CANADA!

On Monday, we drove up to the pinky for a state park adventure after a Grand Rapids doctor visit, and it got me thinking that there aren't many state parks left toward Ann Arbor, which was slated for Wednesday.  I talked it over with my mom and Billy, and decided that it was high time to let the kids use their passports!

Since Alice rarely joins us, I shared the secret with her, so that she wouldn't miss out.  We took Billy's car in, and I readied the passports, but was able to maintain the secret!  Then, the dentist called, letting us know that William did not need to come in before starting orthodontic treatment, which allowed me to bump Juliet's appointment up to William's time!  This meant more time in Canada!

Finally, the day arrived, and we headed to the appointment.  Poor Juliet was having a filling done, and my mom took everyone else over to the art museum.  All things considered, it was a short appointment, and Juliet got a smoothie from the shop, since she had a numb lip!  Yours truly got a coffee, and a cookie to share with the other children.

We finally got to reveal the secret, and everyone was excited to go to Canada!  And the mystery of why Alice was coming with us was finally solved. = )

The internet had prepared me that I could encounter issues travelling outside the country without Billy, so he'd written a letter of consent, just in case, but it was ultimately unnecessary.

We opted to take the tunnel for the outbound trip. The kids liked it and compared it to all sorts of shows and video games.

Our first stop in Canada was a thrift store!

Then we went to a discount grocer, where all the kids took turns poking the milk.

Right now, the US dollar is up against the Canadian dollar, so this baguette was really closer to 70 cents for us.  Unsurprisingly though, prices were comparable on most things, the number was just bigger.

On our Monday adventure, I'd found Canadian tattoos, which the girls were proud to sport in front of the Canadian flag!

The boba straw was paper, so they had a posted guide.  I was teasing William that I wasn't sure if he could follow the instructions, but he did just fine, first try!

Giant reflective Balls!

Once we concluded our visit to the mall, we went to Dollar Tree Canada.  Everything there is a base of $1.75can, so not any cheaper, but we found a few things, like some Hello Kitty Kinder eggs!

Juliet hanging out on the big black bollard.

By the time we finished shopping, it was close to 6, so we grabbed a hot and ready pizza and headed to the park. It was surprisingly busy!  There were all ages and races represented.  It was crazy to see the bigger kids teaching the littler kids how to play basketball, and moms and kids practicing scooter, we even saw one boy teaching another one to skateboard!  Usually, our party is the only one, or one of just a few visitors, mostly dog walkers!  It was a little like being in a movie.

We didn't stay long, because with the setting of the sun, the temperature was dropping quickly!

The Detroit skyline was most impressive from the Canadian standpoint.  It was weird driving North to get back to Michigan.  We took the Ambassador Bridge, which has quite a view.  We were dumped practically onto the interstate, and made good time getting out of Detroit.

I was thankful for the pretty weather and the opportunity to travel internationally with the kids for their first time!  Alice wants to go back for her 18th birthday, but we'll have to see!

later days

P.S.  The only thing that Billy asked for was some Rickard's Red beer.  I was looking up how much I could bring him, before having to declare it, and learned that because of the ongoing tariff dispute between the US and Canada, I was not able to bring him any. The internet said that they would confiscate and destroy it. = (