Canada Day Long Weekend.....

And a very long weekend it was!  Four days to be exact!  Grandpa and I left Saturday morning with Hailee, Hannah and Cade, to visit Uncle Warren and Aunt Cindi for a couple days.  They have a new boat and wanted us to spend some time enjoying the water.

About a third of the way into our 3 1/2 hour drive, we stopped at a Trading Post for breakfast. Well, actually it was lunch for the kids and breakfast for grandpa and I LOL!  It was way too warm to leave Sparkles in the car, so we grabbed a picnic table outside and moved it into some cool shade provided by the huge spruce trees outside the restaurant.

As we were all engrossed in our various meals, we heard that music. What music you may ask?  Well the music that lets everyone around know the Hungry Bear and Blueberry Hound were coming out for a visit. Yipeeeeeee!  The girls were quite excited and patiently waited for both the Bear and Hound to make their way over to our table.  Cade on the other hand was not impressed, and immediately grabbed my hand and tried to hide behind my leg...hehehe!  The only way to get a picture with Cade was to actually be in the picture myself LOL! Don't you just love my new Tilly hat?? A great way to keep the hot sun from my face and ears :) By the time our four days were over, I was quite happy to have that hat. The heat and humidity were horrible for our whole trip.

  

We can't forget Grandpa in a picture!

He even danced a bit with the hound and bear LOL!

We managed to stretch out breakfast into a good hour. All the kids ate very well and of course wanted "dessert". This trading post has the best ice cream...yum.  It didn't take much for them to convince grandpa to have ice cream LOL!  Mom is going to shoot us!!  After slurping up our ice cream and having a washroom break we loaded up the car once again and were on our way to Uncle Warren's place!

    



Cade certainly enjoyed his Spiderman ice cream!!

Just before arriving at Uncle Warren's, we called his cell phone to see where he and Aunt Cindi were. Where else would they be?  The boat of course.  He said he'd drive home to meet us there.  We unloaded the van as fast as we could, changed into our bathing suits, packed towels/sunscreen and away we went to the boat for the afternoon.

Surprisingly, we didn't even feel the heat or humidity once on the lake. It was actually beautiful! A perfect day for boating....and tubing of course :)  Not to mention feeding the ducks...and unfortunately, a few gulls as well LOL!

The girls didn't want to go on the tube by themselves, so Aunt Cindi (who LOVES water) said she would go with them. It took a bit of convincing to get Hannah on the tube as she wasn't too sure of it, but once Aunt Cindi got on it made Hannah feel a bit safer :)  They had a ball. Hannah kept giving the hand signal for Uncle Warren to go faster and faster....hehehe!

  Their smiles say it all!!

Cade was having none of it however. He wasn't even sure about being on the boat....hehehe! By the time we were ready to come in for the day though, he was telling Uncle Warren to go faster too!  We stopped a couple times and found a nice little area with a sandy beach where the kids could get out and play on the tube...and munch on some fresh fruit that Aunt Cindi had packed. She thought of everything!





Even Sparkles got into the spirit and had her life

jacket on. She became quite the little boater for the couple

days we were there....going for a swim, sunning herself.

It was all too funny LOL!



Canada Day Weekend....Day 2

Today was going to be another fun day. Once breakfast was done and the cooler packed with goodies for lunch, we loaded up into the van and drove the short 10 minutes to the marina once again.  The girls were excited to tube again and wanted to be prepared to show mom and dad how they did it when mom and dad came in after supper.

We anchored in that nice sandy area again for lunch and the kids were able to take off their lifejackets while playing in the water and on the tube.  The ducks came up to the boat for handouts for their lunch as well...hehehe! Good thing Uncle Warren and Aunt Cindi had packed a lot of bread!

By mid afternoon everyone was getting tired and we thought we should go back to the house for a nap. Everyone was going to be up late that night to watch the Canada Day fireworks on the lake.  We wanted to make sure we were all rested, especially so the kids would be in a good mood when mom and dad came in around 7:00. Hannah and Cade slept for an hour, but Miss Hailee refused to even close her eyes...hehehe!

