Where did summer go?

It's hard to believe my last 'ramblings' here were in April!  As forecast in my last post, it was indeed a busy summer, but not quite the one I had planned.  Having to deal with some 'family stuff' left little time to do all the things I had planned for Aidan and I this year, but we did manage to get most of what was on our 'to do' list done.

We had a fun trip to Toronto, meeting up with my sister, Aidan's 'Nana Carol' and her grandson, Emmet, to take in the amazing stage production of 'The Lion King', followed by dinner at 'The Old Spaghetti Factory'.

Aidan & Nana at 'The Lion King'

Aidan & Emmet at 'The Lion King'

Nana Carol with Aidan & Emmet at 'The Lion King'


Once again this year, Aidan donned his work gloves to help Nana and Papa in the vegetable garden...

Aidan planting tomatoes
 

 At Easter time we had a fun family gathering which, of course, included painting eggs and the annual Easter 'egg roll' for Aidan and Emmet to participate in.

Painting eggs for the 'egg roll'

Lots of money & treats to win
 

Summer days spent at the beach this year were wonderful.  Not too hot, but plenty of sunny days allowed us a fun time in the sand and happy hours throwing rocks into the lake, along with a little 'beach yoga'...

Bending this way...

Bending that way...

Phew, I'm exhausted!
 

Early summer found Aidan and Nana making our first fairy garden...

Aidan's fairy garden



 ...complete with a bench for our resident fairy to relax, enjoy the birds in their nest, and sip on some 'fairy tea'.

The fairy garden
 

Aidan celebrated his seventh birthday with several of his classmates joining him for games and hot dogs, and of course...

Yummy Birthday cake with sprinkles!



We did manage to get away for a few days to Nana Carol's cottage, where Aidan caught his first fish, with a little (actually, a lot!) of help from Papa. .. 


Fisherman Aidan and his 'helper'


...it was a Bass, which Aidan insisted we cook up to "feed his family".  It made a delicious side dish along with the hot dogs we had for dinner that night.

Mmmm...hot dogs and fish!



 A canoe ride with Nana Carol and Opa Harry topped off a fun-filled weekend.

Ready to go!

Off into the Wild!

August brought us to Blueberry Season once again!  An annual tradition now, we made several treks to the blueberry farm again this year.  Aidan's friend Rhiannon was delighted to join him on one expedition for berries.

Ready to go!

Look at all those berries!



One last day trip before going back to school...

...a visit to the new Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto.  Followed by dinner at 'The Old Spaghetti Factory' of course!

So that's where summer went!



 

There goes Summer! Here comes Fall!

Yesterday was Halloween, and I can't believe it's been three months since I last wrote about my little grandson! 
Summer was long and very hot, with lazy days spent at the beach or at home in the pool.  Anything to keep cool! 
In August, we did manage several early morning trips to the blueberry farm for our annual berry picking, where Aidan usually eats more berries than go into the buckets!

Nana...help!!

September finally arrived, and with it a return to school for Aidan, this year to senior kindergarten, and all-day classes.  It's been an adjustment for us all!  
Both momma and Nana are enjoying the extra time in our days, but we sure do miss spending our afternoons together.  Aidan is loving school, and has 'come out of his shell' and is now much more social with his classmates, and enjoys learning new words, along with music and gym classes.

September took Nana off to France and England for a holiday (more on that amazing trip later!)  I thought I'd miss the little love of my life, but I was so busy enjoying my new adventures every day, I didn't really have much time to miss anyone!
Being away for three weeks, it took almost that amount of time to 'catch up' on life when I returned home...mail, housework, ironing...all the things hubby just doesn't think need attention!
Then we all got bronchitis!  Yet, we 'soldiered on' through the coughing and total lack of energy, to play in the falling leaves and enjoy the cool, crisp days of fall. 

                        

Somewhere along the way, I found the time to make Aidan's Halloween costume for this year!  While he still loves his garbage trucks, there are other interests these days (thank heavens!)  Dinosaurs are currently dominating his free time, and so nothing would do but he would have to be a dinosaur this Halloween!

Together we made treats for his classmates, and off he went to school with his costume in tow, where he and fellow classmates got to parade around the school and visit all the other classes. 

After school, and too excited to eat supper, he awaited nightfall... 



Is it dark yet?

 

Let's go!

 Then it was back into the costume and off into the night to trick or treat.  The weather wasn't the greatest, with light rain and winds, remnants of Hurricane Sandy, but we didn't let that 'put a damper' on the evenings festivities!  After sharing some treats, it was off to bed for one tired little boy! 

Oh, I did manage to make a little Halloween surprise for my daughter as well...

How cute is that?!  You can find the 'how to' instructions, courtesy of Camilla Fabbri at Camilla Fabbri Designs

I hope all the little goblins out there in blogland had a wonderful Halloween!

I'll be back soon with tales of Paris........ahhh!

It's Blueberry Time!

Ahh...the sweet tastes of summer!  Already gone are the days of picking strawberries and raspberries.  Already here are the days for picking blueberries!
I want Aidan to know where his food comes from.  I want him to learn how it grows.  That it needs sun and rain.  And then the joy (and the work!) of harvesting the ripe fruit. 

Pickin'  Blueberries

He's having fun with it so far!  Papa and I planted a large vegetable garden again this year, and Aidan delights in finding the red, ripe tomatoes and peppers.  It's a game of hide and seek finding the zucchini and cucumbers beneath their big leaves.

Helping Papa!

But there's nothing like a trip to the blueberry farm!  While the unbearable heat of summer has left me wilted, it seems to have produced an abundance of blueberries.  The juicy, ripe berries fall into our hands and baskets at the slightest touch.  In no time at all we have baskets (and tummies!) filled to the brim.

Mmmm...yummy blueberries!

Aidan loves to 'help' fill the baskets with the ripe berries, and throw the still green berries on the ground "for the birdies, Nana"!
With our baskets loaded up we head for home to freeze what berries don't get eaten, or made into muffins...or sauce for ice cream or pancakes...or added to our breakfast smoothies.
I encourage Aidan to thank the blueberry bushes for their berries. Thank you...blueberry bushes...warm sun...cool rain, for what will be another abundant summer harvest.