The Summer To-Do List : Blue Jays Game

Have I mentioned we're Blue Jays fans? Since we are lucky enough to live in the same city as a baseball team as great as the Jays we think it is important to take our kids to a game or two. I grew up going to games at Tigers Stadium and loved it, I have great memories of the games. For our kids to experience the game, the stadium, the crowd and the peanuts underfoot, is wonderful.

This past Saturday we took Bo for his very first game, Buzz having been many times before. Bo slept for the most part, Buzz ate popcorn and got himself a foam finger. It was all very exciting! Bo did manage to open his eyes long enough for us to snap a pic. Although he does not look all that pleased in the photo he was very well behaved and wasn't bothered by all the sights and sounds.

The Jays won and after the game we all went down on the field so that Buzz could run the bases, stepping onto the field was thrilling! We almost always sit way up in the nosebleeds and so being able to go right down and walk on the field was a great experience, the place looked huge from there. 

I think the only drawback to going to the games is that we always seem to sit in a somewhat rowdy section, perhaps all the cheap seats are rowdy. This time the rowdy was coming from two separate bachelor parties that happened to be sitting next to one another, they were trying to one up each other with their behaviour. For the most part we take it in stride and security at the stadium are pretty good at keeping people from getting out of control. I suspect that there aren't quite so many trouble makers down in the more expensive seats, but as we can't afford to get those tickets, we will just have to put up with the bachelor parties. I suspect a family section up in the cheap seats would go over well. 

The staff at the games are always kind and courteous, when I asked one of them if they would take a family photo of us in front of the Jays dugout, they happily agreed to. This is our very first family photo as a family of four.

Although these outings aren't always easy they are well worth it. Buzz remembers the games and the experience, he talks about it for months afterwards. Taking our kids out into the world to explore, to see and do interesting things, to watch them experience incredible moments is simply an amazing experience.

Places to Go :a visit to rose beach with wings

We're down to the last days of August and so we hit the beach this weekend to enjoy the slightly cooler weather and the wonderful sunshine. I love when the cooler weather hits but the sky is still full of sunshine. Buzz has a true red head complexion and cooler weather means that he can spend more time in long sleeves and pants, reducing the need for copious amounts of sunscreen.

We were down to Chatham this past weekend for a visit to see my parents and on Sunday we went out for a drive so that we could all dip our feet in the water of Lake Erie. Buzz was a little nervous at first, but he got the hang of the waves and was soon throwing stones into the water and retrieving them once the water retreated. 

I had picked up a pair of blue butterfly wings for him at Wal-Mart earlier in the weekend and he seemed to enjoy wearing them wherever we went. Most people were very receptive to my little boy wearing his blue wings, I think we only heard one comment about how he's going to not like us later in life for putting him in them. The truth of it though is that there really isn't any way we could force him to wear anything. He's old enough now that if he doesn't want to wear something, he takes it off, and that is perfectly fine with us. 

With Halloween coming up (eee!!! I love Halloween) it is a great time to stock up on dress up clothes. If you're trying to build a dress up collection on a budget look for accessories; wings, wands, and hats, as opposed to entire outfits.

I hope that you're enjoying the last few days of summer. Luckily our summers tend to extend well into September. Without the deadline of back to school we are free to enjoy the empty playgrounds and cool breezes.

This week has been busy busy busy for us (more on the big reason it was so busy later) and a crazy weekend wouldn't be complete without a visit to the farm. 

Ed's parents run a dairy farm outside of Peterborough and we visit often enough that Buzz is finally becoming familiar with the place. During this trip up he climbed towers of hay bales, showed no fear of cows, and went down a very tall slide, his courage was amazing. (In the picture Ed is attempting to get Buzz down from the bales, he got up with the help of a cousin).

 

I am pretty in love with some of the cows, they can be surprisingly lovely animals if you take the time to scratch behind their ears, this time I fell head over heals for a little jersey cow in the stall at the end of the row. She was smaller then the holstein cows and her face was incredibly sweet. While she was milked I pet her ears and she seemed to like that, sadly she is on loan and so we may never hang out again, but it was nice while it lasted. 

If you live in the city then take a weekend to get out to the country, while not everyone has a farm in the family, most people can take their family to the farm. If you're not sure where to look for a farm near you, start asking around especially at farmer's markets, someone there is bound to have a farm that you can visit. If you are in the Toronto area check out Brook's Farms, you can pick berries, feed some chickens, take a ride on a zipline, and play with all the toys on their giant lawn, they're located outside Newmarket. 

Summertime Weekend

The temperatures have reached new heights here in Toronto and we are doing our best to stay cool. Today that meant chilling out in our apartment and then heading to Chapters once the sun hit our windows. Buzz had fun playing at the Thomas table, Ed and I browsed some books, and we all enjoyed some cool Starbucks drinks. Buzz's drink of choice is a kids sized milk with whipped cream on top, he is delighted by the whipped cream, it makes his drink extra special!

 

Yesterday we attended a grand summer tradition - the backyard bbq/birthday party. The afternoon was hosted by my friend N and her partner M and was complete with mini sliders, a pool for the kids, tons of friendly people, and of course - cake! Buzz is a little behind with his vocabulary so every word for us is a celebration, yesterday was no exception when he proclaimed "more cake!" and then "please!" he was justly rewarded with more cake. It was delicious cake, whipped topping, lemon filling, yum yum yum. 

The best part about yesterday was seeing friends, lots of them, all with children Buzz's age. Despite the sun beating down on us we all had a great time, and at the end of the day Buzz fell asleep in the car and continued to sleep through the night - a sure sign of a good day. 

The party was great, N and M kept it simple with a couple of salads, mini sliders, freezies for the kids, and lots and lots to drink. If you're looking to host a party on a hot day be sure to have plenty to keep the kids and adults cool. Also check out this awesome way to decorate - balloons pinned to the clothesline - super adorable, super easy.