Monday, March 25, 2013

Nine Months

 Our little guy is 9 months old!! Here are some recent pictures of Grayson scooting around the coffee table. The expressions on his face were priceless.

Happy 9 months baby boy!




Monday, March 18, 2013

Blue Mountain Escape

Our March break plans to go to Ottawa were put on hold so we wanted to come up with a fun little getaway for the kids (and us of course) to a place we have always loved to go.

I had a credit on a room at Blue Mountain and so we packed up the kids and headed to Collingwood for some Blue Mountain Village fun.

The conditions were not great for skiing. It was mild and rainy, but that didn't stop us from having a great time.  Mira joined in the dance party that broke out in the centre of the village. We shopped (they have 50% off kids outerwear!) and we enjoyed the hot tub.

 I cannot wait for the day where both kids will be old enough to ski and we can start going on more adventurous ski trips (hello Vermont, NH and Whistler) but until then, there is plenty for us to do as a family at places like Blue Mountain.

We were going to do some pottery painting, but the pieces we paint weren't available to pick up until we were back home. Mira came up with the brilliant idea that the people in Blue Mountain could DRIVE the pottery piece down to Georgetown for us. Um, not sure they would be up for that drive. So we put off pottery painting until our next trip up there.
 While we were in Collingwood, we dropped in to see our friends Dillon and Jodi who have opened up their Crossfit gym in Wasaga Beach. Crossfit Indestri Beach is now open and ready for some hard core workouts and "machine building" for those interested ;)

It would be a dream for us to live up in Collingwood. It has everything we would want for ourselves and our children. It would provide the perfect outdoorsy outlet in all seasons. The kids could become avid skiiers or snowboarders. They could take up golf and mountain biking in the summer.
We could have beautiful views of the "mountains" in our day to day and the downtown Collingwood area is beautiful and charming. One day perhaps that dream will come true. Until then, we love our Georgetown and all it has to offer us and our little growing family. It is home to us and will be for quite a while. Luckily, Collingwood will always been a short drive away for us.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Girls Night Out

Here I am at the age of 34. Once again, as it does every year (as of recent history), it snuck up on me and without fully realizing, I turned another year older. I am another year deeper into my 30's.

What do you do for your birthday when all you really want is to spend some quality time with your best friends, drinking some wine (or beverage of choice.....like say....Red Bull) and doing something RELAXING.

Rather than hitting up a bar or club, I opted to try something that involved working at a much slower pace that most of my friends and I are used to. We all have some major stressors on our plates and many of us have kids that can limit the activities we can partake in (without disaster and destruction). 

So, for this year, we all trekked out (and I mean TREK) to the Alton Mill Art Centre (in, you guessed it, Alton) where there is a painter by the name of Mark Grice. Mark teaches you how to paint. He teaches you to paint one of several pictures (your choice) and you spent 3 hours, wine (beer, coffee, red bull...) in hand, painting. You paint and you forget about the diapers and the feedings. You forget about the stressful jobs or the bills that need to be paid. You just paint.

A group of  my closest girlfriends came out and it was exactly the birthday I had hoped for. Spending time with those that mean the most to me. Another year older, but another year richer. I am a lucky girl to be so rich in friends that are incredibly good to me. Love all of you ladies who make life fun and memorable. Cheers!


Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Making of Simple

I am here, on my laptop, taking a break from planning. I am taking a break from all the research that needs to go into planning a wedding.

The wedding we have envisioned will be fun, intimate and simple. We do not want over the top. We want to focus on what is most important to us and our family. To spend extravagant amounts of money on one day just seems to unnecessary and often times, the copious dollars and cents are spent by brides and grooms who treat their wedding day like a coronation. The money spent on these lavish affairs could be better put towards a house down payment, a car (if needed), an education fund for your children or that lifelong dream trip to Hawaii.

These all seem like better ways to spend money....in my opinion. Everyone is entitled to spend their money how they wish and have the weddings that they wish. For me, I have never been a high maintenance person, why start now?

Weddings are beautiful and very significant. They are very meaningful and they are the start of a life with someone that you love and can't imagine living another day without. However, it doesn't mean that the more money you spend, the happier you will be together, nor does it mean that your guests will have a better time.

We have opted for a destination wedding so that we ensure some stuff can be kept minimal, all of the frill if you will. It's all the frill that can cause the most stress. So, I have opted to cut it out and keep our focus on what really matters......marrying Geoff, making our little family official. That is what is important to me. I would rather do that in the midst of our friends and their families making some pretty special moments of their own. Our kids can have fun with their kids. It's those things that we remember and cherish. Not the fact that we spent $800 on a cake or $300 on a pair of shoes. Nobody will remember that. They will remember the quality time spent with those they love.

So here is a toast to the simple pleasures in life and how they are truly what matter. Long live simplicity!