Summer.

Wouldn't you know it- I finally feel motivated to update all of the summer festivities, and my phone is acting up and won't connect to my PC so I can get the pics.

In a nutshell...

Busy summer!  Dollface and the blonde army moved back up here from AZ, and are staying with us currently. It's had it's moments, of course- but it feels really good to have them back up here. I've missed my friend, and the kids. Jaysen loves having the baby around (he's 8 months), and Rylan finally has a rough-n-tumble playmate with T-rex. Ky has been an amazing help to me as well. I finally have "my girl"! Hahaha.

Jaysen has been going to the same summer program as he did last year. Very unstructured, but he prefers that freedom to the super fast paced tempo of a traditional day camp. I became disheartened when he told me all he does there is sometimes play video games and sleep on a couch, but I found out from one of the staff, that when the volunteers come, he plays chess with them! That is so awesome.

Rylan has been attending day camp for the first time. He loves it. They do SO MUCH STUFF, he comes home whooped every day. Canoeing, ropes courses, overnights, tye-dying, water parks.... it's awesome. Again, upon asking what he did that day, the typical answer I get from Ry is "I don't know. Ate pizza".  Then later on, we find out by the camp pictures, that he did all these awesome things.

This morning when I was getting ready for work, Jaysen dropped this on me though-

Jaysen:  So, there was a talent show yesterday at summer program.
Me:  Oh? Was it cool?
Jaysen:  Yeah. I was in it.
Me:  O_o   Um...wait.....what??
Jaysen:  I was in it.
Me:  *stopping everything short of breathing* OMG really??? What did you DO????
Jaysen:  Sing.
Me:  *trying not to fall over*  You sang??? What did you sing??
Jaysen:  Numa numa.
Me:  ........Awesome, baby! I'm so proud of you!!!

Trying to maintain my cool, I ran out and told Companion to ask him what he did yesterday.

Companion:  Hey Jaysen, what did you do yesterday at summer program?
Jaysen:  Nuthin'...
Me: *dramatic eyeroll*

Whyyyyyy do kids do that?!? That's HUGE news!!!

Our summer vacation didn't really go as planned-
There was weak internet connection up north this year, so the kids were unhappy. We ended up leaving early. It wasn't bad, just wasn't great like previous years. We'll have to re-evaluate our vacationing plans for next year.

I'm NOT prepared for the fast approaching school year. I am floored that I have a 6th grader, and that my baby is starting kindergarten. Kindergarten! I still remember Jaysen's first day of kindergarten, and now Supafly is starting? Who gave them permission to get so big so fast?!?  And to top that all off, they're already taking bets on whether or not I'm going to cry on the first day of school. History says yes. Also? My kids know me too well.

And, I believe that's about it in a nutshell.
Hope your summers have been funtastic, and a whole lot of "nuthin"!

A pic is worth 1000 words... or evidence.

Wanted to share some pics of our vacation- now that we're home.

Jaysen showing his swimmin' skillz.

He got nervous without his vest on.

OMG... Enough with teh cute!

The Red One trying to give me a heart attack...

And we went to this supadope learning center, where there were all kinds of learning experiences to be had.

You could ride a bike and generate enough electricity to turn on a lightbulb...

And play some really cool instruments...

Or learn all about creepy-crawlies...

Although some of us were a lot braver than others.

All of that hands-on activity stuff really wears you out...

Or not...

Charming.

Have I mentioned I've been coming up here since I was 6 months old?
Been staying at the same hotel too.
I love Charlevoix.

Things I don't like about this hotel-
It hasn't been remodeled or redecorated since the '70's.
The air conditioning has two settings. Cold and Colder.
The bathroom is tiled pink, with blue toilet, sink, and shower.
There is no lock on the bathroom door.
I'm 5'6", and the shower head is 5'4", so I have to crouch just to wash my hair.

Things I love about this hotel-
It hasn't been remodeled or redecorated since the '70's.
The air conditioner has two settings. Cold and Colder.
The bathroom is tiled pink, with blue toilet, sink, and shower.
There is no lock on the bathroom door.
I'm 5'6". and the shower head is 5'4", so I have to crouch just to wash my hair.

It's all about the charm.

The up side of Up North.

Although The Attitude is still possessing my son, I have to say, this vacation is not a total loss.


