Our very long, but very good day!

Our day started at the lovely hour of 3:50am. I don't know if you know this about me, but I don't like mornings. I really, really, really don't like mornings. Today, however, we had to be out of the house and on our way just after 4am. Rhianna and one of her best friends, Madison, had placed a spot in the PeeWee Bowling Provincials as a team in the High Low competition. It was being held in Chatham, Ontario... which is a good 5 or more hours from us in Belleville. Our two choices were to leave yesterday and stay a night in a hotel, or leave this morning. We didn't want to miss Maple in the County, or Avery's soccer game yesterday, so we chose the more difficult choice. Ha! We wanted to make sure we gave ourselves enough time for any unforeseen issues on the 401 (any Canadian knows how dreadful the highway 401 can be near Toronto!). Luckily, this morning there were none!

This is what I do in the van at 5 am when I'm trying to pass time on the road in the dark.

Kyle and I had woken all three kids (actually two... Tiernan woke up on his own before our alarm went off, the nut!) up to use the washroom before we left, but let them climb into the van in their pjs. We wrapped them up in blankets and luckily, they all fell back asleep for a couple of hours. Phew, crisis averted! Once we were on the other side of the GTA we decided to stop for some breakfast.. and what's a mini road trip without a stop at McDonald's in your pjs?? Haha. We so rarely eat there... I don't even remember the last time we did.. but I still have a soft spot for their hotcakes at 6am before the sun comes up when we're on a highway and it's at a rest stop! Everyone gobbled their food up (except for Rhianna who was having some butterflies in her tummy... and eats like a bird on the best of days!), changed into day time clothes, brushed teeth and then we were on our way again!

We got to the bowling alley at the exact same time as Madison and her parents. We got the very last spot in the parking lot and settled in to the jam packed alley. The girls were anxious and excited to start their games, and eventually, it was time. They both bowled incredibly well for the entire day! Even if they placed dead last, I would have been so proud of them because they were so good natured and bowled so hard. They bowled a total of three games, and after the first game they were quite a bit behind in 4th place. After the second game they were bumped up to second place. We all refused to tell the girls what position they were in because we didn't want them to be thrown in either direction. I'm really glad we didn't because it kept their excitement pretty high! In the end, they came in first with 231 pins above their average!! Wow. Rhianna and Madison are currently the Provincial champs for Ontario and will have their scores from today put into the Inter Provincial standings... a sort of National competition. We should find out how they stacked up against the other winners from other provinces next month sometime!

WAY TO GO, GIRLS!

One other cute story... :) While we were out at Maple in the County yesterday, Rhianna lost one of her top front teeth. She was very happy since it had really been hanging in there. As it turned out, last night when Rhianna put her tooth under her pillow for the Tooth Fairy, she also wrote a note that asked the Tooth Fairy if it was possible for her to leave her some luck for her bowling tournament. The Tooth Fairy came through and left her a little note and a lucky penny! Rhianna was so delighted at 4am this morning when she checked and found it. She kept that penny in her pocket today, pulling it out between frames and rubbing it ever so carefully in her hands. It was the sweetest thing to watch. Everyone should lose a tooth before a big event! ;)

After the plaques were awarded the kids (and we!) were starving so we headed next door to Pizza Hut for a Celebratory Lupper (what else do you call a big meal at 2:30pm?) with Madison and her parents, Tanya and Patrick. The food was yummy (I ate too much!), the company was lovely, and the kids were punchy from the high of winning and the lack of sleep! All in all, a great way to finish off the day in Chatham.

Tiernan loves lemons, but apparently these ones were far more bitter than what he's used to... hahaha!

Our drive home was fairly uneventful, aside from many cop cars pulling people over for speeding (thankfully not us!), and one traffic jam around Toronto. We sort of expected it since we were driving past the city at 6pm on a Sunday. We stopped in to pick our Tibby guy up from my parents' place, and got home at a perfectly decent hour. We thought for sure we wouldn't be home until 10pm, but we got in just after 8pm. It was a long day in the car... hello 10 hours, at least.. but also a very worthwhile day. It was so good to see how happy those two little girls were! What an adventure!

This is how I keep myself awake when I'm dead tired on a road trip. Hadn't had one of these since I was pregnant with Avery in Wales! How time flies.

What a busy past couple of weekends. Satisfying, good, but busy. It's been pretty rough, food wise. Looking forward to some real food again tomorrow!