The Hicks in Istanbul Part 1

It's the time of year when we start to daydream about getting out of town.

Christmas is such a magical time and we had a great one.

We feel pretty thankful to have had a white Christmas since most of our friends and family outside of Alberta did not this year.

Edmonton has some amazing winter attractions going on this year. 

We can't wait to check out the Freezeway, Ice Castle and even just ski and skate right here in our neighbourhood.

Having said that we still love to have a trip on the horizon, a little escape waiting for us.

Well, all this has got me thinking of last year's getaway to Istanbul (via Düsseldorf) with the Eichelbergers that I have yet to share.

We got into Istanbul in the evening and walked through the narrow cobblestone streets with four kids, two strollers and all our luggage.

Good thing we pack light.

No doubt that it was worth it for our beautiful apartment with this view.

I just love these guys.

Day one started out with our usual graffiti photo shoot.

New and improved with our fourth member, Adeline.

Next time we'll get her in on the action shot too.

These kids were so happy to see each other and fell right into comfortable play (and, of course, bickering).

Next we got into the heart of Istanbul and loaded up with our first round of Turkish Delight and baklava.

We ate more of these beautiful treats than I care to admit.

We knew there were at least 5 main attractions that we wanted to see but with kids we had to have our strategy down.

Our recipe for success seemed to be a lazy morning, breakfast in, out by 10 or 11, one site/activity, lunch out, second site/activity, back to the apartment, guys go grocery shopping, dinner in, kids to bed, wine.

Something for everyone right?

On day one our morning activity was figuring out transport and wandering (you always need a little wandering in a new city).

So with one site left to see we went to the top of our list and made our way to Hagia Sophia (aka Aya Sofia).

We had been warned that from the outside this almost 1500 year old structure was underwhelming.

I disagreed, seeing beauty immediately.

I understood the statement though when we did enter.

You had the feeling of walking into a different building.

There was so much to take in, all of it over the top.

And then there's these sweeties, a whole other level of beauty.

And this handsome boy.

It was here that we first experienced the fascination that other travellers had with our kids.

Coming from a country where multiculturalism is taken for granted we were not expecting that their blond heads would attract so much attention.

For the most part the kids loved it but this first experience was a little startling.

I mean if a group of 10-20 tourists started furiously snapping pictures of me I would also be taken aback.

As our trip progressed we were able to embrace this cultural difference. 

I was particularly touched when young men turned to mush and would do anything for a smile and high five from our littles.

Back to Hagia Sophia though.

I honestly couldn't capture it all, eventually I stopped taking pictures because documenting it all was impossible.

There was much restoration work going on as 1500 years tends to take it's toll.

Hopefully that means this gorgeous structure will be around much longer than it already has.

I would definitely suggest putting Istanbul on your bucket list if it isn't already there.

As I said this was only day one of five, I will attempt to share the rest in a timely manner.

Who am I kidding though, we made this trip in March 2015.

Yep, 10 months ago, nothing timely about that.

Baby Love

I have so much to share from our trip.

It's actually overwhelming me a little so I'm giving myself some slack in the prompt blogger category.

I do however want to tell you about one of the most special aspects of our vacation.

This Valentines Day I would like to celebrate love in it's purest form.

Toddler love.

Parent-toddler love is so special but that's not the love I'm thinking of.

The love Fiona has for the friends she's known all her life is amazingly strong but even that is not the one I'm focused on.

The fast and beautiful love between the two peas-in-a-pod below was one of the best parts of our time in Germany.

And that's saying a lot considering the beautiful trip we had.

The shot below was taken on our first day in Dusseldorf, after a mere 4 hours of acquainting time between Fiona and Alessandra.

They had so much fun and could have been friends for years.

In fact they could have been siblings considering the way they loved and fought.

 They insisted on matching hair for our first day in Amsterdam.

 And both loved any time in front of the camera, requesting multiple "running" pictures.

No argument here, they were always so sweet.

 On our final day there were no tears.

It was like they knew that they would see each other again and could pick it up right where they left off.

Not surprising of course since this has always been the case for me and this beauty's parents.

Happy Valentines Day!

Zoo Lessons

We had an amazing trip to the Edmonton Valley Zoo last week.

It was extra special because our amazing friend Diana is working there for the summer.

She stayed after her tours to walk through with us.

Now, we always have a good time at the zoo but this was amazing.

We learnt so much about the animals that we wouldn't have otherwise known.

{Including their names which Fiona has added to her repertoire of stuffed/imaginary animal handles.}

I also learnt that Fiona has beaten her fear of Carousels.
{Well, close, she still didn't want me to let go of her arm.}

Which is fabulous since this Mama has a love on for their nostalgic feel.

 Cedric, being the guy that stands at the top of the full size slide and jumps, was all "what's the big deal you guys?"

Lastly, I learnt that as pathetic as the mini-train may look to us, the kids, they love it.

The Sweetest of Weekends

We had the best weekend.

It started out with a visit to the Muttart.

Their feature pyramid is filled with spring flowers.

The sun was shining that day and it was just what we all needed after last week's ugly winter flare up.

As if that wasn't enough we lunched at Culina Muttart.

The Culina family of restaurants never disappoints.

On Saturday something unbelievably exciting happened.

Fiona had her first sleepover!

I'll be honest, I didn't think we were going to venture into this territory for a while.

We are so lucky though, to have a few amazing friends who's kids feel like my own.

These two have grown up together so Charlie just fit right in to our routine.

We started the evening with make-your-own pizzas.

We had a couple birthdays to celebrate so we were out a little late and there was much sugar consumption.

Even that couldn't throw these two off.

After teeth were brushed and stories were read, they were out.

{I knew that double bed was a good idea.}

 Great weekend right?

But wait, I'm not done.

