School's Out!!

Whew! Has two weeks really passed us by already? I guess so!

Last I checked in, we were counting down the days to Sparks Camp. Here's the scoop!

June 16th - Happy Birthday to Grampa!

June 19th - Off to Sparks Camp! We took one of Erin's buddies up with us. When we arrived, we got all of the gear (my goodness we all had a lot of gear!!!) and the girls joined up with the rest of the group to make placemats. Everyone got settled in to their room (the girls in the bunk bed room, and me and my cohort cook got our own rooms! Yeah!!!!) Next it was off to a camp fire, complete with snacks and songs. It was a pretty late night for the little gals, but I was happy to be there to tuck Erin into bed before crashing myself!

The next morning we made breakfast for the girls - thank goodness there was coffee!! Actually the facilities are fantastic and the grounds are absolutely stunning. The girls headed off for some activities for much of the day, including playing on the beach, making suncatchers and playing water games. We cooked up a big spaghetti dinner for everyone, which turned out to be a big hit. There were more activities for the girls and the evening was topped off with another campfire with more songs and best of all..... s'mores! The Sparks were all pretty tuckered out so turned in a little earlier than the previous night!

The last morning was spent tidying up and packing, and the girls got to do some yoga on the beach. We were very lucky that the rain held off for most of the weekend. In fact, there was only a couple of minutes of rain about an hour before we left. You just can't beat that considering the original forecast was calling for abundant amounts of rain.

All in all just a great weekend. Erin is still talking about it and is ready for Sparks to be starting up again! Kudos go out to the leaders who in my opinion offered an amazine program to the girls all year long and topped it off with a brilliantly planned weekend of fun and wonderful experiences for the girls. I'm hoping to get some of the pictures from one of the leaders so I can post some shortly!

June 21st - Erin and I arrived home a little after noon, unpacked, did some laundry, then loaded up the car to head to the market in Kemptville! Talk about a whirlwind day! I was actually contemplating not going, but in the end I'm glad we did as it was a really good day for Dee and I! The rain even managed to hold off, except for a few drops. Amazing! Erin and I then ran to the grocery store to pick up a cake and a few groceries before heading home. By the way - Happy Father's Day!!!!

Erin was happy to see Gord and gave him the gifts and cards she made for him. Erin made Gord a bird feeder and a magnet! Very cute! Shortly after, Grampa arrived and Erin presented him with a clock we made for him, a bird feeder, and a couple of other little goodies to mark both Father's Day and his birthday. We next headed into town to take Gord and Grampa out for dinner at Main Street. The weather was fabulous at this point so we sat out and enjoyed dinner on the patio! We ended the evening with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday and cake with Grampa!

June 22nd - Monday arrived and I worked at home for the morning. Grampa and I dropped Erin off at school and enjoyed some coffee while I did some work. At noon, Grampa and I headed into Ottawa to pick up a graduation present for Erin. Grampa picked out a unicorn from Build-A-Bear (Erin has been wanting one since Christmas and we finally got lucky enough to find one in stock!). Gord and I got Erin a small aquarium and a fish. She has been begging us for one for a couple of months now, so we thought since she's given up on begging for a cat, we should likely go for this option! Splashy, is a lovely blue betta fish. I'll get some pics of the happy pair up soon!

That evening was Erin's graduation from Kindergarten. The little ceremony was adorable and very well done! We topped off the evening by having dinner at the chip stand before heading home!

Tuesday morning saw Grampa head back home and me to Kingston for a day of meetings. It also marked a beautiful week of weather that allowed us to enjoy the pool for a swim every day when we got home!

Wednesday was the last day of school. Erin will spend the summer at daycare (except for Fridays - yeah!!! We will have them off again for the summer!!), then we will likely pull her out of daycare as she heads to school for full days everyday in the fall. The bus will be coming out our way this fall as part of a bunch of restructuring, so we are going to look at options around teaming up with the neighbours to make it work. Of course with my job situation up in the air the chance to save some money is good and allows for flexibility depending on where I end up. I'm not too worried about that, I know I will find something - I am being fussy right now because I have time and I want to stay working closer to home to be around more for Erin.

Friday Erin was invited to a sleepover at Kacey's house. Friday also brought some pretty nasty weather in the form of thunderstorms, which put a damper on the plan to have the sleepover outside in a tent. The girls seemed to have lots of fun anyway and made the best of the night!

Saturday Dee and I tried out the Smiths Falls Farmer's Market. We actually did better than we expected and are likely to back for a day or two in July. We spent the rest of the day swimming and relaxing around the house. Just what Saturdays are supposed to be for!!!!

