First Day of School

So exciting and sooooo about time.
This summer has been an interesting adventure but I am glad it is over, I just couldn't take the fighting anymore.  And I understand how both of them had felt, Kiya was wanting to do her own thing because she is 4 years older and Mylee just wanted someone to play with. 

So off they marched with lunch bag in hand to their first days of Grade 5 and Senior Kindergarten!!!

Bubble Guppies

I was asked to do a 1st birthday cake with a Bubble Guppies theme, and well truth be told actually had to look this one up.  My kids are past the treehouse stage so I don't get to watch Cat in the Hat, or Toopy and Binoo anymore, can recite you all the songs but yeah, we don't watch them. So after much research and planning, here is what we came up with.

The CNE

I love the EX!

I can remember coming down to the CNE when I was a little kid, watching the people mover float over the sky, the loud noises of the games and the rides that would make you throw up.  And then there was the food building!


This year was the same, the kids stuff was awesome, the food was yummy and it was very, very loud. We normally skip a year between CNE's just so that it is a new experience when we go, I am not a fan of the "been there, done that" philosophy as you can always find something new in everything you do.  But this year they added some stuff that was quite interesting, and I am concentrating on the kids stuff....because well, that is why I go. 

This year they had a My Little Pony show and face painting, and animals from Reptilia.  I didn't realize we had one in Vaughan so will have to make a trip out there one weekend.  The girls got their faces painted and a caricature done and then we went walking. After some fun and shopping,  we stopped to watch the Flying Welendas, a tightwalking troupe that was fabulous and quite brave. We stopped in at the magic tent along the way and learned some new magic tricks as well, and can't wait to try them out on everyone.   It was a great day, tiring, but great and the girls had fun. 

Painting our nails

Remember how I said I was obsessed with nail polish?  Well here are some of the latest creations

 

Menchies

OMG we are so lucky!!!! Well maybe my waistline isn't but the girls and I were so excited that the new Menchies at Woodside is now open!!! We met the owner last week and she gave the kids stickers.  She is a nice lady, as we walked in she gave us coupons for a dollar off and everything. 

For those of you who don't know what Menchies is I will try to explain.  Menchies is soft frozen yogurt that you serve yourself.  Stores have different flavours and you add your own toppings and how much of that topping you want, keeping in mind you have to pay for whatever is in your bowl.  They have the sauces and the fruit and just about everything you could put on ice cream into your bowl, except for pickles. Then your bowl is weighed and you pay per ounce.  So the girls and I can go in and it is about $10 for all three of us and it is a healthier treat than ice cream. 

So sometime this week we might walk to Woodside for another bowl of Menchies!!! If you have never been, stop in at one and see what you think.  Will mention though Menchies is peanut friendly and there is cross contamination so just be careful!

Yum!!!!

Canada's Wonderland

There is something about watching a little kid's face light up when they see or experience something new.  Our day didn't start off on a good note, it was raining and we were questioning whether to actually go or not.  I looked at Darryl and said "well it can't rain all day, it hasn't this summer" so off we went, through the rain and walked up to the gates. 

Inside we purchased ponchos so that we didn't get wet or sick, even if the rain continued they keep some of the rides open unless they see lightning.  So we waited, I took Gwen and Mylee with me to Snoopy Planet and the big kids Kiya and Jason stayed with Darryl.  Fifteen minutes into the Boo Blaster line and the rain stopped, the sun actually peaked out for a little while and off the big kids went on Leviathon.  I am so proud of Kiya, she is getting more and more brave as the years go by and that roller coaster is a doozy.

The girls and I stuck to the easy fun rides in the kiddie area, we ran from ride to ride and sometimes didn't leave the rides for another turn on it. It was quite and adventure watching Gwen, who had never been, enjoy everything that was going on.  And then guess what....

The sky opened up and it poured rain, I think I waded through some 6 inch puddles along the way.  Darryl called and said "Let's stop for lunch meet us at ..." and yeah dragging 2 kids with me we walked back to the gate to go find lunch.  Our feet were soaked but we made it a game, I mean why not, it wasn't cold and well we were getting wet anyway.

So the day progressed as always, and it didn't rain again after that second big shower so we had run of the place, no lines, no line jumpers, it was awesome!!! I am glad we went, and at the end of it all I was tired, Darryl had fun and the girls were passed out cold.

Big Summer Ticket

What an amazing adventure.  If you have never sat on the lawn at the Molson Ampitheatre I highly recommend it.  Even though this was a kid's concert, and that was primarily why we went, it was pretty awesome. 

So our first chaotic mess was driving along the lakeshore during CNE, yep don't recommend that at all. Darryl dropped us off as close to the doors as he possibly could before I went crazy, and we left early.  We walked up to the gates, saw the crowd of people and well just stood and made friends with the others around us.  I have this habit of talking to random people in the line just to pass the time.  We met up with Sue and the girls, Auntie Nikki and Caden and Mackenzie, and Cecile and her girls and we took my little sister Gwen and all of us trekked up to the lawn area to find a seat.  And then we moved, it is not fun having a pole in the way of the people you would like to listen to.

And we waited, and waited, and well waited.  Then Eleven Past One came on and the girls and I started to dance along.  I really like these guys and so does Mylee, she was up bouncing along with her arm in the air having fun.   Then a short break when I went to get some popcorn, and met a really nice guy in the line. 

This line was total and complete chaos, all I wanted was some popcorn and drinks and yeah they were really bad.  It got to a point where the guy behind me offered me his American Express card to go into the lounge and get free popcorn.  I considered it but then would have felt horrible if they charged him anything so I declined but we had a good laugh anyway, and can you believe they ran out of popcorn just before I hit the front.  Was still in line 15 minutes later when the popcorn showed up again.  So word of advice, if you want food there prepare to stand in line for an hour. 

As a result I missed Victoria Duffield perform but heard her sing and watched the monitor they had at the snack bar.  I got back in time for Zendaya, which I think was the most that an artist was up there and sorry but I was done with her about 5 songs in, and I think most of our crew was too. 

Then the big show, the one we wanted to see, R5!!!!  And the 2nd song in we were all dancing and singing along to one of the best songs from his new movie.  It was a tiring night for all of us and by the time we got home we were all ready for bed, thank goodness.  Our next adventure started early in the morning.

Busy Summer

Well it seems with all the comings and goings of family we have finally gotten into a routine ready for school.  That is after a week of adventures to round out the summer.  Next year I want to go away, for some reason the one trip balances out the boredom and refreshes us in a way that is unexplained.  We didn't get up to the cottage like we wanted, or out to visit more family because the timing just wasn't there, so why were we always so bored. 

This is where I think I can narrow down two possibilities:

1.  Weather.  This year the weather has been so unpredictable it is sad.  The amount of cloudy, rainy, super hot, then really not so hot days were just ridiculous.  As a result planning was a little hard because summer is meant for outside and unfortunately, outside didn't cooperate. 

2. No planning.  Yep this is a shocker because I am normally up to my eyeballs in plans and schedules and everything.  I have come to realize that this works for my family, well 3 of us anyway, and I need to keep sticking with it.  If I plan something we do it, if not we are looking for spontaneous things to do, and for those who know me....yah when have I been spontaneous?  I don't think my personality could handle it.

So because of these two reasons and because of who I am, I have decided that summer needs to have a plan, at least a goal for each week and stuff set up for in between so as not to create this boredom that I experienced this year. 

The next couple posts are from our last week of fun when everything just kind of happened.