Poor Worm

Fishing at cottage with live bait. HUGE worms. Tom cut one for a fishing rod because they were so big, fish would just take a bit off the end and make off with dinner and managing to avoid our hook altogether. After Tom cut one, Keva exclaimed ... "aw, poor guy! He's bleeding." (pause) "good thing I'm not a worm right now..."

Happy Ending

Our first evening at the cottage, we sit down to our dinner together on the deck. Keva sighs and says "I just love a happy ending". We agreed but did pause to ask what she meant. Keva clarified, "you know when we are all together and everyone feels happy? Yeah, that's a happy ending and I like it". ❤️

Canoe Trip 2020

A few short days after returning home from our epic campervan expedition, we had done just enough laundry and had just enough energy to pack up again, but this time, with significantly less space to spare - so we headed off on a 4 night canoe camping trip to Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park!

We are Off ... in One Canoe!

We all Fit!

Tent Life

Keva's Leap

Tavish's Leap

Swimming is our Way of Life

Enjoying an Extra Bite of Sweetness to the Experience

Ontario Scenery Never Disappoints

Fabulous Four

MOMENT: Paddling Pleasure

What. A. Trip. We had an excellent. Just the 4 of us and our canoe. The bugs did not impose on our happiness hardly at all. We didn't need masks and we were just free to lake swim, rock jump, canoe paddle, hammock read, tent sleep, and wood chop. It was absolutely idyllic.

Campervan 2020

When covid strikes ... rent a campervan and make the most of it! And the most of it we made indeed!

All Starts with the Map

The Mighty Campervan Crew

It's Only Fair to Take Turns at the Wheel

Our Outdoor Movie "Theatre" 

Splash!

An Important Stop Along the Way

Happy to be Home for a Visit

Superior Sunsets

Nestling in for the Night

Family Views

Happy Campers

Che Cheemaun

Grotto

Keeping it Classy with a Night at Walmart

MOMENT: Memory Making on Wheels

After almost 4 glorious Grandma-in-Toronto filled months, she has decided to head home to Fort Frances. With airlines reducing their covid safety protocols, Grandma's ticket was credited and we rented a campervan for safe transport and the perk of an unexpected adventure. It's important to always find a silver lining among these covid times... so, we found some silver with Tom having to work 'from home' enabled him to come with us (and work). So, we journeyed quickly to Fort Frances, stayed for a few short days, then adventured a bit on the way back along the north shore of Lake Superior, Manitoulin Island, Bruce Penninsula, and Wasaga Beach. Many memories and good times had by all.

Mommy - Everyone's Playmate

 About to leave my Mom's place in Fort Frances to give Tom some quiet to work and my Mom some space to unpack. So, I plan to accompany the kids to a nearby park / field so they could play and run around together...

Tavish: "Keva, are you sure you don't want to bring your new golf clubs? Mom is going to be playing with me."

Keva: "No! I don't need them. I'll be playing with Mommy."

*Both kids look over to me*

Me: "Uhhh, Mommy thought she would be able to read her book..."

Covid Weeks 14-17

Pretty soon, I will just have to refer to the weeks that pass by their date alone because this has been going on long enough to slowly become "normal"... sigh. (dates of this entry include June 3 - July 2, 20202) In fairness though, there still are incremental changes to the guidelines and suggestions of how to safely live during this pandemic and this time frame introduced the idea of "bubbling" which is the best news yet because it means hugging those within that bubble, so the kids finally got to hug Grandma and Auntie Colleen!

Finally, a *real* hug for Grandma

New alley activity

We managed to fit something else into our back "yard"

Off to Stratford for a day on the farm!

MOMENTS: Hugs, School Wrap Up, Animal Play, and the usual Sporty Stuff

The school slog slowly wound down (end of grade 2 for Keva and end of grade 5 for Tavish). Animal experiences went up, including a trip to Forever Green Acres Farm near Stratford that a family friend from Fort Frances, Leesa, owns. Keeping active and social remained about the same but always with a new interesting twist - see if you can spot them! However, it was the addition of hugs that was by far the highlight to this stage of pandemic living. These weeks take us into the start of summer ... although days and weeks and (gasp) months seem to just blur into one another right now. Without further ado... here's what we were up to!

Daddy Day 2020

Daddy went off golfing with some buddies the day before Father's Day which gave us the opportunity to create in secret then adventure and enjoy the whole Father's celebrating this great Dad!

Father's Day Swim at Ward's Beach on the Island

Enjoying a Yummy Hot Dog in Celebration of this Great Dad!

The cutest part of our 4 person paddling team...

Daddy's Designated Grilling Zone

A delicious Daddy-day dinner: steak, baked potatoes, asparagus, arugula salad 

MOMENTS: Daddy Rocks

The kids excitedly gave Daddy his new BBQ backyard sign and their self-penned Father's Day Book first thing in the morning. We made use of the sunny weather and paddled "Sweetride" to the Island for some beach time and lunch. Some lovely provisions were purchased and ready for Tom to do his thing and the whole family ate like royalty, all spaced out in the back yard. Happy Father's Day, Tom.