Discover Grains and Meet Celebrity Chefs By Winning Tickets To The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair

On Saturday, November 2nd you can meet Canada’s Next Top Chef 2013 finalist and Grain Farmers of Ontario at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Resident Chef Jonathan Goodyear will be demonstrating his original Ontario grain recipes from inside the Grain Farmers of Ontario Growing Connections trailer.

Indulge The Spreadables Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Butter With Us

We enjoy warm breakfast over cold ones throughout the year. The first thing we do every morning after a wash is to eat our breakfast. Compared to weekdays, I tend to be regular in making a big breakfast on weekends. We choose to make a variety of porridges, French toast, cinnamon buns, muffins just to name a few. My children sometimes help me prepare the breakfast during the weekends and holidays. 

Learning about Farming at the Indoor CNE Farm

We learned lots of fabulous information when we went to the Farm at CNE just before school started this year. I love these types of hands on experiences, as children remember these more and become aware of their surroundings. Last year, we went to a wonderful event by Farmers Feed Cities at Riverdale Farm and learned lots about farm life, farm animals and got a chance to speak with many Ontario farmers. 

Win Tickets To Watch Movies At Art Gallery of Hamilton World Film Festival

Win tickets to watch either From up on Poppy Hill or A Monster in Paris at this years AGH BMO World Film Festival in Hamilton that takes place between September 20 to 29th. 

Our Stay at Santa's Whispering Pines Campground Cabin

When we went to Santa's Village, we decided to stay over one night at Santa's Whispering Pines Campground so we didn't have to drive back on the same day. This being our first overnight camping trip with the kids, we were very excited. Santa's Whispering Pines Campground has been voted to be the Best Campground in Muskoka for the last two years, so we knew we were going to be in good hands. Except for a few mosquito bites, thank God everything was smooth and we loved our experience.

Fun and Exciting Activities at Sportsland

Sportsland is a pay-as you play attraction located next to Santa's Village. The admission to enter is free and it offers attractions such as Go Karts, Mini golf, Batting cages, Laser tag, Bungee trampoline and a fun filled Arcade.

Hyundai SantaFe Sport 2.0T Is A Fabulous SUV For The Family

Hyundai is true to their motto of "New Thinking. New Possibilities". My family and I feel the Hyundai SantaFe Sport 2.0T is an outstanding, well-engineered, stylish SUV that shows modern luxury. We really like the stunning look from the outside. Everyone getting into the vehicle will like the comfortable, luxurious and spacious drive. This SUV is perfect to drive in all types of weather and road conditions in Canada. 

Our Summer Getaway With Santa and Your Chance to Win 4 tickets to Visit Santa

Santa's Village built in 1955 is the oldest and largest family entertainment park located in Bracebridge, Muskoka. They offer lots of fun adventures for the whole family, so we can easily spend a day or two :) enjoying the activities they offer at the park. The cheery, scenic atmosphere will for sure put a smile on our face and allow us to make wonderful memories. 
We got to enjoy the park in rain and shine :) If it rains when you are there and you don't want to stick around then they will give you a free pass to use the next day.

Our Trip To Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory

Butterfly at Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory

We took a road trip to Cambridge, Ontario and St. Jacobs Country in the 5 passenger Buick Encore. We like the unique features of the Luxury Crossover SUV such as the rear vision camera, rain sense wipers, and memory leather seats.

Summer Adventure At Horseshoe Resort

Horseshoe Resort isn't only fun in the winter, but also in the summer. We spent a fun filled day at Horseshoe Resort Adventure Park by rolling down the hill inside their water filled OGO, climbing rocks, golfing, running through the maze and more. It is a fabulous place to do family friendly activities that promote learning and discovery.

Healthy Options to Eat Food On The Go at Toronto's Harbourfront

There is a fresh new food option and concept from Blue Goose for us to enjoy at Toronto's Harbourfront until October 2013. The three shipping containers designed from Montreal based, Muvbox is sourced from sustainable materials and use solar power. The Common Goods containers give us different, organic options to try when we are on the go. It is a wonderful atmosphere to meet up colleagues, friends and family to enjoy the delicious food. I tried the delicious lobster roll and the fabulous hibiscus drink. 

