One busy Day

Did all that really happen in one day. It seems like days ago that we woke up this morning. I am actually too tired to write much. But in summary we went to an apple farm / winery and picked apples. We met Andrea, Chris and Isaac there which was very fun. Then we came home and had some lunch.

The apples – there were lots


Picking them


CJ is happy


CJ and Seb (Seb’s too tired to walk)


Kenzie and I enjoying apples


Hey


This is where CJ and I got some hard cider.


Andrea, Chris, Isaac


Artsy photo



Soon after that CJ had to start setting up. He offered to do the music for our street party. The street party started at 3:00 and it was so much fun. The kids had a blast, the parents had fun too. There was face painting, tattoos, way too much junk food, burgers and dogs, cotton candy, some “adult beverages”, train rides and wagon races. Much fun was had by all. Poor Seb looked like he was going to keel over by the end of the day. He was so exhausted. But I think he had a good day.

Tattoos


Princess Face painting


Enjoying cotton candy


The train




Wagon Races


Now I’m off to bed.

Incredible Cuteness

Kenzie had her second ballet class today. At the studio they have a CCTV system that allows the parents to watch the kids in class. It was the cutest thing ever…. 20 little ballerinas in their leotards and ballet skirts pointing their toes, doing ple-ays (spelling??), jumps and skips. I couldn’t take my eyes off the monitor and I must have said “aww” about 30 times. Too too cute. Oh yeah, and I have to say Kenzie is one of the best in the class… and that’s not just a mother bragging. Well maybe it is a bit... :) I can’t wait until next week.

Here are some pictures before we left the house.

Time flies

I swear if time starts going by any faster I will miss the next 5 years if I blink.

Another weekend is gone. It was a good one. On Saturday we all took Kenzie to her first ballet class. It was crazy. There were two classes of 3-foot ballerinas (i.e. 3 and 4 year olds). They were all so friggin cute in their pink tights and ballet slippers and little tutus… CUTE! The problem was the parents… along with each of those little dancers came an entourage of family members – moms, dads, siblings. And we were no different. But the result was complete mayhem at the dance studio with about 100 people crammed into a waiting area design for about 6. But it was good. Seb got a donut to stop him from throwing a fit when he found out he wasn’t allowed to go to ballet class with Kenzie. And Kenzie had a most wonderful time and is so excited to go back next week. She is already talking about her wonderful and highly anticipated performance “on stage” which will happen sometime in the new year.

When the kids napped on Saturday afternoon – let me rephrase that – when KENZIE napped on Saturday afternoon and Seb refused to – thereby requiring CJ and I to NOT nap either, CJ and I decided to take the opportunity to change the house around a bit. We moved the dining room table out to the living room area and moved all the kids toys into the dining room. They now have their own play room and the rest of the living area downstairs (i.e. living room, family room and kitchen area) is toy-free!.It is also good because I think now we will be more inclined to sit down at the table and eat. Also we have the couch in front of the TV now which is nice cause we can all sit/lie up there and snuggle while watching TV. I love it. For once I don’t feel like I am living in a giant playroom. And the kids seem to really like having a specific room dedicated to toys and playing!

After the boo woke up from her nap we all went to my mum’s for dinner. She kept the kids overnight and CJ and I went out for a drink. Then yesterday morning we got to sleep in which I love. It just starts the day off right. We hung around in the morning and cleaned the house a bit and in the afternoon I had 4 friends come over for some socializing and scrapbooking. It was very fun.

And then…. The kids were home, we ate dinner, bathed the kiddos and it was time for bed. Another weekend over and we are back to work.

back to school craziness

Wow – life gets crazy hectic in September. Not only have I started my new job at the TTC part-time (so right now I am spending half my time there and half my time in my old office trying to finish off my existing projects) but there are all the “start of school” things to do too. Kenzie started school last week. She did great. It was such a change from last year when she was shy and nervous. This year she was so excited to go back to school… she ran ahead of us and was so happy to see her friends again. She seems to like her new teacher and is enjoying being a Senior Kindergartener!

There are also the other things to deal with – like traffic? This summer it took me 15 minutes to drive to work. Starting the first week of September it took an hour. I am now trying to leave the house an hour earlier than I did in the summer just to avoid the traffic.

