forget planking- whooo's up for owling?

So, farewell planking & hello owling.
Owling is the new planking. You find a spot, crouch down, & open your eyes wide. What will be next?!
Toothpicking, but that has not reached the same hype of planking & owling because not to many people can stand on their heads.

This past summer we had a friendly competition with the cousins on Adam's side. It was their family against ours. We had to see how many different license plates we could find through out the summer. Driving was never the same. In order to see the different plates we slowed down on the highway to less then 70 km/hr so that the car that we went speeding by, could catch up to us. We drove at speeds that I cannot write down to catch up to the car that went speeding past us in order catch their license plate. Our kids were sure that they saw a different license plate & I weaved throughout traffic only to discover that it was only another Ontario plate. It really was a lot of fun & it made long car trips go faster. We came up with 32 different license plates including Alaska & New Mexico. Unfortunately the cousins beat us & came up with 42 different license plates. The slogans under the license plates are fascinating. Some of our favourites were Nova Scotia: Canada's ocean playground, Alaska: the last frontier, & Saskatchewan: land of the living sky.


This summer....

                                       Liam grew sunflowers this summer to give away and sell.

We had a babyshower at our house for my cousin who is expecting twins. It was all well until a severe storm swept through and caused everyone to abandon their plans of leaving for home. It was rather an uncomfortable feeling to have a room full of ladies sitting there & knowing that they would prefer to be in their home during weather like this, but they were trapped in my living room. And then the power went out, and of course we didn't have any working flashlights. Here we were sitting there in the dark & it started to get hot without the air conditioning on which is not a good thing for some of my aunts who are going through a certain season of life. The weather eventually calmed down & the guests made it safely home. That was a baby shower that we will not forget!

Every Wednesday night we have soccer at our church for the kids & it is a true highlight for our boys. Adam played & helped out with the older group of kids.

                            We had fun times on the boat. Thank you mom & dad for being so generous with it!

Nate became an experienced driver (in his mind) on the rider. Adam had to rescue him & his tag-alongs  from the ditch only once:z

                I had fun garage saling & came home with a few treasures including this beauty of a vase.

The boys played & played. Their imaginations soared finding nooks & tiny spots for forts & farms.

We went to Niagara Falls one Friday night to watch the fire works... except that they were cancelled. Even though it was disappointing we still had a good time. Our country boys were simply amazed at the  city surroundings.

And now there will be no more lazy days of hanging around. School starts tomorrow & so will routine.
Nate & Liam are excited to go to school but I am going to miss them & Andrew is going to miss his playmates.  We hope that your summer has been a time of refreshment for you too!