Keyhole Trail

 

While the work weeks have been very busy, we found some time for some fun this past weekend. Jude and River made themselves these lovely hats out of an old gingerale case. Jude proudly wore his around the town for the whole day, the ladies at the dutch store were very impressed with them. 

 



Sunday afternoon found us trekking along the Bruce Trail. We made our way to the keyhole trail with the kids and they had a blast. The trail is covered with caves and crevices and was fun to explore. A little nerve-wracking with two mountain goats for children, but fun!

Jude's First Day of School

 

 

Some kids are really nervous about going to school. They cry and carry on, they cling to your leg. And then there is Jude...just watch the video and you will see what his feelings are regarding school. And it didn't stop there. After hanging out in my classroom for awhile, I brought him outside to meet his teacher and line up his backpack. Did he want me to stick around? Did he need last hugs and kisses? Nope, he couldn't get to the playground fast enough! All in all great first day.

The Last Hurrah

 

This past week I was back to work. A week full of meetings, planning, meetings, planning, walking in circles around the school trying to remember what I had left my classroom to do. You know, back to reality. Well almost, there weren't any students yet. But, the week before that is the week I refer to as the last hurrah of summer.

 

 

Peter came to visit from BC. We were thrilled to see him since it had been a year since we last visited. The kids loved the gifts he brought (see the snake and caterpillar below). We had a beach day at Wasaga. Also, they loved visiting with him as he is eager to play on their swingset with them, or build sand castles together.

 

 

Yup, the picture above is Jude taking his snake for a walk. Awesome.

Then we headed to visit friends at their cottage. We swam, bounced on a water trampoline, paddle boated, fished, went tubing, had campfires, in short we had an amazing time and the cottage life blew my kids minds. I hope they don't find camping boring after that! The picture below illustrates River's comfort level with water - ankle deep is just fine for him. I do realize the irony of naming your kid after a body of water and then having that kid fear the water.

 

Jude discovered that there is more to boating than just canoeing, he definitely found it thrilling. Then, he went tubing! I wasn't sure about it, but Nola went and she couldn't get enough of it. Sure enough as soon as Jude got going, he was grinning ear to ear and kept pointed his finger up to show he wanted to go faster. As soon as he was back in the boat he asked when he could go again.

River was happy to stay in the boat. At first he clung to my lap, but slowly he got excited and asked to sit up front. On the water he likes, in the water not so much!

Of course, no summer gathering would be complete without smores. Our kids are fully addicted to them now and expect nothing less at each and every fire.

 

We dragged ourselves away from Six Mile Lake to head home in order to celebrate Kurt's birthday. 

To cap off "The Last Hurrah" we met up with the Weenings at Oro Beach. The kids had a blast, and so did we. River followed Raina everywhere, well except into the water.

The long weekend was a bit of a melancholy one as we said so long to the Bicks who are moving. That makes the second set of friends in a single summer...As if to honour the sadness, it rained on the holiday Monday. Kurt and the boys tried to make the most of it by washing the cars in the rain.

And then...the last hurrah was over, back to work and I hope I am able to keep posting!