Montreal

Grant's annual endo conference this year was in Montreal. We found out the location a year ago and since then had thought it would be fun if I could find a way to tag along. We ran the idea by my parents who said they were on board with coming out to watch the boys. As things got closer I gave them an option to back out but they were committed and we made it happen! They came out about a week before we were set to leave to get used to the kids' routine, etc and then Tuesday morning we took off. I felt totally confident that my parents would do great and the kids were in good hands, but it did feel weird to leave as it was my first trip away from them ever!

We decided to save a little money and drive (along with Blake and Amy) and so that we would have a car for sightseeing. The trip was a little over 9 hours but actually went by pretty fast.

 The first night we checked into our hotel, got our breakfast and happy hour drink tickets and headed down to enjoy happy hour with everyone else that had just gotten in. It was fun to see friends that we hadn't seen in a year or more who had flown in from all over the world.

My standard happy hour every night was a diet coke with lime. It was the perfect meetup spot to get chips and salsa and veggies and drinks while deciding what to do for dinner.

The day we arrived it was pretty much blizzarding as we drove into town. I naively thought that the weather would be better than it was. The sidewalks were totally iced over everywhere. I knew that it would be snowing that day from checking the weather but didn't realize there would still be snow everywhere! We walked just a block up to a Chinese restaurant for dinner that night and luckily no one fell on the way home!

The next morning we went out to explore Old Montreal. Grant didn't have to be to his conference until about lunchtime so he got to explore with us for a good portion of the morning. I was sad that it was so wintery because there were cute outdoor areas everywhere, that we obviously didn't get to enjoy. Also, the plants hadn't gotten the memo that it was April either and everything still looked totally dead.

We found a store completely full of maple products, a cute little market inside a huge old building, a few fun little shops and then this adorable California styled lunch place with amazing food.

That night we got tickets to a light show at the Basilica De Notre Dame. I wasn't quite sure what to expect but it ended up being incredible. I don't even know how they programmed the lights to do what they did but it so perfectly highlighted the amazing details inside the basilica. We were able to walk around for awhile after and just take in all the architecture and detail.

One of our favorite food nights was finding amazing tacos in China town (we were skeptical but gave it a shot based on reviews and it did not disappoint. We followed it with ice cream dipped in amazing chocolate and this became our staple Montreal dessert, we went 3 times that week. It was SO good.

DELICIOUS! (we're holding the same cone, we shared luckily). Grant may have been able to finish it alone but there was no way that I could have! The chocolate was not thin and waxy like DQ, it was thick and amazing.

We decided that since we had the car and Grant had a few hours off one morning that we would hit up the temple. We headed over right after a morning class we had and did some sealings. It was awesome because it was a very small temple and we got to chat for awhile with the temple presidency and then there were only 2 other people in our session, both of whom spoke primarily French, so the sealings that were just Grant and I were in English, but all the sealings to children, etc where we participated with the others, were all done in French which was a really cool experience.

Afterwards we hit up the BBQ place that Karleigh and Brandon had been raving about, and it did not disappoint. I wasn't sure what to expect from Montreal food in general but pretty much everything we had there was really delicious!

The next day Amy and I did a ton of walking around and shopping, figured out the whole underground system which was amazing. There are over 15 miles of underground shops, etc.

PARTY TIME!!! We decided to check out the big endo party the last night since Grant said it was pretty cool the year before. Kat wasn't going so I stole her tag and got in without a problem. It was a red carpet theme with a red carpet with champagne as you entered and then tons of different food and dessert tables all around the venue. There was an entertaining band but it was insanely loud, so much so that you had to yell to the person standing next to you. I felt old complaining about it, but seriously my throat hurt after an hour of being there yelling :) But it was fun to check out, I left with a bag full of candy, got to try a famous Montreal meat sandwich and saw some friends that we had missed the rest of the week.

The last day Amy and I ate at an adorable cafe for lunch with a fun little gift section where I got some bowls to take back to my parents as a thank you and bday present.  They serve all their yummy salads in these fun bowls and then suck you into buying them (but I'm glad that i did because I love them)

Grant and I took a super long walk up to Mont Royal. I really wish it had been a little more like spring so the trees weren't so dead, but it was still a really cool view of the city (it was bigger than I realized!) and got us some good steps to help make up for all the eating we had been doing!

That night we got dumplings in China town (which were as awesome as our tacos in China town :) and finished up the night with ice cream from our favorite place and enjoying the cool fountain in the mall there. We went back before too late since we wanted to leave early the next morning.

Enjoyed the sunrise from the car as we headed out of town. It was beautiful and peaceful. The border crossing getting home was more intense than the pleasant woman pretty much welcoming us into Canada, but luckily we got back into America and had an uneventful drive home.

We came home to some fun chalk drawings and kids who were happy to see us! (And I'm sure my parents were equally happy to see us ;) Dylan was initially SO excited to see me and ran over to me, but then wanted Grant for the rest of the day. Surprisingly, I think Rowan might have been the happiest to have me home.

It was a lot of fun to get away for a few days (and we are counting it as our 15 year anniversary trip), but I was equally excited to get back home and see everyone again. Grateful for a loving and supportive family!