Kenzie is signed up and almost all ready for all her extra curricular activities. This fall she will be taking a learn-to-skate class in preparation for starting ringette in the winter. She is also in Sparks with her friends Courtney and Sophie. Sparks is the youngest group in the Girl guides of Canada program – I’ll be hitting everyone I know up to buy cookies later this year. I also found out that they have a wonderful mother-daughter camping trip planned for November. WTF??? It’s friggin cold in November! And finally Kenzie is singed up for ballet. I can’t wait to see how she likes her first class on Saturday. She has been begging to do ballet now for over a year so I hope she really enjoys it.

Poor Seb is too young to do any extra curricular activities. Not for lack of trying though. So far he has begged to play soccer, go to Girl Guides and take ballet… I think I will encourage him to pursue the soccer…

So needless to say life has been busy getting ready for all these things… filling out registration forms, going to “meet-and-greet” events, getting dance outfits, skating helmets and pads, arranging for after-school care (we got Kenzie into her schools after school program which is good cause now she won’t have to take the bus), getting new epi-pen prescriptions (Seb decided to have a poo at the doctor’s office yesterday and I didn’t have wipes or diapers with me), dentist appointments, getting up earlier, remembering to dress the kids in warmer clothes – but not too warm cause it gets hot in the afternoons, getting new school shoes, …. Ahhhh. I’m ready for a vacation!!

Anyhow… that’s been life for us.

I am looking forward to this weekend. CJ and I are planning a date-night tomorrow night. We are hoping to go out for a drink and then see a movie which we haven’t done in years. On Sunday I am having some friends over for lunch and scrapbooking. I am excited about that.

the story of our summer vacation at the cottage

Our cottage vacation
We are home now. It was a wonderful vacation. So much fun and so many great memories. The following is a recap… I already know that it’ll be kinda long-winded – forgive me

Saturday: We arrived. The drive only took about an hour and 45 minutes. The kids napped on the way. The cottage was extremely rustic. Maybe a little bit less luxurious than I was expecting but it served us just fine.


The kids were thrilled cause they got to share a room and sleep in bunk beds.


I was most pleased that we were right on the lake. This is the view from the cottage.


When we arrived we unpacked. Then CJ and his dad and Annie went shopping for groceries. The kids and I played on the beach.


They practiced casting their fishing rods that CJ bought for them for the trip. Seb’s is a Spider Man rod and Kenzie’s is a Disney Princess rod. We took a paddle boat out. We also checked out the grounds a bit and found the playground – the kids had lots of fun playing there – and the games room.


The kids both caught their first fish on Saturday night. It was so much fun. I can’t believe that the spiderman and princess rods worked so well.




Sunday: CJ took the kids fishing early in the morning and let me wake up peacefully – lying on the couch, watching Canada AM with a cup of coffee. Ah – wonderful. The rest of the day was mostly good but with a couple bad moments. The worst was when the family took a paddle boat out to do some fishing. It was about 10:30 in the morning. Seb was falling asleep in the paddle boat when Kenzie cast her line and caught him in the side of his head. What a way to be woken up... with a fishing hook in your temple and a half-dead worm wriggling on your face….. Poor Sebby. Thank goodness it wasn't worse. It took quite a while to recover from that.

Luckily the day held many more fun adventures. Kenzie and I did some scrapbooking. Then while Kenzie and I went grocery shopping, Sebby, James and CJ went for a walk to see the alpacas. They are hilarious looking. CJ very astutely pointed out that Dr. Suess probably got some inspiration from these animals.





Kenzie and I went swimming in the afternoon. I was so impressed with her. She was jumping into the water with me standing 6 feet away from the edge. Very impressive. Sunday evening we went to James and Annie’s cottage for dinner. It was delicious and a lot of fun. After dinner we all went fishing again. No bites, but the whole act of fishing is very enjoyable and relaxing.



After fishing we lit a fire and roasted marshmallows. What a great end to the day.

Monday: We lazed around in the morning, did a bit of scrapbooking and then we all went swimming - even CJ (thanks for doing that honey – I know you didn’t feel like it). Kenzie surprised me. The owner brought over some water wings and she was so brave. For the first time in her life, she paddled around by herself without being able to touch the bottom. She’s come a long way since last summer when she was afraid to go in the water and wouldn’t put her face in, even to blow bubbles.

In the evening we had bbq at our place followed by more fishing, drinks, and marshmallows.


Tuesday: At about 11:00 Omi arrived. A few minutes after, Sue came with the girls (Rachel, Jenna and Sophia). Everyone took advantage of all cottage life had to offer. Everyone enjoyed boating and swimming (it was so great for me to be able to sit on the deck and watch Kenzie play around in the pool with the other girls). They were in the pool for about 2 hours straight.

