Oakville, Ontario
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Hope you all had a great weekend. We went to Tagaytay and had a fabulous meal at Antonio's. It's always lovely to see my old friend Tonyboy Escalante. He always has something amazing up his sleeve. Then we looked for something to do in Tagaytay -- and realized that there isn't much to do with the kids except eat in mid to high priced restaurants, or see the view of the volcano from some contrived lookout point, or do the same pony rides from the 1980's. I am of course not counting the beautiful attractions in those exclusive resort-subdivisions. I'm thinking of parks and picnic grounds where families can just go, run around, play and see the lake. I wish local governments were more conscious of that. Open spaces. Public spaces. Parks.
I am reminded of one of the many perfect days we had last month. I'm not comparing this place and that place. Just sharing random stories and documenting them in my diary. It was Fathers' Day and we drove to the lake. Lake Ontario is just 15 minutes away from my parents' house. There are two lovely port areas near us. One is Port Credit which is closer to us, and the other is Oakville closer to my brothers'. Both are quaint and low profile. We grew up doing these simple things and I used to take it for granted. In fact I used to not like it when my parents would take us on drives just to see a new park or a new lake (so many lakes in Ontario). Now that I live in a place with no parks and lovely lakes, I am so wide-eyed about everything again. And my little girls just love running around so freely...
Here's our random day in Oakville:
Lily, choosing her cookie at that bakery that's been there forever.
Back in 2005 when Sophia was just 2 years old and my niece Isabel was turning 4, in the same cookie shop.
Lily and her cookie. The girls were wearing silly bandz. They love taking them off and looking at the different shapes. And because I'm a paranoid mom, not wanting to lose any of the silly bands, I ended up wearing them too. Turns out I'm not the only mom who wears silly bandz. Sarah Jessica Parker wears her son's silly bandz too.
Then we had ice cream from the truck.
And we walked over to the park near the lake. Here, my "baby" sister Pauline and my girls check out the size of the moose sculpture.
It was a pretty day.
So I dipped Stella's toes in Lake Ontario... just because we like doing silly things like that.
And Sophia did the same thing
Then the kids threw rocks with their uncles and cousin William
And we taped video messages for Patrick. Then Soph took this photo of me.
My parents with Stella, who turns one in a couple of weeks... already!?!
Now back to reality. It's Monday and I have so much to do. I hope you have a great week. More updates... promise.
.
Hope you all had a great weekend. We went to Tagaytay and had a fabulous meal at Antonio's. It's always lovely to see my old friend Tonyboy Escalante. He always has something amazing up his sleeve. Then we looked for something to do in Tagaytay -- and realized that there isn't much to do with the kids except eat in mid to high priced restaurants, or see the view of the volcano from some contrived lookout point, or do the same pony rides from the 1980's. I am of course not counting the beautiful attractions in those exclusive resort-subdivisions. I'm thinking of parks and picnic grounds where families can just go, run around, play and see the lake. I wish local governments were more conscious of that. Open spaces. Public spaces. Parks.
I am reminded of one of the many perfect days we had last month. I'm not comparing this place and that place. Just sharing random stories and documenting them in my diary. It was Fathers' Day and we drove to the lake. Lake Ontario is just 15 minutes away from my parents' house. There are two lovely port areas near us. One is Port Credit which is closer to us, and the other is Oakville closer to my brothers'. Both are quaint and low profile. We grew up doing these simple things and I used to take it for granted. In fact I used to not like it when my parents would take us on drives just to see a new park or a new lake (so many lakes in Ontario). Now that I live in a place with no parks and lovely lakes, I am so wide-eyed about everything again. And my little girls just love running around so freely...
Here's our random day in Oakville:
Lily, choosing her cookie at that bakery that's been there forever.
Back in 2005 when Sophia was just 2 years old and my niece Isabel was turning 4, in the same cookie shop.
Lily and her cookie. The girls were wearing silly bandz. They love taking them off and looking at the different shapes. And because I'm a paranoid mom, not wanting to lose any of the silly bands, I ended up wearing them too. Turns out I'm not the only mom who wears silly bandz. Sarah Jessica Parker wears her son's silly bandz too.
Then we had ice cream from the truck.
And we walked over to the park near the lake. Here, my "baby" sister Pauline and my girls check out the size of the moose sculpture.
It was a pretty day.
So I dipped Stella's toes in Lake Ontario... just because we like doing silly things like that.
And Sophia did the same thing
Then the kids threw rocks with their uncles and cousin William
And we taped video messages for Patrick. Then Soph took this photo of me.
My parents with Stella, who turns one in a couple of weeks... already!?!
Now back to reality. It's Monday and I have so much to do. I hope you have a great week. More updates... promise.
.