Fall...(and apparently we've now jumped straight into winter)

Although we currently have a foot of snow on the ground, and have already been sliding, it's still supposed to be fall (especially since we still haven't celebrated Hallowe'en!)

The crazy times continue, with the loss of dear Grampa Ron, but we've done our best to have smiles and fun times as a family amidst the toughness.

In Toronto a few weeks ago for the funeral, of course we had to ride the subway. As much as possible. Destinations are a side point.

(this is Cadence practising balancing on the train; he did quite well hands-free too. A true commuter-in-training.)



...and play at the playground on the way to the subway. As much as possible.


...and play with family, as much as possible :)

Family baseball game in KL at Thanksgiving. Tofu wouldn't heed the rules of the game (i.e. leave the ball alone especially when the bat was swinging) so he had to be fastened to the dymond. Not pleased.



Beginning preparations for Hallowe'en: making and then hanging two ghosts outside. (They are now completely buried by snow.) Stay tuned for pumpkins & our wee little lion...

September

All this feels like it was AGES ago, likely because we're wearing t-shirts & it's sunny out in these pictures, but now we're wearing winter boots, hats & mittens. Boy oh boy.

Cadence and Drew did a great job washing the car, then he did us the favour of taking a pic of mom & dad


Hike one nice afternoon in the backyard




On our way to the fall fair, we stumbled on a corn booth fundraiser. Three cheers for street food other than cheeseburgers & poutine!


Watching the fair parade

Drew & Cadence went on the big slide. Super fun...can't wait til winter sliding season!!


Cadence & I rode on the strawberries; we were in with two other kids who were making it spin as fast as they possibly could and Cadence absolutely loved it.

Summer's back!

We've been to Toronto/Burlington and back, and summer has returned.

Now that we live in the north, hockey is a guaranteed part of life. Just because it's summer doesn't mean we go without...
Deck hockey, northern style.


Air hockey, just home from a yard sale. It's now up in a spare room & ready for tournaments.


After thinking about it for the longest time, we finally got to staining our deck. No small feat during such a wet summer, and for such a large deck. Cadence was a big helper.


One hot day, Cadence & I got out some water balloons. Good times. They weren't actually very filled, so lasted a long time. Fun for playing catch.


Another yard sale find: a two-wheeler bike, with pink training wheels (his favourite colour!). Just the right size. And he's surprisingly good on the hill, too!


Drew & Cadence enjoying day 1 in the finished sandbox. It's great! Big bench all around for a grown-up to even lie down after a day at work, while driving a dumptruck with one hand (not that I've actually tried that or anything).

!

Last weekend, Cadence and I did what we could to take in the best of Toronto. Which of course included a veggie dog, on Queen St. West. Watching the streetcars go by.


Uncle Steve accompanied us to the zoo, which was lots of fun. We all posed for pics in a nice wooded spot.






...and one more pic from Cadence:
"Mom and Dad"

Camping with Cadence

A few weeks ago my friend Kim and I took Cadence on a camping trip for two nights. We had planned to stay on a beach on Lake Temagami, but a variety of things happened & we stayed at a site off a logging road on a neighbouring lake. It rained nearly the entire time, but we had a great time. Here are a few pictures, including a montage I'll call "Camping in the eyes of Cadence."

Kim was in charge of snacks, and brought along a coconut--fun. First Cadence and she had to figure out how to poke a hole in, which they did with the tent peg, and we all drank the milk/water. Then, we worked together to break it open with a rock.


We realized upon arrival that no one had brought marshmallows, so we decided to try roasting the coconut. Edible, but weird. Really it was just warm coconut.


Here is about 5 per cent of the pictures Cadence took over the two days.

"Mom"

"Kim with Fire"

"Kayak, with paddles"

"Rubber Boots"

"Blue Tarp"

"Cooler 1"

"Cooler 2"

"Red Squirrel Lake"

"Kayak on ground"


"Self-portrait"

vacation part 2

It seems that Cadence's fever has broken, and Drew & he are playing (first time off the couch for C. all day), while I try & get this all finished up.

After the Gauleys headed back down south, Cadence & I headed to KL as Aunt Tracey & cousins Hallie & Emillie were visiting. We had a great couple of nights, including two games of scrabble (it doesn't matter who won; I'm only in it for the fun).

All of us went to Swastika to feed lettuce to the ducks; there was even a family with lots of little babies. Also a train for posing in.



Cadence, Hallie, Emillie, and I went to a public swim one day--it's been forever since I swam in that pool, and we're not at all used to a pool being that crowded. I think C. had more fun people watching & taking it all in than he did from the swimming part. Regardless I'm always into a good swim, and this was great.


Right near Gramma & Grampa's house is a playground with baseball field. Here are C and his cousins racing down a slide.


Then, a real baseball game broke out with all of us playing, and running the bases etc. Somehow it seemed to evolve into a game of everybody on one team and me on the other. Lots of fun.


We headed back to NL then, to pack for our music festival/camping trip in river valley (www.riverandsky.ca) We got VERY rained on, and VERY mosquito bitten, but that didn't stop the fun. I don't have many pictures, but swimming in the current of the Temagami River, singing & marching in the chidren's parades, playing soccer, and eating funnel cake are some of the highlights for me.

Cooking weiners (veg) on the campfire, day 1.


Smores!!


Sticky!











Classic camping potty pic. Every child needs one.


Day 2, nap. Beavers was the chosen camping companion.


Day 2 supper. Never too wet to roast marshmallows before the evening's music begins. I have to say that Cadence was great--totally into the music, not wanting to leave, and each night we fell asleep in the tent just lying there & listening to the music (the stage was close enough to hear everything from our campsite). Can't wait to do more of this with him!


Day 3, lunch--knowing we'd have packed up our gear, I bought some just-add-water Mac and Cheese. DO NOT buy this stuff. I admit that to like KD in the first place a person has to have pretty low food standards, but this is just unreasonable. We bought greasy lunch from the vendors instead.


After we got back, we all went to Kap Kig i Wan to meet with cousins Peter & Emma who were up from Ottawa for a week. We saw a beaver swimming.


Cadence's big birthday present from the family this year is a new sandbox, still under construction. Cadence and Drew can often be found working together on it in the yard evenings after work/daycare. We're all very excited to get it built and filled with sand!


That's it; I'm all caught up! Hope everyone's having a great summer!