A Bit of History in a Church

 We haven't visited too many historical sites in our area, though there are many. But today when we were looking for a picnic spot we came across Hay Bay Church. It was built in 1792 just 8 years after the arrival of the first Loyalists and was the first 'meeting place' as it was called then, in our province of Ontario. The real interesting story relating to the church was in 1819 when they were holding a special service and people came from miles around. Even by boats across the bay (it sits right on the waterfront). One of these boats was filled with 18 teenagers who were coming across together and when one of the boys decided to stand up and jump into the water to swim to shore, he capsized the whole boat, which was probably overcrowded to begin with. 10 of those teenagers drowned while their parents watched horrified from the shore (drawn outside the church by the screams coming from the water) 8 of the kids were buried in the cemetary across the road and all that remains now of their gravesites are wooden poles to mark them. How tragic There is a cross on one of the trees by the shore in memory of the place the survivors came to land. It was a strange feeling for sure standing in a church that old. The smells, the architecture, the history. Wow, I was in awe. There is even a second floor that holds pews and the floor is slanted to offer a better view of the raised pulpit below.

It's a Small World

 We were on the ferry today and of course we had to get out and take a look over the side. Well an older man in the car in front of us got out and after awhile he came to stand next to us, and said he hadn't taken the ferry in ages an they had a trailer at a campsite in town. I told him we lived here and where was he from? He was from the small town where we go to vacation every summer where my mom was born (about two and a half hours north of us here). I told him her maiden name and he started throwing names at me of my cousins and uncles, lol.

 

Then he asked my name and I when I mentioned my mom's married name (my name is hyphenated to include mine and hubby's) he asked if I knew Bob and Pat. Well that's my dad and step-mom, lol.

 

 Unbelievable...what a small world we live in. You just never know who you will run into!

Back From Vacation...

 ....again, lol!!

I had been hoping to get camping with the kids before school started back up and bright and early Wednesday morning Mike and I were able to make arrangements for him to take the trailer to the local provincial park here and we just got home today. I hadn't told the kids about it ahead of time so they were pleasantly suprised when I told them what we were doing that day! Mike had to work,so wasn't able to come with us but the kids and I had a great time! We roasted marshmallows both nites and even treated ourselves to smores which the kids bugged me to buy. Last nite it was gorgeous out and when the kids were all tucked into bed I sat up by the fire all by myself and listened to some good old Charley Pride and had myself a nice cold beverage!

Our campsite was right under the trees and was huge. The weather, which was supposed to be hot and humid and 29 celsius or higher all three days, wasn't, lol...but we still got some swimming time in. The first morning we went swimming, it was quite windy and the boys took their dinghy with them, and lost it in the water. I was standing on shore watching them swim for it, panicking that they would go too far in their attempts, but to my great relief they finally gave up the battle. It was only a $20 boat anyway and I have never been so relieved to see my boys walking out of the water before!! Phew!!

Yesterday morning, Colin went for a bike ride and didn't know that Colton was following him and he came back without him!! Off the two big boys go on their bikes to look for him and Cody comes back empty handed and then I start to panic and off he goes again. Thank goodness Colton showed up only moments later all by himself, he had known the way back all along! Man my old heart couldn't take much more after the boat incident, lol!!

 

Hannah made herself a new little friend. Bradley and his parents were camping across the road from us and she spent most of one morning there until it was time for us to go swimming. That girl is the most social of us all, even including my hubby and I, lol!! She can make friends no matter where she is!

 

Today we were swimming and it had been cloudy all day and hot and humid and you could hear the thunder at times and just as we were on our way home here the skies opened up and it poured buckets! We got drenched coming into the house and I still need to unload the trailer but I think I'll leave it till after work tomorrow. Hopefully the sun will be shining then.

K, I'm off to play catch up on my e-mails before Six Feet Under comes on at 8. 

