Cottaging

We headed up to the Curtis' cottage on Friday and had an awesome weekend with everyone. My whole family was there so it was a Pace reunion, and all the nephews had a great time monkeying around together. It should be interesting when our little girl enters the picture - the lone female grandchild on my side!!

When I asked the boys what their favourite part of the weekend was, Quinn said: "playing with toys Mummy" because he loved playing with the toys on the beach. Of course, he probably would have said: "Peeing on pump" because he also loved peeing on the water pump by the beach - little stinker! Aidan said he liked the "bouncy bounce" (aka the water trampoline) and swimming in the lake. The kid is turning into a little fish - he probably spent about 80% of his time up there in the water!

It was a great, relaxing weekend for us - now we're just trying to get back to reality, and recover from all the mosquito bites!

Quinn laughing with a mouthful of burger while sitting on Nanna:


Aidan kayaking with Dad:


Sliding off the bouncy bounce:


I think it's safe to say that Aidan had a good time:

Vans, Tents, Lions....Oh MY!

Well, we had a busy weekend.

On Friday we picked up our brand-spankin' new Honda Odyssey mini-van. Yep, we have officially joined the ranks of mini-van owners. We had to do it, as: a) the lease on the Forrester expired and we needed a second car; and b) with kiddo number 3 on the way, there are very few options for cars that can comfortably fit three car seats. The boys were over the moon excited about the new wheels, and Aidan loves to talk about how when the baby comes he gets to sit in the back seat by himself!

On Saturday night Aidan and I 'camped out' in the basement. He's been begging me to camp in the backyard, so I convinced him that we should start out in the basement and if that went OK we can camp in the backyard afterwards. We successfully slept downstairs - well, I'm not sure either of us slept very well, but we made it through the night. Aidan LOVED it! Now, I have to hold up my end of the bargain and camp out in the back yard - oh joy! Here's a pick of the two boys monkeying around in the tent:


On Sunday we went back to the Detroit zoo. I took full advantage of testing out the new camera and was pretty pleased with the pictures:

Soccer and rainy fun!

As promised, I have more pictures of Aidan playing soccer. He's really come along way over the season, and now even scores goals!! The child never stops running around the field, and just has a blast playing.

Alone with his thoughts:


He's number 1 - off on a breakaway:


After his goal:


We had a torrential downpour last night, so after it was over I let the kids go outside and stomp in the puddles. Happy does not begin to describe them!!

Mmmm... ribs

First off, I have to give you a potty-training update on Quinn because I know you're just dying to find out how that's going!! ;-) The little man is trained!! We can't believe it! He hasn't had any accidents since Wednesday, and is now even telling us when he has to go - what a superstar!!

OK - update over. Onto le weekend.

The big highlight of the weekend was our trip to Ribfest. It's an annual tradition with us that we go to ribfest, the kids ride the rides and we stuff our faces with pork, corn and ice cream. This year the corn was a bust because the machine was broken, but we still managed to gorge on ribs and ice cream. The weather was perfect and we we had a great time! Here are some pictures:

Me go pee-pee on potty!

Yep, I have become one of 'those' parents who talks about her child's bathroom habits!!

Yesterday, Quinn decided "No diaper Mummy, unner-wear". So, I put him in underwear, packed some extra clothes and off we went. He had no accidents in the morning, but two in the afternoon. The good news is that he got upset when he did have an accident so maybe he's getting it. We sent him off to daycare in undies today, so we'll see how he does when we pick him up this afternoon.

I said to Chris yesterday: "Do you think it would be wishful thinking if we only had one set of diapers to change when the baby comes?" Keep your fingers crossed!

As a sort-of aside, Aidan is quite excited about Quinn pee-ing on the potty. That's because every time the little man 'does his business' he gets a 'pecial teat' (aka special treat). Aidan also gets a special treat because the whole time Quinn is in the bathroom Aidan runs around cheering "Go Quinnie go!" Too cute!!

Holy Crap it's HOT!!

Well, the title pretty much says it all - it is mind-numbingly, persperiationally, unbe-freakin-lievably HOT!! Thank the stars for AC!

Our weekend was fairly uneventful -- except that Chris had to work work emergency service, which meant that he got the graveyard shift of midnight to 7 or 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, and Sunday morning. Then he worked 6:30 to midnight last night, and left for Toronto at 7:15 this morning. So, he was pretty much a walking zombie over the weekend. Poor guy needs a break - that may happen sometime in late August if we're lucky!

The boys and I tried to stay cool by hitting the splash pad on Saturday. They had such a blast, but were complaining that the water was cold. Heck, when it's 30+ outside, the water better be cold!!! But, that didn't stop them as they were busy tearing around in the water.

Sunday we hit the beach which was so perfect. I swear, the kids are at their best when they're at the beach - they play amazingly well together, and then they'll go off individually and do their own thing. It's my one chance to actually relax because they're so good!!

I missed posting this on Friday, but: Happy Belated Birthday Uncle Dave (or, Uncle Bave as Quinn says it!). Hope you had a great day!!

Finally, someone in sports who gets it

I'm so sick and tired of hearing about professional athletes getting arrested, charged, etc. It's nice to hear about someone who's got their head screwed on straight and his priorities in order.

I wish Derek Fisher, his daughter and family all the best, and hope his daughter has a speedy recovery.

Happy Canada Day!!

Happy (belated!) 140th Canada. We spent the weekend either hosting or going to BBQ's, and had a great time. Unfortunately Quinn had a fever on Canada Day itself, but we still managed to go to the parade, two BBQ's and the fireworks.

The fireworks were hysterical. We've never taken the boys to them, so this year was a first. Aidan absolutely LOVED them! It was perhaps the cutest thing ever: during the finale he was actually sitting in his chair, his hands on his face, and his mouth in a big 'O' because he was so blown away by them. Too precious!! Quinn on the other hand was more concerned with the noise the fireworks were making, commenting: "fi-woks too noisy Daddy".

Here are some pictures from the weekend (yes it was quite cool, hence the hats, hoods and blankets!):