Mi-a-kon-da Mira

The start of a new era is in the works.

Mira is 6 and will be 7 years old shortly after the summer. As you know, my parents own and direct an all girls residential camp up in Parry Sound. My stepmother has been going to this camp and involved in some capacity in the Camp Mi-a-kon-da experience since she was a little girl and eventually came to own it and take over camp operations from the previous owners.

I started going when I was 11 or 12 years of age and continued until university life took over.

When I found out that I was pregnant with a girl, I was immediately thrilled at the thought of my daughter going to camp like I did. I spent years there, enjoy the tranquility of being in the middle of a lake on our own private island. I learned to appreciate nature. I learned to appreciate hot showers and electricity (we bathed in the lake and had no electricity). I loved the new friends that I made and the friendships I maintained every summer over the next several years. Even now, I am still friends will some of the girls from camp. One even lives in Georgetown and our kids are in the same class together!

This isn't just a camp, it's like a family of girls all living together on this little birch island. The girls get to just be girls without the pressure of trying to impress boys. No makeup, no hair salons, no malls. Just enjoying everything natural with some really good, down to earth girls.

I cannot wait for this summer as Mira spends her first session at camp. I have waited years for this and come August, as I send little Mira away on the camp bus, I will be so proud of her and the journey she will take with other girls her age who are just setting out on the path to camp. Ah the memories she will have and the things she will learn.

Happy Weekend

Just a few photos from this weekend. Grayson has tried some peas and loved them. We went to Geoff's jiu jitsu tournament in Scarborough. Geoff did a great job as always and fought his heart out. It's always awesome to see him compete. I love seeing all the hard work he puts into his training be put to the test in competition.

We had dinner out at Capina's in Georgetown, which is our favourite restaurant here in our little town. Amazing Italian food and the owner, Claudio, always plays the perfect host. Tonight he let us try some caribou sausages. So delicious!

The snow has begun to fall outside and it means that soon we'll have to get ourselves into the festive season. Well, Geoff should get into the festive season. I'm almost completely done my Christmas shopping so I can avoid lines and angry people as we near December 25th. :)

Happy weekend everyone!

Deerhurst Weekend

 This weekend we took the kids out to Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville. My aunt and uncle own a condo out there and they had offered for us to use it one weekend.

I had never been to Deerhurst (but stayed nearby) and loved the idea of having a little fall getaway somewhere beautiful.

Friday afternoon we took Mira and Grayson three hours north to Huntsville. Mira fell in love with our "hotel suite" as she continuously called it, making it sound like we were staying in a palatial manor. The condo was perfect for our little family of four. We were able to eat our breakfasts and lunches in our condo and save some money to treat ourselves to a super nice dinner at the restaurant in the resort. Ah the food....most amazing, delicious food I have had in a long time. Escargot, venison, creme brulee (a favourite of Geoff's), lamb meatballs...oh I could go on and on about the food. 

The first night, we explored the vast resort and saw all that it had to offer. Wall climbing, stores, pool and an arcade/games room were the highlights for Mira. The first thing we did Saturday morning was go for a swim in the resort's indoor pool. She called the "kiddy" pool the "kitten pool" for some reason (I think that she thought I called it a "kitty" pool). We took Grayson for his first swim and he seemed to enjoy it. 

I took full advantage of the hot tub they had :)
We never did make it to the spa, which had been on our list of things to do. We each wanted to get a massage and take advantage of some pampering. However, as any parent will tell you, sometimes you just can't pull yourself away from the fun you are having with the kids.

After some swimming and hot tubbing, we went into Huntsville to do some shopping. Geoff and I are looking for a nice rustic dining room table and we've been having a hard time finding one. We figured that the one place we were likely to find it would be Muskoka. We were right! We found some gems!

We enjoyed a beer (and hot chocolate) in an adorable pub right on the water. It was the most cozy pub I have seen. We warmed up and took in the stunning sights of the still water, sunshine and the Christmas decorations while Grayson took a nap on the pub seat next to me.

After our shopping trip, we went for our second dinner at Eclipse and made plans to take Mira horseback riding the next morning-as a surprise. A surprise it was!! We took her to the Deerhurst Stables where, for $25, she got a full riding lesson! She got to brush and tack up the pony and then got a full lesson in the sand ring. She felt like such a young lady and it was well worth the trip out to the farm.

What a great weekend we had together this weekend. Family weekends mean so much to me. Although Grayson is still little, I love doing things that create memories for my children. I want them to experience things more than I want them to have fancy things. Experiences and good memories are way more valuable.

Closing to an Opening

Our house now officially belongs to someone else. Our house closed today and although we'll still get 3 months to enjoy it (we've arranged to rent it from the new owner until our new place closes), there is a part of me that is sad to see my little house move on to someone new.

Our builder is making great strides with our new place. We are excited to see the progress being made. Every week we take a trip to the site to see how much they have done and we get another jolt of adrenaline and excitement :) I can't wait to host our first party !! 

It'll be the start of a new era. Our Weavers Mill era. The era that begins with a house that Geoff and I chose together. It's not him moving into my place or vice versa, it's a home that we have chosen together, as partners. That's a pretty cool feeling. We can make it "ours". That will be the fun part- especially since its a new build and nobody else has ever lived in it before.