Biggest Mall Ever!

Ok. I don't know if it is literally the biggest mall ever, but it is HUGE! There are over 285 shops including Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Armani, Guess, Bebe and H and M just to name a few. (not that I can afford to shop at any/all of them) It is an all-inclusive shopping experience. There is something for everyone at this mall. Lots of fun eat-ins and ice cream parlors, which are a must for the children you have to torture by bringing them along. Way fun! When you come visit this will be a destination on our to do list.

More fun

We got to go to the Royal Ontario Museum. It is a big museum with lots of things to see. The main attraction hosted there now is the Terracotta Army Exhibit. WOW! It is pretty impressive. If you haven't heard of Emperor Qin and his warriors, it's worth looking up. There were also the standard dinosaur and mammal collections but both Avery and Chase were really impressed by the gems and mineral exhibit. They had every gemstone you could imagine. First, they were shown in the natural form, then, polished and shaped as you would see in a jewlery store. They had gold, silver and even diamonds. They also had asteroids and meteorites that were very cool. It was a fun day, and we learned some stuff too!

CN Tower

The second tallest tower in the world. Not recommended for the faint of heart, or those who, like me, tend to get a little dizzy looking down through the glass floor (1100+ feet up). Ugh! Not a good feeling. The kids and Andy enjoyed teasing me as I kept asking if the building was swaying or if it was just me. Then we went up a little higher, which is 1465 feet up. Awesome views just don't look down!

Toronto Zoo

This is probably the best zoo ever!!! Surprisingly clean, huge open area for the animals and a giant splash pad for the kids to cool off in! It is amazing!

The Weekend

Here it is, our temporary housing. It is on the 19th floor, smack in the middle of downtown Toronto. It has a modern decor, as you can see, and is very open. We are a few blocks away from the local grocer, Rabba's, where everything is ridiculously overpriced. That's to be expected. It's still just a little shocking when it's time to whip out the debit card. That's when it hits..."we are not in Utah anymore".
Anyway, we have worked out all the computer glitches and are officially online. I think it's a bad sign that when I can't connect to the Internet for four days I completely have a meltdown. Dependency? Maybe, but I hope that, for my emotional well being, the wireless/computer issues are permanently solved.
The kids seem to be handling things very well. We have been out every day exploring our surroundings and have seen some interesting things. PATH, the underground walkway and shopping plaza, has been fun for me. The kids think it's torture. Chase has enjoyed seeing the old buildings with gargoyles. He thinks they're pretty neat. Avery, oh Avery. She hasn't been impressed with anything except her ability to tease her brother. We definitely need to find her an activity.
We are off houses-hunting tomorrow. I will keep you posted!

Au Revoir, because goodbye is just to hard.

So, here I sit bags packed, boxes packed and house empty. For a while I thought that if I didn't talk about it, it wouldn't actually happen but it has. As I anticipate our weekend at a hotel before we fly off I thought I would take this blogging opportunity to thank all my wonderful friends and family for all the love and support you have shown me and my family these last few years. Who would have thought we would grow to love a ward/neighborhood so much, so easily. I wish you weren't so great so it wouldn't be so hard to say goodbye. But, enough of that! We will be back to visit and I promise to pester all of you when we do. So for now, Au Revoir!!