Last weekend, Austin took us all to Montreal for two free nights at the Hilton Bonaventure. We did our best to help him decide whether the Hilton and all its amenities were going to be good enough for the bar association meetings in January. We tried out all the beds in the executive suite and played its grand piano, swam twice a day in the outdoor pool (heated to 88 degrees regardless of the weather), and ate all the snacks in the executive club room. Howard was visiting so he helped with all the hard work of enjoying the Hilton.
 |
| It was below freezing out, but the kids didn't care. |
 |
| Our neighbors probably got tired of Heart & Soul. |
We didn't spend all our time in the hotel, though we were tempted. The concierge comped us passes to a skating rink so we had a little family skating party. I don't skate very often but I'm so grateful that I took some lessons when I was younger so I wouldn't look completely ridiculous out there with my kids and all the Canadians who seem to know how to ice skate from birth.
 |
| Family skate. |
 |
| Photographic evidence of Howard Gray on ice skates! |
The other major highlight of our trip was a visit to the butterfly exhibit at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. It was incredible. We spent hours there.
 |
| Finding all the different species. |
 |
| Blue Morphos love oranges, apparently. |
The butterflies were just flying around free in a gorgeous tropical garden. The kids soon discovered that if you stand very still, the butterflies will decide that you are another flower and will land on you.
It was so nice to get a glimpse of what summer will be like! Our winter has been so long and the mud season so miserable.
