Don’t you dare try to find affordable food at amusement parks.  And after paying $9+ for a teriyaki chicken lunch (normally about $5 in the malls) you’d think they’d give you a good enough portion. NOPE! I had to ask for extra rice..then came the  “That’ll be $2 extra”. 2 slices of pizza and a large pop..yep you guessed it $15.00. And the slice should be renamed to slitter to give unsuspecting patrons an idea of what to expect. Lesson - do what we did in the past… pack a picnic!

We should not have to pay extra for rides after we’ve already paid close to $40 to enter the park. I was under the impression that an “entry fee” was exactly that..you pay and enjoyed the facilities! NOPE..there were several places we had to pay extra to use.

Lines + hot day = $$ The people who run Canada’s Wonderland is missing the boat on a huge cash-cow. We were stuck in a line for the “Wild Water Canyon” for about 45 mins.. sweltering heat and humidity..can you say “cold water please”? Why not have workers pass by these huge lines with small bottles of water, popsicle..anything to cool people down? I’m sure people in the lines would jump at the chance to purchase a cool drink etc.

Great to see our girls try every ride we opted for.. no chickens on this day! BIG PROPS to Tehya and India.
Tips..

- pack food

- wear comfortable shoes

- take extra clothes

- don’t go on water rides until later in the day.. the last you want to do is walk around all day in wet jeans and underwear.

- sunblock

- disposable camera (water-proof is best)

-  be prepared for lines (iPod comes in handy)

- get early for best parking or be prepared to walk.

- don’t forget to brief everyone in your group about where to meet if you get separated  etc

- drink tons of water.. you’ll get dehydrated very fast without knowing.

- wear a hat

- no jeans .. take shorts
Best ride of the day goes to “Sledge Hammer”

We’re taking our girls to Paramount Canada’s wonderland in the morning.. well not Kieana (the oldest). Ever since “Space Montain” at Disney Orlando, she won’t even go on a merry go round. She’s spending the day with grandma and cousin Nerissa.

Going to these huge parks (biggest one in Canada) really makes us even more protective than normally. One only have to watch or read the news to see how easy it is for kids to go missing. One of the first things I plan on doing in the morning before we leave is take some pics (digital camera) of the girls. This way, should we get separated we’ll have an actual picture we can use when we go for help. I can only imagine how hard it is for parents to remember what their children are wearning when they go missing.

The girls are so excited they can’t sleep.. well you can add me to that list. I’m a HUGE coaster and thrill ride fan and can’t wait to hit the new ride (at least for me, since we’ve not been there in 3 years) “TombRaider”. And the girls think this trip is for them

In keeping with my tradition here’s some more Monday morning peeves..

Why do bank employees think it’s appropriate to chew gum while they are helping us? I’m sure it has something to do with fresh minty smelling breath.. but I personally think it’s rude when I walk up to the teller and there he is chomping away at a piece of gum.

How about this.. you call a company and the person on the other end is (you guessed it) chomping away on a piece of gum. Just as bad are the people who calls you but you could hear them eat their lunch while they speak to you. Or those that light a cigarette before they dial your number, only for you to hear them puffing while you speak. Simply eat your lunch or finish your cigarette before calling…is it that difficult?

BTW.. the grad was great on Friday. However I had to ask, who has more energy? The kids or the camp counselors? Talk about a rowdy, noisy bunch. Speaking about noisy… this past weekend the soccer team that we sponsor took part in a tournament (our daughter India is on the team) so we were there for a couple games. There must have been 12-15 games going on at the same time, with about 50-75 moms, dads, sisters, grannys, aunts, uncles, friends (you get the picture) at each game SCREAMING at the top of their voices. I left the park with a humming in my head from all the noise

Just wanted to say congrats to all the girls on the team (Genuinejobs.com). You did a great job on the field and made many parents and supporters very proud. India.. great job my “solid” defender. And a special thanks to the coaches that have dedicated their time for the girls.

Don’t be fooled by the heading… Tehya (our middle daughter) graduates from her summer-camp at Mc Master university today. For the past 2 weeks she’s been attending this camp that called “Mini University” where she’s been actively involved (we think she has nerd genes in her) in:

1. C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation)
2. Life and its Wonders (Biology & Life Sciences)
3. The Bones that Talk (Archaeology & Anthropology)
4. Challenges - Can You Do It? (Problem Based Learning)

We’d better pack the tissues cause you know the tears will be flowing when I see my little girl go up on stage to collect her grad diploma.. we do hope this is a precursor for the future. I don’t think there’s an actual cermony today, but you get the idea. Last day of camp!

Speaking about grads… our oldest daughter Kieana goes into grade 8 this fall and at the end of that school year she graduates middle-school to start high school. Have you been paying attention to these middle-school grads? Parents spends tons of money… from dresses, getting hair and make-up done, manicures and in some cases..LIMOS! They’re graduating into high-school people! Are our expectations so low for our kids that we have to celebrate when they’ve only completed 8 grades? Don’t get me wrong.. I’m very proud of everything my girls do and maybe sometimes they don’t hear it from me personally. But I personally think the pagentry should be reserved for high-school and university grads. But I was already told by Caron that I’ll loose any battle when it comes to this grad… so I guess I’ll have to prepare myself and wallet to deal with us trying to keep-up with the other parents who’ll also be encouraging this celebration of mediocrity.
Time to go charge the batteries for the video camera.. we have a grad to attend today.

Have a great weekend.

Chris…

There are approximately 50 cancer-causing toxic substances in second-hand smoke. It’s no surprise then that when kids breathe in smoke-filled air, they face a number of health risks.

The following is a list of various diseases and conditions that children exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop:

* asthma
* ear infections
* respiratory infections (e.g., croup and pneumonia)
* leukemia
* tonsillitis
* impaired growth
* abnormal cholesterol levels

Asthma, a chronic lung condition in which the airways become inflamed and swollen causing them to narrow, is becoming increasingly common among Canadian children - it has quadrupled in the last 20 years. For children with asthma, second-hand smoke can trigger an attack and a serious asthma attack may require hospitalization and, in some cases, may even be fatal.

All of this harm to smokers and their loved ones drives home one resounding point - butting out for good is in everyone’s best interests.

If you have kids or pets it may be a good idea to go outside when you light-up so they are not exposed to second hand smoke and the possible dangers.