The highlight so far is we totally ran into Richard Golden.
What do you mean you don't know who Richard Golden is?!?
You totally know Richard Golden.
The "Sexy Specs" guy?




Heck yeah!







No, he didn't do the dance.



Not this dance either.
But it doesn't really matter, because he didn't do either one.

Another piece of awesomeness...

I was chillin on the bed thinking wow, Jaysen's been in the bathroom a really long time... when he emerged, wet, and asked me where the bucket was.

"Jaysen? Why are you wet?"

"I'm taking a baf"."

Since I didn't start a bath for him, I was slightly perplexed. "Um... where are you taking a bath?"

"Inna baftub. Where's the bucket to rinse my hair?"

I follow him into the bathroom, to find he was indeed in the process of taking a bath!

Technically, the hotel only has a stand up shower, but it's very deep. Perfect to bathe kids in, but there is no stopper. You have to take the ice bucket liner and line the drain with it to fill up the "tub". He did just that. Aside from the water being on the cold side, it was a perfectly drawn bath.


I was shocked and amazed.
And when he was done? he pulled the "stopper" out and put it back where I keep it!


This kid is thirteen kinds of awesome.

Vacation like the Go-Go's.

Day two of our fabulous vacation!

What?
You didn't know we were going on vacation?
Oh. Guess I was so busy with everything else, I kinda forgot to mention it.

Anyhoo...
It's our annual vacatio to be-yoo-tee-ful Charlevoix!

Day one was a complete mess.
Sucked like a highschool virgin.
I figured as much because it was a really long car ride, and the transition of the first day of anything is usually hell on Jaysen.
We really went at it though.

Within the first couple of hours, Rylan managed to get hit in the head with a doorknob, fall in the parking lot, and wedge his finger between the screen and doorwall to the balcony. All of this screaming put Jaysen over the edge in sensory land, and it was meltdown city. Not to mention he had been a complete butthole all day. I can call him that- I'm his mom.

So.
Day two.
Much better.
We went to the beach, and although the weather was gorgeous, the water was so effing cold, I would have rather eaten a guacamole covered turd.
Okay, maybe not, but I still opted to sit on the shoreline and get splashed with frigid water every time a boat went by. That way the water is just torturous since you never really get the chance to get used to it. Apparently, I'm a big fan of self-torture.

Jaysen had no issues. Jumped right in.
Rylan stayed on the shore with me. Smart kid.

Then we tortured the kids and went for lunch at this awesome grotto. I love this place, but there is only one thing Jaysen will eat- but really, you only need one thing, right? So, gourmet pizza it was. Un-gourmet'ed of course.

Swim time again- this time in the hotel pool.
Warmer.

Sigh.
Jaysen still with the attitude.
Because now he's only happy if he's getting his way.
"His way", is eating 4 bags of potato chips in one sitting, and then asking for M&M's.
"No" to the M&M's just sent him over the edge.
Now he's being evil to everyone.

I feel bad because I totally went off on him yesterday. Momzilla style.
Totally fighting the urge to do it again right effing now.
I cannot deal with the attitude...

Now if you'll excuse me, I feel the need to make my child's life hell.
I'm deciding between taking away a privilege, or making him brush his teeth for no reason.

Decisions... decisions...

Roadtrip?

One night before our Storybook Gardens vacation, Jaysen became obsessed with going to Texas. Yes, right at that moment. He scampered outside to find a stick. Yes, a stick...maybe it's a Texan thing?

Why Texas??? I don't rightly know. I can only hazard a guess that it could be our good friends Dollface and family moved up from there, or maybe he was watching the Spongebob episode where Sandy is homesick and wants to go back to Texas.

While I did the dishes, he played quietly in his room. When I peeked in on him, I noticed he was packing his suitcase (full of DVD's), and meticulously arranging his chosen VHS tapes onto a carefully laid out blanket.

He continued this for quite awhile.
Perseveration is a powerful thing.

He eventually emerged from his room dragging the suitcase, and carrying the blanket (with video tapes inside) over his shoulder. He asked me if I would help him attach the blanket to the stick. It was tough to do with a straight face considering the blanket was bulging with videos, and his stick was little more than a twig.

We went outside to find a better stick.

Once the "bag" was secure on the stick, he hoisted it over his shoulder, grabbed his suitcase, and declared he was off for Texas. He was set.



Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I realized where this was going. I went on about how he doesn't have money for a plane ticket, blah, blah, blah...we ended up in my car again- he insisted that I drive him to Texas.