Win 1 of 5 Tickets for a Family of 4 to Spend a Fun Filled Day at Safari Niagara

Safari Niagara in Stevensville, Ontario is a wonderful attraction to spend a day with family and friends. We had a fun filled, adventurous day enjoying the attractions at Safari Niagara. Since our visit last summer, the attraction has changed quite a lot and I was very impressed that people’s opinions were considered and they have made it more fun and enjoyable for everyone. Now the admission tickets cover all the fun at the park, and parking is free. 

Redpath Waterfront Festival Will Have A Fleet of Tall Ships® and Other Attractions For Us To Enjoy

Visit the Redpath Waterfront Festival from June 20-23 and enjoy taking pictures and walking the decks of Tall Ships®. Toronto will be the only port on the Tall Ships® 1812 Tour where the entire fleet can be seen in one location. 

We Had a Wild Day at #AfricanLionSafari + a chance for you to Win tickets and take your family

My family and I love going to the African Lion Safari located in Cambridge, Ontario. We think this is one of the best attractions in Ontario. I have been to African Lion Safari over a half-dozen times since I was little and enjoy it each time. I am thankful that we have always been able to make wonderful memories each time we watch the shows and visit the 9km of Safari trail. 

We are planning to take lots of Gardening Shortcuts this Summer

It is that time of the year when we start thinking of gardening projects and designing outdoors.  I totally look forward to spring, as I like to plan and think of all the possible projects we can do in the garden even before the ground thaws.  

Since we are planning on a trip this summer :) the time I have to garden this year is limited.  I want to make sure that we maximize the fun of gardening by spending as little time maintaining it.  This book Gardening Shortcuts has lots of ideas that will make this possible, and I am sure every gardener will appreciate the tips found in this book.  

The suggested tips and ideas in this book lets us get the maximum benefit of enjoying our garden with less time maintaining it.

Last year, we gave a quick lift to a dull garden space by creating a flowerbed and adding rocks.  Seeing this idea in the book made me feel good that I had come up with this project last year.

To make this flower bed we mounted a lot of soil because we wanted some height.  Then we planted a Japanese maple tree that we bought from Sheridan.  We chose the blood good variety of Japanese maple tree that doesn't grow too tall, and has bright red leaves.  

Around the tree, we placed Pefferlaw deco stones and gravel river rocks that can be purchased in all these locations.  I like how rocks give a serene, natural atmosphere to the garden while helping control weeds in an eco-friendly way.  Usually adding rocks and hard elements to the garden brings the lush colours of plants and flowers to become more focused and attractive. 

We also put a solar spotlight in this area that makes the plants glow at night.  To give the area more colour we planted different coloured pansies and marigold.  To make sure the area does not get a crowded and cluttered we always prune and remove the plants that spread.

This book gives a lot of ideas on how we can create privacy and sheltered spaces in the garden by adding fences and patio.  It also has lovely decorative projects that we can do without incurring a big cost.

This book also shows us neat ideas on how we can grow fruits and vegetables in a decorative manner.

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TIFF Kids International Film Festival 2013

This year will be the 16th annual TIFF Kids International Film Festival.  TIFF Kids 2013 features 117 films, 29 Features and 88 Shorts that represents 40 countries. 

There will be films like A Turtle’s Tale 2: Sammy’s Escape From Paradise (Belgium), Believe (UK), Buta (Azerbaijani), Cinnamon (Mexico), Elmo’s Alphabet Challenge (USA), Miffy the Movie (The Netherlands), Once in a Lullaby (USA), Rafiki (Norway), The Pee-Wee 3D: The Winter, That Changed My Life (Canada) and Waves (India) just to name a few.

The 13 short film programs will run between 50-90 minutes that cover a myriad of subjects and themes for children and youth aged 3 to 13.  Some of the titles are The Adventures of Pim & Pom: Safari, To Give a Present, Jungle Beat: Tiny Bubbles, Her Rain, Room on the Broom, My little Chicken, The Red Carpet, Children of Kabul and more.

Highlights of special events

• This year at the TIFF Kids Award ceremony will be on April 21st at 3:15pm.  There will be two brand new annual awards in the categories Best Live-Action Film and Best Animated Short Film. These two awards will be in addition to the TIFF Kids Jury Awards, TIFF Kids Audience Choice Awards, the Jump Cuts Awards and TVO Kids Choice Awards. 
• The festival lights up screens and imaginations with the best of children’s cinema from around the world. 
• Dino Dan-The Adventures of Trek will be on April 13th at 12:30pm. The premiere will be followed by Q&A with the Trek and Director. 
• The Monkey Bunch Live at TIFF Kids on April 14th at 3:30pm will have kids dancing, rushing the stage and going bananas. This will also end an educational message about the environment. 
• Wild Kratts: Rattlesnake Crystal on April 14th at 10:30am and April 21st at 11:15am. 

