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We have not gotten a ton of use from our pool this year. The weather has not been the hottest and I guess we were gone for a month of the summer too, in Vietnam. But - you can always count on the heat of August to get us in the pool and then I'm instantly reminded of how much I love being in the water. The kids had Taylor and Braeden over for a swim and Meg took her 2nd dip in our pool... it is hovering around 80 degrees but she doesn't seem to mind the chill of the water and is quite happy floating around in her baby float and watching her crazy brother and sister jumping into the pool - watching, observing, learning... I'm sure she'll be at it in another year or two also!
Ready.
Set.
GO!
Chill Baby
Mermaid in the making
Hot tub fun!
We just got home from a terrific little summer vaca' to Sauble Beach which is about a 4.5-5 hr drive from our home up to Lake Huron. The Fabri's were our hosts at their families beautiful cottage and it was just the little getaway we needed - the entire family had a great time including Miss Meggie who was wonderful and just sort of went with the flow all week.
We met the Fabri family on our Disney cruise 2 years ago. They just happened to be sitting at the table next to us at supper each evening and our waitress mentioned they were also from Canada. Imagine our surprise when we asked them and realized they were only a 3 hr drive west of us. Our kids are close in age and get along pretty well and I am so happy that our waitress thought to mention their family to us.
Jenn and Zoltan were wonderful hosts and we spent much of our time relaxing on Sauble beach which I must say is one of the cleanest beaches I've been to. The water was crystal clear and not a weed or rock or shell in sight... just sand beach for miles and miles and miles. The kids loved digging in the sand and jumping in the waves. The water surprisingly was not TOO cold and I spent lots of time in the waves with the kids. We could walk out and there were sand dunes as you walked out, so you would be almost over your head in the water and then walk up onto a sand dune and be just knee deep - way out in the water. Shaune and I have terrific sunburns to show for our vacation - even though we were careful and applied 45 SPF a couple times each day. Woops!
Meg was so good at the beach, sleeping in her stroller or sitting in the sand while the kids built sand castles nearby. She got a few tastes of sand and she was hooked - each time I'd take the sand out of her hand or mouth she would protest with an angry squawk! I figure: a little dirt won't hurt!
On our final full day at Sauble, we drove to this 'very cool' (to quote Keaton) water fall area at Sauble River. There were lots of people there and the main attraction, other than it's beauty was the cascading waterfall at the end of the rapids that you could jump from into the deep water below. The kids all tried and Zoltan was kind enough to jump with Chloe who was a little timid about doing it all on her own. They had a blast!
There was also fishing, Playstation, lots of great food and fantastic bonfires complete with spider dogs and 'Smores! A fantastic time indeed!
Liam in the sand
Meg snoozing on the beach in her stroller
Keaton and Liam had matching water guns... watch out!
...let the 'fun' begin!
...just a taste
Nice?! Keaton set up this shot and asked me to take his sweet sisters photo. He'll have her playing water guns next summer for sure!
Beach baby in the making!
Another beautiful day at Sauble Beach!
Here are some photos from the Sauble River falls we went to:
Keaton's first jump
Zoltan with Chloe on her first jump
Emma
Meg thought the falls was a lot of fun I think!
Chloe climbing back up for another jump
Meg and Daddy
Fishing at sun down:
Huddled around the tackle box
Emma
Quite the catch :)
The End.
We have been so busy with Hockey Camp for Keaton and some family holidays that I am just now getting around to announcing Chloe's big news: she lost her first TEETH (not tooth) ...but 2 teeth a couple weeks ago while she was spending the day at Nana Emerson's. They were loose for weeks but she was too nervous to let me pull them out so eventually they came out easily while she was fiddling with them. She told me she almost swallowed the first one because she didn't know it had come out. Nana always gives the kids $5 when they lose their first tooth and Chloe got double pay from the tooth fairy too so she is more than a little happy about her missing teeth.
She already had her permanent teeth coming in behind so she didn't really have the big gaping hole that Keaton had when he lost his. I snapped this photo of her a few days ago and they have grown in even more since.
Congrats big girl Chloe. Mommy can hardly believe you are old enough to be losing teeth!
Keaton is really into fishing lately and is liking his new rod that Uncle Cory bought him. He is lucky to have friends that have access to a great fishing spot just a few minutes away from our place and the other night Shaune took him there for some evening fishing with the MacDonald family.
