It's official. This is our last week of summer. The kids start school one week from tomorrow and I have to say that I can't wait. 

I know, I know...I was the one who was super excited for school to be finished so I didn't have to wake up to an alarm for a while. Are you wondering what happened? Well, while I was submerged in my blissful fantasy of no alarms I clearly forgot that my six year old wakes up early no matter what time of year it is. School, summer, Christmas vacation - you name it - that girl gets up every single day between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. No alarm needed. It doesn't matter what time she's went to bed. She's an early riser and quite frankly I need her to go back to school so I can get some sleep.

Just kidding...kind of.

Actually, it's more that I'm just ready for Fall. I'm ready for cool weather that allows for jeans and sweaters. I'm ready for apple picking and pumpkins. I'm ready for that amazing wet earth smell that permeates the air as the leaves start to fall off the trees. That smell is good. 

Now, I know we have a few more weeks of warm weather but up here in Canada there's already a bit of chill in the night air and apple picking opens next weekend (for the early varieties). So I'm not too off my rocker. I'm even ready to start making Halloween costumes! What can I say? I love the Fall. It's my favorite time of the year and since Fall brings the beginning of school, I guess I'm ready for school as well...though I'll need this last week to truly prepare myself.

Every once in a while I think this whole parenting thing is one big hallucination and any moment I'm going to wake up in my dorm room back at Hope College. I'll get up and go to some art class and get on with my life thinking that was the most vivid dream I've ever had.

I  bet you're wondering what set off this line of thinking?

Well, this morning I witnessed Squinkies & Go Gos attacking a Lego Mini-fig village.

Here the Squinkies are getting ready for battle in their magic bubble pods. Apparently the red ones are fire bubbles. They set everything they touch on fire and water is the only thing that can bring them down. Who knew?

I have no idea what the yellow ones do...and I'm afraid to ask.

Squinkies weapon of choice - the dreaded bone axe - seems a bit much for such adorable little things but what do I know?

The Go Gos are lining up as well while the Lego mini-fig defense regiments get ready to defend their base.

So far, the whole hallucination theory hasn't worked out for me, but after a morning of bubble pods, bone axes, mini-fig mini-guns and other whatnot can there be any doubt? I must have had a bad reaction to some Phelps dining hall food because otherwise this whole parenting thing is quite a trip.

The kids were gone for the last week of July, staying with my parents in Michigan. And while they spent there time going on adventures with Grandma and Grandpa, I was doing a little home maintenance. 

Remember my kitchen?

Well, I was tired of it being all white...so I decided to paint it. Here it is after the first coat.

And here's the finished product.

I only painted the doors, to make it easier to paint back over later. We changed the hardware from yucky white plastic to a nice smooth brushed silver. And just to be clear, I did buy 6 drawer pulls, but somewhere between the orange box and home I misplaced one. It was really annoying...I'm still looking for it. 

I'm really happy with how it turned out. It breaths a little life into our tiny galley kitchen and I've been enjoying it even with the missing drawer pull. (I have yet to get back out to the big orange box)

After spending a week in Michigan, we traveled to Indiana for the McVay family reunion. 

We ate. The kids swam. Bocce ball was played....

The kids spent some time fishing with Buster...

Evidence was taken...

with quite a bit of silliness involved.

We had such a wonderful time with everyone and we greatly missed those family member that couldn't be with us this year.

I'm so happy that our little family is a part of this joyous bunch. It's always a great time when we get together and I look forward to it every time.

So much for getting back on the blogging wagon, huh? 

Sorry.

Clay and I are in Kingston and the kids are still in Michigan...well, you understand right? Times like these are few and far between. It's important to seize every opportunity that comes your way when you have this kind of freedom! So, we've been busy...working, playing...just enjoying our time together.

Anyway, while we were home we were happy to participate in a proud family tradition.

Roasting Peeps.

Now, I'm sure that every family has their own list of proud family traditions that they look forward to every year. Maybe its a big meal all together on Thanksgiving or a crazy white elephant swap during the holidays. For our family, it's roasting Peeps during the summer. We can take or leave turkey, but a summer without peeps doesn't feel very summery at all. 

Cole and Isabel take their Peep roasting very seriously. Can you tell?

This year we swapped the traditional graham crackers and chocolate bars for Fudge Stripe Cookies. Cole thought it was delicious. I think he ate 4 or 5 sandwiches. Isabel was more conservative. After trying one, she went back to just eating Peeps on their own.

A girl after my own heart.

Normally, I roast just the normal Peeps opting for a plump little neon-colored chick. But this year Grandma had Snowmen and I couldn't resist toasting one up like the Stay-Puffed Marshmallow Man. (Thank you Dan Aykroyd)

He was crispy on the outside from the toasted sugar and light and fluffy and gooey on the inside. In other words, just perfect. I'll have to have Grandma pick up some other holiday Peeps, so we can see if they all toast as well as Frosty. I would do it myself, but I can't find a Peep in sight up here in Canada. Even at Easter! It's a darn shame...and quite troubling I must say.

So what counts as tradition in your family? Do you always watch the Indy 500? Do you go camping in the same spot every year? I would love to hear what you celebrate.

