I went to Quebec for a work meeting this week (a FANTASTIC meeting), and I was interested in seeing Quebec as I had never been to Canada.

My flight took me to Newark first, and then I was on a small plane from Newark to Quebec. We had to sit on the ground for about an hour in Newark before we could get in line for take off. Other than that, it was a pretty good trip. Our plane getting into Quebec had less than 10 people on it, so we had a lot of room to spread out. This also made Customs a snap as there weren't any lines.

My bag was the FIRST one out. WOW! The customs man spoke to me in French, and I was looking at him like an American who doesn't speak French. Thankfully, after I said Bonsoir, he spoke in English. When I walked out, there was a very nice cab driver waiting. He took my suitcase, and I was happy to be on my way!

We stayed at the Le Chateau Frontenac hotel, and it was very nice. It looks like a castle, and is a very cool old building. I got to my room, and I noticed that the bed was made for short people. :) I was cracking up as it was a good length for me. It is not as wide as the beds at hotels I usually stay in, but the beds were nice and comfy.

I loved the fitness area as it had a wonderful lap pool, weight equipment, treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals. It was a nice facility. Wednesday night, we went to eat at a recommended restaurant (one of the people had posted on Facebook that she was in Quebec and had a friend post a recommendation). However, it couldn't seat us for over an hour, so we went across the street to the Le Cochon Dinque (the crazy or silly pig). The manager/owner/person in charge was fantastic. She worked to get us a table where we could sit together, and she made recommendations of the menu. I had steak, but we had some ribs as an appetizer that were fantastic. My steak was also good (filet with blue cheese). Most people enjoyed their meal, but I think some thought the food was just good - not necessarily great. However, the atmosphere and staff were fun and had us all happy, fed, and entertained.

View of the street on the way to dinner
View of the water

The view out of my room

The friendly bartender

The view down the vernicular

The little person bed in my room

5th Grade Graduations

Today, Morgan had her 5th grade graduation (Michael had his on Wednesday). I cannot believe that we no longer have any elementary school children around the house. On to middle school the youngest ones go and on to Junior year the oldest goes. How did that happen?

Of course, the graduation at Morgan's school started at 1:30 on the day I needed to fly to Quebec. So, I got the absolute latest flight I could out of Tampa which was at 5:05. The graduation was listed as an hour to an hour and a half, so I am a little nervous but think it will be ok.

Basically, it was an awards ceremony for the most part. They gave out academic awards, AR point awards, music, PE, etc. Then, they had each child go across the stage when their name was called. They all wore the same tshirt. It was really nice.

Morgan walking in with her class


Morgan standing for AR Points (reading)

The Class of 2009 Shirt with Morgan's name on it

Morgan Up Close

Home from Atlanta

In Atlanta, I attended a TQM (Total Quality Management) class. I wasn't really sure going into it what to expect, but I was excited to learn some new tools.

Likes:
I liked the fact that the class was all about teaching ways to determine problems and how to find the requirements to fix the problems. It also covers testing those requirements to see if they are must have, delighters, or one dimentional. The process seems like it would be helpful, and I am anxious to try it a few times to see if it adds value in real life.

Dislikes:
The process is a bit over the top. You must do things like write the headings in a specific color pen and write letters that are 3/8 inch tall. It sometimes feels like you are getting scolded for such minor things that it is difficult to truly pay attention to the process because you must make sure you have the correct color or the correct number of lines on the card. At one point, the instructions had been so strict that we laughed as I read the description to put some "casual" red arrows on the board. It was actually supposed to be "causal" but we didn't even question that it wasn't casual and even joked about it until I realized I had misread it. :) Having said that, if it works, then I think it will be worth it. :)

We have a homework assignment to do before the last session that is in July. It seems like a lot of work (especially since we have a 2 person team instead of 5 or 6 so that we can do a topic that is important to our group AND the small fact that I am on vacation for 2 weeks), but I am hopeful that we will learn a lot from it.

I sat next to a sales guy from a competitor of ours on the ride home. It surprised me to learn that they had several employees in the Tampa area. I know there are a couple of other competitors in the area, so I guess there are quite a few of us around. Interesting....

I am home for a few days, and I am excited and saddened that school gets out on Wednesday. I still can't believe that we will not have any elementary aged kids after Wed. FREAKY.

Trip to Atlanta

I arrived in Atlanta through a very rough descent (I actually gripped the arm rests), and noticed that the weather was pretty icky. I rode MARTA. I like MARTA, and I laugh hysterically when I think about us taking field trips to Atlanta and riding MARTA. Last time, I took a cab from the MARTA to the hotel. This time, I thought I would be super thrifty and take the Hilton van. So, I called the minute I got off the train, and I was told that "the driver was on his way." So, I make my way to the 1st floor, and I see all of these vans. I wait for about 20 minutes, and there is no Hilton van. So, I call the hotel and make sure that he is really on the way. Yes, he is on the way. No, she cannot tell me an estimate on when he will get there. Yes, the van says Hilton on the side. Hmmm....the thunder and lightening is getting stronger and closer. I wait 10 more minutes, and the van finally arrives. The driver makes NO attempt to even remotely consider helping me with my luggage. So, I lug it up into the van and lug it to the luggage section.

