Too much fun? NEIGH!

Ev did five days of Horsey Camp earlier this month.  It was fantastic.  She loved it desperately.  They swam, played, went on hikes, did crafts, and (of course) got lots of horsey time.  

Rob and I were greeted a few times by the woman who ran the camp.  Each time she'd inform us with a slight edge of hysteria to her voice that: "Your daughter is absolutely fearless.  No.  I mean she's FEAR-LESSSSS.  FEARLESS. She will ride any horse I put her on."

Rob and I would nod knowingly as we're quite aware of Miss Ev's 'small but mighty' and slightly crazy approach to the planet.  So, instead of riding tiny ponies as the other little kids did, Ev got to ride the bigger horses too.  (I have to laugh, imagining that the horse would look behind to see if there was actually anything in the saddle!).  Just 28 whole pounds of spitfire, that's all!

 

Ev (L) and two friends get busy grooming a pony

Her feet almost both reach the stirrups!

Ev on 'Bobby' a former unicorn (so she has informed me)

She had such a great time.  What a lucky kid, eh?  And I got to go to the end of week show, where the kids did a synchronized routine on horseback to the song 'Call Me Maybe' (mind you, we much prefer the Cookie Monster version in this household).  

She has already made me swear an oath that she can go again next year, so stay tuned for that.  What's next?  Show-jumping?  Dressage?  Actually, I think she has a bright future as a jockey, don't you?  

Just for Jim

Yes, yes, yes. I know the sporadic updates are irritating, but, c'mon. It's summer and my life just isn't that interesting. One reader in particular has been particularly verbose about their displeasure. So, for no particular reason (ahem) here is a post all about Jimmy! 

Now that it's almost September (GASP!)it seems like our N.B. adventure was about 7 years ago. That said, I have some very lovely memories of being there and hanging with the Higgys. 

Now, two of the things in this picture (below) rolled off the assembly line in 1946.  Can you guess which two?  And which one has aged better in your opinion??!

Ev, Poppa and an elderly yellow truck

Jimmy and Ev and I also had a jolly walk out to the lighthouse on one very windy day.  The waves were crazy and I thought we might just blow away.  Luckily, Poppa took action to ensure the lightest member of our party was safe.

Poppa and his G-D.  Is this an official fireman's hold?

Let's get a close-up of that glee!

And the lighthouse looking lovely, though it sorely needs a coat of paint.

So, there, finally is an update.  Poppa - we can't wait for you to get back to Ontario.  And we've heard through the grapevine how desperate and frantic you are to return too (insert heavy dose of sarcasm here)!  Let the countdown begin!

Splash!

Ahh, summer fun! 

We spent a lovely afternoon in PoHo with Lee and the boys.  Pizza, a visit with Great Granny B and watched some of the Olympic closing ceremonies (I REALLY want one of those lightbulb hats!).  Good times.  

It's always fun to visit, especially for Henry, because Auntie Peepee does super fun things like contorting herself into a pretzel to take her wee nephew down the playhouse slide. This is after noticing that he climbed up the ladder on his own while the grownups had their backs turned for 12 seconds! 

Correcting that scoliosis will only require 47 treatments, Auntie Peepee

But, today's visit was EXTRA fun because Lee & Chris's neighbours have an AMAZING pool and have, even more amazingly, given permission for the unruly folk next door to use it while they are away.

The kids took to the water like, um, fish taking to water, and a jolly splashy time was had by all. 

Synchronized splooshing

Little water babies!

Henry wanted to jump too, just like the big kids!

The little sea nymph

The kids are (fingers crossed) on the mend after a full week of sickness.  Evy still had a wee fever this morning but them seemed grand for the rest of the day.  Hopefully that's the end of this mystery virus that knocked us out for a week.  Surely a litre of chlorinated pool water up the nose is a cure for almost anything?

It's not even mid-August and I'm already mourning the end of summer.  We've just been SO busy and have crammed so much fun into the past 6 weeks, I have to say I don't really want it to end.  Or maybe I'm just dreading the ridiculous sobby mess that I'll be next month when we walk Madame E to school for the first time?  Sniff.  

In the meantime, we will continue to cram as much splashing, hilarity, and fun as we can into what remains of summer. 

Horse-crazy kid

Evy has been horse-crazy since she first set eyes on a pair of giant Belgian workhorses pulling a wagon and called them 'doggies'. 

The flames of this obsession have been fanned by a yearly visit with Stormy, the handsome pint-sized miniature horse that lives on Al & Jim's neighbour's farm in New Brunswick. 

Being an elderly gentleman, Stormy is now retired from giving rides, but that didn't stop us for visiting him about 5 times this summer. Evy was raiding Granny's crisper and compost bin at every opportunity to find treats for him, and even picked him raspberries. (Yes, mini horses LOVE raspberries - I had no idea). 

Cruising (ahem, illegally) the 100 metres down the road to Stormy's farm

Stormy (r) and his buddy and a very gleeful little girl

A fence keeps them apart, but fate will bring them together!

