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! 😊

... and after 12 hours of fun

bedtime stories

reading the classics to / with Jordan

playing 'struction site

cousins - first removed - or something like that (?!) and their SLIME... fun for all!

a photo-heavy summer update

The first few weeks of summer have been good to us. We've spent quite a few days staycationing in London, enjoying pools, parks, splash pads and our own back yard, but the highlight of the summer so far would have the be the cottage. We met up with Erin and Fred and family in B-ville for a few days before continuing on to the cottage where days were filled with swimming, fishing, boating and relaxing... it was amazing (as always)! If I were more on top of writing this blog I'd be able to give more details about the day to day (maybe a family update post should come soon), but some noteworthy news of the last two weeks includes:

• We spent Canada Day at a friend's pool where Jordan discovered he has no fear of water or sinking and the two bigs spent six hours in the water. This means we are on major high alert around water and equip Jordan with a life jacket pronto!
• Our house hunt continues and despite some better clarity on where we might want to be... we still don't know. 
• We bought a bike trailer and have been out on a few family rides - it's amazing! Both bigs are envious of Jordan; they want to be towed around in comfort too!
• Plans for the fall might include me going to teacher's college (more school = !!!) ... stay tuned.
• Steve is being inducted into the Clarington Sports Hall of Fame - !! The ceremony is in October but he found out relatively recently. This is a big deal, and I'm so excited to celebrate him in the fall at the ceremony. Yay!

There must be more but I'll leave you with some photos and I will TRY to post more often. Now that I'm not working all day I know I can do a better job of posting and exercising - I might have to register for a race or event to hold myself accountable. We'll see... Until next time!

the dinosaur books resurface - and everyone gets along!

beautiful weather at the cottage!

cousins

we had to go to Watson's...

people must be eating dessert :)

H on deck at baseball - only a few weeks left... he's loved it!

hair salon

touching a wooly mammoth tooth at the children's museum this morning

we went to Rock Glen Falls in Arkona yesterday and had a great time (a few more photos below); Steve and the bigs scrambled down the creek in and out of the water, sat under one of several waterfalls - and we found fossils! 

Owl Diaries is Alana's favourite series... she's beginning her foray into chapter books - sharing the love with J!

a cottage pic - everyone on the boat! (I need to print this one)

ice cream!! 

big events

There are only two days of school left this year (and three days of work for me), and it's hard to believe... time is flying! Well, it is and it isn't. The expression The days are long and the years are short rings true; some (/most) days feel like marathons (exhausted and ready to cry at the end), and then all of a sudden Jordan is waking me up nice and early the next day and we do it again. The end of the school year, my birthday (I turned 40!) and our anniversary are within the same two weeks this year, and for some reason – the big birthday? - I was / am a little more reflective about life and change and decisions this year. As a kid you think that life happens in a formulaic-ish way: you finish high school, go to uni, meet someone, get a job, get married and have kids and then... and then what? I don't know. But for us (maybe for everyone) this formula doesn't exist. We were so incredibly lucky to play sports for a living, to travel the world, to save some money, to have children and then choose careers (or second ones) – this is still a work in progress. This – the figuring out of a career – is, I'm realizing, less fixed for most people. I really do like my job, but I don't think that it's it for me. Above all I value time with my kids and family and am so grateful that it allows me to do that, to maximize my time with the people I love. But a career is such a big part of life... so if it's not this, then what will it be? Another unanswered question is our living situation; we need more space, but where? Or do we stay put and renovate? There is more to figure out at 40 than I thought there would be, but that's okay. We live in a safe place and I have a healthy and happy family – life is good! 

a cake with a donut - !! big win.

helping me celebrate (and ready to EAT)

cheers! homemade pizza on the BBQ for dinner, thanks to my amazing husband

it's the best :)

I'm going to have to edit my blog's "About me" section... no longer am I 30-something! (or a new mom)

I also have to add that Steve surprised me with a trip to Langdon Hall last weekend and it was incredible! What a place. Very suitable for a special occasion as it is très luxe, and the breakfast (the croissant especially) was to die for. My sisters treated me to a mani-pedi at the spa, so I'm feeking very fashionable and feminine with my lovely pink nails. Okay, time to run... I can't believe summer is almost here!!

around town

splash pad fun!

Gosh, the days fly by and all of a sudden I'm not just a little behind with the blogging but seriously behind. We had such an incredible time with our friend Nao who came to visit from Tokyo - the last time we'd seen each other before our Toronto airport reunion was six years ago in Italy. We spent two full days in Toronto where we ate great food (Chinese at Mother's Dumplings and donuts and incredible meal at Terroni were highlights - we would be so fat if we lived in the same city...) walked a lot, did our fair share of sightseeing (including a helicopter tour -  !) and celebrated Dan-O's birthday before we made our way to Niagara Falls on our way home to London. Everyone loved having her here, but for Jordan it was really tops; he loved Nao. Loved. And he was genuinely sad when she left (so was I). Here are a few pics from around town during - and just after - her visit.

at a mini-music park near our house

Gibbons Park on a beauty night

sibs!