Hang on to that trailmix Uncle Warren.

All 3 kids were trying to get to the M & M's LOL!

 



Snacking while waiting for the fireworks to begin!

  

  



To kill some time we all got in the boat and headed to an ice cream shop along the waterfront in Barrie, Ontario, then picked our spot to watch the fireworks.  What a great night it was, watching all those colors and hearing the crackling and popping of the fireworks.

By the time we made it back to the house it was after 11:00. The kids had gotten their pjs on before the fireworks started, so they were ready for bed after a quick face wash.  A good sleep was had by all LOL!

Canada Day Weekend.....Day 3

Our time with Uncle Warren and Aunt Cindi came to an end today.  We packed up and headed down to Toronto to check into our hotel.  We switched up our plans for today and instead of going to the Zoo, we decided to head to Canada's Wonderland instead. It's only 10 minutes from the hotel, and we wouldn't have to fight Long weekend traffic to get across the city to the zoo.

Wow....can we say hot and humid?  Oh my goodness, it was so hot today. By the time the kids hit the rides they wanted too and we headed to the splash pad, it was SO busy there was no room in the change rooms. It was shoulder to shoulder.

So even thought it was Hailee's birthday wish to enjoy the splash pad, we were able to convince her to go back to the pool at the hotel.  No one else was there so it was like having our own private pool. We had a ball, and the kids were much happier than being out in the heat :)
 

  

 

  

  

Cade was getting quite brave with jumping into the pool!

By the time we left the hotel he was even swimming

backwards on his back :)  

 

It's hard to believe that our oldest granddaughter Hailee will be 8 years old tomorrow. Where does the time fly?  In celebration of her special day we decided to go out for supper a day early....and will you just look at the dessert she had!!  Wow!  How can one little girl eat all that by herself you may ask? Let's just say she had a lot of help LOL!  

  An early happy 8th birthday Hailee!

 

Canada Day Weekend....Day 4

Oh my, our last day of our trip and today it is Zoo day...yeah!  We wanted to get to the zoo early to try and beat the heat. On this kind of day the animals don't even want to be outside and are sleeping the afternoon away.

Wow! It was hot and humid today. Grandma thought yesterday was bad, but today is even worse.  Between stops in the shade and having something cool like popsicles to cool off, we could hardly wait to get to the splash park at the zoo.  We found a nice shady spot and were wishing we had all brought our bathing suits. As it turned out, grandpa was the only adult among us who had his suit...so he had the pleasure of cooling off while running through the fountains, sprays, slides with the kids.  I'm not sure who had more fun, grandpa or the kids LOL!

 







Monkeying around at the zoo LOL!

 

  
The kids love the Rainforest Cafe, so when we left the zoo, that's where we went for an early supper.  If you thought Hailee's birthday dessert last night was big, take a look at this humongus dessert!  It was enough for the whole table to share LOL!  Hailee couldn't even finish her portion...hehehe.
 

She looks so grown up :)

As busy as our four days were, it seemed to go all too quickly, and before we knew it, we were home yesterday afternoon.  I have a feeling that next summer we'll be hitting more waterparks than theme parks or the zoo LOL!

Hailee's actual birthday party is on Sunday, and I'm planning a big cake in the Hawaiian theme that she requested. My mind in spinning with all sorts of ideas.  Pictures to follow in a few days :)

Grandma loves you

xoxoxoxo





We Are Blessed......

This grandma has been rather busy the last few weeks. Between trying to survive in the heat and humidity, we've also been busy with the grandkids....swimming to keep cool, celebrating grandpa's and my 40th anniversary, running here, there and everywhere with soccer, and we can't forget all the trips to the ice cream shop....hehehe!

Hailee...left...checking her earring....hehehe!

She absolutely LOVES soccer. Who knew she would

take such a liking to it?  We're so happy for her :)

 

Cade on the other hand....not so happy LOL!

