living like a local: summer fun

The summer sure is rolling along! Even though the bulk of summer vacay is behind us, we still have a solid three weeks (right?) to enjoy the weather and freedom that the season allows. Highlights from the last several weeks include a trip to Canada's Wonderland with the bigs, some cottage time, day camp fun, and a few weeks of work for Steve. I'll break it down with a family update - it's been a while!

catchin' lunkers

Hendrik
I could have should have written about his foray into baseball in my last post, but I forgot! This year's commitment was a big step up from last year's t-ball; the team got together three times a week and hit off of a pitching machine that delivered a fairly fast-paced ball. He had a great time and did really well, despite being the youngest on the team (some kids were almost 2 years older than him). The season culminated in a two-day double elimination tournament that found the whole family at the diamond for most of the weekend, and we loved it; there were snacks and toys and sidewalk chalk, and Alana and Jordan played at the playground while I double-duty watched baseball and Jordan (he wants to climb every climber - even if it's way way waaaaay big). They were knocked out just before the finals, so should be very proud of themselves. He also spent a week at Spencer Lodge, an outdoor day camp run by the YMCA, and loved it. He came home tired and dirty every day, having spent seven hours outside with his best friend Edward. But if you asked him what the highlight of his summer has been (so far) I'm thinking that he'd say Canada's Wonderland. We were unsure of what rides the kids would be up for, but Hendrik met the height requirements for all of the rides (I think), and took pride in the fact that he didn't scream on even the scariest of rides. He rode the Behemoth with Steve (a crazy new coaster with an almost vertical drop) and the Drop Zone with me (I screamed). And even after 12 hours (yes 12 hours) he was still asking for more. Did I mention that we were there for 12 hours? We arrived just after 9:30am and left at 9:45pm... we were so spent but we had so much fun! More recently Hendrik has spent hours and hours in the water at the cottage, jumping off the dock, snorkelling and fishing. Summer is FUN!

Alana
Having fully recovered from her sling-wearing days, Alana has also wrapped up her summer activities - t-ball and soccer. She had fun, but wasn't super into it which I understand. She was most excited about spending time with her friends, and it was the most adorable to see them out on the big field on Colman Day, held at Labatt Field (Canada's oldest continually operating baseball park). She also had a blast at Canada's Wonderland, and it occurred to us that she must be one of very few 5-year olds that can ride the big rides - with no fear! We went on some pretty intense roller coasters together, and all she wanted was more. She was game to keep going even at 9:45 - and we rode The Bat (my favourite) when there were no lines, and Hendrik, Gramps and I had to peel Steve and Alana off of one of the roller coasters... there was no line and they could have kept going and going and going (until 10:00). She too spent the week at Spencer Lodge with a few friends, and came home covered in dirt (yay for outside fun). This year she's been a little more squeamish about swimming in the river at the cottage - she's boycotting dock jumps (I think she's afraid of the weeds in the water), but has become an avid frog catcher ("Mom, I'm a frog expert you know") and angler. She caught a huge pike during our first cottage trip, and will take sunfish off her own line. She loves playing Uno and is a huge fan the Owl Diaries and the Princess in Black series. Her birthday is coming up soon, and she starts grade 1 in the fall... yikes!

Jordan
Jordan... you are in such a cute stage! He is talking so much more and has an emerging personality that is becoming more and more evident. He loves saying "own too" still and speaks in almost complete sentences. Oft-repeated phrases include "put in garbo" or "put in compost" - he loves doing jobs (but doesn't say "more jobs" like Hendrik did); he'll set the table extremely haphazardly (how else does a 2 year-old do this?) without being asked, but he will ask for TV - Shimmer Shine or "ipady." He is often very grumpy when he wakes up from his nap, and will cling to whoever gets him out of his crib - or he'll just cling to his crib and blanky. He still loves listening to stories, and current favourites are the Octonauts books, Harry the Dirty Dog, Corduroy and In the Night Kitchen (love the classics!). He LOVES swimming, and fishing and creating frog aquariums at the cottage. We need to take more videos of this one because he really is the cutest with his little voice and his funny faces.

Steve
What's new with this one let me see... When Hendrik wrapped up his baseball Steve also put a lid on the coaching. I think he had a good time with it and was happy to be able to give the players a positive experience - some of the other coaches had very different styles, and I think all of the kids (and their parents) were grateful for short meetings and a positive spin on things. He'll continue coaching at Mac this fall, we just have to work out the details. Earlier this month he put in a solid two weeks installing solar out of town, so I was on my own with the kids while Steve sweat it out in Stouffville putting panels on the roof of a Luongo's. After week two we had a quick turnaround at home and then made for the cottage where Steve will try to max out his time on the water (fishing) and with the kids. They love it there, and I think it's pretty special for Steve to see the young'uns enjoying the same things he did when he was little, and making similar memories. The big news - mentioned briefly in another post - is that he's being inducted into the Clarington Sports Hall of Fame this fall... this is a big deal! How many people can say that they are in a hall of fame? Not many. So I think everyone in the family is excited for the ceremony and weekend in October. There must be more but I am running out of brain power... agh!

Canada's Wonderland before...

Me
I have also wrapped up the coaching - I filled in as the head coach for Alana's soccer and baseball teams and like Steve, I was happy to be able to give the kids a positive and constructive experience. We both know that we will likely be at odds with the kids' coaches at some point (right?), and are motivated to be involved now to give them and their peers a good experience. I'll help out again at Western this fall but it may be more challenging given that I'm going to go to teacher's college - I'll be a student again. I'm really hoping that it will all be manageable, and that once it's all wrapped up after year two I have a job and a career that will stick. In trying to figure out the job thing, I'm (we're) lucky enough to choose and to make choices around what matters most - family. So... first day is September 4th! It's back to school for three bigs this year. (And I'll go back to my library job at St Anthony in May thanks to a leave of absence.) What else what else... I'm in Toronto this week running a volleyball camp, and it has been great to be in the gym, great to have some free to-myself time after work every day (in Toronto too), but I miss this kids! (Steve too.) They're wrapping up a sunny cottage stay and I'll meet them at home on Friday. Yay! I've read some great books this summer - the Prince and the Dressmaker (graphic novel) and The Alice Network are two of the most recent. Summer is still going strong but I know that the countdown to the school year is on (/starts soon). I hope you're enjoying your summer too, and thanks for reading! 😊