I sit down. No greeting. No welcome. Nothing. In less than 3 minutes, we are at the hotel. HMMMMM....why did it take over 30 minutes to get there? How could he have been "on the way?" I start to exit the bus, and I realize once again that the driver is going to make no attempt to help me with my stuff. Not only that, but he doesn't even say have a nice stay or anything. So, nice, quiet Amy says, "Thanks so much for all of your help." I get to the desk, and the check in lady is less than friendly. Not mean, but not typical Hilton service.

I get to my room, and I realize that the diet cokes that they emailed me asking if I wanted to order (I said yes) were not in my room. They emailed me THREE TIMES about it, and then they didn't deliver. So, I reach for the phone to call the desk. It is a cordless phone and doesn't work. Hmm...Is this the same Hilton? Later, I mention the diet cokes to the desk, and she says she will have them delivered. After we went to Taco Mac for dinner, I came back to the room where the diet cokes wer put in a container on ice. Hmm...the email said they would be in the REFRIGERATOR...not sure what the weird display was all about, but they also brought mints and glasses of water? odd....

Otherwise, the day was pretty normal. :)

Memorial Day Fun

Today, we mainly just relaxed and hung out at home. The boys went for a bike ride, and the girls went to the pool. It was a pretty relaxing day. We did get a pretty bad storm this afternoon, so we were all tucked away inside.

Mike grilled burgers and corn for dinner. They were delicious. Mike cut up one of the burgers and gave it to Sophie as a treat in her bowl. She was so excited. Poor thing was trying to eat it with the cone, but she couldn't get it to stop moving.

Here is a picture of Sophie with her cone on (she was spayed on Friday) after enjoying the meal.

Catching Up

Morgan as Hannah

BEAM (Belize, Erica, Alexis, Morgan)

Morgan and Sophie

I have been on the go so much that I have just had to sacrifice blogging. I am not going to try to do too much catching up.

Morgan's school chorus got to sing at Disney (Epcot) a couple of weeks ago. It was super cool for them to get to miss school AND to sing at Epcot. I hadn't been to Epcot since I was in 8th grade. I really enjoyed it, and we will have to go back.

The Bond Boys, Alexis, and Morgan at Epcot

For some strange reason, the two times I have been to Disney, I have gotten a weird rash. The first time was attributed to a sulfa allergy, but since this was my leg after the day at Epcot, I am not so sure. Coincidence?

Last week, I was in Richmond Sunday night and came home on Monday. Morgan had cheer tryouts Sun - Thurs. They learned more of a routine this year that had a dance, jumps, and tumbling in it. They did their running and standing tumbling tryouts on Wed and the routines on Thursday. Morgan had a name tag on that had 11 as the first number (this is supposed to be her age). I said, "Hey, you aren't 11 yet." She said, "Mom that is CHEER age." I cracked up.

We also had registration for middle school for Morgan (MIDDLE SCHOOL - how is that possible?) on Tuesday. We got to meet her teachers and learn about how they structure the team. It sounds really good (and hard!), and her teachers all seem to have some real world experience that they like to share in the classroom. I like that. We got a long list of books for them to read over the summer, and they also got a supply list. I still can't believe that she can possibly be going into middle school. Need to absorb that one over the summer.

We were going to go camping for Memorial Day weekend because the weather people said it was going to rain almost all weekend. Since it had rained every single day for about two weeks, we thought we should believe them. SURPRISE! It has been beautiful with just a few sporadic storms. Oh well. It has been nice to be home too.

Yesterday, Morgan, Katie, and Michael went to Crudapalooza by WyldLife (Young Life) at church. They played games where they put shaving cream in their hair, threw flour bombs at each other, played twister with mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish as the circles, and bounced water balloons on sheets. All that and pizza too! They had a blast. Glad they got to go as it was different. :)

The beginning - war paint applied

The after with NASTY stuff in the hair and on the clothes (the fire truck didn't do a very good job)

In the evening, we got out the Wii Active Trainer and tried it out. Everyone loved it. Michael was addicted and did it like 6 times. :) It really is amazing, and I love it. I have started trying to get into shape. We are going on our cruise in about a month, and we are signed up for some excursions that are supposed to be pretty difficult. They rate them as one man (easy), two mad (moderate), and three man (more difficult). We have some three mans in our plans, so I wanted to be ready. If you want to follow along, check out my couch 2 5k blog here.

Relaxing Sunday

We just hung out at home for the most part today. We played Wii, watched TV, and generally hung out around the house. Michael was addicted to the Active Trainer on the Wii. He played it for hours. It was fun to watch him enjoy it so much. Katie and Morgan also did a turn on it. They also played rock band and some other Wii games. It had been a while since we had used the Wii as the new puppy had chewed through the sensor wire. Now that it is replaced, we are back to Wii! :) I forget how addicting that thing can be. I wish I had invented the Wii...:)

I did go to Feet First in Tampa to get a new Polar Watch, and I was very impressed by the service a the store. It is a drive, but I think I might keep going there just because of the service level.

We thought about going on a bike ride and swimming, but right around that time it POURED rain. Oh well.

For dinner, Mike grilled chicken on the grill and steamed brocolli and asparagus. It was yumm...Great grilling out for memorial day weekend.

Katie got a virus on her computer, and Mike was frustrated most of the day trying to fix it. I always think about what a shame it is that these virus people use their skills to do harm instead of good. Those people could probably invent some pretty cool stuff!

Loved being able to relax and having nowhere that we had to be. :)