Trip to Newfoundland - we came, we saw, we caught fish!

We had a wonderful trip to Newfoundland earlier this month. We stayed with my parents, and I got to visit some old friends, my Grandma (in Newfoundland, most grandmas are called "Nanny" or "Nan"), and some aunts and cousins. The time always seems to go by so fast! Hubby and I got in some time to ourselves though, and some of the festivities at the George Street Festival.

A few highlights of things we did with C:

Playing in the water while we watched the capelin come in. It's pretty amazing. Millions of fish come close to shore to spawn and "roll" up on the beach. You can just pick up handfulls of fish, or wade out and use buckets and nets to catch them. It was my first time seeing them, and it was quite an event - there were a ton of people on the beach!


C thought they were amazing! She liked the dead ones better though - the wiggling ones made her jump!


On one of our inside days, she enjoyed filling up her Grandma's pop bottle bank!

We went to one of the coolest parks I've ever seen - this is outdoor exercise equipment! Weight machines, elliptical machines, rowing machines, stationary bikes... it made exercising fun!

We went for a walk on the St. John's waterfront (that's a navy boat in the background).

C thoroughly enjoyed "getting a home run" on a big compass at a tourist spot...

...and visiting a castle (Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, where the first transatlantic wireless signal was received).

In St. Lawrence, where my Dad is from, we took C fishing. She caught a fish right away, and my Dad caught a bunch, but after many unsuccessful attempts by me, C looked at my Mom and said "Poor Mummy. Mummy didn't catch no fish!"

She didn't mind the worms either!

All in all, a great trip!
(I love this picture - C and Grandpa, off on an adventure!)

It's 1970, and children, this is your life!

This is from a 1970s children's book. Yikes! Click on the picture to read more about what boys and girls can be when they grow up! (via The Blog of Record)


I know it's been a long time since I've updated this blog, but rest assured that we're still alive and healthy here! Our vacation to Newfoundland was wonderful, and since we've been back we've had many days where it's almost been too hot to move (summer finally arrived!). Things have also been going full tilt at work, so I've been avoiding the computer in my free time. Besides, it's summer, and I always kind of feel like unplugging in the summer, don't you?

I've also been kind of stressed out and crabby over the whole potty training adventure (any good tips to share?), but I'm trying to take deep breaths and remind myself that C will become consistent one day!

So that's it, just a little note from me, but I will post trip pictures soon, along with a few easy-peasy activities we do when I get lazy. :) Hope you're having a great summer!

Vacation!

We're midway through a two week vacation in Newfoundland, so that's why I haven't been posting lately. We're having fun visiting family and friends, shopping, seeing the sights and festivals, and enjoying the outdoors. Trip report when I get back!

I hope you're having a great summer!

The beautiful photos are from the Bitstop blog.

Painted Ladies

These little ladies have popped up all around my garden, and C and her friends like to collect them.

Rocks + red, black and white paint = ladybugs! A quick and easy mama craft!

Summer fun

We finally have sunshine here, so we've been out enjoying it instead of spending time on the computer. I hope you're having a great summer!

Guilty pleasure

While I try to make healthy treats for C like fruit & vegetable popsicles, bran flax muffins, chocolate chip cookies with raisins and pureed chickpeas, and banana bread with cauliflower hidden in it, I have to admit that I'm not as good at sticking to healthy treats for myself. Although I really like cashew pieces and fresh strawberries in yogurt lately, I've been eating a lot of caramel popcorn. I found a recipe on Make It And Love It that is fabulous. Seriously one of the best snack foods ever. It's gooey and sugary and ohhhhh-so-yummy. Try it if you dare:

Chewy Caramel Popcorn

But I warn you, it's addictive.

I like to sprinkle the caramel corn with chopped up peanuts. A few mini chocolate chips are never a bad idea either. Oh, by the way, the recipe makes WAY more caramel than I could ever use in one night. I third the recipe and still have lots left over. I pour it into a mason jar and keep it in the fridge, then scoop out and reheat what I need.

Vacation & guitar breaking

We've been on a family vacation this week in lovely Nova Scotia. I'll write some "real" posts soon, but for now, here's someone else's vacation story for you! It seems that everyone has airline stories about less-than stellar service, delays, mechanical problems, and lost luggage. My boss loses a suitcase literally every time she flies.

I heard an interesting story about a Halifax-based band called the Sons of Maxwell who have been getting a lot of news coverage this week. They flew with United Airlines, and while waiting on the tarmac in Chicago, they heard a woman sitting behind them say "My God, they're throwing guitars down there!" It turned out to be their equipment that the baggage handlers were tossing, and an expensive guitar was broken. After much runaround by the airline, (and being a pretty good sport about it) one of the band members decided to write a lighthearted song about the incident, United Breaks Guitars. It's apparently the most watched music clip ever on YouTube, and the band has gotten worldwide exposure from so many news outlets covering the story (CNN, CBC, the New York Times, and even Rolling Stone!).

Watch it on YouTube!

Artwork with Cheerios

...is not always productive. She got in a snack though!


The Cheerio octopus printable is from Making Learning Fun.

Canada Day

All decked out in red and white, sharing snacks during the Canada Day festivities on Wednesday (July 1st). I call this photo:

"Ooooh... what does she have?!"

I didn't get a chance to buy red yarn to make these firework pom poms, but oh, how I wish I did!

In honour of Canada Day, Independence Day and all other countries' national holidays, here is a link to colouring pages for children of the world and countries of the world. Enjoy!

It's a rainy day

Here's a Sesame Street flashback for you (and for me to learn the rest of the words - C has been asking me to sing it). Because it's been raining for the better part of 2 weeks (sigh)...