100 Things item #20: $1000 on Red (Roulette)

This was quite possibly one of the single most terrifying moments of my entire life. While in Las Vegas, David decided that we may as well knock another item off of our list. This particular item scared the crap out of me. It seemed frivolous and dumb and waaaaayyyyy over the top.

The challenge: put one single $1000 bet on red at a roulette table.

We gave Sydney to the Shandros to watch for a few minutes (no babies allowed on the casino floor.... obviously) and went to pull out our money. After running into issues at a dysfunctional ATM I felt as though fate was trying to tell us something, but we kept on with the plan. David picked the table and asked to change $1000 into chips. The dealer had to call over the pit manager and she then took David's ID to check it. He was given the chips and placed everything on red. I swear that the guy beside him thought he was insane! The entire time this was happening I couldn't look. I stood ten feet away at all times. The dealer closed the table for betting and the marble dropped. At this point I had to get closer to see what was about to happen.... it hit red!!!! We won! Our money instantly doubled. The man beside David patted him on the back and congratulated him. We high fived and placed a few more bets.

When all was said and done we were up $1500 in ten minutes! We walked in with $1000 and walked out with $2500. We walked back to the Shandros and told them what had transpired. David was also given a players card and a comped room at New York, New York next time we are in Vegas!

So awesome!

S

100 Things Item #43: Vegas Wedding

We're married!!!! Again.

While en route to Phoenix last week we decided to take a slight detour to Las Vegas. Our friends, the Shandros, tagged along for our Pheonix trip and made the stop in Vegas with us. We decided to hit the famous Little White Wedding Chapel and have ourselves a group wedding!

We got the kids dressed up and donned our over the top vegas outfits. The wedding was short and sweet and actually very nice. We went into it thinking it would be tacky and fun. It still had that over the top vegas feel but we all ended up getting quite emotional.

At the end of the day, it was an incredible experience and I am happy to say that we are enjoying our second "honeymoon" as newlyweds.



S

100 Items List

A while ago David and I came across a truly inspiring blog. An Australian man created a list of 100 things that he wanted to do before he died. Some of the items are wild and some are pretty tame but all of them are fun. Check out his blog here. We decided to put together our own 100 items list to complete as a couple. The goal is to keep life exciting and challenging. As we complete items we will track all of it here on our blog. I will set up a 100 things tab at the top of the blog. This list is not complete yet but we are willing to take suggestions to finish it.

1 ~ Stay at the Timberline Hotel (From the Shining)
2 ~ Complete and Ironman
3 ~ Visit the Christopher McCandless us in Alaska
4 ~ Drive the Alaska scenic route
5 ~ complete a marathon
6 ~ Go to Iceland
7 ~ Visit all 7 continents
8 ~ Do the Santiago pilgrimage
9 ~ Have a baby
10 ~ Dive the Great Barrier Reef
11 ~ Do a shark dive
12 ~ Learn 4 languages
13 ~ Join an animal rights protest
14 ~ Go to Paris for the Tour de France
15 ~ Climb a mountain
16 ~ Vegan for a week
17 ~ Go wind surfing
18 ~ Jump off the big cliff at Horseshoe lake
19 ~ Do the Easter Seals rappel (Drop Zone)
20 ~ $1000 on Red (Roulette)
21 ~ Shave head for cancer
22 ~ Learn to play cricket
23 ~ Go to an Eric Clapton concert
24 ~ Go to a KISS concert
25 ~ Go to a Madonna concert
26 ~ Wrestle an animal
27 ~ Drive Canada coast to coast
28 ~ Volunteer at a homeless shelter
29 ~ Volunteer at an Africa orphanage
30 ~ Teach a class
31 ~ Visit remote Scandinavia
32 ~ 365 pictures in one year
33 ~ Own a business
34 ~ Earn a University degree
35 ~ Get arrested (For something not serious)
36 ~ Ride the Rocky Mountain rail
37 ~ Have something named after you
38 ~ 1 year of only handmade gifts
39 ~ Live 1 week in a vehicle
40 ~ Take Sydney to Disney
41 ~ Live at least 6 months in another country
42 ~ Fly a plane
43 ~ Vegas wedding
44 ~ Get something pierced
45 ~ Horseback riding on the beach
46 ~ Helicopter ride
47 ~ Record a song
48 ~ NYC NYE
49 ~ Sleep in a mud hut
50 ~ Volunteer after a natural disaster
51 ~ Learn to take pro photos
52 ~ Luge
53 ~ Bobsled
54 ~ Complete every Ironman
55 ~ Travel for a year
56 ~ Learn to ballroom dance
57 ~ Polar bear swim
58 ~ Learn to sail
59 ~ Drive an Indy car
60 ~ No cell phone for a week
61 ~ Money making invention
62 ~ Visit 30 giant things
63 ~ 24 hours of silence
64 ~ Attend Comicon
65 ~ Tough all 5 major sports trophies
66 ~ Go to the Olympics
67 ~ Stay in a haunted building
68 ~ Build a home
69 ~ Grow a playoff beard
70 ~ Publish a book
71 ~ Visit all 7 world wonders
72 ~ Running of the bulls
73 ~ Tomato festival
74 ~ Climb Devils Monument
75 ~ Put a padlock on the Lovers bridge in Paris
76 ~ Take a Gander in Gander
77 ~ Ride in a fighter jet
78 ~ Drive through a giant redwood tree

S

10 Months

I am exhausted these days. Sydney is constantly on the move these days so sitting down to relax is no longer an option. She is into everything before I  can get to her and wants to touch everything that she is not supposed to. 

