A Week in the Life... May 24-30

Getting cooled down on a hot spring day... Rhys, Rowan and Sophie enjoy the sprinkler!

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Taking a dip in the pool at the Royal York - the grande dame of Toronto hotels

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Mom, taking a break and getting some well-earned nourishment at Fresh

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On my way up the curving outside staircases at the AGO (one of the only places we were allowed to take pictures)

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Two very happy concert-goers, waiting for James and Carole to come out and "wow" us!

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What a wonderful, crazy week! My volunteer events included a South Alumni Association meeting, hosting a Coffee Drop-in session at Tecumseh and attending their yearly Volunteer Appreciation luncheon, and at home our house was a revolving door of kids, family members, and fun. On Thursday morning my mother (who arrived into town on Wednesday) and I boarded a VIA train and took off for a couple of special days in Toronto - just the two of us. We packed those days with so much walking, sightseeing and action that I'm sure we did at least a week's worth... aside from enjoying the general ambiance of the Royal York hotel (where we stayed), we visited the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Bata Shoe Museum, the Eaton's Centre, and a couple of amazing little restaurants (if you haven't eaten at Fresh, we strongly recommend you try it out!) The highlight of the trip was Friday night, when we had tickets to see James Taylor and Carole King live in concert at the Air Canada Centre. If you know me well, you know I am a huge fan of James Taylor... his music represents the soundtrack of much of my life, from when I was a young child through today. This was my fourth James Taylor concert, and it was incredibly special to be able to share it with my mother, who despite being of the "right age" to have grown up alongside the singer/songwriters and hippie-types of his generation, has never seen him in concert. She is also more familiar with Carole King than I am - I knew who she was and of course knew a few of her songs, but that was about it. The concert was so very cool... as part of the James Taylor fan club (told you I was a long-term fan!) I had an early crack at tickets before they went on sale to the general public, so we ended up with floor seats in the 20th row. Excellent seats, but what made them so special was that we just happened to be sitting on the outside aisle, right beside the entrance to the stadium from the backstage dressing rooms. Unless we had stage-side seats, we couldn't have gotten any closer to James Taylor and Carole King - each time they entered or exited the stage they walked right past us... it's a good thing that I have self control because being within touching distance of my musical icon really tested it. It wouldn't have been that bad to try and breach the security detail, would it? The whole thing was just great, and watching my mom get so caught up in the wonder of seeing these two artists she's loved for so many years, singing songs she knows and loves... it just made it that much more special. Needless to say, when we returned home on Saturday evening we were exhausted and extremely satisfied.

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