He had a great night and caught 2 great sized fish.
The first was this walleye and the 2nd was a huge carp that broke the line just as they were pulling it out of the water with 18 lb line! Keaton told me it was about 3 ft long and his daddy confirmed it and backed him up. There is no photo of the carp - he is the fish that got away... but here is a photo Kerri got of the boys running up the lawn to show her how big the crazy carp was!
Uncle Cory bought Chloe a pink fishing pole yesterday and I suspect it will be getting lots of use too - she'll probably have better luck than she did when she was using her little Dora fishing pole anyhow.
Shaune was able to take Friday off and we headed to Toronto to the Zoo. I think this was our first time ever where the weather was pleasant and not steaming hot - it was nice to have the breeze and the overcast skies throughout the day instead of the scorching heat we usually experience when we go.
The kids were in a word, amazing! Keaton who has been to the zoo many times still finds it exciting and he was so good about showing Chloe all the different exhibits he liked and he was constantly putting his arm around her and including her - what a nice change from some of the days this summer at home when all they do is bug eachother. LOL. Chloe found it all fascinating and is even more sure now that she is going to be a 'zookeeper' when she grows up. She is such an animal lover! Meg was just Meg and was so good. She sat in her stroller for much of the day and was happy to just watch the activities around her. Shaune had her in the carrier at times too which she really loved.
The kids each had their favourite things about the zoo but I'd say the biggest hit was the Sting Ray and Shark petting zoo that they held under a huge tent by the Kidzoo. There were tons of Sting Rays (they were safe to pet as they had their barbs on the tails filed down) and about 5 smallish sharks (nurse and bamboo sharks) and the kids could all stand along the end of the big pool and the sting rays would swim past and allow the kids to pet them... sort of like a cat walking by so you'll pet the top of his back. The kids stayed in the tent forever and couldn't get enough of it. Shaune and I took time to pet them too and they were pretty cute! We all left the tent smelling sorta fishy though ;)
I had promised Chloe she could ride a pony and she was quite excited about this. It just cemented the idea that she wants to begin horse back riding lessons this fall!
The kids finished the day off at the splash park and had a great time but the zoo was more exciting to them, for sure. We didn't leave til' 7:30pm closing time and it was a wonderful day.
Meg: up close!
These hippos were really entertaining!
Loves "hanging" with her daddy!
Chloe loved these tiny (freaky) monkeys!
Chloe on her horse, Cookie
The horse ride got two thumbs up from Chloe!
Petting the sting rays was a big hit!
Next up - Splish Splash!
Meg (staying dry) and watching from the sidelines!
Keaton was fascinated by the huge aqauriums with jelly fish and tropical fish, etc!
We had a good time once again at the Bean Bake family reunion. The kids had been counting down to it for the past few weeks and we were able to head back north on Thursday to start things off right. We set up a tent but noone slept in it (except my cousin Rhonda)... Meg and I (and sometimes K or C) stayed in my parents trailer and Shaune slept in the cottage with one of the kids each night. The weather cooperated and we are so glad it did... camping with a baby in the rain is not my idea of fun. The skitters' were out thick though and not just at night time so it was tricky trying to keep them from tasting Meggie.
The Saturday reunion was great and the food delicious - although the star of the show - "the beans" admittedly is not my favourite menu item. There was so much food and dessert and good thing because there was a lot of family and friends!
On Sunday we had our annual horseshoe tournament at the beach and my Dad won (along with his partner, my cousin Crystal) the A champs - way to go Dad! Shaune played well too and came close. I thought I had enough on my plate keeping track of 3 children at the lake so I didn't play. The kids loved playing in the warm, shallow lake water and kept themselves busy all day with the fun!
The four days flew by and before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home.
Keaton in Daddy's shades
Meg
Max - my cousin Michael's son
Keaton and Joel
Chloe hunting for clam shells
Joel
Keaton
My cousin Adam's daughter, Abigail
Meg hanging out in the shade (in her play pen) at the beach
Throw those shoes, Dad!
Keaton and Chloe, posing for Mom... and thinking "Hurray up Mom!"
Lovin' the lake!
Rhonda and Cory... after they'd had 'a few'
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