Splash Pad - Photo a Day, June 30th

Today was the first "official" day of summer vacation. I say this because the children always finish school on a Wednesday, so the last two days of that week are what I call "free pass" days. That means they get to do whatever they want to do: They can slack off, sleep in, watch all the TV and play all the video games they want. Basically it's their time to just "chill" from a long year at school.

So today they had things to do: get up, get dressed, make your bed and do a small chore. Small chores are things like recycling, putting away a few toys, emptying the dishwasher...that sort of thing.

Today, I handed out BIG chores. Big chores are big stuff...cleaning the playroom (it almost always has toys on the floor), tidying up a bedroom, purging items no longer wanted/needed from a book case...that sort of thing.

Today, the big chore for the boys was the playroom. I made "signs" on three pieces of paper: Put away (and NOT on the floor), Give away (things they no longer played with), Throw away (dollar store junk, broken toys that can't be repaired).

The reward for all their hard work was a trip to the splash pad. I didn't realize that it really wasn't all that warm today, but that didn't stop them. It was only about 21 degrees Celsius (that's around 70 degrees for my American friends), but they didn't seem to mind and we even made a trip to McDonald's for McFlurry's afterward.

Here's the pair of them having a blast making sure all the "fountains" in the splash pad are doing their thing:


(you have to either run by or touch some spots on the wall to activate the "fountains").

They did change into warm clothes when we got home - LOL!

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Shaving Cream - Photo a Day, June 29th

Scott was shaving today, and Jonathan got this:


Now, to the casual observer, this is just a kid with shaving cream on his nose and ears. To me, it's a childhood memory.

Scott doesn't remember dates all that well (can never remember if we were married on August 30th or 31st, just that it was near the end of the month; for the record, it was the 31st), but he remembers the really important stuff.

He remembers that I told him how when I was a little girl, my sister and I used to sit in the bathroom and watch my dad shave. He remembers that I told him how my dad used to wash the remnants of shaving cream off his face but ALWAYS left some on his ears. He remembers how I told him that my dad used to pretend my sister and I didn't know what we were talking about when we tried to tell him that there was STILL shaving cream on his ears. He remembers that I told him how my sister and I were practically screaming ourselves hoarse and laughing so hard before my dad would say, "OH! That shaving cream!"

And THAT is why Jonathan came out of the bathroom looking the way he did today. Love that man of mine!

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It was bound to happen - Photo a Day, June 28th

There is no photo today. I forgot. OOPS!

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Busy Day - Photo a Day, June 27th

Whew! What a busy day we had! We had to be up fairly early to make our way downtown to Sick Kids.

No, we didn't have any appointments (though we did stop in and see Marilyn). We were there by special invitation for a super special event!

On our way downtown, we saw this:

Had to laugh as we had just been talking about how "soccer" is really "football" everywhere except North America where "football" is called "soccer" and "football" is "American Football". Lauren was saying how rugby isn't for weenies like those who play "American Football" and wear all that padding - LOL!

When we got to Sick Kids, we popped in to see Marilyn as we always do. Besides, that woman has eyes EVERYWHERE and she would know if we had been at the hospital and hadn't come to at least say hi...so, we kinda have to...not that it's a chore or anything because she is just SO sweet! This time, we brought her some DELICIOUS orange poppy seed cookies that we made yesterday. Try the recipe - YUMMY!

Then we headed to the Rotunda for a little reception before heading into the Hollywood Theatre for a special screening of Kung Fu Panda. Even if you don't have kids, go see this movie - SO cool!

Here's Lauren wearing her "press pass" hat:


We were all given Sick Kids stickers to identify us as those who were attending the show. I suggested Lauren put hers on her hat so that it looked like a press pass.

The movie was absolutely amazing and everyone LOVED it! The Hollywood Theatre was renamed the "John and Myrna Daniels Hollywood Theatre" for their generous donation which will go towards the upkeep of the theater and also ensure that the movies being played in the theatre will be seen by kids in their room at the same time. This will allow children who can't leave their rooms to enjoy the same movies being played in the theatre. How cool is that???

We finished off the day with our first summer trek to Ontario Place. We always buy summer passes and today was the last day to do it on the cheap. We were only there for a couple of hours, but the kids enjoyed the benefits of no lines, no waiting and riding their favourite rides as much as they wanted. On some rides, they didn't even have to get off until they had had enough.

Colin and Jonathan enjoyed going on Cyclone together:


That's it for today! I'm tired! Thanks for stopping by!

Strawberry Picking - Photo a Day, June 26th

It's become an annual tradition. I can't remember when we started (I know it was before I had Jonathan), but we've been doing it for a good many years.

Every year, the day following the last day of school, we head out to go strawberry picking. We normally go to Kingshott Gardens, but they're no longer growing strawberries. I was sad to hear that, because that's been our farm of choice for a long time.

Today, we made the drive out to Andrew's Scenic Acres. What a drive! 35 km one way - YIKES! The price of gas and long drives do not go well together.

We picked a bucket full for us and Lauren's friend Maddy (who has been coming along for a few years now) picked about 1/2 basket to take home to her family.

Though Andrew's is a long drive, it's worth it because there is a playground there as well as a small pet area where the kids can check out the various farm animals. This year we saw goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits.

This pic has NOTHING to do with the actual picking of the strawberries, but it is the one I am sharing today:


For all the arguing they do and shouting at each other that goes on, Colin still takes really good care of his little brother. He took the time to push him on the swings at the playground today.

Day one of summer break done - PHEW! See you all tomorrow!

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Last day of School - Photo a Day, June 25th

Scott thought I should title this post "The never ending fricking weekend". Actually, I used another word, but decided against it - LOL!

Today was the last day of school. Lockers are cleaned out, teacher gifts have been given, the last bus ride has been had.

The kids all got EXCELLENT report cards! Colin got all A's and B's, Lauren's lowest mark was a 75 and her highest a 98 and Jonathan got all O's and S's (often demonstrates and sometimes demonstrates). We're proud of each of them for all their accomplishments!

Here's little man as the bus pulled off at the end of the morning:


Hope you have a GREAT summer planned! Thanks for stopping by!

Canada Day at Cooking School - Photo a Day, June 24th

Today was the last day for Jonathan's cooking school. Because Canada day is next Tuesday, we celebrated at cooking school today.

The kids made red cupcakes (vanilla with LOTS of red dye) and frosted them with white frosting and red sprinkles. They also dipped strawberries in white chocolate to keep with the red and white them that was going on.

Jonathan had a great time and can't wait to see all his friends next year!

Thanks for stopping by!