Splash Party

The girls were really hot after soccer last night so we let them jump in the pool when they got home, even though it was almost bedtime. They went wild, you'd think they'd won a jackpot or something.Murray decided to get in with them and they then went even more crazy. I was inside doing laundry and stuff and I could hear them having a blast out there. The laughter and shrieks of delight were nonstop.

I had to go out and investigate the racket and almost jumped in myself but it was almost time for them to get out.
Murray can obviously have more pool fun than I can, no way could I do many of these lifts!

We love our pool! Have we thanked you lately Nanny & Grampy???? It's been a huge help this week in the hot weather :)))

Sweet & Thoughtful!

OK, OK, I guess I will keep them after all! They've been quite a handful this week, the hot weather has led to late bedtimes, the morning sunshine has led to early risings and that's never a good combo in any household!

Today at lunchtime, they came and asked me if they could make a fruit salad. I thought that anything that gets them interested in eating fruit is OK by me! So they went through the fridge & selected some fresh picked strawberries that we got yesterday, some cherries, a banana and maybe some kiwi? They cut everything up, put it in a bowl, added the peanuts (well don't YOU put them in YOUR fruit salad????) and then told me what was going on. They wanted to plan a surprise party for daddy. Why you ask? Because of all the nice jobs he does for them.

"He goes to work to earn money for our food and stuff, he reads us stories and plays with us" I think there were a couple more reasons but I couldn't remember them all. The party had to be a complete surprise and I was sworn to secrecy more than once! He got home and there was a bit of a disagreement. One wanted to spring the surprise on him right away, another wanted to wait til later, and one wanted to do it in the middle of supper. Sweetie almost had a heart attack when he went to the fridge to get a drink of water. She barrelled in front of him and spread herself as big as she could in front of their bowls until he'd gone away. LOL He assured her he hadn't seen anything.

They also picked a bouquet for him which Lovey demanded I do a retake of them to include the flowers! Murray seemed quite touch by their gesture and gobbled up every bite of his nutty fruit salad!

Signs of the Times

I would like to thank my children's teachers for helping them learn so much about reading and writing! It's amazing what they're able to put on paper after only one year in school. It is exciting to watch them work on little projects, writing in journals and finding really cool notes stuck to my butt like these ones below.

It's a little hard to make out in this picture (click for the larger version) but it says "Im Stoopid"

They've also learned the importance of economizing and made this little sign reversible. I'm not sure they know what a "scan" is but I'm sure they thought it was quite insulting. Or maybe they were going for "I'm scum" ????

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

We have two girls playing Tball this year and one who's sticking with her "I never want to play/do/learn/take anything ever again." Soooooo that would leave Lovey & Honey on the field and Sweetie on the sidelines being a pest when she gets bored after 5 minutes!They're really enjoying it, despite the heat and bugs. Their favourite parts are rounding the bases and hitting off the tee. They know many of the kids already from school so they enjoy seeing everybody each week. I enjoy that it's only $25 for the season! A worthwhile investment and the field is handy to our house so it's cheap AND convenient.

It's best to get the pink batting helmet of course as the black one is just for boys or something.


Woohoo! Safe! Lucky for her, the 1st baseman can't catch yet :)))
Now out in the field is another story. Honey get the ball, BEHIND you!!!!!! "huh? where? I don't see it?!?!?" Hmmm wonder how she missed that one?
We let Sweetie bring Baby Alive to help her pass the time this week and it seemed to help but she still needed to go to the playground for the last while.

Ahhhhh! A model who will work with me and pose for as long as I want and doesn't require any bribes. Sweet! and you gotta love those catchlights right?

Ahhhh! That's better!

We've been waiting patiently all year for cottage season to start up and now that school is done and holidays are here, it's time! We packed up and spent Canada Day beachside, woohoo!

Can't beat this gorgeous view! Sunny blue skies, light dancing on the water, the oh so soothing sounds of my children whining in the air... 2 out of three ain't bad they say right? OK, so it wasn't constant whining but there was a 45 minute "scraped knee" incident that must have broken either a record or an eardrum surely.

Poor old Murphy baby! He still has a deep love for Kong work but his poor body isn't keeping up with his young dog spirit. He fetched and fetched and barked madly and annoyingly if Murray tried to get him to take a break. One afternoon of this and he had to sleep the rest of the weekend to recover.



did I mention the 45 minute screaming episode about the knee? Here it is in all it's intense glory! The good news is that she has excellent lung strength and capacity and awesome projection and endurance!

The best part of the weekend????? Ok well there was a close tie for me. I got to play tennis more than once AND Murray & I went out by ourselves to a movie! We used to play tennis daily at the cottage, BK (before kids). Then they got here and totally set the whole cottage world on ear. Murray usually gets out for a run each day and has managed to squeeze in at least a game or two each year but for some reason it has been several years since I got to play (my intense addiction to big box store shopping may or may not have cut into my court time....). But this weekend I grabbed my racket, took Murray hostage and ran out the door before my in laws realized we were ditching them with the kids! Master planner I am! As with all evil deeds, you get caught and you get punished. A thunder and lightning storm erupted in the middle of the 2nd or 3rd game and I had to abandon my well planned scheme. Somehow, my MIL took pity on me and invited me to Saturday morning ladies' tennis. No hostage taking required! totally legit and no rained out match, funny how that works. I got to play for almost 2 hours straight. It was amazing. Not my skill mind you but the chance to run around the court and get demolished by multiple opponents! I got better as the games went on and I got less nervous around so many new people. It was so much fun! I want to go every Saturday!!!!!

The kids had a great time too of course and spent hours down by the water, playing and digging and splashing around. Getting them to come up for supper each day was a bit of a challenge and resulted in tears more than once (scraped knee style of course!).

We love the cottage and can't wait to go back!!!