Monday, June 26, 2017

Weekend Recap

On Friday we went to E's classroom in the afternoon for a little graduation party.  They kids sang a  song, the parents gave the teachers a little gift, there were snacks, we got a tour of the grade one classrooms and entrance, and we played graduation bingo (complete different activities around the classroom to make a line and then choose a small prize).  A hot afternoon in the school, but nice to see the kids and parents after a successful year. 


The teacher had this cute little photo booth set up.

E's name on the wall. The bottom paper shows he has three syllables in his name.

Q had fallen asleep at the party so Dave walked home with him and E, and I drove home. We had some leftovers for supper and then walked up to Bake Sale for an ice cream cone, with a detour to the park to play some baseball. 


On Saturday morning we had big plans to head to Rouge Park in the East End.  This is a huge national urban park but we had never been there.  We had read that Chirp (of magazine and CBC Kids show fame) was having a birthday party there, and it was all part of Bioblitz which included some games, interactive booths, animal shows, and music.  Well, what we had envisioned didn't exactly turn out as planned.  It started with the parking.  We pulled up, and the volunteers asked us if we were there for Bioblitz, and we said yes, so they directed us into the big field to park.  Another volunteer was stopping cars on the way in and he asked if we were scientists.  Our answer: no but we're here for Chirp's birthday.  He didn't really know what we were talking about and then said the parking lot was for scientists.  Confusion ensued, we left the parking lot, talked to the first volunteers, and then decided to park in the parking lot anyway.  Apparently the main event of Bioblitz is for scientists and other volunteers to survey the park and catalogue the various plants and animals living there, but the activities we were there for were still open to the public, hence the confusion. 

So anyway, we got parked, packed up the stroller and headed in.  We knew the festivities didn't get underway until 11:00 and so we had an hour to kill. It was our plan to walk on the trails, but we had no idea where to go, and the Bioblitz volunteers also didn't know what was going on or where the trails started.  We finally found the Parks Canada tent and they pointed us in the right direction.  We asked if the trail was suitable for a stroller.  The answer should have been no, but she said it was wet but probably fine.  Wet was an understatement, as in some parts of the trail, it was impossible to go through without getting our feet wet and taking the stroller on a long detour through the bushes to get around the water.  But we persevered.

This was from the lookout tower on the Vista Trail.

A beautiful day and view

Despite Dave and I losing our minds, E was having a great time.  We must remember to bring the baby carrier next time so we can go for an actual hike.



We started down this path but decided to go back, too many roots and rocks to take the stroller.


The rest of the day was fine, although there was really no shade, there were too many opening speeches, and the main things we wanted to see, Parka and Chirp, were kind of elusive.  They came out for about five minutes at 11:30 so we could sing Happy Birthday to Chirp, and they didn't come back until 12:30 for some singing on stage.  

There were lots of fun activities for the kids, and everyone at the booths were so nice.  Smart move on their part, each booth was giving out nature cards to collect, so you were encouraged to visit every booth.  The booths were all great, no duds.  That part of the day was fantastic.  They also had a free bouncy castle and rock climbing wall.


First time rock climbing and he did really well, made it all the way to the top.  I missed it because I was searching for shade in which to feed Q, but Dave got a video. 

Checking out the beaver skull with large teeth and explaining why its teeth look different from ours.

Large snapping turtle.  The lady at this booth told us that if we see a turtle trying to cross the road, it is legal to stop and help them across.  Stay clear of the mouth, just grab their tail and scoop under their belly from behind and take them across in the same direction they were headed.

A break from the booths to see the main event, Chirp and Parka!





Checking out the toad and turtles.

Sleeping Q

We may have stopped at McDonalds on our way home for some fries and McFlurries.  The day required it!  When we got home, we all had some quiet time, and then we did some of the activity books that E got earlier.  You'll see he talked us into buying a Parka stuffy.

Hamburgers on the grill and then time for bed.


We watched Moonlight, and I've got to say, I don't really get its appeal.  It's a good movie but I'm not sure it was Best Picture worthy.  That being said, the only other nominee I've seen is La La Land and I don't think it should have won either. 

On Sunday, we spent a few minutes on the couch before getting ready for the day. 

Then it was the last day of Sunday school for the year so the kids ran the service.  We all wore red and white and the whole congregation got their photo taken and we sang O Canada in English and French.  Happy 150 Canada!


We had lunch at home and watched Trolls/napped.  We then went out to the mini putt course at Centennial Park.  I feel like this outing went about as well as our trip to Rouge Park on Saturday.  

We stopped at the grocery store to get a couple of things.  Usually E walks by the cart but he wanted to ride with Q this time. Shenanigans.




We made some pizzas and had ice cream drumsticks. 


Q had his first bath in the big tub, soon joined by E.  After they went to bed, we rewarded ourselves for surviving the weekend with some drinks and TV.  Phew, one more week of school and then summer holidays!





1 comment:

  1. We felt the same way about both those movies! Love the shopping cart photos! Brotherly shenanigans!

    ReplyDelete