Finish to the long weekend

Yesterday was the Monday of the long weekend and we were determined to spend some time together as a family. After the hustle and bustle of Friday, Saturday and Sunday we needed some down time or time to reconnect. Jen and Nino had left Sunday evening and the house was back to the usual chaos and volume levels.

We started the day by Fergus and I reading some more in Harry Potter while Quinn played cars in his room. Once we were finished our reading and everyone was ready we piled into the car and went out to enjoy brunch together.

After brunch the boys wanted to go to Toys 'R Us to look for more Nerf gun ammo. They found what they were looking for and we were finished! Now what to do? As much as we would have loved to have been in Thornbury or Collingwood to be able to enjoy the large body of water -- it was pretty hot and humid here yesterday -- we did not have any desire to drive for two hours.

Then an idea dawned on me! We stopped at the mall in Georgetown and I grabbed two bags of balloons! The boys had no idea what we had planned. I locked myself in the bathroom and began filling the latex bombs with water.

In the interim I had spoken with friends of ours (Karen and Larry) to invite them to our home that evening for drinks. She had turned it around to invite us to theirs as they have a pool. Okay, that would work for us and the boys would be happy to have that wet activity to enjoy.

I called Karen again while I was in the bathroom. By the end of the call it was all set up. We would take the water balloons to their place and have a war in their front yard. It was GREAT! Sure, there was a mess to clean up afterwards but it was fun while it lasted. Two of their four teenagers were home and took part with us. It was a lot of fun!

We relaxed after dinner and played some cards while sipping scotch. It was the perfect end to a wonderful and yet difficult weekend. This weekend worked to remind us how blessed we are with our friends and family.