Downtown Toronto with a Limo

Hey there guys

How are you all doing? We are doing grand and can't believe we only have 3 weeks left of camp before our tent has to come out again.

I realised in my last post I didn't explain the crafts bit in the title... what an idiot I am! The reason crafts was in the title is that is what I am doing all summer. They put me in charge of crafts (they must be mad). I am enjoying it though as I basically get to chill out with the kids all day.

I am also happy to report that my tailbone is much better and I have been out riding again. I have been riding a thoroughbred called Champ and he is a pure delight and I wish I could bring him home with me. (Mum I think we should go hunting for a thoroughbred when I get home).

Me and Champ


They also asked me to be a Riding Instructor last week so I got to teach kids all morning which was brilliant. So by the end of the week they were going over little cross rail jumps which was fantastic. I was so proud of them. On a saturday morning when they are picked up we do a little show for their parents so that went well and I think their parents were really proud too.

Last weekend we had an amazing treat and rented a Limo with a few other international people who are working at the Ranch. We went to downtown toronto for a meal and a cruise around! It was so much fun (the last time I was in a limo was on my hen night!) and Gav had never been in a limo before. We had such a good night and we went to Wayne Gretzky's restaurant as we had some hockey guys with us who were keen to see all the memorabilia. So Gav took some pictures for Mr Lawrence Sum as we know how big a fan you are.

Gav has been getting some fishing in as Teen Ranch have a small loch that is stocked with brook trout so someone has lent him a fly rod for the summer which is really great. He is continuing to play hockey and all the kids love to come and tell me how great he is and they can't believe he has never played before. They all love the charm of the irish man and seem to be disappointed when they hear I am his wife!!
Here is the man in his gear:


This weekend we have managed to get an extra 2 days off and we are going up to a cottage for the weekend with some of our friends!!! Can't wait.

Kids, Crafts, Hockey and Horse riding

Hey folks

So it has been ages since we last posted something about our adventures (and this post has taken us about 4 weeks to write, as we have been catching moments as we get them). So we will try and keep this brief and tell you the main bits. We are now at Teen Ranch and having a whole different adventure. We now have our own room with a queen size bed and our own bathroom, it is blissful! The tent has been aired out and is safely packed away until September.

Mum, Dad and Sarah came out for a visit which was amazingly good but we only saw them for a couple of days so it was sad again when we said goodbye.

The other sad thing was Johnny wasn't able to come as he was best man at a wedding and he got himself yest another promotion at the Hilton!!!! Can you tell I am so chuffed... that is 2 promotions in 9 months, well done wee man! Sarah was at another camp for 2 weeks and so we also got to see her last weekend.
Sarah, me and two cute bunnies

We had such a good time and our friend Drew took us to Toronto and let's just say we had a very different day which included visiting a funeral parlour and seeing our first dead body!!! We will tell you about that when we get home or you can quizz Sarah the next time you see her.
Sarah and Drew (notice the coffin beside them, don't worry no one was in that one!)


The old folks were grand and we went to Niagara Falls with them which was great.

You can go behind the falls in tunnels that they have carved out and you get totally soaked as the falls are right in front of you. There is only a tiny fence so I am not sure how safe it is but hey ho. Gav was very excited to introduce his father in law to the famous Tim Horton Donuts and so they had a good bonding session over coffee and donuts!

I have been getting in some horse riding which has been wonderful. I took Gav out a few weeks ago now and it was great fun. He even managed to canter so I was so proud of him. I was on a horse called Rocket which is known by all to be a bit mental and very fast (as his name suggests) so Gav did good to hang on to his horse while I tried to keep mine from bolting off with me!!!
Me and Rocket

However, two weeks ago I had a pretty bad fall (I still can't walk very fast!!) but I didn't break anything which was a blessing. I was riding a very young horse and he had a bucking fit which my friend described as "brutal". I am only glad he didn't trample me. For once I wore a helmet and it was just as well as my head also whacked the ground with a thud. Hee hee, the joys of horse riding! I am hoping to get back on this week at some point so lets hope it is a better experience.

Gav has also found out that he has a talent for ice hockey and has become a goal keeper! They were down on staff the first week we were here so asked Gav if he would help out and go in goals. Gav being the kind man he is said "sure no problem" but failed to mention that he had never played and couldn't ice skate! So his debut involved getting Kevin (a professional ice hockey player) to push him to the goals..... you can imagine the opposing teams smiles as they watched this. However, they quickly disappeared as it turns out Gav has a natural talent and the craziness to stop the pucks flying into his head! So he has been asked back every day since then!!!! There is one funny story however.. a famous hockey player called Mike Gartner (google him to find out how good he is!) was down playing for a couple of days and Gav is again in goals. Mike shoots the puck and Gav manages to save it (the luck of the Irish!). Mike comes down the wing again and shoots again and Gav saves again. Gav then shouts to him "Is that all you've got?!!" That was when the director of Teen Ranch told Gav who he was!
Isn't he mean!


There have been many nights of dress up to entertain the kids that are here and so many laughs have been had. The most recent was to dress up as your nationality. I can tell you right now Gav did the Irish proud and came to dinner as a leprachaun. It was a very interesting outfit.


Hope you are all doing well and we will try and post again soon.
Love
Gav and Jess