Jordan and Nao - on the trampoline

hard at work in the garden

my trio at LPL

my trio at my school's Spring Fling book sale table

"hang in there little one"

Injury update!
Alana's sling came off this past weekend (in the middle of a very active and sweaty ninja birthday party), and despite a little hesitation, she seems fine. However... at her three week follow-up appointment on Friday her GP didn't even examine her but instead suggested she see a surgeon and he seemed to think that's what should have happened pronto post-accident; apparently the break was ugly. So there's an appointment scheduled for July 4, though I'm thinking everything will be healed up by then... we'll see! Hendrik is back to normal, sporting a new scar on his browline.

I took the the day off work today to chaperone Hendrik's class (and many others) to the African Lion Safari, and the kids loved it. They loved the splash pad, and the bus ride through the wildlife was a close second. Everyone was up early, so most are in bed but STILL not sleeping which is really and truly unbelievable. Does anyone else have children that will not ever go to sleep at a reasonable hour - no matter how early they woke up or how hard they played or how full their days were? I continue to be amazed. (And hopefully they go to sleep soon.) Only a few more weeks of school are left, and we're feeling ready for summer... are you?

a few injury firsts

stitches and a sling

It's been two and a half weeks since two of the three kids had their first big injuries - I'll explain Alana's first. Riding bikes to and from school has become routine, and there's always competition (/fights) about who gets to be in the lead. Hendrik usually gets going first but on the day of the accident (moments before the accident) Alana was ahead - so Hendrik did his best to catch up to her and they both started going faster and faster and according to Steve he could see the accident coming but there wasn't much he could do about it. Alana swerved to miss a pole and bit it pretty hard. Several neighbours came out to help, and Alana was being tended to by our neighbour Liz when I got home from work. She was a little scraped up and pretty teary and would only let Liz evaluate her arm and shoulder. The next morning when she was still uncomfortable, I took her in for x-rays... broken collarbone! She was tender and slow-moving for the first few days, so there was a lot of down time and ice and carrying her around (back = ouch). We went to Fabricland and bought some new sling material, and she missed a few days of school (initially she was very upset that people would see her sling / find out about her injury, but some of her friends and classmates have worn slings to school and to bed to be like Alana... sweet!). I also missed a few days of work, and got to don a sling myself on a Costco outing - it was the only way she'd agree to go out in public.  The healing process is only 2-3 weeks, so we'll check in with her family doctor in another week or so. She's been very good at keeping her arm still, but despite our pleas to take it easy the rest of her body can't stay calm anymore and she's running around and jumping on the trampoline etc. She even made it back to t-ball this morning, but that's in large part because I'm the coach and Steve is out of town.

don't mess with me fly

in Liz's backyard

before baseball

after baseball - but before stitches

And so what happened to Hendrik? Two weeks ago today I was playing in the Ontario Women's Master's basketball tournament (happening here in London), when a few hours before our last game I noticed eight missed calls from Steve and then a text: "H got ball in eye. Needs stitches." I came home, but Hendrik and Steve were already en route to the hospital. Liz was over at the house with Alana and Jordan, and she said she'd stay while I went back to play in my game (there were only seven of us - I had to go back!). The guys were still at the hospital when I got home, but arrived just after dinner - tired of the hospital but not too bothered by a new eyebrow (four stitches). Apparently Hendrik was catching pop flies and sort of missed one / caught it with his face (oops). We've been on mega high alert with Jordan, and I'm thinking that his injury was Tuesday night's fall off a climber - he missed a metal stair by four inches and got a mouthful of sand instead. 

alana's bestie in a sling too :)

Another blog is in the works, so more coming soon!

we finished the tourney in second place... so fun to get out and run!

happy birthday Jordan!!

Jordan is TWO! I can't believe that it's been two years since he arrived and made us a family of five. He has such a personality and wants to do the same things his big brother and sister do (always). He expresses his desire for independence often by saying "own" and - and then getting food out of the fridge or pouring himself (and the floor) a glass of milk all by himself. He'll get his own diapers out, and knows where to find his PJs and clothes and soothers. The soothers are one of his favourite things - he calls them "yummies" - and he'll hunt for them under his bed when he wakes up from naps and nighttime sleeps. He loves reading books, watching Shaun the Sheep and/or Totoro, and keeping track of baby (sometimes he sleeps with her and sometimes he wants me to keep her). He's a hefty little fellow but is quite particular when it comes to what he eats and what he eats it with (he'll only use certain little spoons); he survives on yogurt, cereal, toast, bagels, bacon, salami, fries, and fruit, and he won't eat much else. (What a diet!) He also likes visiting Liz and her faux ceramic backyard animals, and he'll talk about Sandra and Bruce when he sees their cars in the driveway. Here's a look back at all three of them on their first, second and third birthdays:

Hendrik's first and second birthdays...


Alana's first and second birthday...
  

Jordan's first birthday...



I LOVE looking back at photos and videos (we need to take more videos!) and am so so so thankful I have this record of our lives.

I know that this might be a bit of a mixed bag as far as answers go, but I thought we'd ask Jordan the usual birthday questions (plus a few more); here goes!

who is your best friend? No answer. He said "Yeah" to "Hendrik and Alana?" 
what’s your favourite colour? Pink
what’s your favourite food? Daddy Yogi (Plain yogurt with maple syrup)
what do you want to be when you grow up? Gramma
what’s your favourite book? Cow. (I'd say it's The Gruffalo or a dinosaur book or The Boat Alphabet Book.)
what’s your favourite animal? Piggie
What's your favourite number? Two.
What do you like saying? Own. 
What's your favourite word? "Gramma. Bumps"