Yes, it's true ... sad, but true!

I am the mother of three teenagers! Does that scare you? It does me.

Cameron turned 13 a week and a half ago. It's not like I didn't see it coming ... I had no choice. He kept reminding me everyday for the last month that it was going to happen. "Mom, 13!" That's all he had to say to see the blood rush from my face.

When the other two hit that milestone, somehow it was exciting for me. I knew I still had a little boy in the house. Not anymore. All I have to do is look around here to see that I have three teens who are quickly becoming men. Yikes.

So, as I mentioned in my last post, my niece, Jenn, my nephew Jason, and the twins came up to visit us at the trailer and it just so happened that it was on Cameron's birthday. We enjoyed a very yummy icecream cake and spent the afternoon swimming in the pool.

Check out these two cuties! Aren't they adorable!



That night we went into Newmarket to celebrate. When it's your birthday in our house, you get to choose where we go for dinner. Cameron's choice ... The Mandarin. (ouch! - but it was a little easier on the wallet as Spencer was at Music Camp)

So tell me, does this boy look like a teenager? All I see when I look at him is my little boy. (don't tell him that.)

Is it just me or has the summer just flown by?

After a busy July and two weeks on the road, I was looking forward to lots of R & R at the trailer for the month of August including lots of time for scrapbooking. Well, I've spent a lot of time at the trailer, but I haven't managed to get in any scrapbooking time. What I have been doing is enjoying lots of time with family and friends:

-My friend Milena, and her two girls came up for a couple of days. It was a very relaxing time.

-I attended a birthday party for my great-aunt who turned 90! It was so nice to spend a day with family that I don't get to see often enough.

this boy enjoys waterguns way too much!

-after the family function, my parents came to the trailer for a few days. It was the first time we had them to the trailer over night so we loved having them with us.

-while my parents were there, my aunt came for dinner

-My friend, Joanne, came up for a day of fun in the sun with the girls. Cameron really seemed to enjoy teasing them.

-we got together with friends at the trailer for a fun night of playing cards

-my neice, Jenn, and nephew, James came up for the day with Jenn's twin boys and it just so happened that it was Cameron's 13th birthday that day!

-our friends, Kevin and Bev, popped in for a visit when Bev was coming up to help out with a camp. We really don't get to spend enough time with them, but really enjoy our time together when we do

-my cousin, Carol, came for the afternoon and to drop off her son Josh, who stayed with us for the week to hang out with Cameron

-while Josh was with us, my Aunt Eva (who is Josh's grandmother) came for dinner again

-Senior Music Camp was in last week, so that meant being able to see, and catch-up with many people that I don't get to see throughout the year

I have really enjoyed my time with everyone. For those who know me well, you know that I'm an introvert by nature which means that, while I enjoy being with others, it is exhausting, and we need some "alone-time" to recharge.

So .... that's what I am doing now. I'm home for a few days to recharge (between going for dinner with the girls tonight, doctors appointments tomorrow and going for lunch with Deb on Tuesday). I feel like I could sleep for a week!

A Freebie for all my scrapbooking friends

Want some printable designer labels for your layouts? How cool are these? The best part is you can print them on whatever colour you need, and as many as you need. Very cool. Go HERE for the free download.


Cameron and I are at the trailer now. We came up on Tuesday. You won't believe what we went through to get up here. We decided to leave the house at around 2 p.m. after packing up while storms were all around us. (Tuesday was a day filled with one storm after the other.) We left and got on the highway. About 15 minutes later I realized that I had left my purse at home. So we turned around and went back.

We get my purse and head out again. Just before getting on the highway we were listening to the weather. (at this point Oakville had been spared from all the storms) There was a big storm heading straight towards Oakville that included 90% chance of tooney-sized hail. Spencer, who was staying home this week, was supposed to ride his bike over to his piano lesson. Being a good mother, and not wanting to be called back because my son had been hit by lighting (or had a head injury due to being pelted with hail) I turned around and went back home to be there to drive him to and from piano. What a good mother I am!

So, now it was 6 p.m. and I get Spencer home from piano, and Cameron and I are ready to head out again. Well, John calls from the Go Train. He is stranded on the tracks in Toronto and they are telling everyone to get off and find alternate travel arrangments. (Something having to do with flooding of the tracks and a sink hole or something. ... I mean, come on. Speed that train up and fly across the hole!) So, I had to then head into Toronto to pick up John and get him back home.

Finally, 7 p.m., and Cameron and I get in the car and head to the trailer. Finally.

