CJ's Birthday

It was CJ's birthday on Saturday. Happy Birthday Honey - I love you with all my heart!!!



I think he actually had a bit of a hard time with the 4-0. I hope he soon realizes that 40 is not a big deal at all and that he is still young and energetic and we have the best of our lives still ahead of us (think - two kids in school with no daycare payments; - watching the kids develop into their own little people with their personal interests and personalities and strengths and passions; - being able to watch adult TV shows :) - kids moving out of the house and the two of us having time to hang out and do our own thing; - the house not being a disaster all the time; - retirement with a condo somewhere warm; - two Harley’s so we can tour the continent together; - grandkids .... ).

In any case, it was one of the first weekends that wasn't jam packed with plans. Most of our friends here were out of town. The weekend started off great with Katrina coming over to baby-sit the kids while CJ and I went out for dinner (we tried out a brand new sushi restaurant and then went for a drink at a local pub). The kids adore Katrina and we totally trust her so it was so great to just go out and not stress about the kids, and we just talked and talked… I think I talked CJ’s ear off. But we hardly ever get a chance to have a conversation at home so it felt like we had a lot to catch up on. It was fun.

On Saturday, CJ’s actual birthday, the kids and I let him sleep in a bit. I made a yummy breakfast and the kids got their cards all ready for him. As soon as he came to the kitchen he was bombarded with excited kids wanting him to open his presents – which they actually did for him. He only got a few small things. I have ordered him a really cool stunt kite and it’s on it’s way but it didn’t arrive in time. Hopefully it will be here today. I also really wanted to get him an Adirondack chair tet-a-tet but we are so broke right now that that might have to wait until later this month or even next year.

In any case, the rest of the weekend was nice. On Saturday we hung out, went for a walk, and just puttered around. On Sunday we went to my mum’s house and the kids and I spent the day with her while CJ went on to London to visit him mom. Unfortunately it was a bit of a guilt-inducing visit for him which makes me so sad for him – he doesn’t deserve that. But he got back to Omi’s at about 4:30 and we had a wonderful birthday dinner for him.







Then my mum told CJ and I to go out and have a drink somewhere and she’d put the kids to bed. So, for the second time in one weekend, CJ and I went out to a pub and had a drink and chatted. I think that both of us have actually been stressing quite a bit lately about money lately. We have made some pretty big investments in the house in the last year (finishing the basement and doing the front patio) so that’s left us a bit strapped. It’s nice that we finally talked about that and we are both on the same page and anxious to get our situation sorted out.

Anyhow… so we all slept over at my mum’s on Sunday night and then came home yesterday morning. It was a long weekend (Simcoe Day) so we were off work yesterday. We had another lazy day. I had a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. The kids both slept for almost 4 hours. CJ had fun playing guitar and videos games. Then around dinnertime, we decided to head out on “adventures”. We ended up going for a long walk (kids had their bikes) around the lake. We stopped off and said hi to Bev and John and the continued around the lake to the Woods house. I took some pictures of my favourite houses along the way. It would be so cool to live on a lake. I think that is one of my dreams. Maybe when CJ and I retire, we’ll have to sell our house and find a small house on a lake in the middle of nowhere. In any case, the kids did great. Our walk took almost 2 hours and covered probably about 5 miles. The kids did great and really didn’t complain at all. I was pooped by the time we got home though and then, it was bedtime and the long weekend was over. Here are some pics from our walk....




some of my favourite houses along the way...




So not only is it a short work week, but we leave for the cottage on Saturday. I am really excited about that. It will be great to just hang out with the family and relax. The cottage is only about 1.5 hours from our house so we will be having a few day and over-night visitors (i.e. Helen, Sue & the kids, Omi, and Opa – who is coming into town tomorrow). I can’t wait. The only bad thing is that after the week at the cottage, the summer is almost over. It has gone by so fast and I will be sad when the fall weather comes.

I'll leave you with these two cuties...