Weekend Recap

We had a busy long weekend. This is the halfway point for summer holiday so we will continue to fit in as much as we can.

We hit the road on Friday morning for Kanata for a baseball tournament. We stopped for lunch at The Ranch, along Highway 7. 

Thumbs up from Q!

This was exactly what we thought it would be and it hit the spot!

We arrived in Kanata mid-afternoon, and able to check into our hotel. Dave and E went to the gym, Q and I rested, and then we headed over to the first game. Q's team lost but played well, keeping it pretty close against a tough team of 10 year olds. 

On Saturday morning we had the Opening Ceremony to start the day.

So many teams!

Including 6 teams from High Park.

E's view of the opening ceremony. 

Then the first game of the day. The forecast had called for rain all day but it turned out to be just a few light showers and we got both of the games in.

Let's go!

We won both games that day which means we were set to play in the semi-finals on Sunday morning.

We went to Les 3 Brasseurs for a team dinner and sang Happy Birthday to our head coach. 

Then late on Saturday night the organizers of the tournament decided to change the format for the finals and cancelled all of the semi-finals and just put the top seeds of each pool into the finals directly.  They were expecting some heavy rain so they didn't think they could get all of the games in. Unfortunately that meant our tournament was over. We were pretty disappointed we didn't get a chance to play for the finals, especially since the rain held off and we probably could have gotten in all of the scheduled games. This is why I believe you should never cancel for weather ahead of time because you don't know what could happen.  But nothing we could do!

But we pivoted and took the kids bowling on Sunday morning instead, and this along with some arcade time, was just fine with them.

Mean muggin'

Coach gave them some baseball cards so they were checking those out.

The rain did come when we were driving home so I was glad we were driving in the daytime.  We watched Mandalorian and Grogu and went to bed early.

Monday, being the holiday, meant we had all day with no plans. First we went to see Spider-Man Brand New Day, which we all enjoyed. 

And then golfed 18 holes.

ICYMI

Part of the fun of Christmas is enjoying things that we have loved for years - I watch the same movies and listen to the same songs.  Occasionally I will come across something new and I wanted to share these with you in case you missed it. 

Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped doc - We all know the song “Last Christmas” but I didn’t realize how iconic it and the video were when they came out.  This documentary gives the background for all of that and makes you gain an appreciation for the song and Wham!

A Boy Called Christmas - This has been around for a few years but we finally put it on last weekend.  It’s about a boy who needs to go looking for his father and comes across a town of elves. Hijinks ensue.  It’s a story being told by an aunt to some kids in modern day, and the aunt is our beloved Maggie Smith. It’s wholesome family fun. 

The Holdovers - This movie had some Oscar buzz a few years ago.  It takes place over Christmas holidays at a private boarding school, the “holdovers” are the kids that don’t go home for the break.  Paul Giamatti is their teacher who stays at the school with them. There are some great performances in this movie.  

Jamie Cullen’s Hang Your Lights - I have posted several times about Jamie Cullen, a British jazz singer, as I love his entire Christmas album, but aside from The Pianoman at Christmas, Hang Your Lights is a very catchy tunes. 

John Legend’s Bring Me Love - Speaking of catch tunes, this one is a great one.  I love John Legend’s voice. 

Barenaked Ladies’ Jingle Bells - This one is unassuming but it will get you, trust me!

Cher’s DJ Play A Christmas Song - I heard this for the first time yesterday and it has quickly become my new favourite.  

Bonus ICYMI - Since most of Canada no longer imports Beaujolais Nouveau, I had to source a replacement.  I can confirm that an Ontario Gamay Noir fits the bill.

Weekend Recap

The month of November is winding down.  We had lots of fun this weekend. 

I decided to go for a run after work on Friday.  The sunlight was fading but I got out there for 5K. 

Then we made dinner, we were portioning out the ravioli.  I made a sage butter sauce to go with it. And some garlic bread.

Q killing a bug .

Dave’s Aunt Linda was with us for the evening on her way through Toronto. 