The look says it all.

Hmmmm....something makes me think I've already

posted about soccer. Sorry if I have....my brain

doesn't always work when I want it too.

Besides, who doesn't want to look at my grandkids again?
LOL!!!!

  

This past weekend was no different.  Our youngest granddaughter, Aislin, was Christened yesterday, and what a special day it was :) 

Hehehe....see, I told you....a real sweetheart!

She's also wearing the Christening dress that her

mom and her other grandma wore!  It's definitely

an heirloom :)

  

We are definitely blessed to have such wonderful sons, DIL's and of course, grandchildren.

Not only did we have the Christening, but Aislin's big brother Keelan had his Lacrosse finals....yeah!!  He even scored two goals and got a medal.  It was so much fun to watch 3 and 4 year olds playing lacrosse....hehehe. Their helmets looks bigger than their bodies!
 

Don't worry Keelan LOL.....

we are watching every move you make :)

  

Of course it was also lots of fun to keep Aislin occupied for the hour. She is such a sweet baby....never cries unless she's hungry or tired...always a smile on that sweet face. Nothing like a baby to make you realize what life is all about :)

A couple weekends ago grandpa and I decided to celebrate said 40th anniversary on our own, down in Toronto. We stayed at a hotel for a couple nights and went to a dinner theatre.....we hadn't been in many years, and I must admit it was hard to stay up so late after eating such a B I G buffet dinner LOL!  Why is it you have such good intentions to eat only the "healthy" stuff, and only go for one serving....oh, and let's not forget the promise we make to ourselves about not having any desserts!!  Ya, sure LOL!  As I said, all those good intentions went out the window....and imagine....we still survived. Stuffed, tired, but happy :)
  

Here's to 40 more sweetie!

And they said it wouldn't last LOL!  Kidding!!!

  

Grandpa and I had a great time with Keelan and Aislin and look forward to our next visit, hopefully in a few weeks.

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Another Birthday!

It's been so busy the last couple of days that I neglected to post about our visit with our youngest son and his family this past Thursday!  Yes, another birthday...our youngest turned 33. Wow, times does fly :)

We were lucky enough to spend a few hours with the grandkids, Keelan and his baby sister Aislin :) She's growing like a weed and has a smile on her face that appears to be a permanent fixture...hehehe! What a great baby!

  
Keelan was quite happy with the new bull dozer we brought down for him and wanted to put it in his huge sandbox by the barn :) It's actually hard to find any sort of machine that he doesn't already have. He has an obsession with big machines LOL!

He just had to show us his new chicks and ducks that were in a pen in the back yard.  Toooo cute. Keelan's favorite is the white chick. Wonder if it will let him hold onto it when it's actually full grown LOL!

  

 
We all went out for a great supper....we've been trying to go out with them for a long time now, so were quite happy that Thursday was the day!!  A yummy supper and a Happy Birthday song and piece of cake....um....for Keelan LOL!  Yes, being only 3 he thinks everyone is still singing happy birthday to him, and that the sparkler and cake is for, who else....but him LOL!
  

Aislin was soooo good all through supper....although she is starting to look at the food on plates as something she would love to get hold of....hehehe!

The visit ended all too soon, but hopefully it won't be too long before we get down to visit again. Thanks for a great time guys :) We had a ball!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!

Nothing brings out excitement for the grandkids like celebrating a birthday....especially a grandparent's birthday, because we're so "old" you know....hehehe! Today was no exception! Grandpa's 62nd birthday isn't until tomorrow, but between school and swimming lessons in the evening, today was a much better day for celebrating. 
  

  
What made it even better is our wonderful DIL brought everything over that we needed for supper. Yup, sausages, potatoes, veggies, corn on the corb....it was all there. Grandma had nothing to do! What a great DIL...and what a great meal....yummy!

Not only was it grandpa's birthday, but it was also the day to let the goldfish go into our pond. It's become a yearly tradition that Hailee, Hannah & Cade release the goldfish into their summer home. The big surprise is that it's actually warm enough finally to let them go LOL!
  

