Friday, July 30, 2021

Friday Favourites


We are cruising through the summer, August starts on Sunday!

When we were camping at Arrowhead last weekend we picked up a new puzzle at the camp store.   It's crests of all of the Ontario Provincial Parks.  We've been to just a few of them.


We picked up some McDonalds for lunch on Monday and then ate it in the car.  Everyone always enjoys this treat. 

E is doing a golf camp this weekend and on Monday morning I realized his shoes were destroyed from camping and this is what he wears to golf.  So I got out the powdered Tide (thanks @gocleanco!) and scrubbed them clean.



It's Camp Nana week for Q this week, with my mom here visiting.  They went on a walk on Wednesday and Q talked her into buying a Booster Juice.

And we all got an ice cream on Thursday evening. 

We are loving the Olympics of course, but it's so hard to stay up late to watch.  Our Canadian women are holding it down, waiting for some of the men to start medalling (ahem).


Linking up with Andrea and Erika.





Thursday, July 29, 2021

Monthly Musings


1. Bikini, Tankini or One Piece?
One piece or tankini.

2. Best Swimsuit you ever owned?
I like the navy blue one I have now.  It's a tankini so makes it easy to use the washroom, it has good coverage, and I like that it matches both of the cover ups I have.  I got it at Bikini Village at the Eaton Centre before we went to Hawaii in January 2020. 

3. White Jeans - yes or no?
No.  I have had white pants but I'm so conscious of dirt that I never choose them.  And I don't wear jeans of any sort in the summer anyway. 

4. Favourite pair of flip-flops?
For flip flops I love the Sanuk brand.  The foot part is a yoga mat, and the thong part is fabric, which is key for me.  Anything plastic just ends up ripping my foot apart.  I always get the white ones even though they get so dirty and then I just end up wearing them for camping.  I wear my Birkenstocks for everyday.

5. Must have summer accessory?
A hat.  Either a baseball hat or a straw hat but I need to have my head covered when I'm out in the sun.

6. Favourite summer fashion staples?
I like wide strap tank tops.  Depending on the fabric or pattern, some are good for work outfits, and some are good for everyday. 

7.  Skirts or shorts?
Both, or even better a skort!

8. Any brands that say summer to you?
Billabong and Roxy. I have a couple of things I bought in Hawaii and they are for the beach.

9. Favourite summer scent?
Coconut.  I don't wear perfume but I love things that smell like the sunscreen I used to wear when I was younger. 

10. Do you switch your handbag in the summer?
In the summer I'm more likely to grab a backpack or a fanny pack (worn crosswise on my back, and I'm sure they aren't called fanny packs anymore).  Since I'm more active in the summer, I don't like having a big purse to weigh me down and a leather Kate Spade bag doesn't really go with my casual summer clothes.

Linking up with Holly and Patty.

 

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

What's up Wednesday

 

What we're eating this week...
Sunday - Pizza delivery
Monday - Macaroni and Cheese and Hot Dogs (since we went out to eat on Saturday night of our camping trip, we had this food leftover)
Tuesday - Indian delivery
Wednesday - Chicken burgers and Corn
Thursday - Sausages and Salad
Friday - Out
Saturday - Steak

What I'm reminiscing about...
I remember exactly when I first signed up for Twitter and it was during the 2012 Olympics, my first follow was Milos Raonic, our tennis player.  During the Olympics I always get confused when I see a non-Olympic related tweet since I just assume everyone is watching too.

What I'm loving...
Seeing all of my friends getting back together with their families after a long period of time, including us, with my mom here this week.  For many of us who live away from our families, separated by provincial or country lines, it has been awhile since we saw our families in real life (as opposed to FaceTime, and thank goodness for that!).  For awhile I felt like the only one who hadn't gone to visit my parents (which would have been difficult with the mandatory two week quarantine required by the Atlantic Provinces), but now seeing everyone getting together, I know that I wasn't alone in this, we were all just counting the days we could be with our families again.

What we've been up to...
We have done two out of our four camping trips (Algonquin and Arrowhead). Much of our summer has been camping prep, actual camping, and putting everything away.  Fun story - our tent was wet when we were taking it down on Sunday so we laid it out (not set up just flat) in our backyard when we got home so it could dry out.  We thought it would be fine to leave out over night since there was no rain in the forecast.  Well there was no rain, but there was our early morning sprinkler system which we both forgot about.  So the next day the tent was soaked with actual puddles inside. Fortunately it was a nice hot day so we set it up and it dried out by the afternoon. 

