HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CANADA!

After days of BEAUTIFUL, PERFECT weather, it only made sense that Canada Day would bring stormy skies ;)  Thankfully, we saw the forecast the day before and made a last-minute, nearly bedtime decision to get the kids dressed in their Canada Day outfits and take pictures in the park.  There was no way I was going to let their adorable RED AND WHITE GEAR go to waste.  NOOOOO WAYYYY!

I'm surprised we were able to rally the troops at the hour that we did, but whenever you throw the word "BIRTHDAY" into the mix, the girls respond routinely well.  And it REALLY, TRULY was for Canada's Birthday!

There's also this picture of Juliet that I CANNOT STOP LAUGHING ABOUT:

Check out that form!  That's Olympian material, right there, you guys.  GIVING IT HER FREAKING ALL!  She's the best.

The following day, on Canada's REAL BIRTHDAY, we kept with tradition and headed to Nana and Grampy's house on the lake.  For the third year in a row, we have gathered here to make a FAMILY POUTIZZA (poutine pizza).  It's an all-day, HARDCORE affair, which means I lose interest quickly and don't help in its preparation at all.  I did, however, try it for the first time this year.  KUDOS to the chefs!  It was SOOOOO DELICIOUS!

There was also a brief hour or so at the lake where it didn't rain and so Grampy and Nory hit up the dock for some fishing.  They were a big success, too!  WAY TO GO, FISHERMAN and FISHER-GAL!

To finish the day, we bundled up and walked to the park to enjoy some ALMOST-RAINED-OUT-COMPLETELY festivities.  After warming up with some Tim Hortons and time back at the house, we ventured BACK OUT (GO TEAM!) to take the girls to their first official fireworks show :)  WOOT, WOOT!!!!!!!  They both loved it :)

Side Note:  I love that picture of Nory and Phil up there.  SO DARLING.  SO, SO Darling. 

We hope you had a happy Canada Day wherever you were!  You can check out our previous Canada Days below........

Canada Day 2011 (Running in Thunder Bay with the Guthrie Family)

Canada Day 2012 (Hanging out with Uncle Graeme in Toronto)

Canada Day 2013 (Canada Day celebrations in Peterborough)

Canada Day 2014 - POUTIZZA was INVENTED and I failed to blog about it.  Huh?!

Canada Day 2015 - Two kids.  Ages 2 and 6 months.  Ah-hem, NO BLOG POST.

Other, YET-TO-BE-BLOGGED-ABOUT Things.

1)  I ran through a sprinkler for the first time in FOREVER.  It was supposed to be a spontaneous, "I AM SO FUN!" sort of thing, but now the kids expect me to join in EVERY SINGLE TIME and I'm having some serious regrets.  The initial act isn't worth the number of times I'm going to be dragged into the cold sprinkler throughout the rest of the summer... 

2)  Phil and I celebrated six years of marriage on June 25th.  Nana and Grampy took the kids while we enjoyed what we now consider a "perfect date" - Tim Hortons and furniture shopping!  Annnnnndddddd..........to top it off, we returned home to eat chicken tenders and chopped cucumbers in silence.  IT WAS AMAZING!  (Really, it was.)

 

3)  We found more "cozy ones" for Nory on the clearance rack at Walmart.  THIS IS A HUGE WIN, PEOPLE!  There's no longer the pressure of washing her coveted MINNIE MOUSE ONES in the only two minutes per day she lets us take them off ;)

4)  We might have hired a "Kid-mari" (ha!) to cut our grass over the summer.  Also, Ku-mari is totally getting a raise.  ALSO, she'd freak if she saw these windows....

5)  In our house, we believe in a multi-functional wardrobe.  #AndOtherLiesWeTellOurselves

We hope everyone had a wonderful Canada Day weekend!  Have a happy Monday, friends!

XOXO

Since I've Been Gone!!!!! (Kelly Clarkson is AWESOME and so are all of the visitors we've had since the last blog post.)

First there was Uncle Casey, who is a member of our Kuwait Family.  He slept over for two nights (YIPPEE-YA-HOO!!!) before heading back to the States for a friend's wedding.

Then, we FINALLY got to meet BABY SIMON and see Aimee and Patrick for the first time as "Mommy" and "Daddy".  It was so exciting!  Those two are PARENTING NATURALS :)

After Simon's visit, we had ANOTHER SIMON VISIT!  This time, we enjoyed some water play in the backyard.  As you can tell, Jet's love affair with babies has continued :)

The following day, SIMON CAME BACK AGAIN (HOORAY!!!!!) so that Nory and I could join him and his Mama on a Costco run.  Although we had a fabulous time, something tells me that Simon finds Nory to be a little more.....ummmm.....NOISY than her sister ;)

After seeing Simon THREE DAYS IN A ROW, we decided to mix it up a bit and welcome our dear Mama Cairo for a cup of coffee on her way to Collingwood.  She is a lady that ALWAYS MAKES TIME to see her people.  If you think our summer is busy, you should hear about hers!

Then Bubby arrived for her 10 day visit :)  She came with a tickle trunk full of fun crafts and activities to do with the girls!  We are so lucky to have her here for so long! :)

As it turns out, the father of our Kuwait "Little Sister" lives a three minute walk from our house!  Which means we get to see "Auntie Alex" whenever she goes to her Dad's house for a visit!  The other day we got to meet her Dad and her sister.  It was lovely getting to meet these important people :)

Lastly, as per Canada Day traditions, Uncle Dain is here from Toronto for the long weekend.  Nory stole him the entire first morning, claiming the backyard was for a "TWO PERSON PARTY".  Juliet took a little time to warm up, but has been much more interested in her Uncle Dain since she discovered his superhero strength!  #airplanerides

The month of July is bringing us a bunch of new visitors and we can't wait to make memories with them in the weeks to come!  A big thank you to everyone for making our summer full of LOVE and LAUGHTER! XOXO

Her first time having FAIRY TEA. But mostly why we love (and sometimes dislike) AGE THREE.