(Being the quick thinker that I am, I also realized this was a movie-worthy moment)

Behold the reasoning of my son, the roadtripper:

(Of course, being the technological genius that I am, the video was cut short)

Here's the ending:

It sounded like a plan, so I jumped in the seat and pretended to drive, looking at all of the super-cool imaginary mountains and rivers along the way.

Jaysen was looking at me like I was thirteen different kinds of crazy. He was less than amused.
When he realized that we, in fact, were not actually going to Texas, he started to lose it.

Meltdown approaching. I desperately tried to reason with him, but once he's at a certain level, your best option is damage control, not reason.

I told him that although we were not going to Texas, we were going on a "Mystery Trip" that upcoming weekend, and it was going to be very cool. And far away. Just like Texas. Only not Texas.

He accepted that. I would love to know how he decided which tapes would accompany him on the trip, and which ones would have to stay home. Interesting.

My little aspiring world traveler...
He's going to make me grey, this one is.

Ferris wheel of doom.

The following one-minute movie is on our ferris wheel ride at Storybook Gardens-

I would never exploit my child- especially when he's screaming like a little girl.

No, really, I wouldn't. Ever.

Hahahahaaaaa....

Oh, Canada...

We're home from Ontario, and first I just have to say that London, Ontario has terrible coffee.

I mean terrible.

Storybook gardens has really changed from since I was a kid (gee, ya think?)- they've expanded it, but not to the point that it's not "doable". We managed to get through the whole park in 3 hours, and that included stopping at almost all of the attractions. The kids had a blast.

We played at the splash park:



Rode on the Ferris Wheel: Notice the huge smile!



We also went to the Children's Museum...

For some Olympic games:



Had some lunch: With excellent customer service!






Played on a fire truck:



Made new friends:




The weekend was a hit.

Rylan gave it a big horray ala Hulk style...



And Jaysen gave it the Mario Seal of Approval:




And me???

I had a great time, too...

except for the coffee...

which stunk.

Last night, after dinner, Jaysen decided he wanted to go to Texas. Yes, right at that moment. He scampered outside to find a stick. Yes, a stick...maybe it's a Texan thing? Why Texas? I can only hazard a guess that it may have something to do with Sandy from Spongebob being from Texas.

While I did the dishes, he played quietly in his room. When I peeked in on him, I noticed he had a blanket spread out on the bed, and was carefully positioning his video tapes on the blanket.

He continued this for quite awhile.

He eventually emerged from his room dragging his suitcase, and carrying the blanket (with video tapes inside) over his shoulder. He asked me if I would help him attach the blanket to the stick. It was tough to do with a straight face considering the blanket was bulging with videos, and his stick was little more than a twig.

We went outside to find a better stick.

Once the "bag" was secure on the stick, he hoisted it over his shoulder, grabbed his suitcase, and said he was off for Texas. He had his VHS tapes in the "vagabond bag" and his DVD's in his suitcase. He was set.

Me: "Jaysen, are you running away?"

J: "No...just going to Texas."

Me: "Oh, okay. That's good. Did you know that Texas is really far away?"

J: "Really really far?"

Me: "Yeah, really really far."

J: "That's okay. You can drive me there."

Me: "Oooh...I don't have enough gas in the tank to drive there."

J: (I can see the wheels turning...) "I know! You can drive me to the airport."

So we went on about how he doesn't have money for a plane ticket, blah, blah, blah... we ended up in my car again- he insisted that I drive him to Texas.

He wanted to go to Texas to be at the "beautiful salty beach".

Where would he live? At the beach.

What would he eat? McDonald's and pizza.

How would he pay for his food? With money.

Where was he going to get the money? From his pocket. (note to self: check Jaysen's pockets before laundry-day)

Sounded like a plan, so I jumped in the seat and pretended to drive, looking at all of the super-cool imaginary mountains and rivers along the way.

Jaysen was looking at me like I was thirteen different kinds of crazy. He was less than amused.

When he realized that we, in fact, were not actually going to Texas, he started to lose it. Meltdown approaching. I desperately tried reasoning with him, but once he's at a certain level, your best option is damage control, not reason.

I told him that although we were not going to Texas, we were going on a "Mystery Trip" next weekend, and it was going to be very cool. And far away. Just like Texas. Only not Texas.

