Rattray Marsh

We took the dogs (Belle and Elvis) for a walk along Rattray Marsh. It is such a pretty trail and we had a great walk. The kids found some beautiful flowers and put them in the water and watched them float under the bridge to the other side. The things that amuse children is great. Thats the best about little kids they are amazed by all our beautiful surroundings and find the greatest delight in the simple things.

Geocache

The kids and I decided to check out geocaching. We are so glad we did. It is such a fun thing to do. The first one we found was at a historical home in Mississauga called Benares and the cache was in the bottom of a tree. The kids spent hours that morning wandering through trails and looking for "treasure". The best thing about this is it gets you out for nice walks along pretty trails and the kids are always finding snails, butterflies, worms, and just having a great time. Dea was with us on our first hunt and she found a really small blue bird that was beautiful and then they saw some small chipmunks... John came home and then we took him and this is the picture he took on his phone so not the best quality but you get the idea.
Next time if we do it after a rain in the woods I will remember bug spray. There are over 1 million geocaches so we still have lots to find. Let the treasure hunt begin!

Wasaga Beach

Christopher and Grandma having a cuddle. Those two are huggers and kissers and not to mention every single person we have met this summer thinks they look alike. Well turns out a baby picture of Ruthie has surfaced and sure enough!!!

Lets just say that everyone needs a Dea. She is so great, a family friend for years and my kids are in love with her. Every summer that I come home she has all these great ideas and plans day trips for us and plays with the kids. We all think she's great!

We took the kids to Wasaga beach which I haven't been to since I was a little girl so it was so fun to revisit and a day at the beach was awesome. The kids and adults played in the water and sand all day long. It was great since you can walk out in the lake so far and the water is only to my knees. The kids felt like they were way out in the middle of the deep blue sea!

Every time Christopher got out of the water he had to change. He can't stand dirt or being wet - so I think that he will be a snobby vacationer since any hint of seaweed he was out of that water...

Green

These are some more pictures from our Ecosource park day. The kids learned about gardening, composting, bugs and all things green. No kids day would be complete without a little face painting so they all got bugs on their faces. There was a scavenger hunt where they had to find seeds and find all the vegetables and draw them. All in all it was a fun experience and I think it may have briefly inspired me to get a garden going. I actually am inspired all the time but my follow through is lacking!

The blog does quite well when I don't have an iphone handy or if John is away from us! Lots of pictures to keep the grandparents happy.

I haven't posted very many stories, not because there haven't been any but it seems life is speeding by and I am barely getting the photos up. We were going through the drive thru and while the girl was getting our order together she closed the window a bit. Jack thought she forgot about our food and is yelling to her, LADY, LADY finally he was so frustrated with her not listening to him that he yells "FOODMAKER BRING US OUR FOOD!" it was so funny. Maybe its a you had to be there moment but trust me - he was funny.

Busy

Christopher was estatic to see a road with his name. For the last year or so he has been pretty annoyed that a main road in Houston is Ella blvd and it seems there is a Jack in every town. Jack in the box or Jack Astors or Jack Darling Park etc. Today when we were driving I saw Christopher road and he was thrilled. He wanted his picture in front of the sign but settled with a picture of the sign. Jack was funny, he said Christopher there is a pool on your road. Can we go to it? He is pretty sure that Christopher owns everything on that road.

We had such a fun filled busy day. We started off at a gardening day with Ecosource and Ella will be in the local newspaper for her amazing weeding ability! Then off to story time and crafts then to a splash pad and the lake. Mom is as exhausted as they are. It was such a hot day here and the sun and water sure wears you out.

Big Al's

There is a store in Oakville called Big Al's that sell fish, snake, lizards and all the paraphernalia that goes with them. We were told on Tuesday nights they feed their sharks in whats known as the shark feeding frenzy. This is right up my kids alley and we knew it would be a little slice of heaven for Jack so we were game. It was so fun. Even this big fire truck pulled up and I was wondering why they were there so we asked and they said, we always wanted to see this so we had no calls and decided to stop by. The store itself is huge and has every fish you can imagine as well as frog and turtles and other cool reptiles. We just might make it a weekly visit.

Surprise!

This was the best weekend. John was suppose to be in Texas but was missing us and we were missing him so what good is that? He flew home friday night and spent the weekend with us and even took off Monday. We had such a great time and we are now going to miss him even more... Time for John to telecommute!

Summer Fun

TEA

I just love being "home". Its funny because I don't know at what point Texas is home but Canada feels like home even though I have been living away for more than 15 years. I think one of the top ten things about being here is having a great cup of tea. I love tea and I love tea done well. In a tea cup with milk and sugar and all the things that come with that. The peacefulness and quietness of having a cup of tea either by yourself or with someone. Well when you can have a great cup of tea with scones and devon cream and on top of that the people you love sharing it and enjoying it - lets just say, its a perfect afternoon. The kids have climbed on board and they love a tea party and have to have a proper tea cup! The boys have learned all about the tradition so hopefully I can get a good couple years out of them having tea with Ella and mommy.

When I come home to visit we always make sure to go have tea and everytime it gets more fun as Ella gets older! This time it was a girls days with some of our best friends and family. YUMMY.

At the park

You just never know what you are going to see at the park! The kids were pretty excited to tell us about the raccoons!