Syd is also starting to copy all of the noises we make. She says "Ha" when we say "Hi" and "Mama", "Dada", and "Baba" have become commonplace in her vocabulary. She is waving and clapping and getting excited all the time.

We are prepping the house for a walking toddler because she is getting closer to moving on her own two feet. She is moving along, holding every surface. We are nervous and excited at the same time!

S

Catching Up

I have totally been neglecting this blog the last two weeks. I have been swamped with Christmas party and packing to get ready to go to Phoenix. We are in Phoenix now, enjoying a month of family time and it couldn't be better. Here are a few photos from the last two weeks.

More fun to come!

S

Company Kids Chistmas Party

Last weekend, Miss Sydney and I got the opportunity to go to my company Christmas Party. I work for one of those fantastic companies that invites you to everything even though you are on maternity leave. Every year, they book the entire Galaxyland amusement park for staff and their children. Each child gets a snack pack, a gift and unlimited rides for the night.

David had to work so it was a girls night out. Syd and I got dolled up and hit up some rides. She had so much fun on the train and the air balloon carousel! She held on to the edge tightly and grinned from ear to ear. It was so sweet to see how excited she was. A cheese string and juice along with a fun new toy topped off the night for her making it one that she enjoyed very much.

Little does she know that this is just the beginning of Christmas celebrations for us this year. So many more things to come!

S

Baby Shenanigans

Sydney is into EVERYTHING!

She figured out how to pull our wifi system off of the bookshelf in her room...

She has discovered how fun it is to pull tissues out of the box...

And she has discovered how much fun it can be to hide under tables!

Following her around the house is exhausting!

S

Christmas Dinner With Friends

On the 19th we managed to pull ourselves and our house together to host our annual Christmas dinner. This was our fourth year hosting dinner for all of David's guy friends and the ladies and it went off without a hitch!

I put together a few appies (individual bread bowls filled with spinach dip!) and a full traditional turkey dinner. I prepped everything for two days and when all was said and done, everything was gone. We had an awesome gift exchange and Sydney got in on all of the action. Can't wait to do it all again next year!

Lara brought by some of her amazing cake pops. Check out Two Sweets & Other Treats for more information.

Taking a moment to relax after everyone had left.

S

Deck the Halls

Because we are leaving really early for Phoenix this year, we set up all of our Christmas decortions super early. Sydney was so excited about the lights and I am constantly having to chase her away from the Christmas tree. Her curiosity has been the bane of my existance! But it's still super cute.

Cutest. Manicure. Ever.

Grey gel polish manicure. Super trendy and super cute. Just saying.

S

Parenting Moments That Make You Cry

Every once in a while I get incredibly emotional when I look at Sydney and how incredible she is. I have moments where I look at her in disbelief. Disbelief that my body built hers and that she is the perfect combination of David and I. There are moments where I love her so much that I truly feel like my chest is going to explode. I love her more than I ever thought possible and my love for her just grows everyday.

This past Friday I had one of those moments. After an awesome Christmas dinner at David's parents house we made our way home. By the time we walked in the door it was almost 10p and Sydney was exhausted. We changed her into pyjamas, put her in her sleep sack and gave her a bottle. Sydney and I went to lay down on our unmade bed (I was cleaning the bed sheets) to cuddle and let her eat. By the time she was done both of us were asleep. David had to come in to wake me up and gently asked me to put her in her crib so we could get a few things done. The thought of having to put her down and separate myself from her made me incredibly sad. It meant ending this perfect cuddly moment with a perfect little girl. I cried, then I put her to bed, then I got over it knowing that I get many more days and years with my favourite tiny person in the entire world.

S

Sydney Preps for a Cold Canadian Winter

We are all getting ready to endure another cold Canadian winter. Most of us are not looking forward to it, but I think that Sydney is actually excited!

I made her a new winter hat this week and she is getting used to her new winter coat (a beautiful purple columbia number). She will also be rocking some brand new robeez boots this year! When the first snowfall hit the ground, she was standing at the window with both hands and her face pressed against the glass. She was grinning from ear to ear. I have a feeling that this kid is a snow baby. Considering my hatred for cold weather, I am starting to wonder where she got it from....

Should be a fun winter!

S

Christmas Celebrations: Edition #1

We have an amazing Christmas season ahead of us. We have four Christmas dinners to look forward to and it is also Sydney's first Christmas this year!

Our first celebration was with David's family. We had to do it super early because we are leaving for Phoenix for a month. We all got together for a great dinner and gifts. The night could not have been any better.

Sydney wore her Christmas finest and had a great time exploring the house. Gran and Gido have a ton of fun nic-nacs just waiting to be chewed on.



~Sydney Channels her Inner Rudolph~

After ripping open all of her gifts, Syd had an awesome time rolling around in all of the left over tissue paper. She even broke out a squishy face or two.

She came home with a huge stash of fun stuff and mommy and daddy even got a brand new chariot with cycling attachments from uncle Rene and auntie Kendra! Now we can look forward to family runs and bike rides next summer!

Much more Christmas fun to come!

S