Weekend Recap

I've got two posts for you today. A Birthday post for Q and this weekend recap. The weekend was spent celebrating Q, starting with a Blue Jays game on Friday night. 

We got there early to get in line for the Delgado windbreaker giveaway.

Windbreaker looks great!

Corndog! 

Watching Soriano and Kirk warm up in the bullpen.

Trying to get on the big screen between innings. He was unsuccessful.

But the usher in our section took pity on him and gave him of the warm up balls that Lukes had thrown up into the stands earlier.

And check out the new hat, Dave found this in the end of season "garage sale" happening at the Dome, along with an all white one.

The Blue Jays pulled out a win with some runs in the 7th and we got to see Louie Varland come out to finish off the 9th.

On Saturday morning I was up early to go for a run, we watched the F1 race, and then Dave headed out to golf in the men's closing day tournament. I tackled Q's birthday cupcakes. Not bad!

We tided up the house, and Q went out to practice for his cross country race. Then I found him like this late in the afternoon. 

I got dressed up, had some people over for a drink, Dave came home from golf, and we all headed up to the cocktail party at our neighbourhood social club. We had a good time but I will say that it wasn't as good as last year, the DJ didn't really seem interested in playing the songs we wanted to hear and he kept cutting them off halfway through. We also forgot to get a good photo of us dressed up. 

On Sunday we had Q's birthday party.  His friends were dropped off at our house.

Then we got on the subway and the UP train go downtown.

We had the party at the Roundhouse Rec Room. The kids get credits for the arcade and a meal. 

Then the reverse journey back home.

The kids played around in the backyard and then we had cupcakes and Q opened his gifts.

It was a busy and fun day! You can probably guess that we were all ready for bed early on Sunday night. 

Happy 10th Birthday Q!

Our little Quinny is a big 10 years old today! Q is just a great kid. Something I have really noticed this past year is how hard he works at things, even when they are hard. He wants to do well and he puts in the time and effort to get better. For things like baseball, this was his first year hitting a live pitch, pitching, stealing bases, learning signs, etc. and he thrived. He's into every play, puts in the reps at practice, and is never dragging his feet to get out on the field. Even striking out or getting thrown out stealing, he maturely moves on doesn't let it upset him for too long.

For things like reading and school work, his teachers tell us how hard he works, those things come more slowly than baseball, but he stays with and sees the progress. We are proud of him. Even when he doesn't want to go to piano lessons (because he would rather keep playing with his friends), he keeps at it, and has been doing a good job of practicing at home over the past month (with prompting of course). 

He has a great time with his friends and is always ready to join in the fun. He loves bright colours, all of the sports and TV that we like, singing along to songs in the car, and doing things together as a family. 

A few photos of Q from the past year show his various interests and a peek at his personality. And the annual birthday quiz is at the bottom. And you can see how we spent the weekend celebrating him in my Weekend Recap  

Favourite Colour

Yellow

Favourite Stuffed Animal

Guy, Wicket, and Ice Cream

Favourite Thing to Sleep With

Guy

Favourite Fruit

Strawberries

Favourite Thing to Eat for Breakfast

Waffles with whipped cream and sprinkles

Favourite Thing to Eat for Lunch

Kraft Dinner

Supper

Mexican Casserole, Tacos, Dad’s Pizza

Favourite Dessert

Ice Cream

Favourite Drink

Sprite

Favourite Animal

Dog

Favourite Book

Big Nate

Favourite Song

No

Favourite Video Game

The Show

Favourite Sport

Baseball

Favourite TV Show

Blue Jays Way (Sportsnet Doc)

Favourite Movie

End Game

Favourite Thing to do Outside

Play baseball

Best Friend

Jackson

Favourite F1 Driver

Norris and Verstappen

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Baseball Player

Anything else to share

 Baseball

Monthly Musings

 

I always say I love summer, and that’s true, but then September rolls around and I remember that this is a pretty great time of year. The weather is fabulous and there seem to be a lot of fun events happening right now. 

1. Apple or pumpkin pie?

I’ll take both please!

2. Favourite fall recipe.

I like to make French Onion Soup at least once in the fall. It is a real treat. I make Julia Child’s recipe, I shared that recipe back in 2015.

3. Do you decorate for fall?

Yes, I have a few items that I put out during the house. I usually get them out for Thanksgiving (the second weekend of October here in Canada).

4. Pumpkin spice latte or apple cider?

They are both fine but I don’t drink either of them much.

5. Favourite thing to bake in fall?

I like to make those aforementioned pies, and I usually get a can of regular pumpkin for a loaf or muffins. 

6. Do you like fall scented home products such as candles and cleaning products?

Not really. I have a couple of scented candles, but they aren’t “fall” themed, nor do I burn them very often. 

7. Name a fall food that people love that you don’t.

I like all of the fall foods. I’m not as into everything pumpkin spiced as other people seem to be though. 

8. Candy corn - yes or blech?

Not sure I’ve ever had a piece, but I don’t think I’m missing out.

9. When do you decorate for Halloween?

Mid-October I will put out the few things that we have. Pumpkins aren’t purchased until a few days before and carved the night before. 

10. Do you use mums, pumpkins, or other fun things?

Mums, a small hanging skeleton, ghosts, and a few carved pumpkins.  We do not go all out for this holiday, but I love seeing what other people do!

Life Lately

I didn't get a Friday Favourites or a Weekend Recap post put together but I have wanted to still keep track of what we have been up to. 

It was baseball playoffs time at High Park. Q and I went to watch some of his friends play last Tuesday night in the first round.  It unfortunately got rained out halfway through, but still time for us to get french fries!

Meanwhile E had been invited to a Blue Jays game with his friend.  It was the last Loonie Dog Night so he had a few hot dogs. 

We got some new grass for our backyard - artificial turf.  Dave has tried for many years to get grass to grow back there but it is too sandy and too shady. We finally gave up and went with the fake stuff. It has been great so far. We love that can actually enjoy the yard without feeling like it's so dirty. I even did a stretching workout on the grass, no mud, no bugs, so comfortable to lay right on it.  

Looks pretty real!

Q's team started in round 2 of playoffs on Friday night. It was a tough loss for that first game, but luckily it was a double elimination format so we could still fight our way back into it. 

Q was catcher for the last few innings and did an amazing job blocking some wild pitches and being ready to throw out a baserunner who was trying to steal. He got a lot of accolades from his rep coaches and others, and he got player of the game. His team is the Knights so you get the knight helmet. 

The team had its next game on Saturday afternoon which they won. After the game we went home to get changed and went back up the street for Ukrainian Festival. Q likes the tornado potato!

In the dart game, he won a stuffy :)

Dave tried to win a big stuffy at the basketball game but was unsuccessful. 

The next baseball game was Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful day. E climbed this tree. 

Another win meant the team was into the finals on Monday night. Q pitched a couple of innings and did a great job! And he had a couple of nice hits.

Q was back behind the plate for a few innings.

Unfortunately even though we came back and tied it up to go to an extra inning, we were not able to pull out a win. That meant second place and the end of the season.

However because we had finished first overall in the regular season, there was still a trophy to celebrate with.

Great job!

It was such a fun weekend. The High Park Little League community is a great one to be a part of!