park it!

It's official - our kids like to park it.  And, now that they're getting older, taking them to parks is less stressful on the adults than it used to be, so we go a lot.  Almost every weekend, in fact.  You might say we're kind of on a mission to find new, awesome parks.  

The new park at Magnetic Hill Zoo is the best park in town, without a doubt.  Besides the fact that it costs $28 to get into the zoo to use the park, it's a very fun experience for everyone.   Technically, it's a bit advanced for Leo, but he did great.  No fear.  He's a climber and loves the big slides.  I love watching their faces on the way down.  So proud.  So happy.  

There are surprisingly a lot of pretty great parks around here and I guess we better suck up all the parking we can before, dare I say…. winter arrives.  

No.. winter's not coming for a long, long, long time.  We have quite a bit more parks to find before hanging up our sneakers.  I look forward to the next trip.  

the final days…. of summer?

Does it seem to anyone else that as soon as the calendar flipped from July to August the weather turned cool and poof - summer was over?  We've had a few warm days here and there, but seriously… August has been crap.   Mental note - ALWAYS take vacation in June or July.  

Even though the weather hasn't been very summery, the Grants have been soaking up what's left of the summer vibe, or trying to at least.  In between all the cranky-waking-up-too-earlies and the cranky-I-refuse-to-eat-anything-but-lollipops….. we try to keep busy.  (Yes, there seems to be a cranky theme going on here.  I won't dwell on it.  I'm praying that it's just a phase and I'll make it out alive.)

On a positive note, Ruby's really enjoying her new daycare at the YMCA.  The staff and program is super and she's exhausted every day when I pick her up.  Some days she tells me I should have come earlier but other days she tells me I should wait until after gym to pick her up!  Go figure.  Will I ever get it right?  

Leo seems to have adjusted to his glasses at this point.  He's pretty good at wearing them but a pattern has developed when he gets, you guessed it, cranky.  When the crankies arrive, Leo pulls the glasses off.  He's done.  I think it's his way of telling us he is in control and we have none.  Little does he know that we basically feel out of control 80% of the time.  

At least we are in control of taking pictures…. so here's a glimpse of what we've been up to lately…. 

Ruby got her face painted at Crystal Palace.

Camping at Fundy.   Leo is LOVING his milk. 

Hike at Fundy Park

Playing at a random park.  I have no clue where… it's hard to keep track. 

We go to a LOT of parks… a new one every weekend.

This is our local hang-out.  Bessborough School Park.  

Ryan's birthday dinner in Sackville. 

Water fight.

Ryan's birthday dinner and family gathering. 

We are "considering" going camping one more time before the cold weather sets in.  Are we crazy?  Yes.  But I think you basically have to be crazy to have kids at our age.  I, for one,  admit that I am insane.  Probably always have been but I think the kids made it worse.  Just sayin'. 

Good night.  :)

summer is fun

You haven't heard from me in a while (again!!) but I'm finally here to report on the Grant's recent inaugural 5-night camping trip.  At a campground.  In a tent.  Four people in one tent.  Five days and five nights.  Three meals (and snacks) per day.  Yes… we did.

We packed the minivan, quite literally to capacity and headed over the big bridge to PEI for a fun-filled week tenting with friends.  Twin Shores campground here we come!

There - Full to capacity.  Organized and jam packed.

Back - Leo slept for the entire drive home.
Van is still full but quite unorganized. 

The weather during the week was perfect.  Once Ryan and I realized that camping bedtime was inevitably going to be much later than regular bedtime, the rest of it was perfect too.  Well... maybe perfect is too strong a word.  Manageable. Tolerable.  Fun.  Not bad.  All of these words work for me.

Chilling out on our first night. 

Leo and his best girlfriend, Sunny.  

First campfire of the season.  What a feeling. 

First roasted marshmallow of his life!  Wow.  History is made. 

The girls playing some kind of game with their feet.  

Ruby and Leo in a quite moment…. it was sweet.
(Did anyone notice he's wearing two hats?)

Distracted troops while the adults made supper. 

In true Leo style, our little guy woke up at 5:30 a.m. on the first morning there.  That was after just getting to sleep at 10 p.m. the night before.   The second day was better.  If I recall, it was 5:40 a.m.  The third day was MUCH better - a beautiful 6:30 a.m. start!   Our champ Ruby slept-in nicely every morning and I was the lucky one who got to sleep with her after Ryan fled the campground with Leo every morning as to not wake the rest of the many campers.  They drove to a nearby town every morning for breakfast, playgrounds, and even some vehicle maintenance.  Looking back, I think Ryan will always remember it as quite a nice bonding time with his little boy.  Right Ryan?

We really did have fun and having two other families with us made it even more awesome.  It was touch and go at times…. for example, by day two both kids were asking if it was another beach day... to which I replied "hell ya!".  (not really, I was thinking 'hell ya' but I actually probably said something gentle like, 'hm... you had fun at the beach yesterday, didn't you?'..... then I changed the subject and tricked them into going to the beach a couple hours later.)  In retrospect, the beach vacation was more for Ryan and I.  We've always loved the beach but the kids will need some more brainwashing... I mean maturity, before they grow to love the beach as much as their folks do.  In their defense, the water was much cooler than it is in NB.  I didn't even dunk and frolic once, which is strange for me.  I was planning on sneaking in a bit of swim training for the triathlon I intend to do later in August. The water was just too cold and I am just too wimpy for that nonsense.  I did manage to steal away for a run on the beach with Katherine and my new best dog friend Finnegan, which was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Among some other highlights was Ruby's swimming for the first time ever!  I will never forget the moment that she realized she wasn't touching hands or feet.  So proud.  Both of us.

Our spot for five days!  Perfect. 

By beautiful boy.  

Ruby surfing and swimming!

I got several nice shots like this.  Nice.

With the van maxed out we didn't have room for our bikes.  That's a definite must for next year.


Can't wait!  It was so much fun we're doing it again.

I LOVE SUMMER!! SUMMER IS FUN!!