The weekend was capped off with a date {accompanied by Mama Kerry} to the Raffi concert on Sunday.

With ice cream afterwards to boot.

Living it up, toddler style.

Daddy the Rockstar

I think I've mentioned before that Jeff is a drummer.

It's his "thing", the one he loves doing with all his being.

 And he's really {I mean really} good at it.

It's also one of the reasons that our paths crossed so it's an important part of our story.

With all the working and parenting and husbanding there hasn't been much time for drumming.

He has, however, had a great opportunity to do some studio drumming at Two Bodies of Water Productions.

Jeff has known the owner James for a while.

They have played together in the past and James has amazing musical knowledge.

It's a huge compliment that he puts his trust in Jeff to drum for his clients' tracks.

I have been wanting to see the studio for a while.

I thought Fiona would also love seeing Daddy at play work.

So last Sunday we headed down.

The studio is tucked away in a set of commercial condos and doesn't look like much from the outside.

Actually, this sign is the only indication of what lies beyond the walls.

Don't let that fool you, once you get inside it's impressive.

{Sorry for the grainy photos, you can almost see Jeff's head popping up at the back.  I will buy a nice camera soon, promise.}

It's great to see James {who used to jam in our basement} living his passion.

It's also great to see Jeff drumming again.

I used to love going to his gigs at seedy pubs but this was much more cushy.

Fiona loved it too.

She even got a tour and a chance to offer her two cents during a song listening.

PS He was recording for Shaun Boscsh who is definitely worth a listen.

Happy New Year

Since 2009, New Years Eve has been pretty tame and low key for us.

You guessed it, that was my first time ringing it in pregnant.

Just to give you a taste.

2009: At some friends' cabin, ate half a wheel of baked brie.

2010: Had people over {2 couples of new parents and one pregnant couple}, no one made it to midnight.

2011: I have no pictures and can't remember due to the baby brain {I use that excuse shamelessly} so our best guess is that we stayed home alone and watched the fireworks from the 3rd floor.

2012 wasn't wild but it was great.

We closed up shop on the 31st so were at the cabin from Saturday to Tuesday.

Thanks to the mild weather we spent most of the weekend outside.

Even at night, the fire was enough to keep us comfortable.

Of course we had some other ways of staying warm.

We were so glad to spend the night with our great friends Matt and Julie. 

And what party would be complete without a UFO sighting, right?

When sober In the morning everyone agreed that those were indeed paper lanterns.

They certainly provided some excitement and started some interesting conversations that night.

I am not a resolution kind of person so there will be none of that from me.

I will say that I'm excited though.

2013 will be a good one with some big milestones coming up for my little guy.

Fiona continues to amaze me with her skill and intelligence.

The shop will continue to grow but we anticipate that the growing pains will be reduced.

What do I know though?

We will simply continue to take it as it comes and love every minute.

{Ok maybe not EVERY minute.}

Happy 2013.

Now That's How You Do a Surprise

Americans celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday.

{And Happy Thanksgiving to you.}

Though we had our holiday a while back, the sentiment was definitely felt this November 22nd.

Last night we bundled up the kids and headed to a party.

Ready to get our celebration on for two of our very best friends.

{They also happen to be Fiona's best friend's Moms and our neighbours.}

They met 10 years ago with a dance and,  to paraphrase Stacey's beautiful words, the dance hasn't ended.

It was a party to celebrate the last 10 years of memories, little did we know, a biggie would be made that night.

Halfway through the night, the jazz trio {yep, I said jazz trio} took a break and Stacey rounded everyone up.

Her sister Marcey warmed up the crowd with a poem that would put Dr. Seuss to shame.

Then the girls took the floor to reminisce about the truly fateful day they met.

A real life love-at-first-sight story.

As the story faded into an introduction of a new face in the crowd, the room burst into cheers and applause.

We all realized what was happening.

We were at a wedding.

The person being introduced was a Commissioner.

And we couldn't have been happier.

I also couldn't reach for my phone fast enough to freeze the moment in photos.

I'm so glad I did but trust me when I tell you that they don't do this event justice.

If only I could have captured the beautiful vows they both wrote.
If only I could share the pure joy felt by their parents.
If only you could feel how honoured I was that Kerry asked me to witness their marriage.
If only I could show you that the beauty these two have on the outside doesn't even begin to demonstrate how beautiful they are.

So yes, I {as I'm sure all in the room did} felt so thankful yesterday.
Thankful that I live in a country that respects love in all forms.
Above all, thankful that I count these two among my friends.

Pinterest: Keep it and Kill it {Take 3}

Bridal showers.

Am I right?

They have become a whole different ball game now thanks to Pinterest.

There are so many good ideas at your fingertips.

We decided to throw a "Pinterest" shower for Jenna a while back.

We would peruse her boards and take ideas from them for the decorations, drinks and food.

 {Except the wedding board of course that would have been cruel.}

The funny part was that Jenna didn't remember pinning many of these things.

That's my issue with Pinterest.

I pin away and rarely go back to look at said pins.

{Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy pinning.}

These are a couple of projects I did for the shower.

 Keep it:

This was an idea for house numbers.

                                                                 Source: ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com via Jenna on Pinterest

Jenna has actually done this and it turned out great.

I decided to take an old piece of baseboard (6") and twine and do one with her wedding date.

I was really happy with it and she now has it in her home.

 Kill it:

I'm really not being fair to these poor doily lamps.

                                                                               Source: shexists.com via Jenna on Pinterest

The actual pin looks great.  My adaptation, not so much.

I didn't have a stash of crochet doilies and with no rummage sale in my near future didn't know how to acquire any.

I used paper and these are the pathetic results.

I put them up anyways and wish I hadn't because they looked even more pathetic hanging at the party.