The Badlands - Where the Dinosaurs Might Have Lived.

On a spur of the moment, last minute decision, my friend Lucy, who knows I am ALWAYS up for adventure, asked us if we wanted to drive to Caledon to see the Cheltenham Badlands.  It's a bit of drive but the view was worth it. 

The Badlands are soft shale/clay without any vegetation and is now fenced off to the public.  There are trails just west of the badlands that lead up to a viewing point were you can have a totally unobstructed view of the badlands, a little bit of a hike but not bad with toddlers keen on adventure and on a hunt to find dinosaurs!  Amazing how a little bit of storytelling turns a simple nature walk into a grand adventure. 

If you plan on going, do make the little trek in (no stroller access) to the viewpoint, but don't go down into the quarry--it is off-limits because they are trying to preserve it.  *Note, we did not encourage our children to go down into it.  But we did have to save Lightening McQueen who took a dive over the edge.

And afterwards, hit up Spirit Tree Cidery just a drive around the corner for an ice cream or a fancy lunch.  It's a beautiful place!  Thanks for the recommendation, Jessica!

Our Polyester Kingdom

I'm not even sure how to begin on this one.  Except that on the day of a backyard BBQ with friends, I sent my husband to the store to get a new inflatable pool (ours was beyond repair) when he came home with what I can only describe as a polyester kingdom--an inflatable waterslide--12 feet long, 9 feet high and 8 feet wide.  It's massive.  There is no doubt about it.

Admittedly, part of my Squamish-eco-nature-loving-down-to-earth roots died a little, the part of me that grew up mucking about in streams behind the house, picking flowers and building tree forts.  Do our children really need a huge blow-up bouncy castle to entertain them?  Can't they be happy chasing frogs and blowing bubbles and playing pretend?  But in the city, you just don't have the ability to send your kids outside into the same safely-wild backyard.  So the other part of me was thrilled and hoping us adults might be able to take it for a spin!  (Apparently not... it does have a maximum weight restriction).

I should have captured the look on my water-birthing-vegan-back-to-nature good friend Sam's face as she turned the corner into the backyard to come nose to nose with our blow-up waterslide.  I think she was totally floored by the enormity and vibrancy of the polyester castle glowing in the sun like a neon blimp that filled about 1/3 of our backyard.  All she could say was, "wow."  Her children might have looked a little terrified.  ;P  But I think they warmed up to it all and we were so happy to be sitting on the sidelines for once watching them all enjoy themselves.

I am not sure if our neighbors were impressed and hope they get to send their kids over every afternoon this summer, or peeved that they might have to look at this bright orange and green and blue contraption blocking their view of the sun.

Anyway, as anticipated, it was a crowd-pleaser--the kids chased each other up and down the slide and splashed each other wildly.  Eventually the kiddies got cold and put clothes on, only to jump back in the pool and get drenched all over again!  At one point we had a few kids with no clothes on running around with icecream dripping down their chins onto their chests.  Somehow I think our fancy and elegant dinner parties are gone for a little while...... 

Blue Jays!

So far, we have been having an amazing weekend!! It's spring, almost summer and the city is alive again!  There seems like there is so much to do!  Live music festivals, ball games, soccer games, parks to visit.  There are only so many weekends!  We are trying to fill them up with friends and fun every little bit we can.

Yesterday, we blew off naps and went to see the Blue Jays play Seattle.  Jordan told me that when he was younger and the Blue Jays were in their prime, you'd have to scrounge up every penny to buy expensive tickets just to get in the top row of seating far above the game.  The seats were full back then.  The Jays have definitely gone through a dry spell, when so many seats sat empty, but when we were there yesterday, we saw so many people decked out in Blue Jays gear and the stadium looked pretty full to us, at least on the sunny side! 

Admittedly, we felt a little unpatriotic without any Blue Jays gear, so I can see we'll have some hats and shirts in our future.  Especially because Gabriel really loved the game.  Every time I looked over he was laughing and pointing.  He definitely understood what was going on, although I am pretty sure he thought the object of the game was to hit the ball into the audience.  Like any good fan, he wanted a ball of his own.  Maggie mostly loved the hotdogs and the music and the general excitement around the stadium before she passed out in the carrier.  