• The Festivals opening night film will be The Legend of Sarila (La legende de Sarila) is the first 3D Canadian animated feature.  This adventure is inspired by various Inuit legends and features the voice of Oscar-winning Christopher Plummer.  This film explores the themes of friendship, hope, perseverance and self acceptance.  Before the screening on April 12th at 5:30pm there will be free pizza, snow cones and lots of fun activities.

• We are excited that for the first time ever, Sesame Street will be coming to TIFF Bell Lightbox. During the weekend of April 20-21 there will be fun activities and a chance to meet and greet Sesame Street mascots. 

• This year’s closing night film on April 20th is the German film Famous Five 2 (Funf Freunde 2), which is an adaptation of the Enid Blyton classic.  This is the sequel to last year’s TIFF Kids Audience Award winner Famous Five.  

Hope you guys will be able to take your children and family to enjoy these fabulous events as well as check out the digiPlaySpace.

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Snowshoeing in the beautiful Copeland forest

When I was growing up in Toronto we used to have a lot more snow that made the air feel clean and fresh, unlike in the recent years where winter comes with flu and sickness because of the chilled windy air and the lack of snow. Walking through the beautiful scenic wilderness in Copeland forest at Horseshoe Resort with our snowshoes, I felt how much of this we miss living in the city.  

There was a sense of calmness and thankfulness being surrounded by the trees that were heavy with snow. Walking by water trickling ponds and listening to the winter birds felt very pleasant.

I was able to take some wonderful portraits of my family in the snow surrounded by the green wonders.  Horseshoe Resort also has cross country skiing in these trails, which would be another wonderful way to admire the nature, exercise and relax our minds.

If you haven't snowshoed before think of it has wearing a big pair of shoes attached to your boots that allows you to walk in deep snow.  We can rent snowshoes at Horseshoe resort, so we don't have to buy or take our own.  

This would be a fun winter activity to do with the little ones and to take the whole family during the Family day weekend, Valentines or March Break.

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Magic of winter: Snow tubing at the Horseshoe Resort

Snow tubing and Snowshoeing are fun activities to enjoy during winter.  The scenic hills at the Horseshoe Resort makes it a perfect place to enjoy these activities.  Horseshoe resort is located in the natural snow belt area and is surrounded by beautiful nature.

We are big fans of sliding down hill and enjoy activities such as tobogganing, so we had an awesome evening tubing.

We can purchase tubing tickets at the Tack Shop located within the Adventure Park.  During the winter season they have special perks such as on Wednesdays we can go tubing from 4pm to 8pm for Free.

Tubing is pretty simple... get the tickets, grab a tube per person, go up their long "magic carpet," and then stand in line for your turn to go down the hill.  We can go in the the tube by our self or with up to 7 tubes connected.  All four of us went together, and then we went two at a time.  
The staff at the Tubing hills will ask if we want to spin or not, I would recommend spinning at least once it is really fun :) 

We spent a couple of hours snow tubing before we called it a night and enjoyed the comfortable accommodation at the Horseshoe Resort.  The next morning we did some snowshoeing before heading home, more about that with pictures coming soon.

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Shaking up dinner with Cavendish potatoes and flash back of our PEI trip

Some days I have a hard time preparing a satisfying meal for dinner especially on busy days after work and school, so having something convenient to shake up our dinnertime is very helpful.

Winter Waves: Scarf and Skiing adventure at the Horseshoe Resort

Our skiing adventure at the Horseshoe Valley Resort inspired me to make this striped check stitch scarf for my son.  This pattern reminds me of the beautiful snow filled mountains and hills that are like winter waves.  I picked this colour of 4 ply worsted weight yarn as these shades remind me of the ever-changing winter sky.  I chose to knit instead of crotchet because the knitting needles represent the skiing equipment. 

To make this scarf I put 21 stitches using a 4 1/2mm needle, but if you want something wider then cast on a multiple of 6 stitches plus 3 extra

Row 1 and all odd numbered rows K

Row 2 K

Rows 4 and 6 P3, *K3, P3 repeat

Rows 8 and 10 K

Rows 12 and 14 K3, *P3, K3 repeat

Row 16 K

Repeat rows 1 to 16 until desired length.