 
We started out with 4 feeder fish, 9 years ago....grandma bought them to keep in our pond the year Hailee, Hannah and Cade's mom and dad were married!  Over the years these 4 fish had hundreds of babies which grandma gave away. I did however keep 3 of them. Never in a million years did I ever imagine that 9 years later, 3 of our grandkids would be helping a couple of the same fish into the pond :)
Sadly, we've lost a few over the years and this summer we only have 3 goldfish. I think grandpa is wanting to add a few more though, so I'm sure our "school" of fish is going to grow shortly LOL!

A bit of drizzle outside didn't put a damper on our fun. We moved indoors and got into some painting...with cut up sponges no less! Hailee was determined to paint with sponges today, and she got her way LOL!
 

    

Supper was delicious and then it was time for Happy Birthday and 'cake'.....or should I say it was time for mini cupcakes....hehehe! Yes, we're all trying to be health conscious around here, for the time being at least, so instead of a big cake that we'd be eating for days, we had mini cupcakes....and the best part, each of the kids was allowed to have two! What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon :)

See you at swimming lessons tomorrow night guys!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Catching Up....

I must say that times does fly when you're having fun with the grandkids....and drags when you aren't having fun with them :)
   
I know it's been awhile since I've written here, but it's been awhile since I've been able to sit down and think about everything that has gone on!
  
As said previously, the gang did go to Disney World and they DID have a wonderful time.  Oh the stories....hehehe....I feel like I was actually with them, especially when they go into detail about each and every ride....grandma doesn't do rides very well LOL....and I could feel my stomach lurching just hearing about them. Especially the one where they came out of their seats, in the dark LOL!
   

  

  

Very first airplane rides for all three of them!!

  

They have beautiful pictures to remind them of such a special trip with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and of course we can't forget the princess Belle :)  Oh, oh, and we can't forget the Bippity Bop hair salon where both girls had their hair done in the same way their favorite princesses wear theirs.  Hannah was Cinderella, with the beautiful blue dress and tight bun on her head to prove it, and Hailee was Belle, with her gorgeous hairdo and yellow dress. Such special memories.
  

LOL....nice hats guys!!

Daddy has the same hat on that he had when he was

ten years old at Disney!

    

The Friday they came home we were going to go over for a visit, but they decided to come here instead.  You just have to see the cute Minnie Mouse summer hat they bought for me!  I love it. And since I can't be in the sun without a hat, it's perfect!!  The Tinkerbell nightie is sooooo special and will be saved for when they come for sleepovers :)
   
The following day they were here bright and early for a sleepover....yipeeeeee!  They sure can keep us busy just playing in the yard.....mudpies, cabins, swinging, the playground, not to mention "grandma, we need another cage for our animals" LOL!  Yes, they were setting up an "animal rescue" in their cabin in the bushes, using my animals from around the yard....birds, rabbits, raccoons, turtles, frogs....they captured them all, and they are all still caged, waiting for the next visit :)
  
And we can't forget the "plays" the 3 of them put on for grandpa and I....hehehe!  We had sweatshirts and jackets on to keep warm that Saturday afternoon, and the girls were in little fairy dresses....and they came back into the house to change twice LOL!  Cade was the "cow"....yes, it's the only costume he wanted to keep on and would go around the yard talking about "the cow" in the third person. "The cow is walking"...."the cow is standing"....etc etc LOL! We had tears we were laughing so hard!
   

      
Sunday morning we were up nice and early.  We had pancakes for supper last night so I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry, or mess, before mom, Hannah and I left for Toronto.  Hannah had two appointments that week at Sick Kids...Monday and Tuesday.
  
She was very excited about playing in the hotel pool, but we were all disappointed when we arrived at the hotel and the desk clerk told us the kid's pool closes at 8:00. Hmmmm....it was almost ten to eight....could we hurry up and run down to the pool for a quick dip?  Surely they wouldn't kick us out with just a few minutes left, would they?
        
