August 8, 2012

I keep promising myself that I will walk Maverick more often.  Before Ava came around, I would walk him diligently every day.  Now it's nowhere near that.  It was such a nice evening after I got home from work, that I took him for a nice long walk.  I think he was pretty happy to go and it felt good to get out again.

August 7, 2012

Today we were invited over to Keanen's pool.  Here's Ava trying out his goggles.  It was also the first time that Mike and I were able to hang out with Mikelle and Craig, the four of us together.  It was a great night full of lots of laughs.

August 6, 2012

This morning we loaded the kayak up, packed a lunch and drove to the Pinery Provincial Park.  We spent the morning paddling down the river, picking lily pads and looking at the fish.  Then we found a picnic table in a secluded area and had lunch.  It was a great day, topped off with slushies from the park store.  It was also the first time we had used our new rack to hold the boat.  What a challenge it was to get it up there...I'm sure it will get easier with time, and we were already finding better techniques when we put it back up there for the drive home.

August 5, 2012

Ok, our grass is really, really, really long.  So long that flowers are starting to grow in it.  I'm pretty sure we may get a letter from the city soon ordering us to cut it or they will.  I told Mike, that we either need to turn the sprinkler system off and stop watering it or cut it.  I got this picture a few minutes before it was cut.

August 4, 2012

I love watching my girls sleep.  They look so peaceful.  Ava is now in her big girl bed, and looks so small in this "big" twin sized bed.  She still sleeps sideways, diagonal, and hardley ever on her pillow, but always with her special blanket tucked around her.  I set my camera up on the tripod, opened the door to let some of the hall light in, and took this picture.  I didn't realize it at the time, but I think she was watching me.  You can see her eye is open just a tiny sliver. 

August 3, 2012

I was puttering around the garage last night after work, and after the girls had gone to bed, when I looked up at the sky and saw this beautiful sunset, with the rays streaming from the clouds.  It has been my goal to try and get one of these pictures with big rays coming from the clouds.  It's hard to do.  The sun moves fast and you have to be at the right place at the right time.  So, I ran inside, grabbed my camera, hopped on my bike and pedalled down to the beach at the end of our road.  I was too late.  The rays were gone, but I still managed to catch the sun as it was setting. 

Now the funny part was, that while I was gone, Mike had called the house and my Mum answered, she had no idea where I went, as I left so fast, but Mike was calling to tell me how pretty the sunset was, and that I should go take a picture.  Already done.

August 2, 2012

Heather's maiden name was Witt and her father built this cottage.  This is what greets you when you pull up, we walk under this, down the stairs and are greated with open arms and usually a cold beverage!

But for now, our time at the cottage for this year, has come to an end.  It's hard to say goodbye to this place and to the friends we have here.  We all could sense that there was someone missing at the supper table and spotting in the boat.  His laugh was missing when old stories were told but he was evident in many places around here.  I am so thankful for the deep friendship we have with the Knight's and the memories that we can share.

July 31, 2012

Mike has been talking alot lately, since our trip to New Brunswick, about getting a fishing rod.  They have a few extras at the cottage and several times a day I would find them sitting on the end of the dock, fishing.

Ava sure took a likeing to Uncle Wes, especially when he had jujubes!!

August 1, 2012

Claire has diligently been practising going under water and now she's trying to swim as well.  She's doing a great job and manages to swim a few feet under water now!

And Ava, our little comedian...always laughing!

I have a picture of Opa holding Claire and Ava on this very dock 2 years ago.  It is my favourite picture of my Dad and his granddaughters, his smile is so big in the photo.  Ava is now the same age as Claire in that picture and is wearing her dress from that picture today, on the same dock.

July 30, 2012

Could there be anything better than relaxing with your Daddy in a hammock?

July 29, 2012

Since the picture of Wes last night turned out so well, we tried it again, at the same time of day.  Here's Mike on the wakeboard.

And Chris finally got out of driving the boat and got out for a ski.  We can't thank you enough for all those laps around the bay!!

July 28, 2012

It was beautiful today here at the cottage, perfect weather which we all enjoyed, tubing, wakeboarding, swimming and waterskiing.  The last ski of the day came as the sun was setting and when Wes was out the light was perfect reflecting off the spray of his ski. 

Claire and Ava had a blast in the tube!  (I'm not sure why, but I can never open my eyes in a picture...)

 

 

July 27, 2012

Today we loaded up the car and made the drive to Apsley where we would be spending the week at the Knight's cottage.  We have been going here every year for years and this was one place where I always saw my Dad truely relax.  There are so many pieces of him here, ACME repair was always hard at work here and he was always helping Chris build and fix things, making everything easier and better.

We arrived just in time for dinner and an evening swim. 

July 26, 2012

Ava got her first big girl bed today and she eagerly helped Daddy put it together.  She was pretty excited about her "new bed" and she looks so tiny sleeping in it now.  I can remember when she looked that tiny sleeping in her crib...How time passes so quickly...

July 25, 2012

The first ride.  Wes was at our house visiting and the lake was calm so we loaded our new kayak up on the wagon and hauled it down to the beach.  Ava wasn't so sure about it to start, but once we got going she enjoyed herself.  We kayaked in Lake Huron until we came to the river and then paddled along the river for awhile.  The girls thought it was great and they pointed out all the motor boats, jet skis and canoes along the way.

