Attwood Family

I remembered going here as a kid so when Katrine came along it was an obvious outing.  Then Elspeth came along so we had to go again except that instead of taking the cousins we went with two of Elspeth’s China family.

Storybook Gardens has gotten quite the face-lift since we were last there seven years ago.  Thankfully they kept the huge playground area, splashpad and carousel…oh and of course the storybook statues.  I will let the pictures do the talking but as you can see, both girls had a lot of fun.

A special thank you to the Schells for making the outing that much more fun.

Katrine decided that she wanted to enter muffins; specifically blueberry muffins, in the fair this fall.  With Glenn working so many hours for PanAm, I decided to go off to my brother’s house and do some berry picking with the girls.  It would kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

 

 

 

 

 

1. Fresh berries for the GF oatmeal muffins. (They turned out DELICIOUS!  Not saying that they will be prize winners but they did turn out better than expected and I am giving credit to the ultra fresh berries.)

 

 

 

 

 

2. Show the girls how much work actually goes into picking blueberries so that they will understand why the berries cost as much as they do at a supermarket.

 

Today is our 17th anniversary but 23 years together as Katrine pointed out after doing the math.  The first wedding anniversary that we have not spent together.  🙁  Now don’t worry, we did a delicious family dinner last night and we got some yummy looking blueberry turnovers for tomorrow night.  Small celebrations but still celebrations.

Instead, he went off to work at PanAm while I packed up the girls and headed to Scott’s.  We all went picking blueberries.  The girls were amazed at the fields of berry bushes.  Elspeth was like, “Wow, a lot of work to fill our bucket.”  while Katrine made the connection between the amount of work and the cost in the supermarket.

We topped it all off with some swimming; much to Elspeth’s delight.  She is getting much more comfortable in the water.

A fun day but it would have been even better with Glenny.  Sigh.  PanAm ends soon.

Happiness:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s go fly a kite:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Missy E is no longer terrified of the water!!!:

 

This past weekend I took the girls back up north for some fun with their grandparents.  This time we headed in to enjoy some fun.  It was the Scottish Festival.  Elspeth was in her glory with all of the pipe bands.  Through out the parade she was eagerly looking for the tenor drummers in each band.  Of course, Katrine, being the consummate big sister, was helping her which was a gift because it gave me a chance to check out the different drumsticks and drum harnesses.  It was very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the massed bands it was time for a swim break.  The timing was perfect because it was a sweltering day.  Oh, just so you know, hair chalk is a lot of fun but they are not lying when they say it will wash out.  It came right out in the lake.  That said, both girls enjoyed it until it rinsed out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a short stop to paint some rocks, buy me an IrnBru (yummy) and watch some dancers it was off to dinner which Missy Elspeth didn’t eat much of.  Over hot?  Tired?  No, apparently she has her first lose tooth.  My baby is growing up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We topped the weekend off with a visit with Grammy for lunch and some window shopping.  Then I brought home to happy girls who were content to just chill and play some board games.

 

I have to recommend the Hour Glass restaurant in Sudbury.  The food is delicious.  More importantly, everything on the menu can be made gluten free.  The fish and chips were great but the dessert sampler was to die for.  I will let the photos do the talking.

 

This part did not actually take place on the shield but it was part of the weekend.  We wrapped up the weekend with a stop in Orillia for sun, waves and fun with a China sister who we haven’t seen in a while.  It took Miss E about an hour to warm up but then she was right in to the play date with her “sister”.  Missy K?  She was the great big sister to both of them.  The gigantic ice cream and train ride may have helped a little but the jumbo licorice certainly made the ride home pleasant.

 

 

 

 

 

It was nice to see the smaller pair together.  Once we made it to the playground they were in it.  It was a short but fun visit.  I always love being able to connect with our China family and get caught up on how the kids are doing. Hopefully we will be able to connect with more of our family over the course of the summer.

 

Yesterday’s stop was all about geology…and a little bit of Egyptian history. You see they had a special exhibit about King Tut.  Miss K and my parents realy enjoyed it while Miss E walked through and was like “okay, I’m done!”  That said, it was really interesting.  I have seen some of the things at the ROM but others were new to me.  I could have taken longer to look at things but the trip was about hands-on learning and fun; so off we went to the next exhibit for just that.  Rocks, minerals, magnifying glasses, buttons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, you can not visit Dynamic Earth and not go on a mine tour so…off we went underground.  On our first trip Miss K was divided on whether she liked it or not; that seems to be Miss E’s opinion of things.  This go round Miss K loved it; including the fake explosion.  One of the best outcomes was the immediate connection that my dad was able to make between the information presented and when my grandfather worked in the mines of Quebec in the 1920/30s.  Not sure that connection was made for Miss E but Miss K definitely got it.  Yeah for oral history!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both girls really enjoyed panning for gold and each found two small pieces to bring home.  Miss E loved playing in the kiddie mine.  Miss K had done the same thing on our last visit but this time wanted to explore the various movies.  She adored the fact that there was an element of chemistry presented.  Right now chemistry is the front runner in terms of science strand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the girls had exhausted all interest in rocks, minerals and mining it was time for some fresh air before the long car ride.  Bring on the rocks for climbing and the coins.  No visit to Sudbury would be complete without a visit to the Big Nickel.  Only now there is also a smaller nickel and penny to explore too.

 

 

Science North!!!!  A full day of science had Miss K in heaven and Miss E…overwhelmed at times but also wide eyed with wonder.

The special exhibit this time was about the Ice Age.  Animatronic animals captivated Miss K right from the start.  Miss E quietly observed until we hit the hands on portion.  Then she dove in with both feet to search for fossils in dirt and to create her own cave art.  Then the smile started to bloom.

It spread further when we hit the nature floor where she got to sit in the butterfly chair and touch a giant snail.  I thought that it would be clear sailing until we went into the butterfly room.  Sigh.  Flying insects, I should have known better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some loving, a snack and a magnifying glass helped to get us back on the right track in time for the chemistry show that Miss K had her heart set on.  Fire, bubbles, education, and laughs … what more could you want.  She enjoyed the show so much that we went to two more shows.

 

 

 

 

 

The top floor was by far their favourite.  Miss E loved the gravity well, the climate change movie narrated by sheep and penguins and the recycled electronic art.  Miss K was into all of the stations about space as well as the recycled art.  She got quite creative and made a whole car that actually rolls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They topped it off with some rock polishing.  Each girl got to chose their own rock and then make it all shiny.  I of course no longer had to buy them souvenirs!

 

 

My parents gave the girls a trip to Sudbury for Christmas and it was time to cash in and travel into northern Ontario for some fun.  Unfortunately, Glenn is working a lot for the PanAm games and was not able to join us on this trip.  Just the girls, my parents and I.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first stop was at French River.  They have a great visitors center there.  Brought all of the new 5th grade Social Studies curriculum to life.  Artifacts from the voyageurs, information about the explorers and fur trade.  Miss E?  She was not so blown away with the information presented but with the fact that it was presented in a colourful, touchable way. (In other words, she really enjoyed the buttons).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After checking out the visitor center it was time for a wee walk through the woods to the river.  The girls got to explore a bit of the Canadian shield while stretching their legs.