Not so thankful...

It's now late on Monday night...we get in the door...happy to have not had to set up camp in the wilderness to be raised by wolves. The kids sprint off to the bathroom while I notice a note on the counter from a member of the hotel staff..."Thanks for the tip. Happy Thanksgiving!"....Tip?! Little One had left her money on the counter amongst some school work and my other paperwork as we ran out the door that day. The money was clearly not a tip. A tip would be left: 1. usually at the end of your stay; 2. in an area separate from all other personal belongings on its own; 3. with a note of thanks....at least, this is how I believe the general public does it.

Of course it was Ketchup's money so when she figures out what's going on she starts wailing..."I want it back...she's a mean lady...I want it back!!!" We tried to explain that we would give her money and to not overreact but she was having none of it...there was only tears and rage from that little body, so I called down to the front desk to explain what had happened and they quickly brought up the money along with a box of Smarties to make up for it. Problem solved, right?! Wrong.

Little One then announces "And where's my Thanksgiving craft???" (The one we were supposed to look at over the weekend but didn't). Well, it was gone. I assumed that they cleaning lady took the artwork (why just Little One's and not Eldest's since they were stacked together with all my other stuff and the money that she took, I don't know). So, the next day I ask for it and they tell us that it must have been tossed out as the lady "only remembers a piece of artwork that was in the recycling bin"....yeah, the picture you knocked over into the recycling bin when you made off with our money!!

Later that day, Little One went downstairs to get something with Mr. Incredible and it's common place that whenever someone returns to the room, they knock and say "Housekeeping!" in a really high voice...well, this last time Little One says, "Housekeeping! I'm here to take all your money!!"

She's too much!

Thanksgiving - Part Two

So, Monday roles around.

We were supposed to head over to my parents' house for a visit but they weren't feeling well so, with Mr. Incredible being home and all, we ended up going to the in-laws.

Not much to report here...eat, eat, eat, play, play, play....head home.

The funny part is what happened on the way home...

We're driving back to our place (if you've been following this blog, you'll know that means our hotel room) on a pretty major road when all traffic comes to a complete stop. We're waiting there for maybe 25 minutes when both kids announce, "I have to go to the bathroom....REALLY bad!!"....Great, now what?!
I suggest hopping out of the car on the side of the road but after what they saw yesterday, they didn't care to be "one of those people" as they put it. I said, "Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!" Still, no takers.

Mr. Incredible announces that he wants to take an extremely dark side road that we just past and "see where it goes..." Ha! Lovely - now we'll be lost and covered in pee...
Anyway, we take the road which leads to another road, and another, and another... you get the idea... all the while we're in darkness...

All of sudden, out of the quiet of the back seat, a little voice (Ketchup) says..."Daddy... I don't want to be raised by wolves..."

The things they say...we were cracking up.

Turns out Mr. Incredible is pretty good and got us home lickety-split...I think he has sonnar in his butt or something. Kids got to pee and mommy was happy.

We are thankful

Well, as most of you know, this past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada...
Mr. Incredible had to work on Saturday but only half the day on Sunday and was taking Monday off.
So I, being the primary -- whose kidding who -- the only activity planner in the household, made arrangements to go with the family to a Donkey Sanctuary on Sunday afternoon.
I figured, "Hey, this is right up our alley...we love animals and the outdoors...", and I was right.
We piled into the car for a nice country drive - the kids got to enjoy many wonderful sightings on our way there; hawks flying, people peeing behind their cars, you know - the usual...

When we got there, we listened to a woman talk about the donkeys and how they have been taken in - some good scenarios and some bad, how they are cared for, their daily routine, rules about how to approach them, etc. We then had an opportunity to grab a brush and proceed with making friends with the donkeys while we brushed them. Well, Ketchup & French Fry thought this was the best thing ever and took off running at the donkeys...despite being warned not too. Luckily, Ketchup reigned in just in time.

Eldest (aka French Fry) quickly befriended a jack (the term used for a male donkey) named "Franco" while Ketchup made friends with a jenny (the term for...well, you should be able to figure that out by deduction...) named "Uma" and claimed them as their "horses....I'm mean donkeys". By the end of the day they were still calling them horses - in all fairness, some of them were quite large - and a great time was had by all.

The kids insisted that we roll down the windows as we drove away so that they could yell goodbye to their horses....I mean....donkeys.

We highly recommend a visit. Just remember to say hi to Franco and Uma from us, okay?