Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday!  Summer is here, officially now that school is out. Although we have certainly been enjoying summer weather. 

Monday night called for chips and beer to watch Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  We were cheering for the Oilers and were disappointed they lost, but how great that they forced a Game 7!? It made for a very exciting series. Although I maintain, we should not be watching hockey this late in the year, let’s wrap this by end of May!

I am late to this party, but I finally ate a meal at Costco.  We went there on Wednesday after school and decided to grad a quick dinner there.  Two orders of chicken fingers and fries, a slice of pizza, and a pop for $17! And it was good.  The pop was 80 cents, I could not believe it. 

We left yesterday for camping so although today is technically the last day, yesterday was the boys’ last day.  Time for the requisite photo shoot.  Our first and last day photos used to be taken by our chalkboard wall in the kitchen and there was a light switch that acted as a benchmark for their height.  When we did our renovation, the chalkboard wall was painted over and we haven’t decided if we want to put it back. The light switch is gone too.  So we have gone outside instead. 

And some silly ones.

Looking good!

Dave found this big guy sitting by the side of the bunker on Wednesday night.  He just sat there. 

Have a great long weekend!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Monthly Musings

 

1. Share your summer plans.

Camping this weekend. A cottage weekend with friends. A visit to Nova Scotia. Enjoying Toronto in the summer. 

2. What are your summer traditions?

We always go camping for the Canada long weekend and go to Webers on our way (even if it means taking a slight detour like we need to do this time).

3. What is your favourite summer destination?

The East Coast and Hyatt's Manion Lake Camp in Northwestern Ontario

4. Do you prefer the ocean or the lake?

I grew up on the East Coast of Canada so I love the ocean. Lake Ontario in Toronto is an adequate substitute.

5. Do you have any pool time planned?

Not really.  We don't have a pool or know anyone that does. Our pool plans will involve the local public pools, which are free and easy to get to.

6. Best travel or packing tips?

For travel I like to browse Google maps to see what pops up for restaurants or attractions. For packing, always subtract after you've set all your clothes out, you rarely need everything!

7. Favourite summer movies?

Dirty Dancing, A League of Their Own, Stand By Me, Top Gun Maverick, Blue Crush

8. Beverage that says summer to you?

Aperol Spritz, Gin and Tonic, Rose

9. What songs say summer to you?

All Summer Long - Kid Rock

Summertime Blues - Alan Jackson
Summertime - Sam Cooke

Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin

Peaches - Justin Beiber

As It Was - Harry Styles

10. What do you like on your burgers or hot dogs?

Burgers - lettuce, tomato, pickle, mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup
Hot Dogs - fried onions, ketchup and mustard

11. Charcoal or gas grill?

We have a propane BBQ, but would like to get one for natural gas. Charcoal seems like a lot of work to me!!

Linking up with Patty and Holly..

What's Up Wednesday

What we're eating this week...

It's the last week of school and we're packing up for camp so dinners have been cobbled together with whatever we can find.  I did make the best zucchini pasta on Saturday!

What I'm reminiscing about...

Camping with the kids when they were little.  E started camping at 2 and Q when he was 8 months old or so.  We definitely had some long days and nights in those early years.

What I'm loving...

International soccer - the Euros and Copa America.  Toronto is such a multicultural city, everyone has their team they are cheering for.  

What I'm dreading...

Not too much, I will be instead trying to savour all of the parts of summer.  It will go by too quickly!

What we've been up to...

Lots of biking.  The kids bike to school everyday, I bike to work at least once a week, and we bike with the kids to various practice and games.  It's such a great way to get around. 

What I'm working on...

So many things at work, I have been swamped this month and can't seem to catch up. I'm hoping that next week when the kids are away and we don't need to go to any of their sports that I can get a few more things done. 

What I'm excited about...

The Union Station Summer Market is back.  I will try to get over there for lunch a couple of times since it's across the street from my office.  I love an outdoor lunch with live music. 

What I'm watching/reading...

We have been watching so many sports - hockey, baseball, and soccer - we haven't had a lot of time to watch TV.  I have so many things I want to see but no time.  I am excited for season 3 of The Bear!

I'm reading a Sally Hepworth book, they are usually pretty good.

What I'm listening to...

Inspired by E's guitar performance of Californication at his music recital on the weekend, I've been listening to some 90s alternative - lots of bangers on that playlist. 