What I'm dreading...
September - I know there will be a rise in Covid cases when the kids go back to school, but I'm hoping it will be manageable and that our ICUs can handle it and we won't need to lock down again.  Our vaccine rates are so good so I hope they continue to grow and things can remain open.

What I'm working on...
Work is busy and we're still managing the kids being at home some days and picking them up from camps. Just trying to stay organized and on top of my work.

What I'm excited about...
The Olympics! We love the Olympics around here and I wasn't getting to excited about it up until it started since I was wondering if it would actually go ahead, but now that it's on, I'm so happy to see it again.  Our Canadian women are doing so well and I just love seeing nations compete.


What I'm wearing...
Old clothes.  I need to get shopping again, now that all of the stores are open.  I will see when I can get out to shop this month.

What I'm watching/reading...
We finished Mare of Easttown, which we loved and next up is Ted Lasso, Season 2.

I posted about my July books on Monday. I'm reading Barack Obama's book and Dear Edward.

What I'm listening to...
Raffi.  I was driving E to golf camp this week and Q came along, they requested Raffi so we listened to a couple of his albums.

What I'm doing this weekend...
Dave is golfing all weekend (club championship) so we will check out some playgrounds, splash pads, and patios. 

What I'm looking forward to next month...
More camping, more family visits, and hopefully heading to see a Blue Jays game!

What else is new...
E started his baseball season.  He had to get new cleats this year and they are huge.  He's only 9 going on 10 but he has big feet and he's getting tall


Linking up with Shay

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Weekend Recap

We went on our second camping trip of the year this past weekend.  This time we were at Arrowhead Provincial Park with four other families (21 people in total).  Three of them live on our street now and one of them used to live here and moved to a different part of the city last summer.  It was quite something to book campsites when we did it in February but it all worked out well and we had a successful trip.

As we often do when travelling to the Muskoka area, we stopped at Weber's for lunch on the way and met up with one other family.

After we got all set up we took a spin down to the beach and the kids went in the water.


Everyone was milling about and the kids were entertained so I stole a few moments in the hammock with my drink.

Q keeping score of the washer toss game happening behind me. 



We had kebabs and salad for supper and then we all gathered for a fire.


And s'mores of course.


The kids played some charades and attempted a couple of skits.  This is them making a plan.


On Friday morning Q and I were up first at our site and got breakfast going.


Visitors at breakfast.


It was going to be a beautiful day so the plan was to go to the beach. 


Dave is carrying all of the things.


Family photos.







Q was happy about the cheetos someone brought.



We had a full day there and then packed up to make supper.


Then over to a different site for campfire there.  When we all booked, one family chose a site that happened to be on the other side of ravine (the map makes it look like they back onto one another and didn't show the divide) but the kids built a bridge over the small stream and we were able to cross back and forth without walking all the way around.





This was the view from our campsite, so pretty.  I kept waiting for an animal to come out of there but I didn't see any.


Two of the families were already planning to leave on Saturday and since the weather was calling for rain one other family decided to leave.  We opted to stay along with the other family.  It was the right call for us, the rain wasn't that bad and we had a lot of fun.

Before everyone left we went on a hike to the waterfall.

Checking out the deer in the woods


This is most of our group - just missing one family (already left) and one dad (who was packing up their campsite).

Lots of climbing.



After our hike we had lunch and then the rain started.  We hung out in our tent for a little while.


Then we played cards under the tarp.


With the rain we decided to go into town for supper and we got a table at Boston Pizza.  It was fun, and we got to watch some of the Olympics.

We knew the rain was going to stop soon so we got a fire going and the adults ended up staying up until 1:00!


We woke up to a beautiful day again, and after breakfast we went on a bike ride.  The initial plan was just go to to the camp store, but then we thought we would try the 5 km bike trail, even with the little kids.  Even with a few spills, they kids did such a great job and kept it up the whole time.  Knowing that Q can do a longer bike ride like this, even on a hard trail with roots and rocks, means we have many more options for family bike rides. 





Then we packed up our sites before we spent a bit of time at the beach.  Our drive wasn't too bad, but we were glad to be home.  We put most things away, set out our tent in the backyard to dry out, and ordered some pizza.  Whew!