Mitchell - love him

Recently Mitchell was watching me while I was texting, practically sitting on me. I asked him for some privacy and he said "why, is it adult humour?". I said no, he said "is it a secret?". I said no. He said "breathing space?". Yes my child, yes.

Number 24 and 27

This picture was taken early in the morning as we waited for the train to go to Chicago. It's the only picture I have on the laptop, the rest of the more interesting photos have already been moved to the hard drive. Loved Chicago, and it helped me knock off two items because we also saw the Sears Tower and the Bean.

Number 25 - perfect my rusty cartwheel

Though the actual footage of this feat, captured sneakily by Chris, might show that I have not perfected my rusty cartwheel - it will prove that I can actually do a cartwheel. Tenderly coached and encouraged by Leah and Allison, I completed this list item at the cottage in Bobcaygeon in the summer of 2011.

Number 39

Here's a yummy cheese I picked up at Sobey's - so that's done!

Clovermead Adventure Farm

One weekend in June, we had planned to go away to the beach for the weekend but the weather did not cooperate. Still we headed out for a day trip, that ended up being a good day despite the clouds, wind and change in plans. Clovermead Adventure Farm is a bee apiary with farm activities to keep you buzzzy (ha ha) after you've checked out the bees. The best place to see the bees was in the washroom where behind the glass wall hundreds of bees were working in the honeycombs. The kids enjoyed the zip line, hay bale jump and rubber duck races that made up the adventure farm. We then made our way to Port Stanley for some fish and chips, yummy. We were going to let the kids play on the beach, even though it was too rough for swimming, but it was too cold and blustery even for that. So our day trip was cut short, but it was still some nice family time during a hectic month.

It was in Bobcaygeon...

We've just recently returned from our vacation in Bobcaygeon. It was a great week with the Dhaens, Ripleys and Wilburs. Great meals, good weather, and excellent company. In no particular order these are some things I want to remember:
-birthday shots when I arrived
-beating Scott at Bolo to 100 points, by knocking his one point off to get 1-2-3 when he was almost at 100 and I was in the 80s
-morning walks with Karen and Jeannie
-Derek catching a fish
-going for a walk with Mitchell
-the emu biting Derek in Peterborough
-bolo balls stuck in the tree
-being pointless for too long
-the party raft
-watching Annette's slideshows at the the end of each day
-reading Blood Red Road
-GB Jeff and his cake
-Derek saying "here comes the finger licking part" at KFC
-friendship bracelets
-being coached for a cartwheel
-Owen giving Derek shoulder rides
-Mitchell swimming in the rough water with the other boys

Number 26 - Host Mother's Day Dinner

On Mother's Day I hosted Mom's side of the family. It was dinner for almost 30 people. I was responsible for making the turkey, stuffing, ham, beans, potatoes, and corn. I used a lot of crock pots. Everybody else pitches in to bring the rest, like dessert. Mom helped me an awful lot even though the idea was that she would get a break for Mother's Day.

I overcooked the turkey - I forgot about the power of the convection oven over time. But some creative carving by my dad and a little bit of chicken broth made up for doneness.

The picture is the flower arrangement I put on the main table. You can just see the dandelion that Derek had brought in to add to the bunch.

Luckily the day was a nice one and the kids could play outside. They seemed to have a lot of fun, if volume is any measure. It also allowed about 10 people to eat outside.

Aunt Joyce sent me a beautiful note afterwards saying Grandma would be happy and proud that we were still getting together and that I had hosted. I did feel like she was with us.

Number 35

Done!

On the Phone

This is Mitchell on the phone with a girl, making arrangements to meet in Club Penguin. We have to work on some phone etiquette though because at one point I heard him say, "So, are we done talking now?"

When he heard me telling Scott that a girl called him, he said, "So what. I've talked to girls on the phone before, I've talked to Grandma and Aunt Jill."