I made 2 posts in August!!!

Wow! I can't believe the last time I posted was 3 weeks ago! I thought for sure it was last week!

All is well with everyone. I'm not sure I'll remember everything that has happened over the past 3 weeks, but here's my best shot:

Kim - doing well. Still hanging in there at work. It's yucky being in HR during a restructuring. Enough said.

Gord - doing well too. Sheepishly admitted to me after some prodding that he climbed onto the roof of the barn to repair some tin that was coming off. I won't tell you what Kim said - too many bad words. He's okay and laughed at all the words Kim had to say. Grrrrrr.......

Erin - saving the best for last!!!! We have actually had some pretty quiet weekends as far as activities go. Dee and I have been going to the market as usual, but Erin has only come once. The other times she has stayed home with Gord to help or play or swim in the pool. Amazingly, we have had some warm weather so we have gotten a lot of swimming in (but that appears to be gone now - the leaves are even turning - boo hooo!!!). Erin had a day with Emily on the 14th when I had to go in to work. They looked like they had a ball (see some of the pics above!). We also celebrated Emily's 18th birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY EM! - on the 23rd.

We got notice that the bus will indeed be coming out our way for school this fall, so we gave notice to Erin's daycare. I can hardly believe it, but she has been there for over 3 years. It will take a bit of juggling and some tag-teaming with the neighbours, but it will also save me some money. I think it will work out well.

On Friday, we took Erika and Erin to the MacIntosh Inn for an overnight trip that Aunt Elaine won and gave to us. We had a great time! The Inn is very nice and the girls had a blast swimming in the pool and the hot tub. We had dinner at the hotel, and breakfast the next morning before heading to Upper Canada Village for the day. The girls stayed up and giggled and watched a movie, then giggled some more until about midnight! They were up at 7am, but both were in great humour!! It POURED rain for the morning. I give the girls credit though - no complaining at all! They were happy in the rain ponchos I had picked up for them. Gord picked up some umbrellas for us and we ended up making the most of a bad weather day. We pretty much had the park to ourselves! I didn't even have to wait in a huge line to get bread during the day! There is a first time for everything!!! We got home around 4pm yesterday afternoon and the girls jumped into our very cold pool!!! Gord had to add water and it was chilly! It didn't stop them from spending 20 minutes in the pool before begging me to run a warm bath for them! Erin needed to continue some fun, so she asked if we could set up the tent in the living room so she could camp out! Too funny!!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of August. The summer months (I know, I know, September is still considered part of the summer) are almost behind us. It's a good thing the fall is my favourite time of year!!! Erin is spending her last 4 days at daycare. It's a bitter sweet feeling for me, as it marks another milestone for my baby, who is not so much of a baby anymore. She is starting Grade 1 and is about to turn 6. Sigh.... time really does fly.

Next Friday we will pick up some back to school supplies and some new fall clothes for Erin. It's nice as we head into a long weekend though. Monday we will be having a family birthday party for Miss Erin, and the next day she starts school and turns 6 simultaneously! Grampa is coming down for the family party and we will have a small special party on her actual birthday - September 8th. The fun continues as we will be having a girls-only party (well, Daddy is invited!!) on September 12th. Erin is inviting 9 of her buddies over for a sleepover - to include some swimming (come on sun.... help us out!!) and we have some special activities planned in addition to some yummy snacks and a bonfire. It should be fun! I will take lots of pics of everything!

Whew! August is here!

Oh my. Another month. The weather is still crappy, but it's still summer allegedly, so I'm holding out for some warm weather. We have however made the best of it!!

The end of July is a blur to me, so I have essentially lost track of what wonderful and exciting things we did. I'm sure we did some wonderful and exciting things, but honestly, I can't remember!! Oh I do remember one thing: Erin spent Monday July 27th helping Erika celebrate her 8th birthday (the acutal date is August 1st - Happy B-Day kiddo!!) at the kids' spa in Kanata. They had lunch and got a photo shoot! Erin got a fantastic framed picture of herself all glammed out on a magazine cover! Too fun!!!!

