Uncle Hunts in Cuba?

I never expected this but my Godfather paid me an offer I couldn't refuse and decided to come down and visit me in Cuba. What fun we had with him, Auntie Anne, Uncle KJ and Auntie Funny. What a better way to start than an all-inclusive. All the papas and bananas I could eat.

What a Tryp!

Here I am with Daddy the day after the Jiggins arrived in Varadero, Cuba. We had 3 fabulous days in the Tryp Peninsula Hotel. As per ritual, however, I got sick the day we arrived. But a little chlorine water fixed that just fine.

1,2,3 - Salta!

Clearly the best part of being in the water is the jumping. As long as somewhere is there to catch me, I never have to put my face into the water.

Lesson One

How to blow bubbles in the water. Looks like Daddy needs a refresher too. Or is there another reason he's in the pool?

Yoseti Time

This was my first swim lesson my own personal swim instructor, Yoseti. It took a while to get these lessons started because she found the water a little cold for her liking. I mean it was the Cuban winter!

Skidoo do do

Can you see the intensity in our eyes? And this is only a simulation. Just wait till we get out on our real skidoos. Wait, better not tell Mommy this. She won't let me out on the Jetski, the cousin to the skidoo.

Where are we?

With the snow outside, I was pretty sure we were in Ottawa. However, sitting in this classic American car had me thinking we were back in Havana. The classic cars are everywhere in Havana. For many it is their only option to have 4 wheel transportation.

Crazy Kitchen

If you've grown up in Ottawa, you know about the crazy kitchen. It took Daddy back a couple of years and it threw me for a crazy loop. However, after the 1st time through, I learned to just run and let my momentum carry me through. What crazy fun!

Checking controls

All systems a go. We're ready for blastoff! You can see we haven't lifted off yet as the goldfish snacks are not floating in gravity-free airspace.

Astroboy

Just checking out some career options here. Astronaut, while not as popular in recent years, still has some useful benefits. Good training, travel to name a couple.

Millenian Falcon

This was a model of a spaceship on display at the museum but it felt like we were flying in the old Star Wars ship. Which one of us is Han Solo and Chewbacca? Not that I'm talking just fine, I would call Daddy "Chewie".

Running late

Apparently, not only were these trains still working, but one of them was leaving the station and we had to run to catch it. It must have been Swiss engineered to be leaving on time.

High Tech Train

The technology of the day not only had fancy, difficult to understand, engines, but they even had booster seats for the vertically challenged conductor.

All Aboard!!!!

This was my first time on a train, believe it or not. Unfortunately, it was a stationary one at the Canadian Museum of Science & Technology. Of course, I'd have to be a little older to be a conductor on a real train. Only in a place like Cuba would it be allowed. Hey, that gives me an idea......

A little shinny

To top off our day at the Canal, we got to watch a classic outdoor shinny game. It was the Ottawa Senators Alumni led by Brad Marsh against a troupe from the Armed Forces. Daddy, Papa and I had great views. With all the fresh snow, however, it was not the best of games. We've had better on the streets of Havana.

Sculpting

Finally, the best part of Winterlude. The ice sculptures. Papa and I got to

see up close a sculpture competition where they have 24 hours to create masterpieces from a block of ice. Pretty amazing when you consider it took Mommy 9 months to create her masterpiece.

Hot Air Papa

Another traditional event at Winterlude is the Hot Air Balloon rides. Papa told me that there is enough hot air in the family that we don't need another injection.

Hot Taffee

Another Canal tradition. It's no beavertail but this hot, sticky snack can sure help you warm up. Especially if you're not actually skating.

Winterlude

In Ottawa winter tradition, we paid a visit to the Winterlude celebration on the Rideau Canal. While Grandma had her skates on, I didn't have my own pair just yet. Prepare yourself Canal, next time, I'll be out of this stroller and cutting you up.

Tribute to Talon

Unfortunately, this will be the last photo of Talon on the blog as he is no longer with us. But what a great dog he was and his memory will always be with us. As you can tell from this photo, he was wonderful to play with and never fussed if anyone lay on him, or hung off of him, or grabbed his tail. A truly gentle giant who will be missed.

Soren Scissorhands

I'm not quite as deadly as Johnny Depp's famous character. I cannot carve you up but I can clean you up in a matter of seconds.

Speedo or don't

While in Europe the speedo is worn at the beach, I've got a new twist for this fashion item. The speedo sombrero. It hasn't yet caught on.

Darius at play

You can tell from my blurry arm that I am entranced with this toy and swinging my arms like crazy. It was hard to keep still at Opa's birthday party.

A Redhead?