By 9 we were there and had started to unload. That's when I realized that I had grabbed the wrong keys for the trailer. You have got to be kidding me! After all that, we couldn't get into the trailer. So, what did we do? We broke in. We broke through one of the small storage compartments that opens into a cupboard on the inside.

Sorry, John. You have a small repair job to do.

The Fundy Coast

We spent the last couple of days making our way around the Fundy Coast. The Bay of Fundy is home of the world's highest tides. We saw quite a few little fishing villages where the boats were stranded on the floor of the harbour during low tide. During high tide, the channels fill with water, releasing them to go out fishing.

We took lots of time to stop and explore some of the beaches along the way. It was very relaxing. Matt and Cameron are both rock hounds so they love scouring the beaches and cliffs looking for rocks and minerals.

It was good to arrive home at the end of the vacation, but it was sad too. I'm very aware that this vacation was likely our last vacation together as a family. With Matt being 19, and Spencer soon 17, I know that summer jobs and then full time jobs are a reality. Anytime I get to enjoy my family together as a whole, now, will be bonus time for us. Bonus time that I will savour every minute of when we get it.

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After spending a week at music camp, and two weeks on the road, I am tired. I spent the last two days doing 12 load of laundry. (how is that possible????)

Today Cameron and I are heading up to the trailer. Milena and the girls are going to come up and join us. Spencer and Matt are staying home as Spencer has a weekend of jazz concerts and rehersals. My parents will be joining us next week.

I'm looking forward to lots of rest and relaxation during August. I'm also hoping for a return of my scrapping mojo. I certainly have lots of pictures to get to.

What would our vacation be without some excitement?

After Halifax, we drove up to Digby. It was a nice day and since we got there early, we decided to drive down the Dibgy neck and check it out. Wouldn't you know it. About a third of the way down it was all socked in with fog and so the drive was, well, boring. We came back and drove around Digby a little, and then checked into a great bed and breakfast.

I've never stayed at a B & B before. It was great. Just what we needed at that point in our trip. It was very relaxing and quaint. We had a two-bedroom suite that was in a separate house from the main house. We really enjoyed it. I could have stayed there for a few days.

The next day we packed up, again, and started making our way around the Fundy Coast.

Not long after starting out we were driving along the coast, on a side road, out in the middle of God's country, when we hit a huge pot hole. OK, let me rephrase that. I hit a huge pot hole. Well, it damaged the rim so bad that the tire went flat. ...and we're out in the middle of nowhere!

So we pulled over into a driveway of some community building to change it.

We had to unload everything from the back to get the spare and the jack out. Unfortunately, the jack was not up to the task. After we had the car jacked up and were getting ready to take the tire off, the jack bent and the car came back down.

OK, so plan B. We called CAA. After talking with them for a couple of minutes, we lost the signal. So, John set off to get a better signal or to see if he could use someone's house phone. 15 minutes later he was back and said that CAA was on their way but it would be about 45 minutes. Not long after, a couple of men pulled into the parking lot and said that they had a jack. Yay! With their help we got the tire changed and then we were on our way again.

We spent most of the day after that driving from place to place trying to get the rim fixed. There were no rims anywhere to be had. We finally found a machine shop (recommended to us by several people) and they were able to fix the rim and get the dent out. Perfect! The cost was about $50 compared to the $500 that a new rim would have cost us.

On the bright side, we were able to teach our boys how to change a flat tire.

Here's Matt helping out:

Here's Cameron helping out:

And here's Spencer helping out:

Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove

What is a visit to Nova Scotia without a visit to Peggy's cove and Lunenburg? We spent the morning and early afternoon in Lunenburg, walking the town, browsing in the shops, eating along the waterfront, and best of all, exploring the Bluenose. Gorgeous! It was such a pretty spot, but getting to see the Bluenose was the highlight. While we were eating lunch we even got to see her sail out into the harbour and put up her sails.

After that we took a nice scenic drive to Peggy's Cove. We stopped at the memorial for the Swiss Air Flight 111 crash that happened in 1998 just off the coast. It was very moving and very somber to stand along the rugged coast and look out into the horizon to where the plane fell out of the sky, killing everyone onboard.

Peggy's Cove was spectacular. We all enjoyed the lighthouse and the rugged coast. The boys spent a long time climbing around on the rocks and getting a little too close to the water for my liking. I took my camera and walked over to the little fishing village and enjoyed just snapping away. It really was very tranquil.