Here they are about to race…..




After swimming we were all ready for lunch. Food tastes exceptionally good eaten outside at a picnic table overlooking the lake.

The kids then moved to the beach for some sand play. The older girls set up a “seaside restaurant” and Kenzie was their first customer. The daily special looked delicious.


The restaurateurs were quickly distracted when the alpacas came by to visit.


Next, we tried our luck at fishing. I was proud of Sue and I putting the worms on the hooks. I think we both felt a bit traumatized.


The kids didn’t catch any fish but I don’t think they really minded. After another trip out on the paddled boast it was time for sue and the girls to go…. Kenzie and I then enjoyed a fabulous nap. When we woke up it was dinner time. CJ had bought some mudslide drinks at the liquor store. I enjoyed one (or two) of these as we watched the sun set before dinner.. they are so yummy… imagine a delicious creamy chocolate milk with vodka. Mmmm mmm mmmm.


Our cottage neighbours came over at one point and asked if we’d like to come over to watch some fireworks. It was super fun… we got a private fireworks show while sitting on the beach. Kenzie held her hands over her ears but still seemed to enjoy them. Seb had so much fun that he cried when it was over and time to go.

Wednesday: It was a lazy day. We drank coffee and on the shore, read books and magazines, played at the beach, went swimming. My mum and I went into the bustling town of Flesherton and I got a pedicure.

James and Annie took us all out for dinner to a place known for their bbq. Most of us enjoyed the ribs and they were spectacular.


Thursday: The day started off cold, overcast and rainy. Luckily the weather soon cleared up and the day held many adventures - including a trip to the playground, and a walk to the farm.








Along the way Kenzie picked some wonderful wild flowers. One flower Kenzie picked was a butter cup. I told her about the magical properties of buttercups – that if you hold them under your chin and they cast a yellow sheen on your chin, it means that you are very sweet. I love how her eyes light up and how she believes in these things completely. She ran around to everyone testing to see if they were sweet or not.


I think Sebastian has something to hide since he was adamant about not letting her test his sweetness.


Kenzie took this picture.




Later, we took a trip to Eugenia Falls followed by lunch at a little restaurant better known as the “Home of the WOW Burger”. CJ enjoyed a wow burger which he had topped with every hot condiment available. This resulted in the owner coming out to check on CJ halfway through our meal to see if he was still okay… I believe his comment was something like “you are a crazy man….” In retrospect the restaurant will be remembered more for its WOW sauce than it’s burgers. CJ bought himself a jar of WOW sauce before we left. Throughout the rest of the day he enjoyed WOW sauce on pretty much anything he ate…. Keep in mind that the main ingredient in WOW sauce is fresh crushed garlic. Other ingredients include a few spices and maybe one or two chopped peppers. But it’s pretty much just garlic.

Omi headed home after lunch and the rest of us enjoyed 3-hour afternoon naps. After we woke up, we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at the beach. Kids played in the sand, while the adults enjoyed a few beverages, laughs, reading and watching the sunset.

After a fabulous pizza dinner at Granddad and Grandma’s, we came back to our abode and got ready for fireworks and smores.


We invited our neighbours over to enjoy the fireworks with us. They are cool folks. I found out that he is a fighter pilot instructor in the Canadian Air force. I asked him if, on the off chance, he happened to know my university friend Des – who I lost touch with about 14 years ago but I had heard that he had joined the air force. He said that he did!! Funnily enough he had taught Des to be an instructor. He took my email address and said he’d pass it on to Des… I hope I hear from him. He was a great friend and so smart and driven. I have often wondered what happened to him and how he was doing.

And with that… we were down to only one day left.

Friday: Friday was spent doing much the same as the rest of the week. Except for some reason it seemed like we were finally in vacation mode… we slept in later, lazed around more, spent more time in the pool, enjoyed naps later and longer, relaxed in the evening and didn’t even think about dinner till after dark.











It was a wonderful day and I don’t think anyone wanted it to end.

Today: And that brings us to today. WE woke up and packed everything up and hit the road. I think we were all kinda looking forward to being home again. Vacations are wonderful but it’s always nice to come home again. On the way home, we stopped at the Flesherton Farmer’s market. The kids suckered us into buying them another stuffed animal and I couldn’t pass the freshly baked goods without picking up a fresh rhubarb/blueberry pie to have for dessert tonight.