Hi Everyone! 

I'm happy to say that Clay and I are back in K-Town after a long 10-day trip to the motherland for an academic workshop and some much needed time visiting family. The kids elected to stay with their grandparents for another week (oh darn), so now  I'm ready to catch back up on my blogging.

The summer has been good to us so far. Our first week out of school we attempted to beat the heat by hanging out with some good friends, eating ice cream, swimming and blasting each other with water guns. 

The second week brought a long car trip back to Michigan. After dropping Clay off in A2, the kids and I headed to Alma to spend time with my family. 

Hooray!

We took advantage of the nice weather and went for a long canoe ride/picnic one day. It was beautifully picturesque on the river and we saw lots of wild life.

Here's a picture of Cole at the front of the kayak we were in...notice how much work he's (not) doing. Thank goodness for my ability to just keep paddling.

Grandma made the most delicious chicken salad sandwiches I've ever tasted, but the kids opted for ham and PB&J. Go figure. We ate, the kids played on the playground and much laughing ensued. 

The paddling portion of the day ended up being a lot longer than we expected, but everyone made it back home eventually. Next time we'll have to remember to pack a tow rope.

Needless to say, all the adults were exhausted and all the kids were fine.

Isabel, for one, was quite pleased with the trip.

More adventures to come.....

I love the 4th of July, better know as Independence Day.

One summer when we went to Greenfield Village for their 4th of July Celebration, I noticed that everyone in period costumes said, "Happy Independence Day" instead of the nowadays "Happy 4th of July." Sometimes I wonder why the sentiment changed. What do we celebrate on the 4th of July if not the declaration of our independence. From what I understand about history, it was kind of a big deal so we might as well stick with tradition on this one.

I say, "Happy Independence Day, everyone!"

Anyway, I managed to catch the tale end of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks tonight and it brought a little extra joy to my heart. It seems to me that the 4th of July is the one day a year when Americans put away the politics and feel proud to belong to a country that was built on the ideals of freedom and independence. And that makes me feel good.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Canada Day up here. But it's not the same. I'm not Canadian. I can't  own Canada Day. It's not mine and it never will be no matter how long I stay up here. 

I'm jealous. 

I'm jealous of all of my friends and family who are at home enjoying the fireworks. I wish we could be with you and I hope you have enjoyed the day. We're thinking of you on this happy day of Independence!

It's Canada Day here, and and in honor of Canada's Independence they put on a huge re-enactment of the "Pursuit of the Royal George" commemorating the War of 1812.

They brought in re-enactors from Britain and the U.S. to help. There were cannons...

and tall ships...

and a hot pursuit made by some much smaller ships.

They even shot at each other.

But, despite my prediction, the U.S. did not take the opportunity to stick one to Canada and sink the Royal George this time. Who knew Americans had such decorum? Just kidding. 

(Actually, the Royal George was played by the U.S. Niagra out of Eerie, PA so that probably had something to do with it.)

No ships were lost, but it was a lot of fun to watch anyway.

In the end the U.S. got their revenge and surrounded the Wolfe Islander III (the ferry that goes from Kingston to Wolfe Island). Unfortunately I wasn't in a good spot to get a photo of it.

Sometimes when I'm hanging around the school yard it seems like I'm the only parent that actually looks forward to the end of the school year. Everyone seems to be asking, "What am I supposed to do with my kids all summer long?" And while I know that most people are joking, I can't help but feel like there's a little hidden truth in their voices.

So, today in honor of it being our last day of school, here are my Top 5 Reasons I Love the Last Day of School...

1. No More Alarms!
  I've never been a morning person, and despite the fact that I normally wake up before the alarm goes off, I can't help loving the idea that there's nothing I absolutely have to wake up for. That's pure bliss in my book.

2. No More Packing Lunches!
  Lunches can be a big headache in our house. If Cole could take PB&J everyday, life would be simple. However, the no nut policy at school puts an end to that pipe dream, so I'm often left scrambling to find something he wants to eat. With summer here, Cole can eat PB&J everyday and lunch will be smooth sailing.

3. No More Homework!
  Sure, we have stuff we're going to do this summer. Math, reading, journaling...all that stuff that keeps your kids from going brain dead during the summer months. But homework this year made me want to rip my hair out at times, so I'm happy to be finished with it for a couple months.

4. No Set Bedtimes!
  Now that the sun stays up late, we've had a heck of a time getting the kids to go to sleep at a reasonable time so they can be up early for school the next day. I'm looking forward to tossing bedtime out the window and going with the flow.

5. No Set Schedules!
  The last day of school, means the end of routine for us. Summer days hold endless possibilities, so I'm excited to get out and explore and see where the wind takes us.

Tomorrow is that last day 
of school for us this year
And certainly we'll miss all
the friends we love so dear

Summertime can take them 
to places far and wide
And sometimes we get sad
the loss is hard to hide

But summertime is calling us
to places far off too
Where we can run and play
and have adventures that are new

So goodbye school for now
we'll see you in the fall
When summertime has left us
and we're called back into your hall