I aksed Doug to take a couple of shot of the front garden

When we first moved in the front gardens had four little coniferous trees and a couple of flowering bushes. There were a few impatiens in for colour that first year but ultimately I didn't like the way it looked.
The next summer I added perennials like crazy and created another small bed around the base of the tree where the boys have their swing. Now it is filling in and we are really happy with the way it looks. I, personally, love the disheveled way it looks. I am not really one for a well manicured garden.
This is my summer-time fun.
At the bottom are a couple of shots, again, from our first summer here. The boys have really changed too!!!

We took Liam and Quinn to a splash pad in Oakville

This splash pad is not far from our place, maybe 20 minutes or so, but is really neat. It had recently stopped raining but was still quite sticky with humidity. We had the whole park for ourselves for the most part and the two boys ran and played and had the time of their lives. It probably helped that we preceded this adventure with a trip to Lick's for milkshakes. Made the whole thing turn into an afternoon they would really like to repeat.

Doug's adventures with the boys and other news

Life here continues to move at a break-neck speed. We are working very hard on developing new leads and angles for our business. “We” is my business partner Kristin, and I. She is due with her second baby in November and we would like to make some real progress before that. We did a home eco-consultation yesterday. We met with a couple who have a seven month old that has already been diagnosed with asthma. Mom eats right, no carpet in the home, breastfeeds and yet he is asthmatic. Kristin and I were able to go into the house and help them see things they can do to create a safer home environment for their son.

Doug, the boys and I are leaving tomorrow for our family vacation time. We will camp in the Port Elgin area for a few days and then we will head to Thornbury for a few days. I will leave them in Thornbury to come back home and teach Tuesday night and take a “Child Restraint Technician” course on Wednesday and Thursday. At the end of the course I will be certified to inspect car seats to ensure they are installed properly. It continues to be a passion of mine and so I decided to get my certification.

Last weekend Doug took the boys Go-Karting. Fergus, Quinn and I went at the beginning of July but I guess Doug felt left out of that reality and decided to find somewhere that he could go with them. They had a GREAT time, despite the fact that Fergus’ kart was wide open and it had recently rained so he got completely filthy and totally soaked! He looked like a cartoon character when he took his sunglasses off and they were the only clean place on his face.

They also went to the Welland Canal and were able to see some really huge cargo ships going through the lock system. Quinn is still hooked on boats and anything water-related so was as excited as Doug and Ferg to be there.

While they took this great day-trip I got to teach class. That’s okay. I have had a lot of time alone with the boys so far this summer and Doug hasn’t. I also had my sister’s bachelorette party/dinner to go to. It was a great time and I am so excited for her. It’s fun seeing the choices they are making and being part of the pre-wedding celebrations.

The other highlight of the summer will be the return of my brother. He is moving home after almost 5 years away. I am pretty excited about having the chance to see him and maybe catch up with him.

As you look at the pictures of the Welland Canal I will try to put them in order so that you can see, as the boys and Doug did, how the boat approaches, the bridge lifts, the boat passes and the bridge comes down. Doug and the boys were on the near side of the bridge so they were able to see it all unfold and then see the boat up close -- through the bars -- when it was all the way through.

The other pictures, where the boys are right next to the [different] boat, were taken at a different location and apparently they were in an area they weren't supposed to be. Oh well. Live and learn. They all found it to be really neat.

That's all for this post!

What happened to me???? Where did I go???

Wow! Looks like I kind of disappeared for a little while. What can I tell you about the last couple of weeks?

I was supposed to go to New Jersey last weekend to see some "sisters" and to have some time enjoying some American R&R. Well, needless to say I was not enough of a planner and we just couldn't do it financially and I wanted to be close to home for a couple of people who are important in my life and who may have needed me to be available for them.

Instead I went to my mom and dad's for a couple of days but not before we went down to the Lakeshore in Toronto and watched the grand finale for the Canada Dry Festival of Fire on Saturday, July 05th. We managed to get down the the park (we were too cheap to pay to get into Ontario Place so we went to a public park just west of OP and watched from there) early enough to enjoy a lengthy family game of badminton. (Doug and I used to play badminton years and years ago -- as we had a HUGE back yard to allow plenty of running room that was good for Frisbee too -- and now the boys are old enough to join us so we are back at it.)

