for no additional charge! So we decided to go for it - it sounded purty good! First impression of the Fallsview Marriot was -- WOW! The place was gorgeous. Crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, marble floors, floor to ceiling windows overlooking the falls, valet parking - - it was really nice. Our room was equally as great. The extra space for a family of five to spread out is ALWAYS appreciated! And the beds were SO COMFY! The view from our room was awesome! We spent lots of time just gazing out the window at the falls! We could see both the Canadian Horseshoe Falls as well as the American Falls. Quite a sight!

Our first afternoon there we, of course, went down to the falls to check them out up close and personal. It was cold and wet but, oh so worth it! Seeing the large chunks of ice falling over the cascade of water was really cool.

The next couple days of our trip brought us to different area attractions. There's a whole area called Clifton Hill that has yummy restaurants like Rainforest Cafe and Planet Hollywood. There's also great shopping at places like the Hershey's store and tons of Canadian themed gift shops. We also enjoyed the different attractions they had like Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum. The girls loved this goofy little fun house with silly mirrors and fun obstacles to make your way through. Each day we would visit the falls and just gaze for a few minutes. We had intended on visiting attractions geared around Niagara Falls like Journey Behind the Falls or the Whirlpool Aero Car but it was really too cold and blustery to do that stuff. I don't think any of us feels like we missed out on something though. We all had lots of fun. The girls got to swim at some point everyday which I'm sure was a highlight for them.

We were supposed to come home late Tuesday night but we decided to head north to Toronto to catch a Blue Jays/Red Sox game. Tickets were only $2.00 a seat so we HAD to go! Ed was the only one who'd been to a major league baseball game so for me and the girls it was all new! Pretty cool. I'm not a huge baseball fan and I could go on about how I don't really think baseball is all that it's cracked up to be but maybe that'll be a different post. Before the game we strolled around downtown Toronto for awhile. What a beautiful city! Granite sidewalks, granite buildings, clean, clean, clean and sparkly everywhere! We even visited the Hockey Hall of Fame which was AWESOME! I liked it better than the baseball game. Hockey is a real sport with real athletes who aren't paid millions of dollars to sit on a bench or stand in a field waiting for their turn to play...no, no, no, I'm not going there! Anyway, the hall of fame was gorgeous and really interesting. Lots of interactive things there and a great gift shop!

Wednesday morning we headed home. It was about a seven hour ride which really wasn't too bad! If you ever have the opportunity to go to the Canada side of Niagara Falls or Toronto - DO IT! It was a great trip and we didn't even scratch the surface of all there is to do there!

In other Cook Family news, I think I've found my 'thing.' Some of you know what I'm talking about, while others are scratching your heads. Your 'thing' is something that is just for you, not your kids or your family, something you can claim as yours that brings you a sense of accomplishment; something that is challenging, yet rewarding. I've often wondered what my thing was. Well, recently I've decided to try my hand at writing for children. I saw an ad for a writing course and filled out the 'send me more information' thingy. They sent me an aptitude test to see if I had what it takes to be a writer for children. The test had a couple of essay questions and a few fill in the blanks of the story type questions too. I took the test and sent it back in. A couple of weeks later I got a letter congratulating me on 'passing' the test. The letter said that only about 1/3 of all test takers pass, so I felt pretty good about that. Once you pass the test, they offer you the opportunity to enroll in the course, which I did. It's pretty intense and chalk full of fantastic information! I mailed in my first assignment yesterday. It was a 720 word story I made up based on a picture in the text book. I'm loving the course and feel like this is my thing! I would love to write freelance for children's magazines and hopefully someday, write picture books! My husband and children are so excited for me. Katie is so encouraging and she loves to suggest ideas for me to write about! I hope I'll make them proud!

I presented my 'speech' to the school committee about our school resource officer. They were all very complimentary of my speech but they already had their minds made up -- No Resource Officer! "No Money!" They kept saying. There were a few of them who insisted that the committee meet again to make a way to fund the position but, being the democratic society that we are, the motion was out voted! I will continue to make my voice heard - it's all I can do! Eventually they'll listen. I was working the book fair at the middle school on Tuesday when the school was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Fun. It was obvious that the administration wasn't overly concerned but it was also good that they went through the motions of securing the building. Police, fire, ambulances - the works, showed up to make sure the building and grounds were safe. I'm glad I was there to see first hand how such a thing is handled. I'm so thankful to be able to be involved at my girls' schools. As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Proud Mama moment -- Katie made High Honors this quarter! She got 5 A's and 1 B. She's so lucky to take after her mom!! LOL!!! Becky also did awesome! Her report card is graded using 1's, 2's, and 3's, 3 being the best. Her report card was full of 3's! Smart cookies, I tell ya!

American Idol disappoints me. Chris gone! The injustice! Jordin should have left this week. I know in my heart that Melinda will probably win and that is AWFUL! I loved Phil too. His geekiness had a sort of pathetic appeal. Sad. I guess I'll be voting for Blake all the way. By the way, I loved Bon Jovi week! It was my favorite week so far, even though Chris was voted off.

Amazing Race All Stars is getting good. I want the blondes to win. As annoying as they are I like them the best of the final three.

I'm trying not to be too attached to LOST. The season finale will leave us with a cliffhanger and it will drive me crazy if I get too wrapped up in it. I think Juliette will turn from the dark side and help Jack and Co. battle against the Others. We'll see.

I'll try to post a little more regularly. Time management just got a little trickier since I started my writing course but I'm figuring that posting to my blog must count as a writing exercise, right?