Cottage Hopping Part II

They say it doesn't hurt to have friends in Rosedale North, aka "Muskoka".

We had the good fortune to avail ourselves of a week in the near north with Hudson's crew. We fit right in with the Audis, Bimmers, and Lexi (the plural of Lexus don't you know). "They" even got things all fancy up there in 'Skoka with new signs, traffic lights and parks - just for us!!

(or was it for the G20 crowd...)

The crew:

Starring Hud's 'rents, Tiff & Patrick

Hud's godfather, the infamous "Mitchy-boy".

Driver of cars from Toronto, catcher of lake bass, maker of campfires and all-round busy guy.

And last but certainly not least, big boy Hudson making his cottage debut at the auspicious age of 7 months, the same age as my first trip to the cottage.

Mom and Auntie T have been making the trip each summer together since the age of 13 & 14 (mom has been going her whole life in Canada). They are very special times indeed.

I took this picture of the lake and the wooden carving of the man that

belonged to my great-grandpa.

Hudson is formidable, a force of nature in a gorgeous ginger package.

He is 7 months and can crawl, pull himself to standing and even cruise a little bit.

Wow. His poor, poor mama.

Plus he could charm the pants off a cobra, so look out ladies.

I brought some of my toys from when I was a baby for Hudson to play with and take home with him (mom says alleluia every time we give away my baby stuff).

I showed Hud the ropes with the new toys.

I spent LOTS of time in the water which was a balmy 78 degrees.

I am now a veritable fish.

If you thought that maybe I just have way too much fun and am so unbelievably lucky that my life couldn't possibly get any better, you would be wrong.

There is still one more cottage hop to go with doting gran & grandad,

plus several nights getting spoiled at the farm with grandma & grandpa.

Stay Tuned...

Stay-Cation & Fun with Friends

After the first cottage hop, our second week of holiday with mom off involved hangin' out in Guelph, frequenting the wading pool to cool off and socialize and having LOTS of fun with my friends.

Auntie K and baby Mattea came for a sleepover which was pretty fantastic. We had all sorts of fun together, such as...

I read my magazine to Mattea but she does not know about knock-knock jokes yet.

I watched Mattea have her beets, which was more than worth the price of admission.

We had bathtime together with Mattea in her little tub, tucked right in with me in the big tub! After those beets, bathtime was an imperative. Mattea does not yet know about dinosaurs and their swimming abilities.

And we read bedtime stories all together. Mattea does know about and like books (if only to chew on) which is lucky for the future of our relationship.

My across-the-street buddy Ben and I had lots of good playing time. We played with his walkie talkies which was perfect for supervising the driveway construction site at Ben's place.

The construction site involved a Bobcat digger which we got to sit in (Dad was very disappointed that he missed it!)

And we went for excursions with our moms to the quarry and to the park

(lots and lots of park time!)

Cottage-Hopping, Part I

I am a very lucky kid for many reasons. One reason is that this summer I will be having quite a bit of cottage-hopping, lake-swimming, fish-catching (or at least trying valiantly), sand-digging, sun-soaking fun.

Part I of the summer cottage-hopping itinerary started NE of Gananoque, right on the edge of Charleston Lake Provincial Park.

There was a perfect mix of great swimming, and also a little marshy bit which was great for collecting lily pads in the canoe.

I mostly played with Pappy & Jammie but mom and dad were there too

(I took this picture).

We had great weather and ate every meal except one out on the deck.

We went for some walks and ran away from the deer-flies. Someone tried to convince us to go for strenuous hikes in the Park (you know who you are, Pappy) but we chose to stay close to home and close to the lake (which is perfect for jumping in to escape deer-flies).

I also had my very first encounter with an angry wasp that got trapped under my shirt and stung me a few times (actually 3). This is a picture of me having some antihistamine mixed with honey (the irony of honey for a "bee" sting was not lost on us) and baking soda on my stings.

Thank goodness (or Ellen) for the little box of Arm & Hammer in the fridge.

I was very brave, say mom and dad.

After the stings and medicine I ate a HUGE dinner and then slept for 13.5 hours.

All in all, a fantastic getaway and a great time had by all.

Next up in August, hob-nobbing in Muskoka with baby Hudson and his crew.

Beaver Tales

Once upon a time, in the woods of Ontario there lived a little beaver.

She was always hungry,

and one day she was SO hungry that she ate and ate.

She ate so much bark and wood that she felt ill.

The End.