Erin and I were on vacation this past week. I am regretting not taking two weeks, but it is what it is. I get to go back to work and begin the process of layoffs. Should be a wonderful week....

Rewind to our holidays....

The holiday weekend was a jumble. We had the most amazing day on Saturday (August 1st) as the weather was outstanding and we all just hung out at the pool. We even had dinner at the pool. Awesome! Sunday, not so good. Thunder and lightening were the thing that day. It was even enough to keep me away from my beloved farmer's market. I just couldn't face a day in the rain. Sunday, Erin and I ended up getting some sort of a short bug. Erin had a fever for about 12 hours, and I was sick to my stomach. We were both no worse for wear the next day.

Monday we packed up a picnic lunch and drove to Upper Canada Village for the day with Richinda, Emma, and Erika. What a fun day!! We had a ball. Of course I forgot my camera. Thank heavens Richinda is rarely without hers! I'll get pics of the day soon! Erika got a tent for her birthday and so Erin was invited for a sleepover in the tent that same evening. The girls should have been exhausted (god knows Richinda and I could hardly stay awake!!) but I guess they were up pretty late and woke up at 5:30am!!! Good grief!!!! I picked Erin up early the next afternoon so we could do a bit of running around. Well, the girl fell asleep in the car at 4:30pm, and only woke up to use the washroom, get into pj's, and get a drink! She slept right through past 7:00am Wednesday morning!

Wednesday I had to go into work for a bit. When I left, I headed off to Kingston to pick up some glass. It was a very nice and relaxing trip! I took the long way home and really enjoyed the couple of hours all to myself. Erin spent the day with Gord, helping him at the skeet shooting club!

Thursday was yours truly's birthday. I turned the big 41. Well, I guess it's not as 'big' as turning 40, is it. Oh well, either way it was a very nice day. Gord and Erin got me a glass grinder and chocolates for my birthday. Grampa came down as well, and took all of us out for dinner. Gord had to work Friday, so Grampa, Erin and I went out and had a leisurely breakfast before Grampa left to go back home. A whirlwind trip, but very nice!!

Friday also brought the fair to town! Erin and I picked up Erika and all of us went in for the afternoon. We all had to hit the exhibitor's hall first to see what everyone won! Erin entered a number of items this year and won four 1st place ribbons, a couple of 2nd place ribbons, and a 4th and 5th place ribbon! Can you say excited?!! We didn't enter the pony classes this year. I think the year took it's toll on Gord and I so we told Erin and she was really fine with it. We said we would do some next year if she wanted to. So, the girls had fun. They went on a couple of rides, played some games, and met some of their school buddies. They also ate gooey candy apples and slushies. All is good!!!

Saturday Dee and I decided to go to the Smiths Falls market. It was an okay day. We always have fun, but it wasn't very profitable. Oh well. Gord took Erin to the fair for the morning. She really wanted to show him all of her ribbons! In a whirlwind, I came home then packed up again to take Erin to a birthday party she was invited too. She had a wonderful time at the party! Home for dinner and a swim, and Erin crashed around 8:30pm. I crashed at 8:35pm! I think Gord was not long following us! He had a nap for the afternoon, so he was a little more lively than us!!!

Today Erin went back to the fair with Emma. It sounds like they had a ball! Richinda was working at the fair today and the girls checked in with her regularly. I can't wait until Emma is one more year older!! I'll have another babysitter lined up when Emily goes off to school!!!! Dee and I had a great day at the Kemptville market. Of course it rained, but we have a tent now, so we managed to stay moderately dry!!!

So now it's Sunday evening. I'm tired and dreading going in to work in the morning. Oh well. That's life. I was telling someone this weekend I'm not really bothered by the fact I will lose a job I really love, I'm just dreading the atmosphere that will most certainly be pretty gloomy and awful over the next couple of weeks. Oh well. That's what I get for being in HR!

Erin is looking forward to heading back to daycare tomorrow. She was happy to see her buddies at the birthday party on Saturday. Can you believe, only 4 more weeks and it's back to school and Erin will be 6?!!!!!!!