Santa's Village

It just so happens that Bracebridge, Ontario, is located at 45 degrees latitude, exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole (does that need to be capitalized?). So, it occurred to some enterprising person that if you built a Santa Claus theme park there, you might be able to make some cash. And Santa's Village was born. Clara was a teensy bit on the mature side for the rides and attractions, but for the toddler set, this place is paradise. I like Christmas in July. It works for me.

Trev enjoyed feeding Dasher and Dancer. Or, was it Prancer and Vixen? I can never tell those guys apart....

We took a ride up the Muskoka River on Santa's Summer Sleigh.

We even got to visit with the main man.

I was very disturbed, though, to see what Santa currently has planned for Trevor. Clara thought there had been a mix-up, since clearly that gift was meant for her. I need to talk to that guy....

We drove home with Christmas tunes in our heads, then squeezed in a quick game of "Bounce the yoga ball really high, and then try to run under it without getting bonked in the head". Those yoga balls are surprisingly hefty.

Merry Christmas! Uh, I mean, summer vacation is in full swing!

Off to Canada!

Yesterday, after months of anticipation, Clara, Trevi and I hopped on a plane to Toronto, to visit Grandpa Bob and Granne.
First, let me just say that I love traveling with these two cuties. Oh, sure, they get airsick from time to time (nothing yet this trip though- thank you, Dramamine, and knock on every piece of wood in the vicinity), but they are just rock stars when it comes to airports and airplanes and layovers and all of that.

As a little travel gift, I bought them these cool books that have doodle prompts. Trevi's has stickers, too. That twelve dollar investment has filled hours of waiting time.

Air Canada now has touch-screen monitors at every seat. How cool is that? It was five and a half hours of bliss for these two TV-deprived youngsters. "Really? You're going to let us watch more shows, Mummy???? But it isn't even the weekend!"

Grandpa Bob and Uncle Bryan had cooked up a well-received plan to stop at Lick's for some burgers on the way home from the airport.

And the foodfest has continued since then....

Sadly, Uncle B had to take off this morning. At least he and I squeezed in a quick Scrabble match last night. And we had time to pose this morning. :)

This afternoon, it rained. A downpour. A deluge. For hours. And, as it happened, I was out running when the rain started. The thing is, we don't get summer rain where we live. It only rains in the winter. And man, a warm rain on a hot, muggy day is an incredible thing. I felt like I could keep running forever.

Someone else enjoyed the rain, too.

And when the sun came back out, a game of "Hose Soccer" was in order.

We've squeezed in so much in just 48 hours, and our grand tour of Ontario and Nova Scotia still has 15 days to go!

GOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSS!

It was a big big big big weekend. Did I mention BIG? Clara's team won an entire tournament, and, drumroll please.......CLARA SCORED TWO GOALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know, I know, it seems a bit much for me to get so excited that a veteran soccer player like Clara put a couple of balls in the net, but here's the thing: She has never, EVER scored before. She's played fullback basically every single game since her little feet first donned cleats, and she has defended the heck out of that field, but today, Coach played her as a forward in the second half of the second game. And she score TWICE!!!! What a day!

Look! Here she is right before one of the goals happened!

And here's a bit more of the action....

Proud team:

Proud/awesome/versatile/feisty little left-footer:

Proud soccer mom holding the camera. :)

Camping at Jackson Meadows

We broke with tradition and tried a new camping spot this year for our annual week-long trip. Instead of Lake Siskiyou, we went to Jackson Meadows, in the Sierra foothills. Awesome place. Now that the kids are so independent, Chad and I are noticing a huge difference in the work:relaxation ratio while camping. Lots more relaxation this year than ever before. I give that a bug thumbs up.

A few moments to sum up a lovely five days:

Clara's loose tooth had to be dealt with before tents could be set up, marshmallows roasted, etc.

The official junk cereal of this trip was Cocoa Puffs. Not quite as tasty as Reese's Puffs, in my opinion...

The kids are beginning to take after their pyromaniac father.

A perfect campsite midweek, while all of the adjacent sites were vacant. I think that Siskiyou still wins in the "Best Overall Campground" category, but I'd definitely recommend this place.

The lake. Wow. We staked out our own private cove, and spent the better part of every day there, picnicking, swimming, and lounging around. The water was on the chilly side, but it was gorgeous and clear.

We floated.

Did sandy sorts of stuff.

Posed.

When we weren't lounging at the lake, we were lounging at the campsite. There was a lot of Uno.

Hot chocolate for the little kids.

Coffee for the big kids. Gallons of it.

And lots of time spent getting dirty.

And getting clean. Well, at least the feet.

We feel like a seasoned family of campers these days. And we sure look the part.

We didn't even forget to bring anything this trip! We had sugar, we had warm hats, we had mustard. And we fit it all in the car! Total packing success!
Unfortunately, the car almost didn't make it home with us. But that's another (long, painful, and expensive) story.....
Thanks for the new memories, Jackson Meadows!

Future Lawyers?

