Summer
July started with maple bacon poutine and tornado potatoes on a stick with cupcakes decorated with Canadian flags for Canada Day! Again this year we went to the strawberry festival in Stouffville. I think it was better the last time we were here but still time together with live music, fun food and fireworks, made the day special.
I got my hands on some fresh rhubarb so there was crisp to enjoy as well as some homemade strawberry jam.
I bought tickets for the kids to go to the Minecraft experience, which in my opinion was really well done, but unfortunately I think it was geared to a younger crowd. However, it should be noted that the props were really photo-worthy. They had some interactive games but again, I think it was geared to 12 or younger.
It was nice to get together with the mommy group for.a girls night out. We have known each other so long and have gone through so many milestones with our kids together.
We always talk like no time has passed since our last visit.
My nephew Jayden came to play ball near us, so of course I went to watch him. #50! 9-7 win for his team.
I helped my friend Shaye pack up her old house on one of the hottest days of the summer at 35C with no air conditioning, a tornado warning and branches flying all around as we drove from the old house to the new house in the pouring rain. What a crazy day! I will never forget after hours of work, when she revealed that the storage room still had to be packed. After a little shock... we got it done. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset at the end of the day and then... I drove home because the next day I had to pick up Easton from camp. Easton spent two weeks at camp this summer. He came back all smiles and with a great tan from spending so much time outdoors. A few badges too. I always miss him so much when he goes but I also love that he gets to experience camp.
In August we took Easton golfing for his first time. We went to Hawthorne Valley Golf Course. The owners are great (I volunteered with Ed at the kids school) and we had a fantastic time! I think Easton wants to go again before the season ends.
After what I am sure is months of Brian pouring over building codes rules, we spent a week as a family building the deck at the back of our house. The stairs will come hopefully in September, but we just ran out of time before our week at White Lake cottage. (Near Lakefield). The summer has been so busy that we booked a week to just relax together as a family. There were lots of fun water toys, from canoes, to kayaks, to pedal boats, and paddle boards. Brian and I got up for almost all the sunrises except for one day that had lousy weather. I enjoyed the hammock, and other locations around the cottage throughout the week and finished three books. There was also a lovely reading room. Hadley made her cucumber pinwheels, we played Settlers of Catan, and Risk among other games. The kids and I tried out the fun foam mat for the water. It was like a giant flutter board sort of that you can sit on. Cooking could take time, because we had the time. Among other delicious food we had steak, corn on the cob, stuffed baked potatoes and more! We enjoyed walking amongst the trees and the loon calls on the lake. Easton brought up a guitar and serenaded us all week. We were so lucky! My birthday rolled around again, and there was an escape room with the Bender family. Shawn, Delena, Todd and Julia. At Looking Glass Adventures: Mystery at Maryweather Mansion. We took 32 minutes as a group to finish what was supposed to take an hour. They gave us a bonus adventure because we finished so quickly. Even though we finished quickly I would still say it was well done. Then for my birthday dinner, Mandarin with the family and Dairy Queen ice cream cake. The next day Hadley and I ventured to Square One Shopping Centre for a One Piece pop up shop. She loved it! She has watched so many episodes. This was really fun for her!
I had a great day at the Toronto Zoo with my cousin Megan, her husband Paul and their very sweet little girl Ember. They were coming though after a cottage week of their own. We wandered around the zoo and I think the footprints painted on the ground were her favourite part! However, there were penguin waddles, polar bear flips, and standing flamingos.
For Christmas we bought the kids tickets to the Toronto Fan Expo. We spent much time in the marketplace, we saw the Back to the Future De Lorian for the 40th anniversary! R2D2, Yoda and other Star Wars characters were raising money for charity. Hadley saw No face, a character from Spirited Away. A Studio Ghibli film. RetroKid presented Polka Dot Door props and stuffed animals from the show. So nostalgic. We watched a talk with Mary Steenburgen who played Clara and Bob Gale who was a writer for Back to the Future. The kids really enjoyed the panelists from Avatar.
I think we all enjoyed Ewan McGregor, who we have seen in Star Wars, but also, from the Long Way series. A travel show we enjoyed during Covid and beyond.
From here it was shopping and getting ready for the new school year ahead. What a fast paced summer!