Clowning around with Opa on his birthday. Although Daddy doesn't believe it, it looks like my hair is starting to get a little red. I wonder where that comes from?

Opa's Birthday

With our unexpected trip home to Canada in February, we got to celebrate Opa's birthday. We won't say how old he is! As is tradition, Aunt Kathy made her famous black forest cake. The combined generational effort was successful and the candles were blown out.

Medical Return

You may have noticed that Darius was not in any photos of Soren's birthday party in Havana. Darius was there, but he was not feeling well at all. In fact, he was so sick that we had to return to Canada for him to be treated. Everything turned out fine and you can see here that he was able to recover quickly and spend some time with his cousin, Abigail. Don't they look like a couple of Cabbage Patch Cousins?

Happiness is....

....chocolate cake and your buddies. Everyone remarked how quiet everything became after the cake and ice cream arrived. Of course, the sugar kicked in after that.

Let them eat cake

Here I am with a few of my best buddies. Colin and Mateo are patiently waiting for me to cut their pieces of cake. How long should I make them wait?

1st Piece Goes to....

In keeping with birthday traditions, the birthday boy had to cut the first piece for himself. The guests are lucky that I didn't just keep the cake as my piece.

Just to make sure

Before we cut the cake and dish it out to all the guests, let's just make sure that Mommy knew what she was doing. I supposed, I'll volunteer for this horrible task. After all, I am an amateur cake taster.

Happy Birthday Soren

Mommy made me a delicious chocolate cake and decorated it with Diego and Baby Jaguar. Now, who's going to cut the cake?

Party Time

With Grandma looking on, it was time to announce to my friends that it was cake time. Here ye, here ye, it's time to blow out the candles to my cake.

A boy's best friend

What would a birthday party be without my best friend, little Marley. He did a good job, as always, of alerting us to the arrival of our guests. Sometimes, he was a little overzealous, but hey, that's the Marley way.

Daddy and his friends

Of course Daddy was able to invite some of his friends over to my party too. These friends are called Becks, Grolsch, Stella and Heineken. Funny names but Daddy seems to get along with all of them.

Birthday Swim

For my birthday party with all my friends, I still got to enjoy a

big swim with my Daddy in my pool. How sweet is that!

Water Boys

Opa was excited to join me in the pool in the middle of January. Of course, he promised to take me skiing next January. Daddy is showing him how I like to "salta" in the air.

Opa.....Polo.....

We had some great times in the pool while Grandma and Opa were visiting. The beauty of my house is that we can go swimming anytime. It's too bad my pool is from Canada and has undergone so many repairs due to the tough local conditions.

La Fontana

Where's Suzie? How can we have a photo without Suzie, the best waitress there ever was. While all the adults were busy with their meal, I got to play with Suzie and she showed me around the entire restaurant with the fish and birds.

Playa Giron

This is the gateway to some of the best scuba and snorkelling waters in all of Cuba. Only Daddy has his PADI certification so we stuck to the shore but some day, I'll get to explore all the fishy, fishies.

Bay of Pigs

Not a lot of pigs around here, however there are some remnants of the Battle of the Bay of Pigs, which was personally commandeered by el Comandante Fidel. That was not JFK's finest hour.

Coco-Taxi

For those who have visited Havana, you'll know what we mean by a Coco-taxi. This is my own personal one that Opa is kind enough to provide gas for. It's more environmentally friendly than the actual Habanero Coco-taxi.

Mango Daiquiris

A lovely visit by Grandma and Opa in January. You can see that the snow in Canada did not really affect us here in Cuba. We were able to sit outside most nights enjoying mango daiquiris from the big tree in the background on the left in these photos.

Class Recess

Any class led by Soren is going to be exhausting, but even more so when it is Superhero class. These two little heroes need and deserve a little relaxing couch time.

Superhero Class

Soren has his famous superhero cape on and with this cape, he sure has the attention of Abby and Darius. He is teaching them the basics of fighting crime. It won't be long before Sorenman has some new disciples.

Just watch me

Apparently, Abby has an eye for the camera just like Aunt Kathy.

Myself, and poor Opa, had no idea which way to look. Technology is so confusing, right Opa?

Diego Cake

You don't see the candle lit, because Diego the animal rescuer made sure there was no rain forest fire.

In Your Face

Since my friends were all no-shows, I took it out on the one guy who showed up for my fiesta, Diego. He deserved it though - he was full of hot air all night.

Happy Birthday Soren!

I know, this doesn't look good. I thought I had friends. Actually, they're all in Cuba. This was my pre-birthday birthday party at Papa and Glamma's house. Despite what appears to be a lack of turnout, it was lots of fun. Who doesn't like getting prizes before their actual bday?