It's freaky how good these two are at arguing their cases when we play Apples to Apples. I mean, Clara had me completely convinced that surfing was messier than the rainforest (all that sand, gross salty film on your skin, sunscreen slime, etc.), while Trevor's earnest explanation about why shrimp was awful (it's so disgusting if you bite off its head, and it might even be covered with pollution like oil) totally won me over. We have some serious debating skills here.Kevin, by the way (in Trevi's lap) was helping to read the cards. He's dressed in orange because he was rooting for the Netherlands in the World Cup. Our couch and walls were rooting for Spain.

P.S. Yippeeeeee!!!!!!! I just got the word today that a 1st grade job opened up in the district. I am overcome with relief.

Tourney Day 2, and yet another new uniform

Today, the girls were in their "gold" uniforms, although I'd say that the color is more like dijon mustard than any kind of gold I've ever seen. And, while the jersey, shorts, and socks each seem pretty benign in isolation, they have a rather sickening effect when worn all together. The team has dubbed the color, "Snarf" (snot + barf), and that seems about right. Is it just my motherly bias, or does Clara actually rock the snarf uniform? I think she rocks it.

Another day, another new uniform to photograph

Did I mention that the real, non-practice uniforms are maroon and gold? Ick and double-ick. Clara somehow manages to pull it off, though.
Trevor, as always, was a good sport about getting up at five in the morning and driving all the way to flippin' Elk Grove and back. As long as I bring lots of snacks and his Lego sticker book, he's good to go.Off to bed. The alarm is set for 4:30 am, because it's back to wonderful Elk Grove tomorrow.
Now I just need to get one of those big soccer ball magnets to stick on the back of my car, and my life will be complete.

A Camptastic Week

Oops. Somehow I managed to not get much of anything accomplished during this, the only week of the summer where both kids were simultaneously attending camp. Still, it was nice to know that they were having heaps of fun while I was doing a bit of reading, a bit of cleaning, and a fair amount of staring into space.

Trev was at Sports Camp every day from 8:30-1, running around, swimming, and eating his lunch on the bleachers. Kid paradise. Clara was at Explorer Camp from 9-3, with an overnight on Thursday. She loved the camp songs, camaraderie, sleeping under the stars, and hanging out with a truly great bunch of counselors. I think that next year she'll be ready to head off for a full week of camp away from home. I have such incredible memories of my camping days.....Yay for camp! Now, if I could at least clean out my drawers and closet by the end of the summer....

Turning pages and striking poses

Both kids are reading up a storm this summer, and they earned new book charms at the library today. We've got to pick up the pace a little to meet the mayor, though....

In other news, Clara's team finally received their new, multi-million dollar uniforms (okay, that's clearly an exaggeration, but it sure feels like we paid that much). Case in point: Look at how snazzy this uniform is:
This is the one she has to wear to her practices. Good thing the socks are black. I don't see myself washing them three times a week....

Bye Bye Birdie

Our wonderful pink plastic flamingo, Bendy, has been kitschnapped. He was a part of our family for eight years, and has inspired numerous games, dramatic play, and my favorite Halloween costume EVER. We'll miss you, Bendy.

Our Fluffy, Pink Tree

Not sure if I've blogged about the gorgeous mimosa tree in our side yard before. It looks pretty dead and nasty for several months out of the year, but in the middle of the summer it is gloriously pink and fuzzy.

Gomma's on the Move

We piled into the car and made our way down I-5 to lovely Ventura this weekend. Gomma was simultaneously celebrating her 85th birthday (Happy almost Birthday, Gomma!), and her move from her home of 39 years to a place that's a bit less high-maintenance. Less sandy. Less likely to be overrun by a band of rogue porpoises.

A Saturday afternoon shindig was jam-packed with friends, neighbors, and "the whole fam-damily" (to quote the birthday girl herself).

Part of the weekend was dedicated to the task of emptying the house of its contents. You can imagine how many things a house and its owner can collect over the course of 39 years. Big time stuff. But, somehow, the family managed to get most everything moved to one place or another. It was quite an amazing ballet of generosity and scavenging, really. Sticky notes on everything. Cabinets flung open. Banker boxes and pick-up trucks at the ready.
We were thrilled to leave with a full set of dishes, a cool lamp, an extremely funkalicious orange and white striped melamine bowl, a fabtastic set of stainless steel mixing bowls, and a red fez, which fits Chad's head like he was made to be a Shriner. (I promise pics will follow!) Thank you, Gomma! We'll see you the next time there's a Shriners convention in L.A.

Besides all of the eating and merriment and packing, the kids had great kid fun on the beach. And they looked really, really cute, so I stalked them with my camera.
No furniture in the house = play soccer in the middle of the living room. How could you not take advantage of this one opportunity?
And, YAY! I corralled all five great-grandchildren to pose with their Great-Gomma!
Enjoy your new digs, Gomma! Thanks for a great weekend, and thanks for giving Chad a new and exciting way to keep his head from getting sunburned! :)