Rain, Rain, Go Away...

What a gloomy day today! Bailey is sleeping over at her Aunts house, so I had planned on taking Tristan to the splash pad and on a picnic, but unfortunately Mother Nature shot that idea down. I'm trying to somewhat salvage the day however, we had a picnic lunch on a blanket on the living room floor, and I'm making slushies for an after lunch treat. Maybe I'll dig out some crafting supplies and create with my boy ( Edit: We ended up making it to the splash pad, hooray!). I am fighting the urge to jump on the bus and go to the mall to pick up some more maxi dresses and continue my hunt for the perfect (yet affordable!) crochet dress.



I haven't been posting too much lately because nothing has really been going on. It's been a very uneventful week with the exception of Wednesday... Mike's 39th Birthday! Stacey and I made a sign for the front yard for him. One side looked like this:

And the other looked like this:

So as you can imagine, all day people were beeping and waving, even the neighbourhood kids on their bikes and skateboards were yelling out "BEEP BEEP!" as they drove by.

Mike was happy with the gift I gave him, so that's good. I always get nervous that when I give a gift to someone, they're going to hate it. I got him a Harley Davidson sweater, the real deal, quality kind, not a cheap knock off. I can't wait until we go out on the bike so I can see him wear it!

I also took him out for dinner to a restaurant of his choice. He picked Kimono's, a local Chinese buffet. We each ate 3 plates ( 1 of mine was dessert of course! Jello and fruit, mmm), and had a beer. The only complaint I have is that I ordered a Singapore Sling, and the waitress apparently misheard me and thought I said "same" ( Mike ordered his beer first), so she brought a beer out. I didn't want to be difficult and send it back though, thus wasting a beer, so I didn't get my Sling. Oh well, there's always next time!

Yay for the beginning of the long weekend!



Peameal Bacon Casserole

One of Mikes favorite meats is peameal bacon. I am not crazy about it personally, but I don't mind cooking some up every now and then. My problem with peameal is that I have a hard time coming up with new recipes including it. Normally I resort to roasting it, or making breakfast for dinner. So imaginative, right? Last night was one of those nights, but I decided to do some googling to find a new recipe. I found one for peameal bacon casserole, but I changed it around a bit, because that's just how I cook. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother looking at recipes at all. In case you'd like to try it, here it is:

Peameal Bacon Casserole

Ingredients:

Peameal bacon ( I had a nice sized chunk, I'm not sure of the weight. It was enough to cut into about 10 thick slices)

White potatoes ( I used about 7 medium sized)

2 cups grated cheese ( I used marble, but I'm sure you could sub in your favorite cheese and it would be just as tasty!)

1/4 - 1/2 Cup of flour ( I didn't measure this, so I'm estimating)

1 White onion

2 Tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

1 1/2 Cups of milk

1/2 small container of herb and garlic cream cheese

Directions:

1. Slice the peameal bacon into thick slices. Fry just until cooked through, then dice.

2. Wash and thinly slice potatoes ( I didn't peel them, but you could)

3. Lightly oil bottom of casserole dish

4. Begin with a single layer of peameal bacon, top with a single layer of potato slices

5. Dot with butter, a sprinkle of flour, some of the cheese, some thinly sliced onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Repeat this step until all ingredients are used up, but be sure to finish with a layer of potatoes topped with cheese.

6. Heat milk just until scalded, stir in cream cheese until blended. Pour this over the entire casserole.

7. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until the top of the casserole is golden brown.

There we go! My whole family loved it, and it warms up nicely the next day too ( I just had some for lunch!) .

Enjoy!

Our Wonderful Weekend

SUCH a fantastic weekend! Friday, Mike and I attended a Beatles tribute concert at Safari Niagara. We had a blast hanging out with friends and family, singing and dancing all night. Mike and I rarely get the chance to go on dates, so that made it all the more special to us.

I'm on the left, wearing my favorite dress ( that I got complimented on twice!)

Dancing with this lady was just amazing!

The band!

The only complaint I have about the whole concert is that when playing "I've just seen a face" the band encountered some technical difficulties at the beginning of the song... and then forgot the second verse! They didn't even replay it at the end, and that particular song is one of my favorites. Oh well!

Saturday was work, work, work, with a little bit of swim time thrown in. Mike and I managed to get the majority of the deck done, and so far it looks like this:

I think it's absolutely beautiful, I love it, and I can't wait to buy new furniture for it!

We ended our Saturday with a nighttime swim in the pool and a bonfire... what could be more perfect?

Sunday was our dedicated day on the weekend to take the kids out, so we decided to take them to Long Beach for the afternoon. I packed a picnic and beach toys, and we all built sandcastles and played in the water. It was the perfect day for the beach, not too hot, but hot enough that the water was nice and warm.



We ended our Sunday visiting with some friends, and Mike's son Jamie stopped by for a visit. The kids watched a movie together and the men and I relaxed by the pool ( I took another dip of course, I am becoming a pool addict!)

Happy Friday!

Suuuper happy it's Friday today, as that means we're going to The Beatles tribute concert tonight! I haven't had the chance to post much this week, it's been so hot that the kids and I have pretty much just lived in the pool. Yesterday was Quarry Day, like every Thursday, and it was even better than last weeks! I actually went in the water this time! I have a kind of fear of water where I can't see the bottom. But Stacy convinced me to try it with a noodle, and oh man was I missing out! We just floated around and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Mike made it out around 3pm so he got to spend a couple of hours relaxing with us, which was nice. It's not very often he gets the chance to do that. Tristan got a little grumpy at one point, he caught a minnow and had it in a pail of water, and wanted to keep it as a pet. I explained to him that minnows need to live in open, fresh water, and that he would die if we took him home... but Tristan was mad at me anyway. He did eventually end up letting the little guy go though. Maybe I'll have to look into getting him a fish to take care of. But then again, we have enough animals as it is (2 dogs, a cat, a snake, and 2 rabbits), and I've never been able to keep fish alive :(

I ran out of memory on my phone ( I really need to find my memory card for my camera!) so I only have a few Quarry pictures to post today.

