Canada Day FUN!

I tell ‘ya, Riverview is the place to be during Canada Day. They have 4 days of what they call the “Sun Fest”, and it’s all for the kids. Marshall got his face painted for the first time ever – not once – but twice! On Thursday he was Spiderman, and Friday it was Batman. He got to go on the bouncy slides, had BBQ, free popsicles, cotton candy, popcorn, you name it. Friday was the Teddy Bear Picnic with vet consults for the plush toys, colouring, crafts, bubbles, and music. Friday night was Night 1 of camping on the front lawn… a ‘practice run’ for the ‘real’ camping yet to come. It turned out really well. Marshall loves the tent and loves to play games with his animals. We even slept in on Saturday (until after 9!) and then it was time for a pancake breakfast (really good and only $5 to boot!) and some shopping for a new lantern for camping. Night 2 of camping was more comfortable (not as chilly) and Sunday it was ‘Monster Machine’ day with tours of diggers and dump trucks and a ride on the mini fire truck. Then a quick visit with friends Dan and Pauwilna and some quiet time at Grampy’s before a super early bedtime after such a busy long weekend.

While all of this was going on, Tamara and Ella were basking in the not-so-warm glow of Calgary (I’ll let her tell you that whole story). The week has been non-stop even after that craziness, as Marshall had his “3-year checkup”, though I guess the only thing they look for is ‘lazy eye’. They don’t check hearing or anything. You’d think the health care system would be more proactive with kids so they don’t have to lean on it so much later in life. Anyway, he also had another swimming lesson (I don’t get to take him to many!) and he’s doing so well! I can’t believe how comfortable he is in the water now and able to paddle his way around. Won’t be long and he’ll be doing lanes.

Today I got the first of 18 ‘baskets’ (a box, actually) of fresh produce from a local organic farm called Amarosia. It’s a farm share program that guarantees fresh supply every week. While it’s a bit pricey, it’s kind of neat to try new things and see just how much better the fresh organic stuff really is. Check out the photo of my first haul in the new set of pictures.

Marshall and I are supposed to be heading to Murray Beach this coming weekend, but there is some nasty rain in the forecast, so I’m not sure if we’ll make the trip. It’s a ton of work and not that close, so I’ll have a decision to make on that tomorrow.

After tomorrow I’ll only have 4 more weeks before *I* get to go on parental leave for about 6 months! It’s kind of exciting. Tamara is heading back to her job, and hopes to get on permanently. Then we can maybe upgrade our vehicle! Hard to believe our Corolla is over 7 years old… still feels relatively new.