Once the darkness set in we made our way to the beach and laid out our blanket as well as setting up our beach chairs. We had snacks and visited while we waited for the show to start. It was a really great show. Added to it was the sea of boats and boat lights out on the water from people who had moved to the water to see the show. They must have had a GREAT view!!

We head home in the traffic and Sunday, after a huge fry-up, the two boys and I made our way to my mom and dad's. The boys had never been to Sauble Beach and I hadn't been there since I was a kid. Sauble is a lovely expanse of sand beach on the Canadian shore of Lake Huron. We spent time on the beach laying around, digging in the sand, and splashing in the great waves. We stayed until just after noon (this was on the Monday) and then we went to the Go Kart track. (The breeze was pretty chilly on the beach, despite a forecast high of 28 degrees Celcius -- about 80-85 F)

Fergus was delighted to see that he was tall enough to drive the Go Kart himself. Papa said he would take Quinn with him. There were two steering wheels in the kart that dad and Quinn had so I didn't think Quinn knew that he wasn't controlling the wheels. Duh, mom!! When we spoke about it last night he told me that he knew he wasn't in control because the two times he spun the wheel right around the car didn't turn at all. Hmmmm, I wonder why the little ones aren't allowed to go by themselves???

We head back to Nani and Papa's shortly after Go Karting and having some Dairy Queen so that we could rest, refresh and get ready for dinner with AD and UD. My AD turned 65 the week previous to our visit so we were going out to celebrate her milestone. I love seeing them so it was a great opportunity to catch up with them.

Tuesday I was able to enjoy a catch-up visit with the womyn who was my best friend in grade school, Teesha. She has a new little girl and I was given then chance to have a snuggle with her while Teesha and I caught up on the past 20 years. I really have only seen her once, at a funeral, since we left high school. There has been a lot that has happened in that time.

We came home on Wednesday so that I could be home to have a couple of meetings with clients. That also allowed us the chance to be home on Thursday and to go into Toronto to see Christi, Owen and Frankie as well as spend some time at High Park. The play structure there was built by several members of the community about 15 years ago. Everyone donated their time and energy and created this masterpiece.

I must admit that I prefer to go to the "Castle Park" (as my kids call it) during the school year as it is much quieter and I don't feel quite so edgy. Last Thursday there were so many people around that I was constantly worrying about where the boys were. It didn't help that I had borrowed a the youngest son of a friend of mine too so that she could take her third to a doctor's appointment. Quinn loved having Liam with him at Owen's. It was a special gift for him to be able to spend that kind of quality time with two of his favourite friends.

Friday would have been quiet except we were scurrying around to get things organized so that Fergus could be ready in time to be picked up by his best friend, Adam, for a weekend away with them at their cottage. My eldest is obviously old enough to spend weekends away, I guess.

Quinn found solace in the reality that his brother had jumped the family ship by being invited to his friend's house (Alex) for the night. Alex's mom planned to take the boys to a movie too so he got it in spades.

And in case you were keeping track, yes . . . that did mean that we were without children for the night. So, we called Karen and Larry to see if they wanted to go and have a drink. Nah, they invited us to theirs and we dined, drank and played cards until WAY TOO late and had a FANTASTIC TIME doing it!!

Saturday Paulette dropped Quinn back at home and we made our way to the Farmer's Market downtown. I love just browsing each of the stalls. I am pokier than my MIL though and since she was with us we had to keep moving. Oh well.

Saturday evening we went to a BBQ at the home of my business partner and ate, and ate, and ate!! OMG! The food was amazing! And Quinn spent time wowing some of the adults with his Wii prowess. Many of the adults at the party are IT individuals and gamers too. They were amazed with how Quinn kept winning.

Sunday was a more relaxed day, finally. We hung out in the back yard, visited with one another and just enjoyed not having to go anywhere. Fergus got home around 10:00 p.m. or so and we just spent some time lounging on the bed as a family catching up on the excitement and adventures of our respective weekends.

Yesterday was a nice, slow day. The boys have started swimming lessons this week and other than that, we are not really planning to do much of anything. I have some meetings planned and of course we have baseball on Thursday. Other than that though . . .

This weekend I teach both days. Saturday night we, some of the female folk, are getting together to celebrate my sister and her plans to get married this summer. Doug and the boys will likely go and do something fun together since I will be gone from Saturday morning to Sunday evening.

Doug's holidays start a week from this Thursday so we are pretty excited at what the next few weeks will bring.

Thanks for reading! Hope you are having a GREAT summer!!