The End of Summer...

We’re wrapping up summer and getting ready for school. Where did the time go?!

The kids had one week to hang out after back to back Grandma visits before heading off to camp. Corinne went to OELC (Ontario Educational Leadership Centre). She was nominated by her teacher and principal, which was a big honor. She went during the “Arts” week and she had to choose a major. The options were creative writing, dancing, theatre, and music. Corinne went for writing, but loved being able to have time to explore the other majors. She made some great friends and really enjoyed developing confidence and leadership skills. She said she definitely wants to go back again next year. 

Ayla went to Forest Cliff Camp and she choose arts and crafts as her main activity. When we asked her what her favorite part of camp was, she told us all about banana boating, which is riding on a banana shaped tube behind a boat. She enjoyed the girls in her cabin and all the outdoor activities. She also made some really cool arts and crafts and won an award for one project. She said she wants to go back again, too. 

Sophie went to day camp at the local rec. She did NOT want to go, but of course, had a blast! A lot of parents use it as daycare and she said to me, “Mumma! This is the last week and some kids got to go all summer. I want to go again!” They swam almost every day, went to the splash pad, the playground and had a field trip to a park with inflatable bounce houses and slides. 

So, we were definitely three for three on camp this year- YAY! :) 

Ayla choose to bring two friends to Springz, a huge indoor trampoline park for her 11th birthday. They had a ton of fun jumping and we finished with ice cream. The actual day of her birthday, Heather, the nanny, took all four of them to Adventure on Wonderland, which is a huge indoor playground. Heather said it was hard to tell which of them enjoyed it more. It was definitely a very fun day!

Lincoln continues to entertain us on a daily basis. It is crazy how much he is talking and how full of personality he is. He is starting to get freckles across his cheeks is the perfect combination of Trevor and I both in his looks and behavior! 

Trevor and I completed the Blenheim Mud Run this weekend.  One of the coaches from our gym did it with us and we had a lot of fun getting dirty! We finished the weekend off by competing in the Suns Out Guns out competition at West London Cross Fit. It was a super fun team event with a yummy potluck lunch. During the competition the kids had fun playing with sidewalk chalk, putting on tattoos and playing with each other. 

We are super excited to be going on a four day camping trip to Pinery Provincial Park on Lake Huron the first week of September and the last week before school starts. You’ll hear all about how much fun we had with my September update. 

June/July Happenings

June seems like a really long time ago, but I'm going to try to make sure I get in all the high lights!

Sophie celebrated her sixth birthday by having three friends sleep over. They enjoyed time at the splash pad, birthday cake, a movie and playing outdoors. They fell asleep at a pretty decent hour and everyone had lots of fun! I still remember rocking Sophie to sleep and cuddling with her in the morning before she could even talk. Time flies!!

I participated in the 24 hour Survivor fundraiser for the Blenheim Youth Centre. It's based on the tv show with two teams, challenges, people voted off, etc. It was a lot of fun and allowed me to meet a bunch of great people. I didn't win, but I was voted favorite player and won a weekend cottage get-away!

The kids finished up the school year with good grades and excited about their teacher for the fall. Corinne is in a 7/8 class, Ayla has the same teacher for 6th grade (whom she loves) and Sophie is looking forward to 1st grade.

Ayla, Sophie and Lincoln finished swim lessons in June with out a ton of improvement. Lincoln passed his level, but Sophie and Ayla didn't. The good news is, we've been swimming A LOT in friends' pools this summer and they have all become great swimmers. Sophie swims underwater, by herself in the deep end and can float on her belly and back. Ayla needed to work on her back float, which she has nailed! Now that the water is above 80 degrees we can't get Lincoln out of the pool.

I'm working on fall activity schedules, but am hoping to have all three in swim lessons again. Corinne may be joining the swim team, but more info to come on that. Ayla, Sophie and Lincoln are also looking forward to gymnastics.

Ayla and Corinne have started guitar lessons and will continue in the fall as well. The teacher is very impressed with both of them!! Corinne plays guitar daily for hours, while Ayla needs a little more prompting. Their teacher asked them to each come up with a list of bands, songs, and genres of music they listen to so he can incorporate it into their lessons, which definitely makes it fun for them.

We started July off with some dear friends from Maine- the Luchies! We celebrated Canada Day with them at the beach and then a fire that night complete with s'mores! Following their visit came Corinne's good friend Emma and her mom, Beth Ann. They had a great time together exploring London (a nearby city), laser tag, picking strawberries, swimming and just hanging out. Although Emma is Corinne's friend, all the kids enjoyed both her and Beth Ann. 

We supported one of our coaches from The Underground Fit Club at a cross fit competition she was in at Port Stanley Beach. It was definitely the nicest beach we've been to here and we're looking forward to going again this summer. The sand and vast lake reminded us of home!

Grandma Connie was our next visitor near the end of July. The girls had a great first day with her in the blueberry fields. They came home with 22 POUNDS of blueberries!!! We've had blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry smoothies and still have a freezer full! We spent a great day in the pool at a friend's house. It's so great to see all four kids swimming and not wanting to get out of the water. We spent a day in London at the farmers market, which was really fun. The girls enjoyed all the different crafts and vendors, while Lincoln enjoyed touching everything. We ate some great local food and headed off to laser tag. On our last day with Connie we went to Point Pelee hiking and kayaking. It was Connie's first time in a kayak and she did great! Corinne and Ayla enjoyed showing her the area and their own kayak skills. 

We took Connie to the airport on Monday and went back Wednesday to pick up Grandma Gay. We showed Gay around the area and she was able to spend time with the kids swimming, running around the splash pad and hanging out with friends. We spent a day at Greenview Aviaries Park & Zoo. The kids loved feeding the animals and reading about the places they were from. We played many games of dominoes and did some art projects with Grandma as well. 

In between all of our visitors the kids have been hanging out with their nanny two days a week. We couldn't ask for a more amazing person to be with our kids while we're at work. She is awesome with all four of them. They've been strawberry picking, swimming almost every day (indoors or out depending on the weather), going to the library, the fair, and lots of art projects when it was rainy at the beginning of the summer. We're very grateful to have her with us this summer. 

In August the girls are all looking forward to camp for a week. Ayla and Corinne's is both a week long overnight camp, while Sophie's is a day camp. We're hoping to squeeze in a camping trip before the summer is over too. So many fun things to do!!!