Wow, we made it.
Hey guys.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
You're probably going to be watching this video several months down the line.
Yep.
It might even be springtime but we wanted to make a video of our winter holidays here
in Canada.
And show you what that is like.
Yeah, so basically we finished our travels I think it was December 10th.
We came back from Italy and we spent a couple of weeks at home in Brampton.
And originally we were going to go to Florida.
We were.
This was like a few months ago that was our original plan but then we decided like you
know what?
There has been some bad weather down there this year and we decided why don't we embrace
a Canadian winter.
Yeah, you know what?
It was actually decided for us when our airbnb host canceled our reservation.
Oh yeah that is right.
I forgot that small detail.
Yeah, so my family started looking for other possibilities and they settled on a cottage
here up north.
Yeah.
We're in Seeley's Bay so that is like three hours east of Toronto.
Right.
Near Kingston and then a half hour north in the woods basically.
Yeah, it is not far at all from Kingston and it is a massive house.
It has got three levels.
We've got a really big ground level, we've got an upstairs and of course we've got a
basement.
And yeah, the great thing about this particular vacation with family is that everyone is here.
All of your sisters are here.
Your sister's husband Anthony and we're all here.
The dog is here.
Togo is here.
And it is just been great.
We've really been embracing the winter.
We've been going outside doing all kinds of things.
Chasing the dog, playing fetch with the dog, also tobogganing.
We're doing snowshoeing.
We're going to be maybe even snowboarding.
I think your sisters are coming back with their snowboards.
Back with snowboards.
So yeah, snowboards and then uh just to have fun we've all kind of been huddling around
the fire playing games, talking, drinking lots of wine.
So it has just been wonderful.
We've had a lot of family time and we're basically just going to show you what our whole experience
has been like.
Yeah, so this video is going to be all about the holidays.
We're here in this cottage for 8 days and we're basically going to show you what we
get up to.
So we hope you enjoy this video.
Yep.
Hahaha.
Ah, he's got my glove.
Hey, give it back.
Haha.
Hey.
Give it back.
We are all dressed for winter in Canada.
Oh yeah.
Action.
Time to go outside and do some winter activities.
Let's make it happen.
Sledding
Go go go!
Audrey!
Hahaha.
Oh my gosh.
Finish it finish it.
Hahaha.
Woo!
Woo hoo!
Hahaha.
Togo!
Hahaha.
Oh my gosh.
Mom stopped halfway through.
Out of the way.
Hahaha.
Oh my gosh.
Dad came off of the path.
Hahaha.
Chomp Chomp
Oh wow they're doing good.
To the bank.
Oh my gosh.
They made it to the bank.
Go go go go go!
Woo hoo!
Go get him Togo.
Are you a bad boy?
Or are you a good boy?
This is where we've been hanging out every single day.
We have this massive fireplace that heats up the whole space.
So I would say this is probably my favorite part of the house.
Just right here.
We've all just been hanging out here including the dog.
Seriously.
Like the dog is the smartest one in the house.
It ends up sleeping here at night.
Wine Drinking
Alright guys so we're here in the kitchen.
Yeah, we sure are.
We're waiting for lunch to be ready and in the meantime we thought.
And in the meantime we decided we'd tap into a little bit of wine.
But not any wine.
Yeah, it is not just any kind of wine.
It is a wine that is very special and unique to Canada.
Yes.
It is called ice wine.
Ice wine.
And how this differs from other wines is that the grapes are frozen and taken right off
of the vineyard.
And it is a sweeter wine it has less alcohol than most.
It is typically a dessert wine to be honest.
Um, I'm looking at the back here.
It is showing that it is 11% alcohol.
This is only a 375mL bottle.
Yeah.
So it is small.
It is great to serve like with dessert and yeah it is a nice sweet wine.
Yeah.
Ice wine is a bit of a luxury.
It is also kind of expensive so that is why we have a little bottle here.
But you know what?
I feel as though the price has been reduced maybe because it is like the 150 year of Canada.
It is Canada's birthday.
We are celebrating it is Canada's birthday.
We're a very young country and yeah we just turned 150 years old in 2017 so yeah we're
going to celebrate here with some ice wine.
Raising a glass to all of you.
Wish we could share it with you.
Oh yeah.
What do you think?
It is just it is so sweet.
It is so nice.
It has got like a syrupy consistency.
It is very sugary.
And yeah it is just um it is also I find it refreshing too.
Yeah, and um yeah it is just wonderful to be drinking this.
We've also been drinking a lot of other kinds of wine like for instance we've got a Californian
here.
We've also been drinking wine from like Argentina.
Yeah, we had a stash of International wine.
Yeah.
When we first arrived and that has been dwindling.
It has been dwindling very quickly.
Yeah but um this ice wine has been really good.
This is our second bottle of this stuff and I really like this brand.
What is this one called?
Uh let's check it out.
It is Vidal.
Vidal Select.
Yeah, it was really good.
It is a bit like liquid honey.
And it is from Ontario and yeah um Niagara by the Lake apparently is the first Niagara
On The Lake.
On the lake.
You can tell I'm not from here.
Not from Ontario.
But this is kind of where um it originated the ice wine in Canada.
