Hintonburg Run

We ran a great neighborhood race this morning., with lots of friends.

The big kids ran 5km, and Jaida ran the 1km with her friends. They were super cute.

Here are some photos:

My running partner and I:

Jaida and friends cheering for 5km runners:

Natasha and friends, at the start:

Jaida and friends walking to the start:

Jaida and Vivi running along. I'm pretty sure they were smiling the whole time they were running.

Big boys M and S, finished in 29:15. I am so proud of them. (they are just 7 and 8 and don't train!)

Natasha and Madz running to the finish line. They finished in 39:05!!

Maya at the finish line, 39:59

Kids enjoying some cake after the race:

Maya at home. She was really really hot, her tummy wasn't feeling very good after the run.

A little bit of water poured over her head, and some cold cold Gatorade is all we needed.

It was a crazy hot day. 31 degrees by 10am.

Looking forward to it again next year!

Week #1 of Summer Vacation

The first week of summer vacation was very busy.

It started with Canada Day. We lazed around the house for the better part of the day, then biked downtown after dinner. Had a nice walkabout, then ran into a road blockage! That's right, we saw WILL and KATE drive by!!

The girls got painted up and hit the town:

Maya talking to Sofia
downtown on wellington, ready to PARTY!

We biked to Victoria Island, where we coincidentally met my sister and family, to watch the fireworks.

kids playing card, while waiting for the fireworks to start:

It was great, and the bike ride home, Maya on her own bike and the girls on trail-a-bikes, was an adventure at 10:45pm! No one fell asleep, there was only a few moments of dozing for Tasha!

Saturday I biked to Perth with Meg, we stopped in at a friends cottage to cool down with a dip in the Lake, before heading off to watch Grant, Kevin, John and Dave run the Perth Kilt Run. It was a very very windy ride, but in some sense it was good, as it kept us from feeling the heat!

Sunday/Monday we were off to another cottage, this time we spent the night. It was a beautiful lake. The girls kayaked, jumped in and out, picnicked on the raft. It was completely relaxing. Jaida is fearless, and was one with the fish and frogs, Natasha and Maya kayaked around the lake while Grant and I could sit on the dock and watch.

It was very peaceful and relaxing!

Tuesday/Wed/Thurs/Fri was back to reality and LAUNDRY!! But with the great weather it was easy enough to spend time hanging out at the pool and with friends.

Oh, did I mention, I had a house full of kids on Wed and Thursday? I topped out at 8 kids on Wednesday, 7 kids on Thursday! It was fun, but I won't lie. I was TIRED!!!

Friday we were just 4 kids. It seemed so quiet. We enjoyed some Strawberry picking and some pool time at the park.

It was a very busy and tiring week, but all in all it was a great start to summer vacation.

Great weather, fun and happy kids. What more could you ask for?

stay tuned for this week's adventures.

School's out for Summer!!

Hard to believe the school year is over already. It has been a great year!

Maya finished Grade 2...she absolutely loved school this year. She had a fabulous teacher, who she adored. She was super young, 25! and fun loving, easy going and very very nice.

Maya and Molly on her last day of Grade 2:

Maya with her friends (Alex and Clare) and teacher:

Natasha also loved school this year. She had a wonderful teacher, learned so much French, and she even occasionally shows an interest in reading! Some friends and her formed a "Book Club" We are not sure what it entails, but we do know she really enjoyed their 'meetings'.

Natasha on her last day of SK:

We celebrated the end of school with a pool party and pizza picnic at the park with 30 friends. It was great!

Full of questions

Maya has been full of questions these days. We have had some very interesting and lengthy conversations about so many things.

Two questions in particular made me laugh last week.

1. Why would you need to get your stomach pumped.
2. Is Steven Harper child friendly.

#2 was particularly hard to answer.

She is a super fun kid.

What to do when Royals visit.

While have dinner one night last week I was talking about Will and Kate's upcoming Canada Day visit.

Natasha jumped up from out of her seat and said "We need to buy them a present!!"

I wondered what one would buy the royal couple.

Natasha quickly said "We should by her a crown and maybe a wand."

What about Prince William I wondered.

She thought for a few seconds and stated "a cape of course!"