I've had a love/dislike relationship with every age Nory's been through so far.  We're in the thick of the days where NOT throwing a rock means watching Nory roll it, then slide it, then do whatever else to it that she can defend as "not throwing".  It's the stage where NOT splashing water on sister means dripping water as close as possible to sister's toes, and then her arms, and then her ears and then delivering the line, "I'm NOT splashing her!" as she looks at us with a smirk.  'Tis the season of boundary pushing, the one where we learn the true, limitless, ever-changing potential of our dear friends, Exhaustion and Frustration. 

Thankfully, as with all ages and stages, the LOVE part conquers all and keeps us moving forward on the daily.  THREE is the period of conversation and curiosity and TELL ME MORE MOM AND DAD.  Nory is our little chatter box and she's using all sorts of new words to express her thoughts.  Her current rotation of new vocabulary terms include budge, strange, actually, horrible, and magnificent.  And then there are the sentences she forms.....out of the blue....that make us LAUGH UNTIL OUR STOMACHS HURT....

Some of the funniest things she's said lately:

While she was relaxing in the bath:  "So, Mom.  Are you excited to be having another baby?" (BTW, NOT PREGNANT!)

While laying in bed:  "Mom, when I came out of your tummy, did you ask the doctor if you could take me home in a jiffy?"

After getting in trouble:  "Well, are you going to put me in jail now?"

After Daddy made up a princess named Sindora:  "Really, Dad?  Who says that?"

When I thought she was sleeping and she exclaimed out of nowhere:  "MOM!  Why do people have eyebrows?!"

Oh, Age Three.  Just when we think we've figured you out, you'll likely change on us again.  Alas, as long as you keep the GOOD coming with the CHALLENGING, we'll make out just fine :)

P.S.  Fairy Tea, you guys!  FAIRY TEA!  One decaf tea bag in a wee bit of hot water (briefly steeped!), with lots of 2% milk and a spoonful of sugar.  We start this GLUE thing from an early age around here ;)

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

It is so nice being home for Father's Day for a second year in a row!  And this year, it was a Saturday/Sunday affair because the Father's in our circle are just so DOUBLY AWESOME ;)

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Nana and Grampy's house to enjoy some time on the lake.  We didn't end up swimming, but we got to throw rocks, snuggle with Coco, pick Nana's beautiful flowers (gasp!), and watch a raccoon climb into a tree!  GG and Poppa, Aunt Aubrey and Uncle Graeme, and Aunt Dana were also there to play and chat with.  It was wonderful :)  

The following day, the girls got dressed into our best DADDY-RELATED shirts and went on a walk around town.  Of course, we made the obligatory Tim Hortons stop, where the girls wait outside with me and chat through the windows to all the seniors inside.  They are a big hit, I tell ya ;)

While Juliet napped in the afternoon, Nory and Phil went to Lang Pioneer Village for a Daddy/Daughter date.  They took some of the sweetest pictures and I take back everything I've ever said about Phil being a terrible photographer.  Honey, you DID GOOD :) 

Lastly, we had to have ice cream.  HAD TO.  So we met up with some of the family to enjoy a cold treat at the Marina :)  Thank you, Aubrey, for taking this picture!!! I love it!  xo

Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend any time over the weekend with our Grumps, but his visit to Lakefield in July is highly anticipated!  WE LOVE YOU GRUMPS!!!!!!!!!  Get ready to build puzzles and play Barbies and....HAVE ZERO TIME TO YOURSELF THE ENTIRE TIME ;)

A big thank you to all of the men who have helped to raise us and, now, our daughters!  It takes a village and we are so grateful you've been a loving member of ours :)

XOXO

Three Cheers for OVERNIGHTERS.....with CHILDREN ;)

Although most of our summer transitions have been welcome, it's been difficult going from our Kuwait community (where there are ALWAYS kids to play with!) to our summer home (where there are RARELY kids to play with).  This is why we were SO THRILLED last week when Joycie and Taylor decided to join Nanny and Bubby for their big, two-day trip to Lakefield!  COMPANY THAT IS NOT AN ADULT equates to one GIANT HIP, HIP HOORAY for the Parkinson Family!!!!!!!!!  The three girls stuck to each other like GLUE the entire time, despite the inevitable sibling/cousin quarrels.  (P.S. I plug my mug company wherever I can.  Follow us on Instagram @thegluekw....HA!)

We got up to a lot of fun stuff throughout their stay:  running through the sprinkler, jumping on the trampoline, arts and crafts, tag, hide and seek, blowing bubbles, throwing rocks, playing at the park, eating Timbits, and taking silly selfies.  It was everything a summer with your cousins should include and we can't wait for Joycie to return in August with the rest of the Cousin Crew!

As for the Boring Adults (ha!), Nan is as hip and hilarious as ever.  Bubby enjoyed all the grand-baby snuggles she misses out on year-round.  And Taylor is GLOWING with her baby bump and the REALLY, REALLY GOOD NEWS is that there is going to be ANOTHER BABY GIRL come November!  Poor Cousin Max.  But at this point, what's ONE MORE GIRL? ;)

One of the greatest things about their visit was watching Joyce interact with Juliet.  Joyce wanted to assist with everything baby-related and we know she's going to be an outstanding BIG SISTER to the newest Hoit gal.  We love you, Joyce!

Thank you Nan and Tayls for putting up with a long and uncomfortable car ride to come and visit us.  It means so much!  And Mom, we look forward to your return next week!

XOXO