Christmas in Canada January 1, 2010 A relaxing, enjoyable, full seven days with the fam in Toronto and Bracebridge. Merry Christmas and Happy 2010! View fullsize First breakfast in Toronto -- gotta be Tim Hortons! View fullsize Let the Christmas Festivities begin! View fullsize What an endearing family portrait. View fullsize The ladies in the kitchen are busy preparing the feast. View fullsize Mr. Mike warms his beer on the fire. View fullsize Aha! Another year older -- and still winning. View fullsize The tray of veggies makes its way to the crazy ladies. View fullsize Erika and her long-lost lover. View fullsize Ja, hallo? View fullsize Smiling, even though she's looking into the wrong end of the camera. View fullsize What exactly is going on here? View fullsize Grandma and her two faves. View fullsize Everyone but the photographer! View fullsize Mum and her two beautiful daughters. View fullsize Beautiful, and yet still a little crazy. View fullsize The wonderful Christmas Eve buffet spread, sushi and all! View fullsize All patiently waiting to attack. View fullsize Excited for dinner, or sleepy and ready for bed? View fullsize A smiling Henry is excited for the feast. View fullsize The reject room! View fullsize As the adults hog the real table. View fullsize Finally, a brave soul breaks the divide and comes to dine with the kids. View fullsize Clearley eats at a desk in the farthest corner possible. View fullsize Smiling father and son share a laugh with the camera. View fullsize See the resemblance? View fullsize Jasmine inspects the mouldy cheese with her dad's extra-strength glasses. View fullsize How artsy! View fullsize That's almost everyone. View fullsize Mum shows her true colors. View fullsize This is not a friendly hug -- it's a headlock! View fullsize Jasmine guards the most precious pieces of the night. View fullsize Sharing a moment ... while waiting for the cake. View fullsize The Grandpa Shot. View fullsize And the Grandma Shot. View fullsize The two hosts, exhausted from a hard day's prep. View fullsize Robert and Henry open their Mexican armadillos. View fullsize Ha ha ha! Look at the fools in this photo! View fullsize So why not laugh back? View fullsize Playing with his new draft-stopper. View fullsize Already trying out her new piece of silver. View fullsize Aww. Perfect holiday card shot. View fullsize Sweet sisters. View fullsize Family #1: Is mom the shortest now? View fullsize Family #2: Mom won't have to worry about being the shortest in this lifetime. View fullsize Christmas Morning in Bracebridge: the skinniest tree you ever did see. View fullsize Colby is unsure about her new clucking toy! View fullsize Mum likes it though! View fullsize Colby tries on her spiffy new t-shirt from Bangkok! View fullsize Ha ha ha! Thank you, Michael, for the gift you didn't give me! View fullsize Wow! New shoes pair 1 of 3! Lucky me! View fullsize Psyched about her new photo apparatus from Canon. View fullsize Both really into... something! View fullsize Dad's giant new swimming trunks. How streamlined! View fullsize Comparing specs. View fullsize Uh oh! This looks scary! Will it have to come back to Bangkok? View fullsize The year of the aprons. One is clearly more tasteful. View fullsize Enjoying afternoon tea while perched over the icy river. View fullsize Granny and her youngest granddaughter. View fullsize Wait no, this is her youngest granddaughter, all ready for a stroll in the snow. View fullsize Mum shows off the latest in kitchen swimwear fashion. View fullsize The main entrance to Chris's snowy new condo.The main entrance to Chris's snowy new condo. View fullsize The annual Christmas Day trip to make sure the cottage is still standing. View fullsize Knee-high snow greeted us -- as always! View fullsize I borrowed Chris's fancy snow shoes... I'm too important to sink my legs into the snow. View fullsize A serene view of a Muskoka lake in winter. View fullsize Almost blown over by the wind as we show off the soles of our shoes. View fullsize Why, it's some fellow snowshoers! I bet these people actually knew what they were doing. View fullsize Cold on the open lake? Just a little bit. View fullsize The cottage hasn't collapsed under the weight of the snow... yet. View fullsize Uh oh! Gonna have to do a climber again. View fullsize Do you think there was a wind coming up from the lake? View fullsize What? I can't take the front stairs? View fullsize The two