Still Alive!

I've kind of dropped right off the blogging world in a bad way.  I'm super overwhelmed at the thought of trying to catch up so for now I will just try to do a few posts to bridge the gap.  I only have pics from October and more recent on this computer so summer vacation will have to wait ;)

In October we took a lovely trip to Toronto.  Thomas and I hadn't been there in probably 10 years and it was a first (and maybe last thanks to the insane cost to travel in Canada) for the kids.  We definitely tried to pack in a ton to make it count!

 The highlight of the trip was soaking in the glorious fall colours along with the temps in the mid to high 20s.  Niagara Falls was amazing and in hind sight we wished we had planned to stay longer there.

 The tram over the Niagara River was unreal.  A bit terrifying but oh so worth the ride!

 The view from our hotel wasn't too shabby either.  We loved all the beauty in Niagara.  The fireworks  and lights at night over the falls were pretty great too.

 I couldn't get over all the flowers and plants everywhere.  This tourist town aimed to please.

 We rode the sky ferris wheel and the views over the falls were magical as the sun was setting (I need to track down the pics).  I would highly recommend doing it!

The next day we road the boat right up to the falls.  The power of the falls is truly amazing.

 We spent a couple days right downtown Toronto.  It was seriously the polar opposite of our first few days in St.Catherines, Niagara on the Lake and Niagar Falls but it was so fun too.

 Ripley's Aquarium is hands down the best aquarium we have ever been too.

 The traffic in the GTA and the sheer volume of people, vehicles and hours spent each day commuting gave us a real appreciation for just how quick our commutes are!

 I was so in love with the old brick buildings and architecture in Toronto.

 We escaped the busy city life after a couple days and drove a few hours out to Bobcaygeon to cottage country.  The boat locks that transport boats between lakes were so fun to watch in action.

 And we fell in love with the red maple leaves everywhere!

 Spending time with my brother and seeing all the places he loves was the highlight of the entire trip.  We just live way too far apart.  This trip left me with a bit of an ache to be closer!

 We were spoiled with a private tour of a police station.  Pretty much every kid's dream.

 I swooned over all of the fall bounty that we just don't have here.  Front porches over flowed with pumpkins and corn stalks in celebration of Thanksgiving.  It was beautiful.  All of the roadside stands and markets were glorious.

 We spent our last few days in a suburb of the far east side of the GTA.

 We loved every minute of our family time together.

 The last day of our trip we decided to hit Wonderland.  I will confess that I am not an amusement park kind of girl.  Disneyland has zero appeal to me (I'm more of a beach girl).  But I was incredibly impressed with our day.  Wonderland was beautiful and so much fun.  The kids loved it!

 The boys and I stuck to the smaller rides and T and Al braved all the crazy roller coasters.

 After an action packed day, we headed to the airport for our trip home.  Several hours of delays later we were on our way.  We didn't get home until the wee hours the following day.  We kissed the glorious sunshine and heat goodbye and landed in a snow storm....sigh.

We made a lot of great memories and will treasure the time we had with family.  It was a perfect week together!

July Recap

Now to see what I remember from July!  We said goodbye to school at the end of June.

And we said Hello to summer with the annual kick off to summer party at the beach. 

 We raced home from the party to say a quick goodbye to our piggies who had hitched a ride back to the Mac with some kind strangers.

 We said Hello to our gorgeous great niece!  The title of Great Uncle and Aunt makes us feel old but she's worth it.

 We said goodbye to our favorite cowboy.  T's Grandpa passed away after 96 amazing years so we headed up north for a quick trip for the funeral over Canada Day.

 We found some festivities to enjoy when we arrived.

 And the next day we remembered a great man and his legacy.

 The kids discovered just how fun the jetted tub is

We got in lots of baby snuggles over the month trying to give the new parents a little rest here and there.  As it turns out, being a great aunt is the best.  All the new born snuggles with zero exhaustion!

 We spent our entire summer deep in the routine of school work (an hour or so) plus a list of josb/chores to complete before play time.  Some days it was really easy.  Most days it was a battle but I was determined to ensure this boy didn't slide academically from where he ended the school year.  I feel confident we may have even gained some strides!

We got in a lot of playtime which is kind of what it's all about!  These boys loved setting up "race tracks" on the street.

This kid thought it was okay to grow up on me and hit the 4 year mark

 On the 10th we had a combined party for T who turned 44 years old that day and WR who turned 4 yrs old on the 18th.

 Hard to tell from the visuals but T's deluxe carrot cake took way more work than WR's cake.  It was a great day to celebrate two of my favorite guys!

JA has a very soft spot for his new cousin.  He holds her any chance he gets.

 We kept busy on the rainy days with random crafts and games and forts

 AL and I got in a very special girls date to go see the off broadway performance of Newsies.  AMAZING! This girl is so patient and kind with her brothers so it is extra fun to be able to spoil her with little girly days.

 We of course got in a lot of beach days.  Hard to beat the relaxation of the beach!

 We discovered a new gymnastics club by our house one day with the neighbors and we had fun visiting their open gym time a few different times over the summer!

 We drove south of the city one day and went on a strawberry picking adventure.  Nothing in the world can compare to the taste of these sweet organic berries.

 We braved paper mache for the first time and worked together to build a pretty sweet volcanoe.

T and JA went on several bike ride dates.  JA discovered a new love

 We completed a round of swim lessons with huge success.  This was WR's first time unparented and he loved every minute.  AL got over her fear of the deep end and became a solid swimmer.  And the best part was that their lessons all over lapped at the same time which never happens.

 AL fell head over heels in even deeper love with horses.  She managed to convince me to sign her up for a week long horse camp in August and so my horse loving sister had her out to the ranch to spend time with her horse Spade and learn more about tacking up a horse etc.  She was in horse heaven.

 My sister also spoiled us by inviting us over to "pool-sit" her neighbors pool with her

 It's hard to beat those laid back days of July with time to float

 Or break out a street wide water gun battle against the Dads

Or spend time paddling the lake (my absolute favorite thing to do)

 Or roast marshmallows on the BBQ

 July was filled with sweet sweet summer days and lots of memories!