Summer days...and nights!
Today, (actually, looking at the time, I have to say it was "yesterday") we took Sonja to Ontario Place. DH & I hadn't been there in years, other than for concerts at the Amphitheatre (we even remember the days of the rotating stage at the Forum!).
We went to the water park first - didn't go on any of the big waterslides, because Sonja's on the small side for most of them - I think she inherited the "petite" gene from the brown side of the family. They certainly don't do petite as much where my genes come from! She (and I) got soaked, walking through & under the various waterfalls, sprays, and other attractions, and Sonja went down the smallest waterslide - about the height of a typical playground slide, with an extension at the bottom for water to collect. She had fun. I'll try & post some pics later (they're on the Mac, I'm on my laptop.)
After the water park, we took Sonja on some rides - the first was a small ferris-wheel-type ride, with balloon-shaped cars. The line was very slow. In front of us, a rather large (extended) Indian family was "saving spots", and more & more of their kids were cutting in to be with the rest of the family. Finally, my DH had it out with them. Said he didn't want any more of them cutting in, it wasn't fair to everyone behind, and even told the ride operator that they were cutting in front. The funny part? One of the kids called him racist. They're all Indian! My DH was born there - I doubt (from the accent & age of the kid) that the kid was. And this was because my DH basically told them (and the mothers who were trying to make excuses why "the whole family" had to be together on the ride), "this is Canada, things work differently here." That's not racism, actually, since Canadians aren't a race - if anything, it's nationalism (nationism?? It's late, I can't sleep, sorry for any incoherence.)
While Sonja & I were on the ride, my DH was talking to a man of Asian (I assumed Chinese, but I could be wrong) descent, who had come over to thank him for putting up the fuss with the Indian family. One of the things he'd also said was that they counted on people not saying something because they're Indian (fear of racism). Anyway, the Chinese guy told him that Chinese people do that all the time, too, and if it had been a Chinese family doing the line-cutting, he would have been the one to speak up. (Actually, my DH is pretty out-spoken about stuff like that - he might've beaten the Chinese guy to it, even for a Chinese family!)
Anyhow ... after that ride, Sonja got to drive a toy Jeep, and a bumper boat, and later, after playing in the toddler/baby area for a while, and a couple of "bigger kids" areas, we all went through the Mega Maze (the mirrors & black-light part was my favourite). Ontario Place currently has the Chinese Lantern Festival on - we didn't stay for the lights, it was getting late in the day for the girl-who-didn't-nap, but took some pictures of the displays they do have - very colourful, and some were quite beautiful.
Now, here I am at 1:30 am, and sleep eludes me. I turned the light off over an hour ago, after reading a couple of chapters of The Hindi-Bindi Club (the cover compares it to The Joy Luck Club, which I haven't read, and Like Water For Chocolate, which I have read). It's an interesting read - I'm getting Indian history, traditions & recipes along with the story - but unlike HP7, I can put it down. Unfortunately, just as I was finally dropping off to sleep, I heard a "Mommy!" from Sonja's room, but it wasn't followed by the usual pitter-patter and my door opening. A few minutes later, the door did open, but it was my DH, coming to bed. Shortly after, a decidedly skunky smell wafted in through the open window, and that was the final straw, and here I am, wide awake, talking typing to you.
We went to the water park first - didn't go on any of the big waterslides, because Sonja's on the small side for most of them - I think she inherited the "petite" gene from the brown side of the family. They certainly don't do petite as much where my genes come from! She (and I) got soaked, walking through & under the various waterfalls, sprays, and other attractions, and Sonja went down the smallest waterslide - about the height of a typical playground slide, with an extension at the bottom for water to collect. She had fun. I'll try & post some pics later (they're on the Mac, I'm on my laptop.)
After the water park, we took Sonja on some rides - the first was a small ferris-wheel-type ride, with balloon-shaped cars. The line was very slow. In front of us, a rather large (extended) Indian family was "saving spots", and more & more of their kids were cutting in to be with the rest of the family. Finally, my DH had it out with them. Said he didn't want any more of them cutting in, it wasn't fair to everyone behind, and even told the ride operator that they were cutting in front. The funny part? One of the kids called him racist. They're all Indian! My DH was born there - I doubt (from the accent & age of the kid) that the kid was. And this was because my DH basically told them (and the mothers who were trying to make excuses why "the whole family" had to be together on the ride), "this is Canada, things work differently here." That's not racism, actually, since Canadians aren't a race - if anything, it's nationalism (nationism?? It's late, I can't sleep, sorry for any incoherence.)
While Sonja & I were on the ride, my DH was talking to a man of Asian (I assumed Chinese, but I could be wrong) descent, who had come over to thank him for putting up the fuss with the Indian family. One of the things he'd also said was that they counted on people not saying something because they're Indian (fear of racism). Anyway, the Chinese guy told him that Chinese people do that all the time, too, and if it had been a Chinese family doing the line-cutting, he would have been the one to speak up. (Actually, my DH is pretty out-spoken about stuff like that - he might've beaten the Chinese guy to it, even for a Chinese family!)
Anyhow ... after that ride, Sonja got to drive a toy Jeep, and a bumper boat, and later, after playing in the toddler/baby area for a while, and a couple of "bigger kids" areas, we all went through the Mega Maze (the mirrors & black-light part was my favourite). Ontario Place currently has the Chinese Lantern Festival on - we didn't stay for the lights, it was getting late in the day for the girl-who-didn't-nap, but took some pictures of the displays they do have - very colourful, and some were quite beautiful.
Now, here I am at 1:30 am, and sleep eludes me. I turned the light off over an hour ago, after reading a couple of chapters of The Hindi-Bindi Club (the cover compares it to The Joy Luck Club, which I haven't read, and Like Water For Chocolate, which I have read). It's an interesting read - I'm getting Indian history, traditions & recipes along with the story - but unlike HP7, I can put it down. Unfortunately, just as I was finally dropping off to sleep, I heard a "Mommy!" from Sonja's room, but it wasn't followed by the usual pitter-patter and my door opening. A few minutes later, the door did open, but it was my DH, coming to bed. Shortly after, a decidedly skunky smell wafted in through the open window, and that was the final straw, and here I am, wide awake, talking typing to you.