Friday, June 5, 2009

Summer Stuff

Good Morning Company Girls!

It's a beautiful sunny spring day here in my part of Ontario.......and I am pleased to say that unlike last Friday, today I don't have fifty million places to go and people to see......and Megan has gone off to school so I get to do it all by myself.

It was a little humorous yesterday when I was sitting with my parents having tea at Tim Hortons...of course Megan was with me and my dad was asking her about going to high school in the fall (yea!). She told my dad that it was going to be hard for me because I'll be all by myself, that I enjoy having her with me...just the two of us. My dad looked at me and grinned because he knows just how difficult it has been to have her around, constantly, for the past school year...I not only look forward to her being in the special class in the fall just because she'll be with other kids, like herself....maybe she'll even get a friend, who is her own age...she usually gravitates to the five year olds...but I will admit to looking forward to having my days back where I can string two thoughts together without her interrupting with a question(s)...the same question(s) that she would have asked me yesterday, and the day before and the day before.....it's like my own personal version of the movie Ground Hog Day!

So to get to Rachel's question about summer activities.....we have, since my oldest son was two...so about 30 years,..gone to a place called FairHavens Bible Conference......a retreat centre where they have many kinds of accommodations from camping to cabins to hotel like rooms.....it's situated right on the Trent Canal system...about 2-1/4 hours from our home...on the other side of Toronto.....it has many, many activities for all ages....golfing, swimming, volleyball, soccer, baseball, basketball and so on......ample time to read and snooze, and each week they have a new speaker bring us the Word with similar age appropriate activities for the kids. We have our trailer there permanently....not a huge trailer.....not like some of the beauties up there but it's ours....not the banks.....It takes most of our Tax return to pay for the fees each year so there isn't any money left over to do other things with the kids.....that's our life...they don't like it that we can't do other things ...but...that's too bad.

We don't live very far from Lake Ontario...a five minute drive...so sometimes we take the kids there for a walk along the beach and a stop at the Dairy Queen on the way home....but that's about it....not a fascinating life...but it's ours.

We do have a special treat for the kids tomorrow.....hubby's company picnic is at Canada's Wonderland, and he got some greatly discounted tickets so he's taking the kids.....they don't know about it yet...he wants to surprise them. They will be very excited....they always talk about wanting to go but at $50 a ticket normally, it's way out of our price range!

So...that's summer time activities...not very fascinating but then again...we're old so fascinating isn't found in our word repertoire very much any more when talking about our lifestyle! Have a great weekend, girls!

11 comments:

Dani said...

Stringing thoughts together...ahhh, yes. I used to do that. I will have an opportunity today, though. G-man went to daycare, daddy at work, and O-wee goes to her mom's. Silence truly is golden.

Diane said...

The retreat centre sounds heavenly! How wonderful to be able to get away regularly, and slow down the pace of life.

The picture of you and your hubby below is very nice - and I love that green on you! Quilters really do enjoy having color around them, don't we?

Have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

The summer plans sound fantastic. I'm a real homebody anyhow, so sitting back and relaxing (okay, maybe not the relaxing part) would be fun. ...sipping sweet tea and chatting with friends or family. Oh wait, I'm supposed to write that in my own blog...=p

I think the prices for amusement parks and the like these days are outrageous. Especially if you bring younger kids, it's really not worth it. The only time we go is with Norm's company picnic too...and we don't even stay the whole day. Let's just say that we're going vacationing anytime soon. Pay money to have my kids be sweaty and grouchy? No thanks. I saw one kid on the ground (maybe 4 years old) in a puddle of water (it was by the water ride/maze of the park) throwing a tantrum. That's not what I call fun for $50.

Anyhow, I hope you have a great weekend. =p

juniper said...

Ahh Fair Havens..it is such a wonderful retreat. I hope that Ryan and I can make it up really soon to come visit.

The kids are going to be over the moon excited about Wonderland. That's so great!

Hope you had a good day!

mholgate said...

Walks along the beach and DQ on the way home sound great to me! :) We do what we can on a budget, right? Enjoy your retreat. I will be registering my kids for Kids Camp at our church this summer. They have so much land at our church that they just camp out right in the church's back yard!

Have a great weekend!
-Melissa

Rachel Anne said...

I wondered if your trailer was permanently parked there...how wonderful to go to the same place where memories get made every year. I envy that.

I got spoiled growing up in Washington state, with such beautiful camping....here is Texas it is hard to get excited about brown water and snakes....blech.

We've never been much of an amusement park family. Too much money for so little return. I just can't see standing for 2 hours in the hot sun for a 2 minute ride.

Thanks for sharing...I've missed visiting with you! The past few weeks have been toooo full to escape for coffee. sad.

D said...

Your life sounds lovely - meaningful, peaceful, thoughtful and full! I'm finding the older I get the more I realize that it doesn't take extravagant things or big, fancy vacations to build a close loving family. It takes time, caring and a thoughtful presence. I think you have accomplished that.

Thanks for the coffee!
Dawn

Unknown said...

I love to camp. I imagine camping in your neck of the woods is truly divine! Sounds like a wonderful summer to me.

Have a great week!

MagicMarkingsArt said...

I am visiting your blog for the 1st time ~ and all I can think is NINE children???!!!! Seriously, you didn't and probably still don't need to do much for entertainment other than getting that clan together.
My husband is the oldest of seven ~ and we love to get together ~ my in-laws just celebrated the birth of their 21st grandchild ~ so it's a huge affair when the crew gets together.
Hope your day is peaceful.

Forgetfulone said...

Fascinating isn't really in my vocabulary, either. But we do have a few fun things planned. Sounds like you do, too.

Les said...

Well just as long as Megan is actually aware that it's grade NINE she's going into.....the other day she comes over and stands next to me with a big sigh (you know, the "I've got something really meaningful to tell you which will make you feel terribly sorry for me" sigh) and says "I'm really scared to go into grade eight". I said "You're not going into grade eight, you're in grade eight now, you're going into grade nine". This launched a completely mind-boggling discussion of where exactly she's going in the fall....she was still convinced it was grade eight by the end. Sigh.