Goodbye School Year.........Hello Summer Vacation!

Celebrating with some cookies!

Franken-Tree

Late last week we had quite the storm go through our town.  Normally I LOVE stormy weather and have always found it rather interesting the force Mother Nature has.  This particular storm lasted maybe 30 minutes and at one point Adam and I looked out the kitchen window and thought to ourselves that the maple tree was looking pretty droopy.

 Uh Oh........

It just happened that I had forgotten to close the shed door. Adam was concerned that it might just blow off it's hinges (yes, it was that windy!). Since I was the guilty party I volunteered to run out to close it.  The water in the backyard was literally 5 inches high!

Anyways, since I was soaking wet I made a quick detour by the tree........and what I found made me just a "tad bit" ticked off with Mother Nature.


You see, our tree is our ONLY shade tree in the yard.  I picked it out myself almost 4 years ago, paid over $800 for it, have cared for it, and watched it grow just like a baby. To say that I am emotionally attached to my tree is an understatement.

I was almost in tears at the thought of loosing it. But, it wasn't long until I was on the internetto see what I could do. Because if there was ANY chance we could save it.....I wanted to try.  After the worst of the storm cleared, Adam headed outside with some strong ratchet tie-downs to secure the 2 halves together. After some more internet research and a visit from an Tree Specialist who quoted $650 to salavage the tree we decided to take his advice and try to do the work ourselves.

So now our tree is affectionately known as "Franken-Tree" or by it's previous name "Leafy."

Now fingers are crossed and only time will tell but for now it's looking promising that "Leafy" will be around for a long long time....................

Our quick "repair" job while we waited to figure out a solution

A close up of the damage from the storm. The crack extended down about 15 inches.

About to drill the first hole.....crazy Willow kept trying to jump up and grab the spinning drill bit!

The first post is going in!

A close up of the steel post installed. There is another post about 6 inches further down the tree as well.

Our beautiful Franken-Tree!

2 Posts in 1 Day.........

I just needed to put these pictures on the computer right away. Tonight we attended Claire's Gymfest, a relaxed gymnastics demonstration and opportunity for all the kids to show off their skills!  Claire participated on beam, bars and floor......and she ROCKED IT!   We are so proud of all her hard work both in her Advanced Recreational class and with her Private Coach that she works with once a week.  We'll be continuing with the Private Coach for the summer and then adding additional classes again in the Fall.
This club, which Claire has been with for just over a year now, is so wonderful! We can't say enough!!!

THANK YOU GENESIS GYMNASTICS FOR ALL YOU DO!!!!

Looking good on the floor routine!

Bars are Claire's strongest (and apparently favourite) event

I would NEVER be brave enough to do this!

Avery was Claire's biggest fan! 

Our gymnast!

Claire and her wonderful coach Denise!

Summer Happenings

We headed up north last weekend to celebrate a belated birthday for my Dad and Father's Day for Adam and my Dad. The weather started off a bit chilly but by the end of the weekend the kids and Adam were back in the lake swimming. This weekend there were a few more brave souls that joined them.  Although we actually heard on the local new that they are advising people not to enter the lake because of increased risk of Hypothermia.  YIKES!

All in all though it was a lovely weekend. We attended an Antique Car Show, did a little retail therapy, ate way too many sweets and enjoyed hanging out lakeside.  A perfect way to celebrate Father's Day!

Before heading off for the weekend, Claire had Track and Field Day at school.  She discovered that shot putt is really not her "thing" but that she is pretty fast on the track.  Way to go Claire-Bear!

Claire snapped this picture on Father's Day.  This alleyway is where Adam asked me to marry him almost 13 years ago.  There used to be a fantastic little restaurant tucked away in here....and that is where he popped the question! 

Claire found a contender at the Car Show.......I think I wouldn't mind this one either!

The First Swim of the Summer!!

The chilly water didn't deter Avery.....she is going to be my "beach baby" this summer for sure

Spending some sisterly time together

We even had time to hit up a playground or two on our trip up to Gravenhurst!

In A Blink Of An Eye......

Alec is off to his Prom tonight.

Don't ask me how this is possible.....heck, it feels like it was just yesterday that I went to Prom! The funny thing is that really it has not changed all that much.  The dresses, the tuxes/suits, getting your hair done, finding the perfect shoes and deciding on the "best" after-prom party to attend. All that forever remains the same. It just feels rather strange that it's not me going to Prom.....that 25 years have somehow flown by and now I'm the Mom watching my first born (and rather handsome) son participate in this right of passage. For a right of passage it most definately is. For in a blink of an eye he will be all grown up, watching his son or daughter head of to their Prom. But for tonight it's all about fun and I hope this night proves to be the best one yet! Love you Alec!!!

May 24th.............Victoria Day Long Weekend

The first official long weekend of the summer!  Is it only me or does it seem like it took FOREVER in arriving this year? Heck....the snow hasn't been melted that long ago.  But like all crazy Canadians we are embracing the nicer weather, fixing up the gardens this weekend, spending lots of time outside and maybe poking a bit of fun at the people who went camping this weekend.  With frost warnings in place I can't imagine waking up in a tent this morning.....brrrr!

As we have in the last few years this is one of the only weekends of the summer that we consciously choose to stay home. The traffic to Muskoka is always a hassle and a 1 hour drive can turn into a 4 hour drive in a blink of an eye......and it usually does. So, instead we opted to stay home and finish up on getting the gardens ready for summer and spending lots of quality time with the kiddies!

Claire had a particularly great weekend with a much anticipated trip to American Girl that just opened up in Yorkdale.  Then Sunday it was off to celebrate a birthday with a good friend....they spent the morning horseback riding! I'm quite expecting her to arrive back home today and ask for a horse! 

The rest of the weekend was spent eating ice cream cones, planting flowers, and celebrating Adam's birthday (a bit early) with his family.

I didn't have time to pull out the camera but did snap a couple of pics on my phone.

Happy Long Weekend Everyone!

Claire's first time riding anything bigger than a pony at the Fall Fair.....looks like she is in love!

Claire's "Just Like Me" doll (Grace) had her ears pierced and a new hair do!

As Claire would say: "Mommy this is the best day ever!!!!"

Cookies Anyone?

These platters are heading out to a corporate function this afternoon. The kids will be happy to know that there were plenty of extras!  Looks like we'll be having cookies for dinner!!

It's Coming.......sort of

I thought Spring had arrived over last weekend. Well, technically it has been here for quite a few weeks now.  It's just sort of hard to appreciate it while bundled in snowsuits and with frostbitten fingers.

So when the weather actually hit mutliple digits over the weekend we declared that Spring had officially arrived.  The front closet which was housing an assortment of winter boots, rain boots, running shoes and flip flops got a good clean out....just left the flip flops!  The winter coats, mittens, hats and scarves were lugged downstairs with the intent to launder and pack away until next Fall. Avery was loving the sunshine and sand between her toes......we even had a
PPP......Pizza Picnic on the Patio!

That was on Monday..............on Tuesday it was -6 and guess who had to lug all that stuff back outta the basement?

Yay, Mother Nature has a sick sense of humour.

So now I'm going to be cautiously optimistic.

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING EVERYONE!

Happy Easter 2014........

From big to little............

Craziness........

Cuteness......

And first experiences...........

Were had by all......................

And I must add that no one does an egg hunt like we do!!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!