Learning to ski at the Horseshoe Valley Resort will remain as a wonderful memory to our family.  We had a satisfying experience that I would like to share with all of you.  If you want to learn skiing I hope this post will inspire you... or if you already know then take a trip to Horseshoe and enjoy the gorgeous slopes.  

We were happy to enrol our son in this year's new Kids Korral Ponies program at the Horseshoe Ski Resort.  It is a wonderful opportunity for potty-trained children age 3 and 4 to get lessons from qualified instructors, so they can learn this sport correctly at an early age and have fun.
The lessons were from 10 am to 12 pm, so we left him with other children the same age and went to do our family Discovery ski lessons.  
My son said his instructor Connor and other staff like Jessica taught him to make a triangle shape with his skis to stop the skiboards from going; I think this a good way for little children to remember. 

Since he was on his own for the couple of hours until we returned, I could see his eyes were tearing and he was glad that we had come to pick him up.  I think this program is a good opportunity for children to learn skiing without the parents around, so they don't depend on us too much or cry because it is cold.  I felt that my little one was in good hands with the kind instructors.  There were lots of staff members to care and supervise the children, and I liked that they were making safety a top priority by not letting any parents inside the Kids Korral area.
At the end of the lessons the instructors took him inside to change the skis and shoes, and to offer him hot chocolate.  My little guy passed on the hot chocolate so he can come back to us quickly.  After we came to the room, he told us how much fun he had and that his favourite was going up the "magic carpet" and zooming down the slopes.   

The quality of the picture is due to my husband who went down with my poor camera as he tried to take action pictures :) He didn't get to hold the camera after that Incident!

This Kids Korral Ponies program is for beginner skiers as they learn the fundamental skiing skills without any pressure.  For the half-day Kids Korral Ponies lessons and rental the cost is $50.  Once the children master the stop and turn skills they can go for Kinder Private lessons or the Kinder Kolts program.

The family or group Discovery ski lessons that we did are for anyone age 7 years and up.  This program is a wonderful opportunity to everyone who wants to learn skiing or snowboarding.  The discovery program allows us to learn the basics so we can enjoy the hills at the Horseshoe Resort at our own leisure.  The beginner lesson package is $73 per person and includes the 1 and 1/2 hours lesson, 4 hour equipment rental and beginner lift ticket.  We can learn all the basics such as putting on the skis, going up the slope, skiing, stopping and turning.  I totally think having a teacher helps and makes a big difference when we are learning.  
Horseshoe also has a variety of snow school lesson packages such as private lessons, mommy and me programs etc to accommodate different ages, abilities and skills.

At the beginning of the lessons I was nervous because I thought we were going to be late as it took some time to get the rentals and to put them on.  So next time, I plan to be early at least 1/2 to 1 hour to get the rental equipment.  There is a lot of learning involved especially if it is your first time skiing such as putting and handling the equipment.  Renting the equipment made it easy for us instead of lugging our own.  
We found all the staff at the Horseshoe resort friendly, hospitable and wanting to help.  It was easy to ask them when we needed help with the equipment and to find the correct size.  There are coin lockers within the Horseshoe activity center in the Main Chalet if you need.

Our instructor Kelsey was very encouraging throughout the lessons.  By the end of the lessons, I wanted to keep on skiing :)  I liked our instructor's approach and enthusiasm, which made us believe we could do it as well.  The instructor put on a stretchy cord in front of my daughter's skiboards that she called "a worm" so my daughter could stretch it as much as possible to make the skis stop.  

My daughter told me that she was scared and nervous in the beginning just like we were.  However, after knowing how to stop and use the skis she felt comfortable and happy to go down the hill.
My challenge was getting off the lifts without falling :) I guess I will need more practice on that.

Look for their wonderful deals such as on Mondays we can take up to three friends for Alpine or Nordic skiing for $20 each.  Horseshoe Facebook is updated on Tuesdays with special offers.
They have lots of savings if you are member of their free Sky Life Rewards program.
Both my children and we had a fabulous time discovering skiing at Horseshoe.  Since Horseshoe is a located at the natural snow belt, it is a wonderful place to learn downhill skiing as they have fresh snow all the time.  Just thinking back to our experience makes me happy :) and makes us want to put on a pair of skis and head up the hill.

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