Day 243 - Monday, August 31, 2009

Matthew has been anxious to try his hand at fishing and has at last got his chance.

Day 242 - Sunday, August 30, 2009

The kids had some picnic time with their cousins after a swim next door.

Day 241 - Saturday, August 29, 2009

Happy Anniversary to me!!! (and Drew) of 12 years. Wow. How did we spend it? Building stairs at camp!!! Well, not me really, the cousins came and helped Drew and they are fabulous. I have been suggesting for at least 3 years that we should work on them and now they are really done. It just took some appropriate timing with Jan and Mel up at the same time as the boys and the rest is history. So thank you Drew - I will consider this an amazing anniversary gift from you. Now I just have to work on something for you....

Day 240 - Friday, August 28, 2009

Faster daddy - faster!!! Drew took the kids for a little jaunt around the bay today. We've decided not to anchor the lily pad because they are having too much fun with it this way!

Day 239 - Thursday, August 27, 2009

A little tetherball, a new swing and a lily pad. The joys of summer fun at the cottage.

Day 238 - Wednesday, August 26, 2009

My baby is 5! So hard to believe. And just lately she is taller, talks a whole lot more, asks a whole lot more questions, and is just FUN to be with. She is a total girly-girl, wants to dress like a rock star, loves her barbies, polly pockets and pet shop guys. She can listen to Strawberry Shortcake songs and Emily Osment's Once Upon a Dream over and over and over. She loves to shop and can't wait for us to spend some 1:1 time picking out her gift. Happy Birthday baby girl!

(She got some groovy duds from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Ya-Ya that she put on as soon as she got them).

Day 237 - Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Some eagerly anticipated canoe time (BTW - Drew googled how to paddle a canoe just to be sure he did it correctly)

Day 236 - Monday, August 24, 2009

Ensuring adequate sunscreen coverage...

Day 235 - Sunday, August 23, 2009

First thing to do once in the cottage door was to investigate the barbies from Aunt Sheryl. Marlee has been waiting to see these girls! I LOVE that they can play together so well (some of the time).

Day 234 - Saturday, August 22, 2009

This time Drew and I are listening to "Luke's Story" on the way up (and probably home). So far we are very impressed.

Day 233 - Friday, August 21, 2009

One last last minute prep for the car ride. Trail mix. Since I don't want it to go stale we are leaving it until the very end. We are putting the following in: corn pops, captain crunch, golden grahams, mini marshmallows, raisins, yogurt covered raisins, clodhoppers, m&m's, and popcorn. Yummy! I hope to just take a large tub and dole it out when the hunger pangs surface.

Day 232 - Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sometimes the helping just isn't a help. This is what almost 6 cups of rice krispies looks like - on the floor. Some landed on the chair so I could reuse it. Well - I'll be honest, I had just swept the floor so yes, I did still make rice krispie squares using this cereal. What they don't know won't hurt them! Shh - don't tell!

Day 231 - Wednesday, August 19, 2009

We're getting our front yard done! An irrigation system, new sod, bricks around the trees and an uplifting for the steps.

Day 230 - Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Just chillin out!

Day 229 - Monday, August 17, 2009

Carter got to have a sleepover tonight so we enjoyed dinner out on the front porch.

Day 228 - Sunday, August 16, 2009

We found an amazing stick bug on the tree in the front yard. Really cool!

Day 227 - Saturday, August 15, 2009

Front row seats at the local summer theatre - this time it was a rendition of Peter Pan. This is the 4th year for Matt and the 3rd year for Cierra and Marlee. They do such a great job - very audience oriented.

Day 226 - Friday, August 14, 2009

We spent a great day at the local water park. I think I see a scrapbook page coming: 5 hours; 4 kids; 3 pools; 2 much sun; 1 great day! (oh and 0 photos of all of them together!!!)

Day 225 - Thursday, August 13, 2009

I met with some new kids that I am going to look after in the fall. The kids got along well and took a popsicle break together. I love this photo - taking in the neighbourhood and the construction work on the lawn.

Day 224 - Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Ah Drew - always ready with a laugh.

Day 223 - Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Marlee has been wanting to sleep outside for a long time - finally a night warm enough. Well not really - we ended up taking her in when we headed into bed. I was planning on joining her but it had gotten just a little bit cold.

Day 222 - Monday, August 10, 2009

One of Marlee's birthday wishes was to go glow-in-the-dark mini putting. She had her wish today.

Day 221 - Sunday, August 9, 2009

We had dinner with friends tonight - and caught up with old ones. Marlee has a new favourite song - Emily Osment's version of Once Upon A Dream from Sleeping Beauty. They danced to it over and over.

Day 220 - Saturday, August 8, 2009

Family game night with Trouble.

Day 219 - Friday, August 7, 2009

52 card pick-up! A little exercise routine I picked up from a local boot camp I took. We use a deck of cards and assign an exercise to each suit - ie leg lifts for every club. You do a rep for each number on the card. We do a minute of cardio for every face card we raise. And the great thing is, the kids love it and have actually ASKED me to do it a few times this week. I hope it continues.

Day 218 - Thursday, August 6, 2009

We had a full house at the park today. Matt was more then happy to entertain the littlest one on the teeter-totter. He has such a sweet heart for the little ones.

Day 217 - Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Marlee was given a new costume from Drew's co-worker. Do you think she likes it? She only likes to spin until she falls down!

Day 216 - Tuesday, August 4, 2009

With my parents away, I went over to help with an energy audit that they had scheduled. The kids were fascinated with the big fan that sucks all the air out. The man was really good about explaining stuff to the kids.

Day 215 - Monday, August 3, 2009

Day 2 at the G cottage was a bit chillier so we didn't venture into the water but all in all the kids had a great weekend. They all waited patiently for a good-bye photo op before we headed out.

Day 214 - Sunday, August 2, 2009

We had an exciting day at our friends cottage on Georgian Bay. The kids were particularly keen on checking out the loft in the cabin. After some initial help getting up the ladder they were all able to fend for themselves and every hour or so they "had" to go back to the cabin for some reason. It did give us some good ideas for a future cabin for our cottage! More info on our weekend here.

Day 213 - Saturday, August 1, 2009

I attended a pampered chef bridal shower for my sister's friend who is getting married in a few weeks. She told me about how herself and 2 other couples get together every few weeks and are cooking their way alphabetically through the world. She's blogging about it here.