Long Day at work

 Today was quite a day at work. About 7:45 we finally discovered that there was no one getting breakfast ready in the kitchen, lol, so they pulled me out of laundry to get it started ( I worked there when I first started at the nursing home before I switched to the laundry.) Breakfast is supposed to be served at 8:30 and the kitchen staff usually starts at 7. She finally showed up just in time to serve it to the residents though. Heck it got me an extra hour in pay though because I was able to extend my shift in the laundry to make up for the lost time.

 

I'm still hoping to go camping with the kids tomorrow nite and Thursday nite because these will be my last days off in awhile as I'm filling in soon for the other girl who's on vacation. My last chance to do something with the kids before they go back to school soon. I haven't told them about it yet though, as Mike and I are still trying to figure out how to get the camper there when he has to work

 

The kids had the tent set up when I got home from work and they want me to sleep outside in the camper with them tonite, so after Big Brother is over I think we are headed out, lol!! I hope it doesn't get as cold as the last few nites!!

 

I hope everyone else had a good day!!

Our Jamboree Holiday

 Oh man, getting up with an alarm is not a nice thing is it??!LOL

I stopped after work today to pick up some pics I had dropped off

and then when I got home I had to empty at least the perishables out of the trailer,

but I wanted to get a moment before supper to share our trip

We had the most wonderful time and the weather was great

even if it did get a little cool on two evenings when we could actually

see our breath while we were watching the entertainers.

Here's a pic of Mike and I sitting in the field of spectators on Sunday

while we were watching Adam Gregory.

My favourite entertainer would have to have been Glen Campbell.

That was a surprise to most of us when he put on a great show,

he could still hold a tune that sounded just like the younger days,

and the man is still a fantastic musician. He played his electric guitar

while it was on top of his head and also did a little diddy on the bagpipes.

We saw Doc Walker, I loved watching David Lee Murphy,

Patty Loveless was good (Mike liked watching her, lol),

Carolyn Dawn Johnson was good too.

Joe Diffie and Mark Chestnutt were great.

Deric Ruttan is gorgeous and he's from Bracebridge.

John Conlee was funny and of course did all of his oldies.

And Kenny Rogers was a dud as far as I was concerned.

I though he was quite conceited and very smug, and couldn't

hold half the notes like he used to. Though I talked to some of my

friends who saw the show and they thought he was funny.

We camped with Mike's two brothers and

his nephew Clayton slept in a tent there while his mom and dad

slept in a van.

Our last morning there was a very early one when we heard someone

crying out a woman's name over and over and over again.

When we discussed it later, we all heard a different name

and we all assumed it was just one of the late nite, early morning

partiers, but at 5:15 a.m. Clayton woke up his dad and told him that

someone needed someone who could do CPR!! It ended up that a woman

was laying dead on the ground there right behind the bushes that you see at

the top of our heads! We saw the paramedics come and try to revive her and

then they lifted her on the gurney and took her away. These same people camped

right there next to us last year too. You just never know do you?? Kinda scary.

She was only 56 and it turned out to be natural causes, her dd had found

her laying on the ground next to her lawnchair.

I only got a little homesick once while we were there, when I saw

a man giving his little girl who looked about Hannah's age, a ride on his

shoulders. It made my heart ache for my own kids, but this weekend is a great

getaway for just hubby and I to rekindle that man/woman thing, instead of

living that dad/mom thing that we usually are, lol!!

Alright so I know I'm a little long winded and now the kids are

wondering where their supper is, but I'll be back later for chat ladies

at 9 and to welcome two new members I just accepted to the group.

Hope to see you all then!!

I Think I'm Finally Ready, lol

 

I had quite a busy day today!! I spent all my money in the grocery store and more so that when my debit card tried to go through, it said 'insufficient funds', LOL!! I kinda thought that may happen, as it was over $100 so I just paid her cash instead. Plus I had already been to Canadian Tire to purchase us two of those camp chairs, as they are much more comfy then the folding chairs we have here, and when you are sitting for that long in them, trust me, comfort is a must!lol

When I got home the kids said 'Mom you've got way too much food here!!', lol, and yes, you can imagine my shock that those words came outta the mouths of teenagers!!

