summer so far

the bigs - getting along! - downstairs

We're a week and a half into summer and so far so good; Hendrik survived his first (and only) week of full day camp, and Alana and Jordan and I got into a bit of a routine with morning activities and afternoon naps/down time. This week looks different though - both big kids are home, and they're happy to take it a bit easy despite the fact that they're staying up late and getting up early, even though they don't have to. I'm trying to get out to a park in the morning, enjoy some down time in the afternoon while the little sleeps, and then get out again in the afternoon for a combo of errands and something for the kids. This morning we enjoyed the park and splash pad up in Ilderton, yesterday we had a first time visit to Kiwanis Park (great park, average splash pad - maybe not a repeat visit park for us), and on Monday we walked up to Ryerson School where the kids had a great first visit at the various play areas. They've been asking for TV ALL the time, so I'm surprised/shocked that they are playing nicely in the basement right now - no demands, no TV requests, and no fighting... craaaaazy! And they were both very well behaved at the Honda dealership where we ate lunch while the car was serviced. I have a huge list of potential activities while the kids are home, but that wasn't one of them; we've had a few rainy afternoons, so indoor activities around the house have included baking (they make up their own recipe) and cleaning ("cleaning") - both done with mucho gusto. The baking involved a trip to Bulk Barn (always a highlight) where the kids picked out a few custom ingredients for what turned out to be cupcakes... and they did turn out, but no one has requested their desserts after day one's bake it and eat it excitement. Last week Alana got a new bike (!!) and I don't even have a picture. We went in to get her a new helmet, and found something in the second-hand section that works perfectly! Hurray. We're going to try to get down to Pinafore Park in St Thomas, and maybe out to pick some cherries in Arkona, but for now I'll enjoy the quiet... while it lasts!

hendrik's recipe, rockets and chocolates

look at this handsome dude, going on 14 months