lake swimming.

in this little town of ours there once was a sand quarry.
while they were digging at it they hit a natural spring, the whole thing filled up and now we have a lake!
it's open to residents from june 24th to labour day.

we love it.
we are asked over and over again all winter "when is it time to go to the beach?"
being a vancouver girl i don't know a summer where my toes are not buried in the sand. i'm so glad i have the opportunity out here as well.
i am so happy when it opens.
so happy.

now my happiness has doubled.
since i am now working, the summer afternoons at the beach have become fewer and fewer but....
they offer swimming lessons at the beach! in the lake!!! for kids!!! at night!!!
so excited about this.

monday night was our first lesson.
aydan was from 6 to 7.
coop was from 7 to 7:30. littler kids - shorter time.
it runs for 5 weeks. twice a week.
perfect time for perfect dinner beach picnics.

they did so well. 
she jumped right in, after correcting the instructor on how to pronounce her name, three times, oh geesh! seven year olds!
aydan - the poor girl has a french accent!! cut her some slack!
anyways.....aydan was trying to get the hang of it at first but did do all the activities - and by then end her back stroke was noticeably better than 30 minutes prior. good girl.

all day cooper was doing EVERY thing to get out of going but i knew once he got there and saw all those other little boys he would jump right in.
and he did.
he participated for 90% of it - he just didn't do the jump off the dock at the end.
i never expected he would. his dad did though.
but....i bet at the end of the session he will. i know it.

they have to miss next week - which is the pits - but they are going to visit friends in burlington, ontario with the husband, swim in a pool there, go to marineland {in niagara falls}, go to a safari park and head up to my favorite place, port elgin, where they will spend their days swimming in lake huron & playing on the beach. 
i think they will survive and brush up on their swimming skills at the same time.

lesson #2 is tonight and this time i have to take my zoom lens.....

:)

our first weekend of the season.

our first weekend of the christmas season and boy was it a doosey!!! saturday we had cooper's pirate party and sunday aydan was in the santa claus parade. believe me come sunday night we were looking forward to bedtime and a little r&r. these were our adventures!

saturday | pirate party.

every party we take a photo the the birthday kid!

cooper and his cake.

above: loot bags. this photo: the prizes.

getting ready for the big battle.

above: getting the ships decorated for the big battle and a little play. this photo: coop getting the pirate ship and pretty excited about it!

and these are photo's of the most wanted pirates on the seven seas!

 sunday | santa claus parade

our parade watching group.

we found a pirate!

here come the dancers!

aydan - our little irish dancer.

done her duty now back to the group to see santa!

pulled out of the crowd to dance in the parade!

cooper seeing santa.

excited for seeing santa. good day!

there you have it. all the sights we saw through our lenses this weekend. i hope you had as much fun as we did!!

puttering + fresh bread.

this morning was a morning for puttering.

this morning was a morning for puttering and staying in pajamas till lunch.

this morning was a morning for puttering, staying in pajamas till lunch and fresh baked bread.

irish soda bread to be exact. i love irish soda bread.

growing up this bread would make it's grand entrance into the house in a butter soaked brown paper bag, having just been bought from the savary island pie co., and it would sliced up right away - no real care that dinner was most likely a hour away - each sliced would be smeared with a thin layer of butter, popped in the microwave for about 10 seconds then stopping only for a brief moment to breath it in before the first bite. this would continue till every member of the family had their turn and the rotation would begin again until the loaf was all but gone. here is where the major business of summer was conducted - what we did that day, what are plans are for that night, who is not speaking to whom and who is dating whom now (the select gossip two teenage girls were ready to spill) - this is where we were at ease.

this morning i felt was the perfect day for such a loaf. no raising, no waiting other than the baking time. patiently waiting for that moment when we can bite in to the dense piece. we had the morning to ourselves, cleaning the house as company is coming but not so imminent that their is a panic. i can clean at my pace and for me that is enjoyable. we had a lazy morning and stopped everything to savour a slice of warm bread - aydan declaring it is her favorite and asking for another piece! while i was eating it i could already see a version studded with cranberries and walnuts & a pot of cranberry sauce on stand-by, a lemon blueberry variety and as well a cinnamon raisin loaf. but for right now we are going to enjoy the original, and fingers crossed for traditions, that i will be able to share this in years to come with my kids as my mom did with us girls.

this morning i was relaxed, eating fresh bread and enjoying my kids.

this morning i felt vacation.
this afternoon we are going to the outdoor public pool. summer.

irish soda bread

adapted from ina garten.
this recipe is from ina garten and although different from my childhood version it fits the bill just the same and the best part? everyone loved it! even with orange zest in it!!

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 large egg - beaten
zest of one large orange

+pre-heat your oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
+combine flour, sugar, soda and salt in the mixer bowl.
+add the butter to the mixer and mix until the butter is the size of peas.
+beat together the milk, egg and zest in a glass measuring cup. with the mixer on low, very slowly add the wet mix to the dry. mix until it just comes together. mix will be very wet.
+dump it on to a well floured surface and knead bread about 10 to 15 times and then shape in to a miche ball. score the top with a large X using a serated knife. place loaf onto prepared sheet and pop in the oven for about 45 to 55 minutes.

summer vacation video series: batter up!!

welcome to our baseball movie!!!!!

we have hit the field and are having a blast! what are you up to this summer???

happiness.

happiness is.......

the pantry organized with storage containers.

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