This evening I packed and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen from all my cooking today. I cooked a roast to take with us and made a big batch of spaghetti sauce for here and for us as an easy supper one nite.

After everyone went to bed I pulled out my old black singer sewing machine and whipped up those curtains for the trailer that I left to the last minute, lol! While I did I watched the old Bonnie and Clyde, you know with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in it?? It's been forever since I saw it and it was made when I was only 2 years old. I loved it and even though I knew how it ended, it still made me sad.

Anyway I had better get to bed because mom says she'll be here by 8 or 9 in the morning and that's not too far off now, lol!!

See you all after the jamboree!!

Grocery Shopping!

 Well I finally made it back here, late as it is, lol!!

 

I spent all my money in the grocery store and more, so that when my debit card tried to go through, it said 'insufficient funds', LOL!! I kinda thought that may happen, as it was over $100 so I just paid her cash instead. Plus I had already been to Canadian Tire to purchase us two of those camp chairs, as they are much more comfy then the folding chairs we have here, and when you are sitting for that long in them, trust me, comfort is a must!lol

 

When I got home the kids said 'Mom you've got way too much food here!!', lol, and yes, you can imagine my shock that those words came outta the mouths of teenagers!!

 

This evening I packed and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen from all my cooking today and then after everyone went to bed I pulled out my old black singer sewing machine and whipped up those curtains that I left to the last minute, lol! While I did I watched the old Bonnie and Clyde, you know with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in it?? It's been forever since I saw it and it was made when I was only 2 years old. I loved it and even though I knew how it ended, it still made me sad

 

Anyway I had better get to bed because mom says she'll be here by 8 or 9 in the morning and that's not too far off now, lol!!

Kid's Soccer Net

 

This one is just a pic I took today in the yard and the posts you see is the soccer net that the kids built with the scrap lumber they found laying around the barns, lol. They did a pretty good job!

Better Get a Move on!

 Well it looks like I've put it off long enough now,

I better get my butt in gear and get going.

I've got a million things to do today before mom comes

tomorrow morning but I've been sitting here putting it off, lol!

 

I'm putting a roast in to cook so we can take it with us for sandwiches

for the weekend, and I'm making a double batch of spaghetti sauce,

one for here at home and one to take with us for an easy supper.

 

Plus I've got all the grocery shopping to do and the list gets longer

everytime I'm in the kitchen and think of one more thing to add!

 

We had a great day yesterday. It was Hannah's first time bowling

and she had a blast doing it with the other kids.

The weather for the beach was beautiful and I didn't purchase a pass

for the provincial park here this year because we just hadn't had a whole

lot of nice beach weather, but spending the evening there last nite

reminded me how much I missed going this year.

I think we are going to try and get there as much as possible

before summer is over.

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful day?

The Soccer Season has Come to an End

 Well, almost anyway!  This afternoon we go back for one more game. Hannah's team has made the finals so we have that game at 2:30. She has come so far since she first started the season and spent alot of her time on the field dancing around and talking with the other little girls, lol. Today she dribbled the ball almost half way down the field and only missed a shot on net when it went a little wide.

The boys both lost their two games they played yesterday so were out of the playoffs early, which is wierd when they both had such a winning season with their teams. I think Cody has made some good friends though and is already thinking of signing up for a few of the highschool sports teams this year. Colin finished his season playing goal, which he wanted to do and I must say he is well fitted for the job, not afraid to get a little dirty and crazy trying to stop those balls, lol.

Mike and I are getting ready to go to the Havelock Jamoree this Thursday. My mom will be coming to look after the kids for 4 days and 3 nites. There are alot of friends from work going and also a lot of Mike's family. It should be a wonderful time. We've gone the last two years though last year was the first we stayed overnite camping.

I'm on holidays right now and enjoying it. Need to do some deep cleaning this week though before mom gets here, LOL!!

I hope everyone is having as wonderful a summer as I have been!!

Soccer Playoffs

 

Well I'm off to bed already. All that fresh air today has tuckered me out!