What I'm wearing...

My summer staples - tank tops and shorts. 

What I'm doing this weekend...

Camping at Killbear Provincial Park and also dropping the kids off at overnight camp for two weeks.

What I'm looking forward to next month...

A possible trip to Mexico for work, Blue Jays, a t-ball tournament, and hopefully some golf.

What else is new...

I was happy to see Princess Catherine out for Trooping the Colour.  She looked thin but good.  It seems the Waleses are back. 

Linking up with Shay

 

Weekend Recap

 

Last week the kids' school had "Spirit Week" and Friday was beach day.  The boys wore the shirts they got from Nana and Papa from their Caribbean cruise.  Q also wore his swimsuit. 

After school I took E to get his haircut. 

Then we went to High Park for Q's soccer.  The evening started out nicely but then the rain came down.  We got soaked on our way back to the subway.

When we got home and dried off, we settled in for the hockey game.  Go Oilers! 

On Saturday morning Q had an early morning t-ball practice and then we had a quick turnaround for E's baseball game. We managed to get this game in before the rain came.

Our neighbour stopped in to hang out and he ended up staying for supper.  

I made my favourite zucchini pasta. No one was oohing and ahhing as much as me, but they all cleaned their plates.

Dave arrived back home from PEI early on Sunday morning.  I was able to pick him up from the airport before needing to be at church for our last choir performance before summer. 

After church we went to E's guitar recital, he led off with Californication. I'm always so impressed with the students who get up and share their talent with us.  

We then went to Q's tball game. We didn't get any rain, but there were gusty winds and by the end of the day we were filthy, the ball field dirt kept blowing onto us.  

We ordered pizza for supper and watched the recorded F1 race, it was quite exciting even with Max taking the win as usual. 

Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday!  We are in the home stretch Canadian public school parents! One more week of school.  We will start our summer with a camping trip and then dropping the kids at overnight camp so this weekend and next week will be busy packing for that. 

In preparation for camp I took the boys to the mall on Wednesday night.  E needed t-shirts, Q needed PJs, and they both needed sandals.  E picked out some slides and Q managed to convince me to get Crocs. If you know me at all you know I despise Crocs, but Q really wanted them so can can you do!? E agrees with me that Crocs are dumb so I told him he is my favourite child, hahah!

Q was pumped though.

He picked out these jibbets. 

A colleague of mine used the phrase "having a bun fight" which I had never heard before, but it means light arguing about something, not with "knives" or "guns", but by throwing buns.  I guess it's a British saying?  Anyway after I heard that I was in the elevator and there was some bread so I snapped it and sent it to my boss saying "looks like someone in the elevator was having a bun fight!".  Hahah.

Last night the school had its annual Party in the Playground - bouncy castles/slides, BBQ, jar walk, and lots of other treats and games.  The boys had fun running around with their friends.  I did corral them to eat supper though.

Then I volunteered at ticket sales and got poured on!  We got a bit of a reprieve but I was already soaked.

Then we were getting ready to leave and it poured again!! So much rain, the occasional thunderclap, and some gusty wind.  It was Extreme School Fair (this is a throwback reference to the time we were on a patio in Little Italy when the classic Southern Ontario rainstorm came upon us and everyone was running inside and tables were turning over, we called it was Extreme Patio, a very niche joke!).

Since we had biked we needed to walk the bikes home as it was too slippery and rainy to bike.  It was crazy. When we arrived home, we dried out our bags and clothes and got cozy.  I always associate popcorn (and red wine) with being cozy so we made that when we got home and then settled in to watch the Argentina v. Canada soccer game. 

I posted about the boys' school years this week - Grade 7 and Grade 2.  Decent years for both, lots of growth.

My favourite podcast, The Bridge, had two special shows last week and this week where listeners wrote in with their favourite Canadian songs (written or performed by a Canadian).  There were so many great tunes that people mentioned, particularly from The Tragically Hip and Gordon Lightfoot.  A few that stuck out as my personal favourites are The Tournament of Hearts by The Weakerthans.  Sonny's Dream by Ron Hynes, and A Case of You by Joni Mitchell (I also like Noah Reid's cover).  You can see the whole list here.  Canada Day is coming up so it's a good time to appreciate our Canadian artists!

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.