BLOG JULY 2011

Sunday July 31st, 2011

July is pink eye month. We've been rotating pink eye in the family for the entire month. Piper's had it twice, Rain once, Mommy twice, and Torren once. Daddy was the only one who escaped. It caused a bit of havok in our only month off in that we couldn't go out and do a lot of things or have friend over to play. We managed to do a few things despite that and went camping a second time at Killbear.

Our camping trip at Killbear was great. We had an awesome site on the beach so we just dragged down out folding chairs and the pack n play and spent the day on the beach. It was warmer than last year and we were able to go in swimming this year. We also had the canoe and went out a few times over to Scott Island (where the girls found s scary creature which I inform them was a huge foot long leech) and along the coastline past all the rock formations. Because we were on the beach the wind kept away most of the bugs which was nice. Torren was much more at ease this trip and was crawling around the campsite, the beach, the tent. He is going through a bit of roughness with teething so he was quite restless at night. The last few days he's been feverish and cranky.

The park had a great visitor centre and the girls got to touch a fox snake. The wonderful muskoka rocks were fun to scramble over. The girls were like little monkey's, barefoot on hands and feet crawling up and over anything in their path. They have really good balance.

Piper has extremely long nails and she told me it as because she rubs them on her blanket. Weird. Torren is vocalizing more, more whoops, screeches, bubs, duh, eh...he holds his hands out wanting everything to be "identified". He wants to know what everything is called. He was in my arms camping and pointed at a tree...I said "Tree". He pointed at another tree. "Tree"...then another and another....yes, yes there are alot of trees in woods. He's started making strange with people...pretty much anyone he doesn't see on a daily basis. He loves to starte at people though...face to face, just sizing them up, and figureing them out. He's started to raise both his arms up (like "Touchdown") although he only does it if you say "pasta!"

We also managed a trip to Centre Island and to Centreville to see if the kids would like to try a couple of amusment rides. Rain was reluctant at first but went on the teacups with Piper. She came off with a huge smile and made a beeline right towards the next ride..."Lets do this one next!" The went on the old cars, the carosel, the ferris wheel, the teacups, the flying bee's, and the rollercoaster. We also went over to the water park but they preferred swimming in the fountain. The kids on the old cars cracked me up...they all looked so serious while driving (they're on a track of course" as if they couldn't believe they were allowed to drive cars and focused hard so they wouldn't crash.

The girls were invited to a Tea Party by one of their classmates (who invited all the girls from their class) at an actually tea house. They all dressed up in their fanciest dresses and got given matching sunhats. They got to have tea and lemonade, small pastries and sandwiches, and fruit all on little three tiered trays. Then they did a craft. It was wonderful and the girls had a fantastic time.

Strawberry picking with Nana and Opa (we also picked beets, potatoes, peas and beans)



Tempting waves at the beach with friends William and Madeleine



Riding on a bee at Centreville. Check out more photos from Centreville in the July photos page



On the ferris wheel with Opa



Playing in the fountain (they smelled like fish afterwards)



The kids enjoying some popsicles on the deck trying to cool down



The tea party (McKenna, a classmate, invited all the girls from their class)



Go OPA! CHOP faster!!!



We canoed out to Scott Island (this is where we found the giant leech and some tadpoles)



Nana demonstrating how seagulls fly for Torren



The family hiding out from the sun



Sister talk



Rain playing "duck duck goose" on the parks "Water activity day"



Piper in a relay race. The kids worked in pairs to fill up the cup with a sponge. Once the cup was filled they dumped it into a bigger bucket along with others from their team. First team to fill their bigger bucket wins. Piper is the one second in lying down with the cup on her head. Her partner, the boy with the orange swim shorts is filling the cup with a sponge.



The kids works together to plug holes in a rain barrel while another kid fills it up. First team to fill their barrel wins. Rain of course is the only one plugging holes with her feet.



Some decapitated heads drying on a rock.

Sunday June 17th, 2011

Happy Canada Day! We had our annual street party with the neighbours followed by watching the city fireworks down at the Lake. The fireworks were fantatsic! I wasn't expecting it to be very good but we had great seats and the explosions were going off almost overhead. Torren slept though it all. Rain and Daddy watch it from inside the vam along with Torren. It went on for over half and hour.

With the warmer weather we were able to break out the girls slip 'n slide which that have never tried. They thought it was pretty fun and Daddy got in on the action to show them how to slide. Torren was obsessed with Grandma and Grandpa's wind chimes. I remember the girls loving wind chimes too.

We had dinner at Auntie Mags and Manda'a house on Father's Day and Torren was playing with a cat toy, a mouse on a string attached to a rod. We ended up taking it home so he could play some more. He like to grab the rod and shake it about. It soon broke. Toys meant for cats..no so good for kids. Torren is pretty strong too...he likes to deomstrate his strength by moving the kitchen chair around. I'll come in and find all the chais moved about the main floor. He can even back up to some extent while dragging a chair. We shall have to change his name to Bam Bam.

We finally got away on our first camping trip of the season. We went up to Arrowhead for almost a week. The girls had a fantastic time. We played at the beach almost every day. went to the waterfall, went canoeing and biking. They got a chance to body surf in the waterfall near the bottom. We'd climb up alongside the waterfall with a kid on our back and then jump in, surf down and then catch oursleves. Rain did a solo surf a couple of times. Torren fell asleep...nice soothing waterfall sounds.

We came across a skeleton on one of our canoe trips which we determined must be a baby bear from the size of the teeth and the huge backbone. It was next to a beaver logde. Dam those beavers are getting terrtorial..hahaha.

The girls had the most fun on the beach mucking about in the sand and swimming in the shallows. The water was so nice. They built lots of river and dams and moats. A couple of castles and even helped Mommy build a giant lobster and a giant June beetle. In camp, they spent a lot of their time riding their bikes around the loop, playing Spot It and Uno. Torren was crawling a lot in the dirt and going for walks in his stroller. He was ok at night as long as he slept snuggled up with Mommy. The girls summer break is almost over.

Torren's first Canada Day.



The girls try out a slip 'n slide.



A skeleton we found across the late.



The girls at Arrowhead beach..



Torren and Opa at the beach.



Sitting in the waterfall.



Piper's crazy braids.



Torren and a cat toy.



Rain falls asleep in the canoe.