Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

This is the first Christmas the kids have spent away from home – and really only the third for me and Jacob. We were anxious to finally hit the road earlier in the month which is why we have been in Ontario for so long. It seemed like spending Christmas with the Burns family was a good way to get a taste of home without being there.

It’s been quite warm while we have been in Ontario. It was about 10° Christmas Eve. The kids and I went for a long walk to the end of the lighthouse at the end of the pier. It was still warm enough at night that we were able to have a bonfire with marshmallows. While we were at the fire we spotted our neighbour searching the edge of the water with a fairly high powered flashlight. The kids went over to find out what he was looking for. He explained that there are fossils and crystals that wash up on shore and when you shine the light through the crystals it goes right through. He even gave them their own to keep!

We spent the morning in our own place for the Santa portion of the day. We did our gift exchange, quite successfully I think. While the kids were enjoying their spoils I tucked out for a sunny walk on the beach. Pretty ideal start to Christmas.

We set off for Hamilton to meet up with David and crew before convoying to his mom’s place. We got to do a quick gift exchange with them before we were welcomed into the extended burns family. Carol and Bill were extremely gracious hosts who made us feel right at home. The kids made fast friends with David’s nieces and nephew and had a great time tearing it up in the basement. They were even included in the gift exchange and find the pickle game. Jacob and I had an awesome time chatting with the adults and enjoying so much delicious food. We were even invited back for next year!

Boxing Day meant a quiet morning at the lake house It unfortunately rained most of the day so we didn’t get to continue our tradition of burning all the boxes. We did get to invite Dave, Brooke, Maisy and Pearl plus Lindsay (David’s sister) and family out to the house though! The kids had another great afternoon exploring the beach, playing games and having a dance party. We all had a spaghetti dinner and sadly said goodbye to our Ontario pals until we swing back through in the spring.

We only had one more day in Dunnville before we hit the road for the “real” trip. Ohio is first up. Thanks for the memories Ontario!