So, the horsey-love is alive and well.  And all of this means that next week will BLOW HER MIND.  We signed her up for a Horsey Camp on a local farm.  She spends the full day there and they go on a pony ride each day.  I can't wait to pick her up every day to hear all about her adventures.  She's going to have so much fun.  What a lucky kid!  Stay tuned for photos and updates!

More cottage fun...

See? I told you I had a lot of pictures to get through! You know things are bad when you manage to fill a 4GB memory card. 

Here are more pics from our 2 weeks up at the cottage in June/July. The weather was FAN-freakin-TASTIC while we were there. I think we had an afternoon of rain, but otherwise it was very hot and sunny every day. Almost a bit too hot at times, so we had to immerse ourselves in the lake at regular intervals. 

We ate well, slept well (ok, except Henry), picked 12 cups of delicious Redrox blueberries for jam and pies, and were generally lazy and happy. 

The kids are getting to an age where they actually play together a bit and enjoy each other's company about 70% of the time. The rest of the time is screeching and hair pulling, but I think that's pretty normal.(I should says it's them doing the screeching and hair-pulling, but I think it's probably accurate for me too). 

Dollar-store streamers.  So much fun.  With minimal strangulation risk.

Cottage bathtime routine.  Remind me not to use those basting brushes on food anymore.

Two sweet little lookouts at the front of the boat.

Yep, that sand ended up in his diaper, via his intestines.  Exfoliating, I imagine.

A little Olympic swimmer in training?  She's a water baby this year!

At the beach in Quarry Bay.  A perfect playground for chimps.

Check out that hot beach bod! 

While having a shared cottage comes with its own special hassles and headaches, we do realize we're so lucky to have a little piece of this paradise.  And we're really looking forward to another week up there later this month.  In the meantime:  how to get Henry to sleep in past 6:30am up there?  I'm thinking if he sleeps in the hammock?  Or the boathouse?  Actually, forget that.  I'll sleep in the hammock and Rob can be inside with both kids.  Problem sooooolved!

Belated Big-girl Birthday!

In what has become a delightful tradition, we had a great birthday bash for Miss Evelyn up at the cottage. What a lucky kid, to be born on a holiday! Lots of friends and family joined us for swimming, bbq, and sunshine. The big 4 year old girl had a great time. 

Such a cutie!

How did Auntie Peeps know just what colour cupcakes to make?

Three stooges at lunch

Who, me?  FOUR?!!

Sir Sammy testing the breeze with a spinny pinwheel!!

Best seats on the lake for the Canada Day Fireworks

Every year the fireworks seem better and better!

And, the most beloved birthday guest of all... Kizzy!

I suppose a time will come when Evy won't want to be at the cottage anymore for her birthday!  Shortly followed by a time when she WILL want to be there, as long as she's up there with her 20 closest friends and a keg of beer and her parents are 40 miles away!  So, we shall enjoy these years while they are here. 

I see such a change in her in the past year.  She is definitely not a toddler and her baby face is turning into that of a sweet beautiful little girl.  She's saucy and bossy and so so so funny.  Lately she's been saying, "Oh mah gawd" about stuff, which just cracks me up.  I guess she gets the valleygirl-speak from me?  Though I swear I don't sound like that!

So a happy (belated) birthday to my beautiful big girl!  You delight, infuriate, and amaze us and fill our house with love and laughter.  Thank you.

August? What??

Where has all the summer gone? Wowsers! Not only is it August, but we're already a week into it! 

What can I say? Jetting (and driving) around Eastern Canada and the US, 2 weeks at the cottage, and lots of quality summer fun can make time fly, I guess!

 The annual trip to Nooby was great. Al and Jim are hosts extraordinaire and worked their butts off keeping the kids (including me) happy, fed, rested, and entertained. 

The drive back from NB was a little less relaxing, with Henry deciding that he could not handle more than 2 hours on the road at a time. Oh, and waking up at 5am-ish just for kicks. Gaaah. BUT, the scenery was AMAZING and if you haven't done the drive down coastal highway 1 through Maine, I would highly recommend it. Have dinner in Camden! And lunch! And breakfast - blueberry pancakes... yummm! 

So, I have a million things to update on, but let me begin with a few shots of the 12 days we spent with Granny and Poppa. The weather was AMAZING and I think we had picnics 3 different days. Evy got so spoiled by the surroundings that she has been asking to go to the beach.  I don't have the heart to tell her that Ontario beaches aren't quite the same as the Fundy ones! So dreeeeammmy!

Hopping along the Salmon River suspension bridge

Brown's Beach with Granny

Al & Jim's neighbour's private beach.  Spectacular.

Henry is DOG CRAZY.  Luckily, this crazy-eyed St Bernard was VERY friendly.

A Bald Eagle (or a speck on my lens?!)

The spectacular West Quaco lighthouse

Striking an (unsolicited) pose on Duck Pond Beach

Yum!  Salty sand is soooo delicious says Henry.

I have SOOO many more pictures and will put them up soon, or at least before the end of 2012 - swearsies.  

We're now having a quiet week at home.  Henry and Ev and I have been fighting a nasty summer cold.  Hen's fever this morning was above 102 degrees, so we're taking it easy and just trying to get everyone feeling better.  

So that's your quick update from here!  Is everyone else's summer going by this fast?!