Wasaga Beach

Wasaga Beach in 2006 (Our First Father's Day in Ontario)














Wasaga beach 2009






We've been wanting to go to the beach all summer but it seems either it's raining or we are busy and we haven't had a single day free. So, yesterday even though it was raining, I decided at the last minute to just go. After all, there wouldn't be a crowd today and school starts soon, fall is approaching and we wouldn't have once gone to the beach this summer. So, we got dressed (in our pants and sweatshirts) and headed out. Paige and Jason followed along in their own car. The drive is about an hour and a half north of us. It didn't rain and actually the sun was out for most of the time although it was cloudy and windy. We had been there once before but the kids didn't remember. Mazie had her clothes off in the parking lot before we even got down to the beach. She went right into the water. I wished I had brought my suit. The water is shallow so you can go out a long way and Mazie was going out much further than I was comfortable with. The water was very warm though and I managed to get my feet wet. Mazie is through and through a california girl! She loves the beach as much as I do.
Everyone else mostly spent their time in the bar looking out at the water eating nachos and drinking beer (well, not Paige or Leo).
Oh, I almost forgot! On the way we stopped at a great little family farm and picked up some fresh corn and peach pie and played with the chickens, goats, and bunnies.
On the way home we decided to take the long way so we could soak up the green and beautiful scenery and dream about one living in the country in a cute little farm house. It was a fantastic day and just what we needed!

Fall is in the Air

Last night I was grilling bbq chicken and I looked up to find that some leaves in the tree next door were turning red. I knew I could sense fall in the air and then when we went to the park to play some ball, I was a bit chilly. SO, in an effort to hang on to the last bit of summer I figured I should get what might be my last iced coffee of the year. I stopped at McD this morning. I haven't had a lot of opportunity for iced coffees this summer because it's been pretty rainy and cold. I only get iced coffees when its sunny and warm. I almost had to turn on the heat in the car as I sipped my coffee iced. I don't like change. Why is it a major seasonal change happens at the same time that school resumes? Having the kids return to school and our schedules turned upside down is enough change for me. Add to it that Drew will be increasing his hours at church and I've had enough. Oh wait, there's the whole new job change as well. Don't get me wrong, this is a major victory for me. For those of you who are aware, this has been a long time coming. I am happy about it but at the same time, it's another major change. Plus, I tend to worry. What if this and what if that? I've heard that chronic worrying cuts your life by 16 years. Yet another thing to worry about. I resigned on Monday and will start my new job on Sept. 9th. I've been able to work it out so that I am off for the kids first day of school! I am so happy about that. I can walk them to school and see them off and meet their teacher and then I can pick them up and hear all about it. Yeah! If you want more details about the new job, feel free to send me a message and I'll gladly spill the details.

We've got a lot to do to get ready for school - Leo needs a haircut and we have to get him a backpack and some proper fitting clothing. We'll need to get refills on epipens. We find out their new teachers next week. I remember how exciting it was to walk down and see my name on the board and find out my teacher and who was going to be in my class. It's no less exciting now that I'm a mom.

Twister

I doubt it made the national (or even international) news but we had some tornadoes last night. We've had warnings in the past but nothing quite like this one. When we heard that one went over Vaughan Mills mall which isn't too far from our house we decided to check it out. We went outside and heard our neighbors say they had their kids in the basement. All over the news it was telling everyone to take cover so we kindly let Paige come downstairs and we even let her bring the dog along with her wedding photos and dissertation. We hung out in the basement for an hour or so watching the news. THere were many tornadoes in the area and there was a lot of damage in surrounding communities with roofs torn off and buildings destroyed but nothing in our area. The kids were so very excited, scared, nervous, etc. All we got was rain though. There was an 11 year old boy killed in another city but details are not so clear. IN any case, it was an exciting evening and the pizza delivery man who had to come in the middle of the tornado watch in the torrential downpour was not happy at all! At least Paige gave him a $10 tip. I don't know what the other man was doing coming to pick up a broken tv in our garage for $50 was thinking. When he asked Drew to help him carry it to his car all I could think of was how lightening was going to strike him dead right there in the driveway. I am pretty sure that carrying large electronic equipment in a lightening storm is not a good idea. Paige ended up doing it though since it took too long for Drew to get his shoes on. She was not struck luckily.

Happy Birthday Leo

Leo turned 7 on Tuesday! I woke up to what I believed a mystery illness and stayed home from work to rest and thus was able to spend the entire day with Leo. It started out with me making him a fried egg because this of course is his favorite thing. We hung out all day just waiting for evening to come so we could celebrate. His last game was also tuesday. His coach didn't show up which pretty much sums up the season. Luckily he has 2 excellent assistant coaches who are dedicated and positive, me being one of them. :) The ref didn't show either. I figure its probably becuase I sent a nasty email about the poor officiating and they were trying to say "you don't like the ref? How do you like it now?!" Luckily Uncle Jason stepped up to the plate or should i say goal post? He was an awesome ref and at one point Leo got kicked in the chest with the ball and was crying and Jason wanted so desperately to stop the game to see if he was ok but he had to carry on the play. It was pretty darn cute. Leo was of course ok. He's very dramatic you may know. He wanted soooooooooo badly to score a goal that the asst. coach (the other one - not mom) told him to stay up front (we call it cherry picking) and then he told all the other kids that it was his birthday and they should kick it to Leo. He kept shouting "to Leo, to Leo!" Unfortunately the whistle was blown before he had a chance to score but it was a lot of fun! Leo improved a great deal over the season. We won't go back to this league next year but hopefully I can find something better because he really does like soccer. His banquet is on Sunday morning which unfortunately means Drew won't be able to attend since he'll be working. We'll get his soccer pics then as well as a trophy (3rd place).