We had 5 games today and the sad news was that the big boys lost their games. It was kinda wierd though after having quite a winning season to lose out that early in the game. But they had a great season and that's more than enough to be satisfied with.

Good news is Hannah's team won both their games so back we go tomorrow to the semi-finals and then hopefully the finals!! Woohoo!! Hannah is just quite satisfied already knowing that she is going to get one of those medallions to wear around her neck whether she wins or loses, lol!

I was asking the boys if they were signing up next year also and when Colin said yes he wanted to, I said 'Good, it was fun!' and he looked at me like I was nuts or something and said 'How could I think that was fun when I was always having to drive them to the games and get supper fast and work too' lol. I told him that I loved to watch them play, which I do. I could see them all improve over the season and it was an excellent way to spend a little family time together. I would highly recommend it!! What an excellent way to spend a summer evening, watching you children have fun I'm gonna miss it!

Getting Ready for the Jamboree

 Well I thought I might be able to get a chance to do

some posting but it turns out I forgot I had to go and pick up

Cody from his friends house like right now, lol!!

 

I spent the morning cleaning out the trailer and making curtains for it

with some old ones I found at a yard sale. I've had them since last

summer and don't it figure I'd wait till the last moment to do it!

Mike will be taking it up to Havelock early Sunday morning to get

a good spot so I need to get it done now, lol

 

We are off to the first of the soccer playoffs tonite with Cody's team

playing and I really hope it doesn't rain!! The clouds are looming

outside...what a nice way to start them off....not!! LOL

 

I'll be back later

 

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Back to School Shopping

 We did a little shopping today. New pens and pencils and stuff. Colin's backpack is still good from last year but the two little ones got a new Spiderman one and a new Dora one.

We usually go out and do a little clothes shopping, just a few new items they really need. The youngest has clothes coming out his ying yang from hand me downs of his brother's but usually Cody needs some new stuff and we get everyone at least one outfit.

we definitely get quite a list now to buy for school supplies and they even include kleenex!! Here's the list we got for both kindergartens and the list almost doubles by the time they are in grade 4,5,6 to include binders, duo tangs, dictionary, math set, floppy disc etc...

• 1 box facial tissue
• 1 package of paper towels
• 2 small boxes of Crayola crayons
• 1 pack of erasers
• 1 pair of Fiskers scissors
• 1 glue stick
• computer headphones
• large ziploc bags
• small ziploc bags

And each student even in kindergarten are to purchase a planner for $10 (Wow, it was only $5 last year) from the school. Every year we get these freakin' planners and the kids use them for maybe a month or so and then no more, what a waste of money!!

Good Afternoon

 Just popping in quick to say hi!!

 

How was your day?

 

I just got home from work and I'm stealing a little time here

before I have to get supper and we are off to a soccer game at 6.

 

The weather today was warm and I think the kids spent most of

the day outside building a soccer net out of scrap lumber that

is laying around in the barns, lol.

They are insisting I come have a look, because I kept asking them

if they really thought it was going to stand up!!

It's huge!!!

Trip to Town

 Good Morning Everyone!!

We are off to town this morning, to check out the Farmer's

Market. It is an absolutely gorgeous day here, just beautiful

for a walk up the Main street of our small town here in Picton.

I imagine it shouldn't be too busy, as all of the campers

will be enjoying this weather at their sites, lol!

We need to pick up some shavings for our

bunny's cage and some kitty food from the feed store too.

Thought I would just pop in while I'm waiting for my son to

finish the grass before we go.

Anyone have any plans for the weekend??

Catch you in awhile!

I'm back, lol!

Well our trip to town turned out to be two trips and I came back home over $100 lighter in the pocket book!!