manly men, digging their feet all the way down. View fullsize Back at the warm condo, Christmas Dinner is almost ready! View fullsize Something funny was on TV? View fullsize The two striped sisters prepare the meal alone, for once. Actually, it was all Chris's efforts. View fullsize The best Christmas tradition of them all: the saltines! I mean, the crackers! View fullsize Fun, festive cracker crowns... that barely fit the Big Heads. View fullsize Matching Christmas red. View fullsize Colby arrived for dinner just a few seconds too late. View fullsize Cuddling up for some Christmas night Wheel. View fullsize The icy daggers hanging from Granny's bedroom window. View fullsize Which of the 108 chocolates to try first? Better touch 'em all! View fullsize Exciting cereals for affordable prices! View fullsize Reading the mail and checking the calendar appointments. View fullsize The veggie store in the snow. View fullsize All packed in to drive over an hour to Costco. Priorities! View fullsize Yum! A french fried lunch at the Chalet. View fullsize From stripes to black -- these ladies know how to coordinate their wardrobes. View fullsize Whoda thunk it? A Thai restaurant in Bracebridge. With real beer and everything. View fullsize Granny's first time trying Thai food. View fullsize Wow. They managed to make vegetarian som tum... we think. View fullsize Concentrating hard on her crossword. View fullsize Straight out of the box, Granny's off with a pair, in Memory. View fullsize After a decade, finally realizing there's a guide to all 3 dozen flowers used on the cards. View fullsize Going through her really old silver dollar collection. View fullsize Mmm, a homemade sandwich lunch. Don't get that often. View fullsize Can Colby please share in the enjoyment? View fullsize Granny looks on (disapprovingly?) as I try to stir the rice exactly as she would have. View fullsize The finished product. An authentic Granny dish? We'll let the judges decide. View fullsize My trusty Kitchen Aids. View fullsize The meal's all cooked -- now just resting the feet for a few. View fullsize Home-grown Japanese meal of the winter. View fullsize Better than eating out! View fullsize Colby, relaxing at her favorite spot under the tree. View fullsize And having migrated to her real, more comfortable bed. View fullsize Someone's been craving these chips for a year. View fullsize Colby with her new Best Friend! View fullsize A delicious spaghetti dinner! View fullsize Colby can't wait to jump down from the lap of this crazy lady. View fullsize My great sense of style? You see where I get it! View fullsize Heading off to Bracebridge's biggest event of the century... View fullsize ... the Olympic Torch relay! View fullsize Colby couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. View fullsize There was almost 10 minutes worth of junk in the parade, yet the torch carrier flew by like lightning! View fullsize Getting excited! It's coming soon! View fullsize The entire town of Bracebridge was out for this momentous occasion! View fullsize And there it goes, ladies and gentleman! Couldn't even catch it from the front. View fullsize Spot the Torch! (Hint: it's labeled.) View fullsize Only a few icy daggars hanging over this store front. View fullsize Finally, after two gloveless Canadian winters, he invests in a (stylish) pair. View fullsize Chris's beautiful new view. View fullsize Another "finally". It's the french toast I'd been craving for months! View fullsize Cheez Whiz? Gee whiz! View fullsize Testing out our new little Christmas tree, before flying him all the way back to Bangkok. View fullsize A posh last supper in Bracebridge. View fullsize Dad's really excited for his soup. View fullsize Trying to figure out how to set Chris's TV on fire. View fullsize Colby spending yet another evening on the lap of her new best bud. View fullsize Just in time to wrap up 2009 -- a dozen New Years Eve delites! View fullsize Enjoying the view from Grandma's Condo. If only they were looking *out* the window. View fullsize Looking through photos from the previous week's big night. View fullsize You can tell which family portrait Grandpa's admiring! View fullsize How we welcomed 2010: at an airport hotel, trying pathetically to stay awake. View fullsize Hello 2010 / Bye-Bye West breakfast: Starbucks and a leftover 2L carton of milk. View fullsize Beer with Indian food. What more could you ask for on a 15 hour flight?