So here we are, Sunday again. The sun is shining and we expect no rain for the market! I probably just jinxed us by saying that!!!! I have been firing up the kiln this weekend, re-stocking up on pendants and making some Canada Day pins. We were invited to set up in Oxford Mills on Canada Day for a few hours, so we'll go and see what that brings! Hopefully we can get another swim in after dinner tonight and that will top off what's been a pretty fun past couple of weeks!

Next week should be fun as Erin and I only have two days at daycare / work then we are off for an extended long weekend. We are having a bbq on Saturday July 4th to thank everyone who helped us our over the winter, so we'll do some prep work for that on our days off and hopefully get some time to swim and relax too!

Have a great week!!!

Sundays = Rain

It was beautiful and sunny when Dee, Erin and I left Merrickville. As we hit the highway toward Kemptville, the rain started. It rained, and rained, and rained. We waited a few minutes in the parking lot and just laughed. What else can you do?! Luckily though, the rain slowed down and we set up for the day. We even sold stuff!! We had a whole lot of people stop and look at our stuff, so all was not lost!!

I forgot to mention that Erin has big entrepreneurial plans for the summer. She has decided that we are going to make a whole bunch of strawberry jam and some scones when strawberries come into season and she is going to sell them at the farmer's market! How adorable is that?!!! This girl is going to be a business woman with some mean negotiating skills!

Wow, we are well into June!!!!!

Mmmmm......blueberry jam!!!!!

Blueberry scones! Yummy!!

Is there anything funnier than Twister????!!!!!!

Look ma! No hands!!! Monkey.......

Could it really be the 14th of June? The calendar says it is, so I guess I shouldn't be so shocked! There is loads to catch up on so I'll get started!

Many people have asked how the first day of the farmer's market went. Well, between the torrential downpour, the gale force winds and the hour-long episode of hail, Dee and I managed to have a ball! We sold a few pieces and made our money back for the table for the summer. We bailed early though because we were just so bloody cold! Hail at the end of May.... good grief!!

The poor weather continued into June (and has been crappy to average up to yesterday - what would we Canadians do if we couldn't bitch and moan about the weather!!!). I had to head to Kingston for some meetings for a couple of days that first week, so Erin and Gord were on their own. Erin got to help Gord pull the trap machine at skeet shooting that week and got to eat at McDonald's so it was a good time for her!!

Friday was Gord's day to be in Kingston as he met with his surgeon again for a check up on his heel. The doctor said the heel bone is stronger than it was before his fall (I imagine the steel plate and 9 screws help the strength a little!!) and he doesn't have to go back to see him until January. It still frustrates him to not have the range of motion he would like to have, but I keep reminding him of how far he's come in such a short time. After all, it's been less than 6 months since his fall. It's pretty amazing that he's walking as well as he is.

That same Friday, Erin was dropped off and picked up by Richinda and the girls had a royal time of fun, as they always do. The fun turned into dinner and a sleepover much to Erin's delight!! Mind you I had to pick her up early the next day for gymnastics, but she didn't seem to mind too much after a night of fun!

Gymnastics has continued to go really well. I can't believe how much Erin enjoys it! The coaches are really good, so that helps. I think Erin wants to continue into the summer session and she's hoping another one of her buddies comes with her, but either way I think she still wants to go! Later that Saturday, we decided to fire up the pool heater and invited Emma and Erika over for a swim. We had the whole lot of them over for dinner as well, because frankly, we need to enjoy the nice days when we get them! (there goes the weather complainer in me again!!)

The second farmer's market day was only mildly better than the first. The steady downpour of rain kept people away, but we were happy to munch on cinnamon rolls and samosas from the market! Erin came with us and although she was pretty bored by times, she was really good and just enjoys being out with the girls!

The week that just passed felt so busy, but there was really nothing out of the ordinary that we did. Yesterday was Erin's last gymnastics session for the spring. The summer session starts in July. She was absolutely bouncing off the wall so we called the girls next door to see if they wanted to come over for a swim. Emma was at guide camp this weekend, but Erika was a willing participant! The girls worked off some energy and tormented Gord in the pool for a while before Erika had to go!

Today Erin and I made blueberry and strawberry scones, and Erin made blueberry jam - yes grampa, we are saving a jar for you!!! We will be leaving shortly for our first sunny market day! Yeah!!!!! Hopefully things go smoother this weekend!

So, not much is up this week, but next weekend will be busy with Sparks camp. That should be fun! We are back on Father's day, and grampa is coming! Monday the 22nd is Erin's graduation, so he is coming down for that!

Have a great week!!!