My oldest decided to get a DVD player that was on sale at Canadian Tire for $54.99 with some of the money that he made this summer. Well turns out I owed him $40 for babysitting and he took out a loan for the rest. So we get home and of course the player will not hook up to our antiquated t.v. that he has in his room, lol, it's one of the old floor models. So back to town we go to buy an RF modulator which turns out to be $30 and guess who gets to pay for that, lol!!? He's got it all hooked up now and is pretty pleased with his(our) new purchase. Oh ya and of course we just had to rent a DVD too, to play on it, lol. We rented HEllBoy, I'll let ya know how it turns out

Vacations, lol, the Day after

 Well, the kids and I are back from our vacation. We stay with my mom and my sister at the old farmhouse where my mom was born. No hydro, no indoor plumbing, just good old fashioned living for almost a week. I love it!!

We get our drinking water from a natural spring down the road and now that the boys are old enough they are more than happy to take a walk deep into the bush to get it for us, just as we did when we were their ages.

I have been going there for vacations the first week of August since I can remember. It used to be both of my sisters and my mom and our kids, but lately one of my sisters has been unable to make it every year ( I think that the city life of Toronto is getting to her, as she can't stand the thought of the mice and bats that we usually encounter there each summer, lol) We also have a big family reunion there on the Sunday of every Civic holiday. Mom has 11 in her family so there are lots of my aunts and uncles and cousins there for the day.

For the first time in a long time, I finally finished a book I had started, lol! I read Stephen Kings 'From a Buick 8' while I was there so my sister could take it home and read it too. He's my favourite and I can't believe I've had the book for so long without reading it, lol!

Even though I'm a nite owl, I was in bed most nites by 10 and slept till around 8:30 in the morning. A far cry from the 4:30 mornings when I'm working. Last nite at home I was back to normal though, and hit the sack at my usual 2 or 3 in the morning

Today I've tried to get a start on the laundry but the weather is not co-operating with melol, as I love to hang it on the line and conserve that expensive energy whenever I can!

Just wanted to share at least one pic with you!

My oldest is fishing off the rock that his cousin and my other son dumped him on, lol. They are up the creek further in their rubber dinghies while the youngest ones play at the shore. My daughter is in the boat and my youngest son is the one kneeling on the left in red. This beautiful view can be found just yards from the door of the house where we stayed on vacation. It can be quite a chore to keep those little ones from venturing here on their own though!

Vacation Pics

 Here's what it looks like every morning around 9 when we've all

finally made it to the breakfast table. Mom (standing in her nightie

at the stove) makes all the toast on an old lid from the woodstove

which we heat up on the propane stove in the kitchen. You can only

cook two pieces at a time and it has to be flipped over so you can cook

the other side too. The kids love toast done this way and the bigger

ones will eat 4 or 5 pieces. This is our favourite breakfast!!

 

My sister and I sit back drinking our coffee

and waiting our turn, LOL!


  Well I didn't get a shot of the boys dinghy's but they dropped Cody off on the rock out there so he could get some fishing in but his luck wasn't so great, lol! The little ones at the front are mine and my sisters and they all got a little wet and muddy playing by the shore. This creek is only a hundred feet or so from the house we stay in and it's quite a chore making sure the little ones don't run down there by themselves.



We try to take a pic of the kids against the woodshed here every
year so we can see how much they've grown 

Back From Vacation :)

 Well, believe it or not this is the latest I've been up since before

vacation started. I am usually a nite owl but while gone I

was in bed most nites by 10 and didn't get up till after 8!!

Talk about catching up on your sleep, lol!

 

We had a wonderful vacation, couldn't have asked for better

weather for our reunion

and the kids even got to get

a couple of beach days inbetween all the rain and thunder

storms we had.

 

We roasted marshmallows last nite and I wish I had

remembered to take more pics to show you all, but I will

get the ones I did manage up tomorrow.

 

 

Colin won his soccer game tonite and he finally got to play

goalie which he had been wanting to do all season. He was

quite proud of how he did even if he let two goals in. A lot of

kids don't want to be goalie because of the pressure to be put on

the spot all by yourself, just you and the ball, so I was proud of him

too, as I know he did his best

 

I'm off to bed now. I hope to be around tomorrow morning

for a chat sometime. I don't think I have anything planned yet,

lol, except getting some of this laundry done, and here's

hoping for a little sunshine to dry it in!

 

It's good to be back!