I did manage to get a good portion of this whole deal on video, but I don't know if I'll be able to download it. Upload? Crap- I'm so technologically impaired. If I can get someone else to do it, I will. I would also love to know how he decided which tapes would make the trip with him, and which ones would have to stay home. Interesting.
My little aspiring world traveler.

Vacation highlights

We're back from Charlevoix! Yes, we missed you too.

First, some awesome houses designed and built by Earl A. Young:

A mushroom house

And a hobbit house

Then there was swimming:

Lots of fun at the beach:

And watching the sunset:

Of course, Jaysen had his own highlights, which he captured himself...

The draw-bridge:

Ice cream:

And the vending machine at the hotel:




It was a very nice getaway, despite that it was cold for most of the time. Beach-fun was mostly limited to playing in the sand and on the playground, but it warmed up the last day, and Jaysen was happy he finally got to swim in the lake.

Companion and I met the "town crazy" who had coffee with us one night. Well, we were having coffee, he was pouring vodka into a coffee cup. He also took his shirt off so Companion could "check out his tan"...at 10:00pm. That was just before he pulled out a joint, and told me to take a scissors to my jeans and cut 'em off really really short- y'know, to show everything off. Eep. Go away scary-man.

In other news, Jaysen lost another tooth in Charlevoix. He is now missing both of his front teeth, which makes conversation interesting with him. He'll ask me a question, and gets frustrated if I don't understand him. But he's finding out all of the cool things you can do with no front teeth- like drink through a straw, eating french fries, and inserting other various objects into your mouth without opening it.

Oh! I did manage to ask Jaysen if he was still going to get married while we were there, to which he replied, "I did!" Hmm... I suppose I missed the wedding.

Good To Be Home.

Made it back from vacation, and the good news is we're all still speaking to one another!

The trip was pretty good. The first night at the hotel, Jaysen was trying to figure out his surroundings.

"We live here?"

"No, we don't live here. We're staying here for vacation."

"Why not?"

"Because we don't have all of our stuff."

(points to suitcases) "There's stuff. And here's my bed."

"But that's not all of our stuff. Like our stove, microwave, food..."

"Oh. We live here or live at home?"

"We live at home. We live here for vacation, then we go home."

"Okay."

The second night, Jaysen wanted to go home. He was pretty upset, crying and pleading to leave. I tried talking to him. I told him that tomorrow we were going to the beach, and it would be really cool. I tried bribing him. Nothing worked. I asked him why he wanted to go home...nothing. Then I asked him what did he want to do at home? After some back-and-forth...

"I want to run out to the mailbox, get the mail, and run in the house."

Aha. He missed his routine. In all the newness of our vacation, he needed to cling to something familiar. Why that particular routine? I don't know- but I went down to the lobby, briefly explained the situation, and the girl helped me write a "letter", put it in an envelope, and put it in their mailbox.

When I returned to the room, I told Jaysen they had a mailbox in the lobby. His eyes widened, and he clapped his hands. We went to the lobby to retrieve our mail. It worked for about a minute, but then Jaysen declared it was "bad mail", and started sobbing again. Oh well- it was the best I could do under the circumstances. I sat with Jaysen on the bed, and scratched his back until he fell asleep.

He was fine the next day. And he did have a blast at the beach, despite the sub-zero water temperature. I buried him in the sand, like we did when we were kids- he loved it. I kept piling the sand higher, and soon he was covered up to his neck! What a great sensory experience too- that may have been the calmest he'd been the whole trip.

Rylan didn't seem as thrilled with the beach experience, but eventually warmed up to the idea of being in the pool.

Jaysen truly amazed me with his resilience during many times of indecision, and the walking around everywhere. That kid did a lot of walking! I could tell he was tired because he was dragging his feet, but he just followed along and only asked me to carry him twice. We went to a concert in the park one night. Afterwards, I asked Jaysen if he wanted to go back to the hotel, or go for a walk. He wanted to go for a walk, so we went down to see the boats. He walked me up and down every dock, reading the names of the boats as we passed them. He liked the big sailboats best.

And the bridge! Jaysen loved to watch the bridge going up to let the sailboats through. He thought that was great. He even tolerated the loud warning bells.

The highlights for me would have to be spending time with my family at the same place I vacationed with my family as a kid. But ask Jaysen, and he'll tell you it was the swimming, and the orange sherbet ice cream.