We entered our room and quickly threw the luggage/bags anywhere we could and quickly went through our luggage to find our bathing suits....quick, quick, quick Hannah. Let's get down to that pool.
Out of breath, we arrived at the door to enter the pool area and there on the door were the times....it closed at 9:00 p.m.  I felt like going up to the lobby in my bathing suit to let the desk clerk know she was wrong....ugh!

  

"Are you coming grandma?"

    

Anyway, the excitement of still having an hour to swim overtook thoughts of telling the desk clerk, and we got into the water.  Yikes....as I slowly got used to the chilly water and goosebumps surfaced on my skin, it brought back memories of the last time we were at that hotel.  The water wasn't any warmer LOL!  Hannah made us promise that we would go swimming two times the next day. She has such a great time in the water.
  
We were soooo happy with her first appointment. She is doing great and doesn't need to see that surgeon for a year now....yipeeeee!  Great job Hannah :)  She is such a big girl now when they do an ultra sound on her. It used to take 3 people to hold her down and she would still be crying and manage to roll over on the table.

And guess who was also at Sick Kids??  Hey, why aren't you at Disney World?
 

 

It took longer than we expected though and we didn't get back to the hotel until almost 4:00.  Hannah was in a hurry to get into the pool, but mom and grandma wanted to take a bit of a break.  Begrudingly she let us lay down for a bit....but not too long :)
  
Once we were tired of the pool we showered and got dressed for supper in the hotel restaurant. We were too tired to go anywhere else, and little Hannah was already yawning :)  She wasn't even very hungry, but still managed to eat half of my ceasar salad...hehehe!
 
We had told her we would get a movie in our room and then go back down for a swim. Honestly, we had every intention of going back to the pool....but Hannah had different plans.  She and I curled up in my bed to watch the movie and she fell sound asleep within minutes of it starting LOL!  The little stinker slept all through the night. She must have been catching up with the sleep she lost while at Disney....hehehe!
 
Wouldn't you know it....the next day she reminded mom and I that "we didn't go swimming two times yesterday"!  I tried to explain that she fell sound asleep, but she would hear nothing of it LOL!  So next year we will definitely have to make sure we swim twice on at least one day at the hotel :)
  
Her second appointment on Tuesday had great results just as her first appointment did, with even better news....she can go two years without coming back to see that specialist....double yipeeeeeeee!!!!

We headed home happy, and tired.  I went to bed quite early as the next morning grandpa and I were heading back down to Toronto for a conference he was attending.  All I can say about those 4 days is that I slept....a lot....LOL!  Even had afternoon naps. It felt sooooo good :)
Until our next visit!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

Has It Been A Week Already?

Oh my goodness! I know time flies quickly when you're having fun, but when you're at home while the rest of the gang is having fun, I wouldn't think that time would fly that fast. We stayed home, yet it did LOL!

Today is their last day at Disney. They fly into Toronto late tonight, stay over and drive home tomorrow.  I can hardly wait to see their happy little faces...and the big ones too....hehehe!

No doubt we'll be hearing stories for weeks, and I'm looking forward to every last one of them, for however long it takes for them to tell them :)

Twenty four hours and counting LOL!

Grandma loves you
xoxoxoxo

ROFLMAO......

Okay, so it will be a quiet week with the grandkids gone to Disney World, but I couldn't help but share this pictures of Sparkles and our Granddogs after playing in a spring snowfall we had all day long LOL!

I think the pictures speak for themselves....hehehe!  And yes, we've skyped a few times with the gang and all is going really well.  It was only 90 with the humidex at 9:00 this morning at Disney LOL!
 

Sparkles and her snow ball legs LOL!

 

Mylo, Sparkles' brother!

 

We can't forget little sister Ally....hehehe!

 

All in all it was a great Day One with the Granddogs.....even is grandma had to give them all a warm bath to quickly melt those "leg warmers" LOL!

Grandma loves you....the two legged and four legged Grands LOL!

xoxoxoxo