The funny thing about Toronto is that even though it is so big and you think you can hide in a crowd or pretend you are anonymous, you will inevitably, and randomly run into people you know.  While walking around with Maggie, I popped out onto the sunny section only to run into my friend Alicia, there with husband and son.  I tell you, this city really isn't that big! 

 
And after the game, we lined up with all the Junior Jays for a chance to run the bases after the game was done.  Gabriel tore around the bases at top speed, leaving his shoes behind him on the field. 

And like every parent, we left the field with our squawking/crying toddlers in tow, overtired from the busy day.  We wonder, if only momentarily, why we put ourselves through the pain of taking our children.  But once everyone is settled in the car, snacking and playing happily with stickers and toys, we are always glad we get out and do these things with them because we all really do have a good time, even if it is sometimes at the sake of our sanity and pride. 

Of course, we had to hit up Tom's Dairy Freeze on the way home.  It is truly the best soft serve in the City.   Jordan discovered it when we moved here.  And let me tell you, I don't even like vanilla but their vanilla chocolate dipped cone is amazing!  Probably because it's actually made with real cream!

Hope your weekend is going splendidly and that you are getting out there doing things you love with your littles, even if it is hectic and crazy and you wonder why you do it.  It's so worth it!

Our Family Photographs: Behind the Scenes

Over the past couple of months, I have been working and collaborating with my dear (and long-lost) cousin, Ginger who recently moved to Toronto and we have since rekindled our friendship.  We have always loved spending time together, but you know, life just gets crazy and before you know it, it's been 10 years since you've seen each other! 

Now living in the same city, babies the same age and a shared passion for art and photography, it was sort of a no-brainer we would be messaging every single day and driving all the way across the city to see each other on a regular basis.  I feel so grateful to have a kindred spirit as we go through this journey of motherhood and stay-at-home-career-business-women/photographers. 

So the Saturday before Mother's Day, Ginger met us in the crowded High Park area in the early hours of the morning to beat the crowds and catch the best light of the day.  After several weeks of hunts to find the perfect Magnolia tree, we decided on High Park.  But it became obvious (with the full parking lot at 7:00am) that we'd have to find a quieter spot.  It was sort of ridiculous there with so many people and their cameras.  And the funniest thing was that we had perfect strangers standing around watching, holding a reflector and several even taking our pictures!!!  We sort of felt like celebrities....

The pictures are amazing, my cousin is truly an artist far beyond me.  She just has such an incredible gift.  When she sent them to me the other night, I was just bursting with gratitude while simultaneously laughing out loud.  Our children are hilarious and charming and mischievous and I feel like she really captured all that.  I had to stop part way through the gallery viewing and send her a glowing message.  I was so thankful.  We've never had family pictures like these.  Ever. 

The pictures really do look idyllic, but I have to be honest.  On Saturday, after a few hours of photographing, we left the park, covered, COVERED in dirt, soaked to the bone and sweaty.  Magdalene (and the stroller where we had strapped her in) were covered in yogurt.   Here's a few funny tidbits from "behind the scenes:"

1) The very first two minutes of being in the park, Gabriel laid down in the dirt under the Magnolia tree and started rolling around in it.  It was then a shuffling game of how to avoid getting dirt on his white shirt, my white dress or Jordan's tan pants.  By the way, his shirt is now officially destroyed after face-planting on the sidewalk only minutes after the photo shoot was over.  And my dress... will never be the same.

2) About 10 minutes in, it started raining and we had to hide under the reflector.  A good reason to bring one I guess.

3) There were no less than 5000 people in the park that morning, crowding every single tree, although not so much the magnolia.

4) We got down to the lake, away from the crowds but "the paparazzi" with their telephoto lenses found us, again, snapping pictures while Ginger worked.  Who are these people???

5) I was sweating, sweating...  Had to keep taking off my scarf, jacket etc.

6) The children ran for the water immediately, the last shots of us as a family are there, after that, we were really all too wet to take more. 

7) Except it started raining.  Again.  This time, we were officially done. 

Can you believe that?  My cousin is amazing.  I cannot believe she got the shots she did with all the craziness going on, the kids running around, the water, the crowds. 

Thank you cousin, for capturing the moments and giving them back to us so beautifully!!

xo