And this is also where you are probably going to find most of the producers today.
So if you're looking to get something unique from Canada to take home as a present or to
bring to somebody get the ice wine for sure.
Yeah it is done.
Yeah it is definitely done.
Okay guys this is hot and it is coming.
It is super hot.
That is cheesy.
Sam it is perfect.
Yeah.
(Fire crackling)
(Speaking Spanish)
Uh.
That was the dog.
Snowboarding
So this is my first time wearing snowboarding boots and it is super hard to walk.
I guess it is supposed to keep you stable so you can't really bend your ankles but I
can't really bend my knees either.
Okay today we are going snowboarding.
Yeah.
I've never been snowboarding before.
Have you?
Like when I was like 10.
That was a long time ago.
Anyways one of my sister's snowboards.
The other one is going to sign up for classes and that kind of leaves me behind so they
are going to give me a lesson today.
There should be some really good wipeouts guys.
Hahaha.
Well, hopefully not.
Let's go.
So lesson number one is carry your board super cool apparently.
And I kind of have the cool walk already because I can't really bend my knees.
I was carrying my board like this and like this but apparently that is not cool.
You've got to put it under one arm.
There you go.
And you know.
Swag.
And we've got Togo to help out.
Togo to help out.
Lesson number two is that I have to wear a helmet because know nothing about snowboarding.
And we don't want to get a concussion.
So no more hat.
Hahaha.
The struggle is real.
Okay so it should be tight enough that your foot doesn't move but loose enough that you
can still wiggle your toes.
Not too hard Ari.
I have big feet and they are tight boots so I can wiggle the front toes and big toes.
But can you move the boot.
No.
You have big feet and they are now strapped in.
So Sam missed lesson number three because he was busy chasing the dog.
Lesson number 3 was learning to walk uphill with the board strapped to one foot.
Now we are moving on to lesson number 4 which is going down the hill forwards.
Going down a hill forward with both feet.
We're actually getting closer to doing the real thing.
Yeah.
Putting on the boot.
Out and aboot.
Out and about.
She's putting on the boot.
This is half of the struggle.
Yes.
Update Audrey.
What is going on?
Urgh.
I'm being pulled up the hill.
This is lesson.
I'm on my next lesson.
Day 2 of snowboarding.
Today I'm going to learn to go down backwards.
Let her go.
Bye Audrey.
Have fun.
There you go.
Hahaha.
This is an accident waiting to happen.
Sam is not even wearing real snowboarding boots.
He is not even strapped in properly.
Do it on this leg.
How about we just try from here.
Okay.
You want to lean like this.
Lean on the leading leg.
So put weight on your right.
Way to go Sam.
Family Dinners
Paws and nose and eyes.
Hmm?
Urgh.
Snowshoeing
So today is introducing us to a sport he is all too familiar with.
Look at this.
Woah.
Snowshoes.
Show shoes.
I love this.
Actually I was first introduced to snowshoeing by a friend of my Dad.
Maybe like ten years ago and it uh it is so much fun.
Like these snowshoes have so much grip they allow you to go off trail they allow you to
like I can basically walk out into the woods.
Mmmhmm.
And if I was in my normal boots I would sink in but these have a lot of grip.
And it is just so much fun.
It is a great workout.
They're a little bit heavier than normal shoes so uh I',m just going to show you what it
is like to be trekking around in snowshoes here in Canada.
Alright, demonstrate.
Very Canadian.
Make a video of you running.
Run like the trapper.
Play Time
Oh ho ho.
I'm going to get you.
I'm going to get the beast in the snow.
(Wind chimes)
Cooking
This a feast of feasts.
What have we been making in the kitchen?
Okay so today we are eating empanadas.
Yeah.
Which are kind of like meat pies.
They are really popular in Latin culture.
Yeah.
So they're actually already made.
We just finished making them.
These have ground beef and eggs and olives.
Yep.
And then we also have some of these little lids left over so we made dessert ones.
Check out this.
And we decided to experiment.
We found a mango in the kitchen.
We got a mango in there.
We're filling it with mango.
Do you want to roll it up and demonstrate.
Yep.
We also have some apple ones and this is the last one so it is not very plump.
Yep.
It should be plump.
Look at that.
What shape am I making?
Alright.
Little circles.
So you just fold it in half.
You press it with the fork after right?
A fork or you can just like squeeze it.
Create a little pattern.
Let's see that fine detail here.
So we are sealing it.
Look at my skill.
Audrey the chef I know.
Such talent.
And then we just take it and turn it into a little circle.
It looks like a tortellini or some kind of pasta.
And that concludes the cooking lesson yeah because we forgot to film and we have nine
people to feed so they'll be gone fast.
Making Snow
So it is time for a little bit of science here.
Um so we've seen this trick done on the internet where people go outside.
On the interwebs.
On the interwebs you go outside with boiling hot water and like throw it in the air and
it likes turns to snow.
Um and we've always wanted to try it so it is cold enough here.
It is um -30 below.
So we're just boiling a bit of water on the stove and we're going to go outside and experiment
and hopefully not burn our faces or our hands.
Haha.
Snowy Walks
Okay we're going to say it on two.
One, two, three.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Woo!