Smiling at the 'Simple Things'

I just have to start out with a 'simple thing' that made me smile and put my hands up as in praise to the lord.  I came home from grocery shopping and my oldest jumped right in and helped carry groceries and put them away, I never even asked.  That simple thing is what makes me smile.  I am not about the material things, bling, or luxury items.  Truly simple things are what make me happy and smile :)

Well, we had a great vacation back home, and extended our stay by one night.  We ALL had fun, and relaxed.  We swam daily, usually more than once.  Paul went fishing twice a day, and successfully even, lol.  We went boating, tubing, my oldest and youngest learnt how to water ski, picnicking on the beach, more swimming, some relaxing on the deck, and, on the dock, late nights and not too early mornings, made for some great memories.

A view from the deck of my kids tubing behind Papa's boat.

My bestest hairy buddy, T-Bone, watching from the lawn in a perfect spot to see the action at the lake and keep an eye out for the pesky squirrels and chipmunks that kept him busy during the day.  He isn't much of a swimmer this guy, but he loves to splash around in the lake, he cracks me up, it's a funny sight, as he paws the water and tries to catch the splashes with his mouth, again, and again. 

A little simple fun, the tube is tied to the dock and it's a floating raft to dive off of in the deep.

Some lunch time entertainment as we enjoy our picnic on the beach.

The peaceful view from the dock in the evening,   A little serenity right there!

Caught and released this dude, just not as many around anymore.  They were everywhere when I was a kid, bummer all the construction that goes on ruins their habitat and egg laying ground.

Just a little tasty treat made, post holiday, mango salsa, with a nectarine or two as well, yummy.

Mangoes chopped, nectarine chopped, red onion chopped, red pepper chopped, fresh cilantro chopped, a little salt and a whole lime squeezed of its juices.  All measurements are to your own taste, use as much of something as you prefer.  It tastes better once it sits for a little while in the refrigerator.  I used unsalted organic tortilla chips, but the Tostitos multigrain scoops are yummy as well. 

I am so enjoying the weather we are being blessed with, and not doing much else than having fun with the family, projects are building, but, are on hold for yukky days, and once school restarts in September.

Thanks for stopping by and will update with more family fun soon.

Hometown visit

The family is heading to my hometown for a little trip to relax, do some fishing, swimming, and have a great visit with my parents.  We haven't all gone to my hometown in a couple of years, so to pack us all up and head out is a bit of an effort.  Hubby's boat  has to come with us, as it's his new purchase this year, and he is more comfort table fishing out his own boat, then borrowing my Dad's.  The small Northwestern Ontario town is surrounded by lakes, with great fishing.

I do love my small hometown, and appreciate it when I finally get a chance to visit.  It was a great place to grow up as a kid, and my kids love to visit and take part in events there as well.

A girl friend's float plane.  My hubby, Dad, Uncle and cousin went on a fly in fishing trip some years ago and had an amazing time, successful fishing and many laughs.

 

 

Blueberries are plentiful in that area.  Filling the freezer is a must to get thru the winter, as store bought blueberries are just not the same.  Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberry cheesecake, blueberry pie, blueberry jam, sheesh blueberry everything, yummmm....

A good ole shore lunch of fresh caught pickerel, fried potatoes and beans are what everyone should have a chance to sample.  My parents live on the lake so coming home and having dinner of the same, is just as yummy.

Enjoying the sunset while relaxing in the evening is a great way to end the day.  Put your feet up and reminisce about what fun things we did and what we will do the next day.  Eye lids are heavy from all the fresh air and excitement, and a great sleep is a guarantee.

Hope everyone is enjoying summer and all it has to offer.

Chat soon

Summer is...

Well, we are finally having a wonderful weekend, as far as our weather goes, so we can finally venture to our camp.  I imagine we are over run by weeds, wild flowers, goose yukky, and hopefully not fallen trees and not too many branches.  My teenager wants to hang out with her friend, so that delays our departing somewhat, but we will get there at some point this afternoon.  I know I can expect that I will be working up a sweat as my other two splash and have fun in the water.  Every year I instruct them that our first trip to camp is about cleaning up and prepping for our summer time out there, and every year they end up in the lake before tackling any chores that are required.  I am not really angry about it as soon as I realize they are in the lake, I hear them laughing and splashing and getting along, and that is what it's all about.  Fun, fun, fun...
I was going thru my pictures of years past and decided to make a collage of all things summer for us, it brought back so many memories, and fun times, good weather and bad, we have done so many things, we truly are blessed.  It really brings a smile to my face!

I could have added so many more pics, choosing was tough, but you get the idea.  Most of the pics are from our camping spot.  We spend most of our time there in the summer.  We save up our holidays and spend as much time there as possible.  As simple as life is out there, with no hydro or real running water, we don't seem to suffer at all.  I ask the kids every year if they could live there and as they pause before they give me their answer is usually ends up as a "no".  They still want TV, computer and telephone.  Even though they have just had two months of practically none of that (except when we go home to do laundry and replenish the groceries) they insist they need to have it.  Luxuries like that are nice to have and I am thankful we can have those things, it is nice to see we really don't need those things to survive.   I also did up my own version of a word collage, as I have seen so many on line that I felt I should do one too, lol...

I will say that I love Picasa and play around making collages of photos and words all the time.  So creating these for summer was just fun to do.  I am sooo looking forward to the drive to camp today, I am not exactly excited to work up a sweat cutting the lawn weeds out there or all the work that needs to be done to open up, but the results after are heart warming, and worth it.  Everyone that ventures to our "Happy Place" can see why I call it that, and friends and family are always welcome, the sauna is fired up and ready, the lake is literally a hop, skip and a jump away, and we are almost always there during the summer months.  Wouldn't want it any other way.

Any special moments for you, any special places you like to be in the summer?  I would love to hear your stories, honestly I would.  My favourite season is the fall, but my most memorable times are during the summer.  Have fun everyone, play safe, use sunscreen (I fry if I don't)and smile, life is too short not to appreciate what you have.