July 24, 2012

Ava loves having her toes painted and she will inform everyone that she sees that she has "pink toes".  Here she is showing them off after her bath.

July 23, 2012

What a great day today!!  We packed the girls up for a road trip to Centre Island in Toronto.  We parked at Yorkdale and took the subway to Union Station and then walked down to the ferry docks, where we met up with Uncle Wes!  He spent the day with us on the island at Centreville.  The girls had a blast and Ava thought she was the coolest person ever, when she was able to drive the cars by herself!!

Pretty sure this was Claire's favourite ride, the Frog Hopper.  Fortunately there was no line up, so these three just stayed on for ride after ride after ride....

At the end of the day we took the ferry back to the mainland and then to Union Station, at rush hour I might add.  Thankfully Wes was there to help us carry the stroller down the subway stairs and then we managed to get on a train without losing anyone.  After a short ride we were back at Yorkdale, where we went out for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe.  Great end to a great day.

July 22, 2012

We went to watch Mike play baseball tonight, his team is called the Angry Pirates.  Here he is at third base, ready for action....

July 21, 2012

After my night shift this morning, I had my mountain bike packed up already to go and left straight from work to meet Jay and Dave for a morning ride around Boler.  It was the perfect temperature, not too hot yet and it was nice to ride with some old friends again.  After my ride I stopped at Mountain Equipment Co-op. Earlier this week we had purchased a tandem kayak, however, they had told us the only orange one was located in Burlington.  We had plans next week to go pick it up.  As I was browsing through the store, I noticed this kayak, the same one we had on hold in Burlington, only blue.  I was perfectly happy with a blue boat, if it meant that I didn't have to drive to Burlington to get it.  So the people from the store helped me load it up on the truck and I brought it home.  It's almost a cross between a canoe and kayak, but it will fit our whole family in it and I am super excited to try it out!!

July 20, 2012

Ava is our little gymnast!  Every time we go to the park she's always swinging on something.  I must remember to register her for gymnastics in the fall.

July 19, 2012

I've met a great group of moms from the preschool program that Claire attended and tonight we got together at Mikelle's (Keanen's mom) house.  Just the girls, no boys or kids allowed.  What a fun night!  Lots of laughs and good food!!  Can't wait for the next one!!

July 18, 2012

Mr. Freezie's have been a staple at our house this summer.  If I come back from a bike ride or run and am really hot, Claire will often look at me as say, "Mummy, you're hot, you need a Mr. Freezie!"  And if she is really hot, she will come up to me gasping in a dramatic way, saying, "my face is so hot, I need a Mr. Freezie." 

July 17, 2012

It was a scorcher today!  So I climbed on my bike and pulled the girls behind in the trailer over to our friends Abby and Brock's house.  Claire was practicing everything she had learned at swimming lessons and started swimming on her own today!  She is only able to swim on her back, but she made it the entire length of their pool all by herself!!  She was so proud!  Way to go Claire!!

July 16, 2012

Another perfect day to head down to the beach!  The water was calm and Ava just loves sitting there playing in the sand, picking it up and then throwing it back in.  I'm sure she could do this for hours.

July 15, 2012

Today we received some much needed rain this afternoon.  These is a picture of one of our Boxwoods in the front yard with raindrops on the spiderweb around it.

July 14, 2012

Our friend's Christine and Mike had a pool party today.  It was a beautiful day, perfect to spend around a pool.  There were so many kids in the pool, it almost made me nervous when Claire and Ava were swimming too.  Thankfully, Daddy went in the pool with them and they had a blast!

July 13, 2012

As the sun was setting tonight, I happened to look out into the backyard and noticed that all those little bugs that come around at dusk were out, and being illuminated by the setting sun.  These are also the bugs that are usually plastered to the front of your car in the summertime.  Much prettier here...

July 12, 2012

I had some special visitors at work today...Claire, Ava and my Mum came to visit!  I showed them around the ambulance, they got to go for a little ride, in and out of the garage and even got to sit in the driver's seat. 

July 11, 2012

Our bushes have been growing out of control lately, so I decided to get the electric trimmer out.  I hadn't used it before and have never been really good a trimming with the hand clippers.  So I fired it up and once I started I just couldn't stop.  I couldn't believe how easy it was and how nicely I could shape the bushes.  I trimmed so many that by the end, my hands and arm were shaking from holding the buttons and navigating my way around the bushes. 

July 10, 2012

We had our first campfire of the season tonight.  It wasn't the perfect night by any means, windy and we had wet wood, which produced lots of smoke.... However, we had promised the girls that we would have a fire and make smores.  I am pretty sure that Claire has had one before.  She savoured every bite and at one point looked up at me and said "Mummy, these are really good!"

July 9, 2012

This is Claire's first year playing soccer and I think she is having a good time.  She loves that Daddy is her coach and often just follows him around the field.  Here she is with a new friend who has the same interest in the game as Claire.... Not too sure what they are looking at, either some birds or a plane.  Regardless, neither one of them had their eye on the ball.  Too cute.