After the game we went to McDonalds with Paige and Jason and ate dinner, had cupcakes, and opened presents.

The next day when I got home from work there was a note on a shoe box that said "thanks mom for making my birthday so great." Inside was a book he made for me with poems about how much he loves me and funny jokes and pictures. He is such a sweet considerate and thoughtful boy!

Leo's party will be on Saturday afternoon. He'll have a few friends over for some video games, a pinata, and most likely a pick up game of bball will ensue. He's very much looking forward to it.

We are also looking forward to the arrival of Drew's friend Eric. I think it's been about 7 years since we've seen him last. I remember he held Leo when he was a few days old and I don't think we've seen him since. He now lives in Spain. It will be nice to spend a few days with him here in Toronto plus because we have a guest its a good excuse to go to Mandarin!

Looks like we might have a Saturday's open in September and I think we'll use one of them to go to Kohl's across the border and get the kids some school clothes. WHo knows? Maybe I'll need some new things as well. Not looking forward to having to get new snow suits and snow boots. It's not too far off. Ugh! But for now it's gorgeous out and before the awful winter comes the glorious fall which I do really like. I can't wait to go apple picking again and this year we're going to drive up north for a leave changing tour.

We're Back!

Ok, so we've been back since Sunday and I still haven't blogged about my trip. THere's just so much to say that the thought of writing it all down is exhausting. I still haven't recovered from all the fun. Maybe I shouldn't have stayed up so late watching "I Love You Man." I also watched that Jamie Oliver reality show about his new restaurant "Fifteen." I love Jamie and I just love the show. Before that I took the kids to watch a neighbor friend play Tball and they played at the park. It was finally a nice night out. Summer has come to Toronto - at least for a few days. Leo had his championship soccer game. They played awesome but unfortunately lost - again. HOwever it was a good fight. His last game is next Tuesday and they'll be playing for 3rd place (there's only 4 teams. LOL) I'll be bringing cupcakes since it's his birthday that day. We've planned a party for the following Saturday but unfortunately most of his friends are out of town for the last of summer and only one boy can come. Having a summer bday sucks!

Anyway, on to our trip....
It was just perfect! NO late flights or travel issues except on the way back we flew through some pretty bad weather and had a lot of turbulence. THe kids just thought they were on another roller coaster. I don't think the flight attendant was happy that Drew and I let them sit together in front of us. They were angels on the entire trip though. They were very patient and didn't beg or whine or fight. We arrived on Sunday and we went to Magic Kingdom on MOnday, Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, Epcot on Wednesday, and Hollywood Studios on Thursday. Since we had a 6 day pass I asked the kids which park they wanted to hit on Friday before we went back to Magic Kingdom one last time on Saturday and all they wanted to do was swim all day which was more than fine for me. We stayed up late watching fireworks each night and my feet and every muscle in my body was killing me from all the walking. We were all exhausted but it was a good exhausted. It was incredibly hot and humid there and we were either wet from sweat or from rain. We had a thunderstorm every day and just went with the flow. It felt good to get a bit cooled off anyway. We were able to have dinner with the princesses one night and that was a real treat for Mazie (and I secretly think Leo really enjoyed it as well esp. since Cinderella called him Prince Charming.) Mazie got a Jazmine costume so she could show off her belly. FOrtunately I bought it a few sizes too big so she could wear it for years to come and it doesn't show her belly yet. She figured that out pretty quickly. However, her size 4 Cinderella dress that we bought her for Christmas when she was 2 is now finally getting too small and I don't want that to happen to Jazmine for a long time. We rode tons of rides and saw tons of awesome shows and swam almost everyday. We got lots of sun and I enjoyed the relaxation and spending time with the kids and grandparents. The condo was exquisite! It was hard to come home to my dark basement apt. after spending time in such a large place with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms that was bright and sunny and had a tv in each room. LOL But we're back and I've survived another week of work. Only 3 more to go before school starts. I'm starting to panic. Once school starts its always rush rush and so much to do each day. I am sure Drew thinks differently. I know he's enjoyed the summer with the kids but I also know he wants to get some work done for his doctorate. He's read a bit in the evening this week which is positive. We're still waiting for immigration so that hopefully he can get authorization to work here in Canada and get paid for it. He's been working for months but we just need that paper so we can see a paycheque. THat would be nice!

So that's the update. I'll post some pics for those of you folks who aren't on FB when I get home.