No Volume Control

Wow.. Summer went by quickly. And I apologize for not updating this blog at all during the summer, but it was busy. So we started off summer with alot of birthday parties and Kat's first friend sleepovers - which she loved! She really is a little social butterfly. She had to say good bye to a few friends at each of the sleepovers because they were moving schools with the new boundary changes.

During the week, we would hang out around the house, sometimes go to the park, sometimes just play in the yard.



Our vacation took place at the end of July. We took the drive to Toronto and spent a few days there.. Drive went really well, and the hotel was really nice. The first day we went to Ontario place. A lot of fun there. Before going, we were fearful that Dany wouldn't be big enough to go on any rides, but there was a good handful of rides that she was able to enjoy. So that was a great surprise for us all. Kat had to cheat her way on to a couple of rides (an inch too tall, but without the shoes and hat, and not standing straight, she was able to get on LOL). We got to experience every section except for one - which was the one the girls wanted to go to the most, but we were saving it for the end of the day because it was the water section, so we knew they would end up soaking wet, and they wouldn't want to walk around wet afterward. Just before we were heading there, it started raining. We waited it out as long as we could, including letting the older two play in the water section in the rain, but it didn't let up, and we were all getting cold, so we headed out. We got free passes to come back because of the rain (but because it rained on the day we were going home, we couldn't extend the trip to make another visit to Ontario Place).





More Ontario place (and hotel pictures) here : Ontario place picturespassword : cutegirls

Day 2 sent us to the Toronto Zoo. First comment is that place is HUGE!!! But the sore feet, and tiredness was worth it to see the girls' reaction to all the animals. Dany got to see a bunch of her favourites (Monkeys of all different sizes and kinds). It was great. I don't think any of them could pick out a favourite animal that they saw. We missed two parts - the Canadian exhibit and the kids discovery zone - but next time we will plan a new route so we can see some of the favourites and the missed things.


Too many zoo pictures to upload, so if you want to see more - Zoo Pictures password : cutegirls

On the drive back, we stopped at Chuck E. Cheese in Kingston. A kids dream, and a parents nightmare. LOL

The girls got to spend the long August weekend at my parents trailer. It was Dany's first trip there, and she did beautifully. They had a blast, and i'm sure they would have liked to stay longer.

We got our backyard finished at the beginning of August. It took 11 months, but it was worth the wait. They leveled it out right to the property line, and put sod in to fill the entire backyard - two things they didn't *have* to do.

August was a pretty sad month for us. First Sasha, my parents dog, my childhood dog, died. She was suffering from alot of old age stuff, and at the end, it just was too much for her and she was put out of her misery so she would no longer feel all the pain.
Then Mamie passed away after an almost year long battle with cancer. During our weekend up north for the funeral, my dad's mom passed away. Another cancer victim. All of that within 3 weeks of each other. So it was a sad and trying month for us.

To end the summer on a higher note for the girls, they went back up to the trailer the last weekend in August. And although alot cooler than the first weekend there, they still had fun, and even went swimming.

But of course nothing ever stays on a high note for long. On September 2nd we had our first big fall in this house. One of those clunks that a mom never wants to hear. Dany fell head over heels down the stairs. And because Dany is Dany, she hit only her face. Which looked really bad day 1, but generally healed very quickly. (the red marks and swelling were gone within a day or two.. The biggest bruise took a good 2 weeks to fully go away). She took it like a champ. But i'm sure she was ready to write off the day completely between that fall, tripping on the walk, and falling at the park. Rough day for her.

And of course, to officially end summer, we had our annual pre-school hair cuts. :)

Kat before :




Kat after :



Ellie Before :



And Ellie's Dramatic change :