Oh Canada!

So this weekend was my Opa's 80th birthday so we made the trek up to the homeland. Ever since we moved to the US 12 years ago, we have really only been able to make it back once a year at Christmas time. We have driven every time which can take anywhere from 8-12 hours depending on weather. My parents discovered what I think is a MUCH better plan. We now fly into Buffalo and drive another hour or so to our hometown. This is much easier to swallow than a 10 hour drive sitting in cramped quarters.

We stopped in Niagara Falls for a quick photo op.

This is also a mandatory stop as soon as we get into Canada. For those of you who don't know what Poutine is, it is the most delicious fat person food ever! Its fries with cheese curds, and gravy smeared over top. Aka delicious in every way. I inhaled it.

So after travelling all day, stopping by to see Babci (my dad's mom) we surprised my Opa by taking him to a CFL game: the Hamilton Tigercats vs. the Calgary Stampeders. The Tigercats (or Ticats is what the cool people call them) gave my Opa a jersey with his name and the #80. I was of course busy shoving hot dogs and caramel corn in my mouth. Oh, and the cheerleaders wear parkas? It really wasn't that cold out...

We even got to sit near Walter Gretzky, who is actually just as big a celebrity as his son, Wayne Gretzky. He lives in our hometown, Brantford so we saw him often growing up and I swam my whole life in the Gretzky Center. He is a cute little nugget.

Saturday we were headed out to dinner and got the entire Van Dongen side of the family to stop by my Babci's apartment to say hi. She could not have been more excited, but then she cries and then I cry. It definitely made her day!

Dinner to celebrate the family all being together and my Opa's 80th bday was at the Old School House. We celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary here, so it was nice to get back. This is the entire side of my mom's family. So it was a great weekend, had an awesome time catching up with the family! I will be heading back to Canada in 2 weeks for my cousin's wedding on the other side of the family! This will maybe be the first year since we moved that we will actually get to see everyone.