kid vs. cat

Sebastian chose a $4 chess set with his birthday money (gotta love this kid's sense of value!).

mostly he acts out the Pixar-short (from the beginning of A Bug's Life, i think) where the old man plays chess against himself. he even fakes the heart attack.

sometimes Snowbell plays too. :)

*back-dated post because last week was...well...not conducive to sitting at the computer. ;)

French River 2010

our annual (okay, second year in a row) pilgrimage to the French River -- to a little cabin by the river -- the children immersed themselves immediately in the wildness....computers, television, video-games all forgotten in an instant in favour of fishing poles and river-puddles.

and yes, Savannah is embarking on a dread-journey. after much discussion and research, we are in the process of dreading her hair. she's the coolest kid, ever.

amazing how a fishing pole in the river can ease the tensions of the busy-world. in the time it takes to bait the hook, the worries melt away.

for me, it was sunrises down by the river....pen-on-page meditations and reconnecting with dreams...

and there were walks in the woods....

and, of course....the fish...

lots of fish...

and sky....gorgeous, endless horizons...

yep.

it was good.

captive....

for some reason, the sight of this poor tomato, imprisoned behind a wee plastic fence in my neighbour's front garden really tickled my funny bone.

then again, i've been accused of an odd sense of humour in the past....

retro fun

cooler temperatures = way more outdoor fun....

a visit to the park with friends...friends who will soon be leaving us to return to Pakistan...each moment holds more weight now..the fun just slightly more fierce. still, how nice to be able to run and jump and climb without collapsing from heat-stroke.

it took multiple attempts and a whole lot of laughing to try and capture them all running together...alas, the delay on the camera and the difference in speediness made it quite impossible...

traditionally done on ice-skates...this grassy version of the game was just as hilarious....it's all about the 'whipping' after all...

and of course a photo session isn't complete without the goofy face poses...

and yes - i'm very much addicted to this fake polaroid business....:)

in which there is paint

Sometimes we have attacks of spontaneous painting......

Like sometimes I'm  in the middle of something else and then the urge overtakes someone and then we simply must paint....

It isn't usually Sebastian with this compulsion...he hasn't shown a whole lot of interest in painting and drawing in the past...so it's always interesting when the mood takes him.

He worked on a canvas, I messed around making backgrounds for my visual journal.

There was much applause and mutual admiration of our efforts.

Headin' out.....

Really....we have....

Well...I won't be fishing...I'll be watching from the dock where I sit with a mug of steaming chai and my book.....*grin*

I PROMISE...there will be photos.....lots of 'em.....from here.

Promise.

Until then.....happy Not-Back-to-School!!!

To the Gardens....

Waiting for the bus....

Amazingly, after cancelling once due to the rain, we were finally off for an afternoon at the Royal Botanical Gardens. We'd been gifted with a family pass so are able to go often...for FREE!!
"Family pass" means two adults and any number of children under 18...so Aunty S, Cousin's M and H joined us for the trip....

A hike through the woods...a clamber on the root system....

We spotted a frog on a lily pad....you'll have to squint...it was as far as my zoom would go....
After being chased by geese we returned from the trail and had our picnic in the Hendrie Garden before setting off for a tour of the Earth Art exhibition and a scavenger hunt....
Sebastian tried repeatedly to get the dogs to sit up but......:)
We also got some really cool bug identifier sheets so now we know the names of our local creepie crawlies....