We had the kids play their instruments for her.

On Saturday morning Q and I walked up the street to see what was going on for the holiday market.  

Q made a little craft.

He got a balloon candy cane.

And a hot chocolate.  They had a little train so we hopped on that for a ride.

After Q got home from a birthday party, we decided to go and see Wicked For Good. I enjoyed it but can appreciate that there were some shortcomings. Regardless, I know I will be singing For Good for the next few months.

We watched the rest of The Martian when we got home and then the kids played video games and Dave and I watched The Roses.

On Sunday we did our regular thing - watched the F1 race, went to church and baseball, and got groceries.  Then we had our annual trip to the Marlies hockey game.  We get free tickets from our neighbours on Halloween for a game in November.  We had a few extra this year so we invited some of the kids’ friends.

When we got home Dave wanted to get a picture of some old skis. One of Q’s friend’s dad said they could use them.  They were the right size so that will be good to get rid of them.

 I had made a couple of batches of shortbread to freeze for our party, so I put them away after we got back from the hockey game. 

Then it was early to bed for everyone! 

Friday Favourites

 

Happy Friday.  I love November because it isn't an overly busy month. We are between holidays, golf is over (as of tomorrow) and skiing hasn't begun.  

I made a turkey pot pie on Monday with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey that was in the freezer.

It was Take Your Kid to Work Day on Wednesday and I finally had a kid in Grade 9 to take to work. Unfortunately, my actual office isn't open yet, but instead of just having him sit with me at the home office, we attended a morning event put on by the Law Society.

We did check out my new office location which is nearby.

Got some Tim Hortons before heading back home.  I made E wear his suit, with golf shirt, and although the other students were dressed in a variety of things, I was proud that he looked good dressed up. 

Our neighbour stopped by with some doughnuts which was kind of him! We enjoyed them after dinner.

I posted about our Blue Jays on Monday as we are gradually emerging from the depression of the World Series loss. 

We randomly watched The Lost Bus on Apple TV the other day.  It is about a wildfire in Paradise California starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferreira.  It was really well done, and actually premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. 

Join us on Monday for another installment of our Link Up Series - Sharing Our Lives.  We are going to be talking about our reading habits.

Have a great weekend.

Linking up with Andrea and Erika.

Weekend Recap

Halloween is always a fun day. Q dressed up in his costume to wear to school.  He was Peely from Fortnite (or just a banana if you don’t know about Fortnite). 

And what he looked like without the face covering. 

The school had a little costume parade so I ran up to see it, unfortunately it was raining so we needed to be inside.  I love seeing what other people have for costumes.

After work it was time to get the pumpkins out onto the front step.

E was a Blue Jays fan.

E and his friend ready to go. 

We had about 40 trick or treaters, which is normal for us. 

Everyone got back in time for the 8:00 start to the Blue Jays game.  E had his friends over and a few of them stayed for a sleepover. 

Not a great end to Game 6.

Dave went golfing on Saturday morning, I made breakfast sandwiches for the sleepover teens, and Q made a birthday card for the party he was going to later. 

Q’s candy, yes that’s a Michalob Ultra that someone was giving out for the parents. (Although Q thought he was getting a Diet Pepsi so was a little disappointed, haha)

We geared up for Game 7 of the World Series, and it ended in heartbreak. I wrote yesterday about Why I Love the Blue Jays and man, I was pretty sad on Saturday night and all day Sunday. 

Q had batting practice, both inside and outside, I went to church and then took E swimming.

Later on Sunday afternoon we went to see Tron: Ares at IMAX.  We were supposed to do that for E’s birthday but it was pre-empted by Game 1 of the World Series.  I don’t really remember the first Tron, but I enjoyed this movie.  Then we went to Scaddabush for dinner. 

We settled in for a few episodes of The Office and then got to bed.  I loved every minute of watching the Blue Jays games but those were some late nights, so I’m glad we can start going to bed at a decent time again.