Our friends Stacy and Dave attempting to rig up an umbrella stand ( It was insanely windy on our rock when we got there!)

Yay umbrella! It didn't last though... the wind was too strong.

Kids in the Quarry

Hooray for summer, and hooray for Friday!



Oh, What A Weekend

This weekend just passed was a busy one! We held a yard sale Saturday, from 7am until 7:30pm. The kids put some of their things up for sale, and were responsible for a 10 cent table. Tristan was a very good salesman and got quarters instead of dimes. It's the blue eyes and huge grin, I think. It was hot, so hot, but we did pretty well, and made enough money to pay for Marineland passes for all four of us. I got to wear my new maxi dress and feather necklace, and received a lot of compliments, which was nice. Here are a couple pictures from the sale ( unfortunately I didn't have the chance to take many, as the neighbourhood kids came over, so I was running a yard sale AND a daycare all at once).



Sunday was the real fun part of the weekend. A day spent at Marineland! We headed out around 1 o'clock armed with a wagon and a picnic lunch. We hit the kiddie rides first, then sat in the shade and listened to the band while we ate our sandwiches, then got in line for the dolphin and sea lion show. I was very happy with the show this year as it featured Spandy Andy and man oh man, he is just hysterical! The show has been the same forever and he was a welcome addition! However it was a temporary gig, and we just so happened to catch his last show. According to his website though, he'll be returning in August, so I'm happy about that. Mike took a picture of Tristan and I with him but it's on his phone, so I'll have to upload that at a later date.

Spandy Andy keeping it Tight and Bright!

After the show, Bailey and Tristan were begging to go on the big rides, so we walked through the park, hitting every ride on the way, and stopping to feed the bears.

They really seemed to enjoy Capt'n Crunch and Tortilla chips! If the kids didn't drop the snacks down fast enough, the bear on the right would wave his paw in the air until they did.

I'll have more pictures once Mike uploads his from his phone. The highlight of the day for the kids was their very first ride on Dragon Mountain. They were desperate to go on last year but weren't quite tall enough... but this year, to their delight, they were! Mike opted out of going on this year, so I took turns going on with the kids. Tristan went first, because Bailey wanted to gauge his reaction before she went on. The line up was horrible, not because it was long, but because to get on Dragon Mountain, you walk up a hill, and into a cave inside the dragons mouth. This cave has no A/C or fans, and it was crowded. Therefore; hot and stinky cave. I was nervous with both kids as the rollercoaster started climbing, that they would change their minds and be afraid, and cry, and I wouldn't be able to do anything, but they both loved it! All we heard the whole way home was "Dragon Mountain was AWESOME! I can't wait to go on it again, and again, and again!"

A video of Dragon Mountain:

After Dragon Mountain it was getting late, so we decided to head back to the car, with a few stops along the way of course, to see the belugas, killer whales, seals, and fish in the aquarium. Mike made friends with a beluga whale. Mike would walk from one side of the glass to the other, and the whale would follow. He even posed for some pictures for us!

I hope everyone else had an equally great weekend!



I've Just Seen A Face

On July 22nd Mike and I, along with our friends Stacy and Dave, are going to ZooZ in Fort Erie to see a Beatles tribute band. They are covering Help! and Hard Day's Night. I've been listening to these 2 albums on repeat because I am just so excited! The Beatles are my favorite band, ever! Here's one of my favorite songs, I've Just Seen A Face.

Quarry Day!

Yesterday was Quarry Day at the Wainfleet Quarry with our friends and all of their kids. Quarry Day is something that our friend and neighbour Stacy and her friends have been doing for forever, but this was the first time for our family. Unfortunately Mike couldn't get out of work for the afternoon, but everyone had a blast nonetheless. Tristan was a little hesitant to get in the water at first ( he's never been in water before where his feet can't touch the bottom), but 5 minutes after he initially got in he was jumping off rocks with all the older boys! Both he and Bailey caught a minnow ( and released it, of course), the older boys caught crayfish, and I got a horrible sunburn. Sunscreen next time for me! We finished the day by meeting up at Stacy's for a bonfire, which is a pretty regular occurence for us. All in all it was a wonderful day, and everyone went to bed happy!

Here are a few pictures I snapped on my phone of the kids.

Catching minnows

Bailey's minnow! ( I didn't manage to get a picture of Tristans, he and Xander threw it back too quickly for my incredibly slow phone camera)

Tristan swimming around

Stacy's dog Tessa even took a swim!

Tristan and Bailey

Baileys first dip in the water

Tristan's first jump!

Bailey and Tristan exploring the rocks

Tristan climbing out of the water

Some of the kids swimming

Bailey

And one last shot of Tristan

Tomorrow is our yard sale, Mike and I have so much work to do tonight. I can't wait to get rid of some of our "stuff" but I am definitely not looking forward to waking up at the crack of dawn to set up. Hopefully Mike's planning on going to Tim Hortons for a coffee run! Extra large triple triple please!

Oh! Also, here are a few pictures of my new truck, a 2000 Dodge Dakota V8 :)

Love it!

Little Fish

A few snapshots of the kids in the pool ( taken with my lg optimus one, so the quality isn't the best, sorry!)