Happy First Day of School

Isn't it exciting! Another year of school! Alison is happy to be starting taking some English in school, now that she's in Grade 3, and Sarah is glad that her Grade 6 teacher is the same one who knows her from Grade 4.

I'm still not sure how they got to be so old...

The Disney trip

We really did go to Disneyland. I wasn't making that up. We also took a couple of side trips in Southern California, where the weather is significantly better than it is here (although the smog left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean that literally).

The girls who don't really like the rides at the local amusement park tried just about everything there was to try at Disney. We hit Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, Big Thunder, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, the They did turn down the California Screaming coaster at the California Adventure park, but considering they watched the space-like launch that started it, I wasn't surprised. (the launch goes 0 to 55 mph in 4 seconds, check out that link!) Their parents enjoyed it, though. Probably the most fun coaster I've ever ridden.

The large group with the Mouse himself.

Meeting Winnie-the-Pooh...

and Tigger, too.

We also hit some of Southern California's other attractions. We went to Huntington Beach, the original Surf City, to play in the sand and surf. We also took a drive into Hollywood and walked a bit on the Walk of Fame, where Alison even got to play a bit of dress-up outside the Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

We're going to Disneyland!!!

Why don't they believe me?




As much as I wanted to get their reactions recorded, the girls didn't start squealing until they saw their boarding passes for this morning's flight.

We'll be back on Tuesday.

Vacation Video

A 3 1/2 minute video to capture the moments of fun from our Cape Breton trip. The trendy little summer tune is from the Camp Rock soundtrack, definitely heard a zillion times at our house, courtesy of Sarah.

Enjoy.

Canoeing down the Bow

Our annual adventure on the Bow with the neighbours took on a new twist this year. Instead of renting a raft, we set out on the Bob Special. Sarah was busy playing with her friend Maddy, (who has been off at sleepover camps all summer), and our neighbour's daughter was away at a friend's place, so it was just 6 of us who enjoyed an absolutely glorious summer day floating/paddling down the Bow.


Alison spent a lot of time helping the neighbours manoeuver their raft. That really is her under all that hair.



Pelicans! On the Bow! Those are some impressive beaks. No wonder they were out, though, fish were jumping up out of the water all over the place.

Reece did take a couple of swimming trips between the boats. Alison did it once, too, but Daddy didn't go in at all. Alison wins!

A trip to the zoo

These fuzzy huge antlers belong to one of the zoo's male moose.


Wouldn't you love to have a visit with this bear?


Spike has to get metal caps over his tusks after cracking one of them. A few days ago he cracked it again.



The baby elephant is ssssssssooooooooooo cute! Malti may be already one year
old but she is still tiny . She is about the size of her mom's leg.


This baby giraffe is a week and a half old and is already 7 feet tall. The baby has not yet been named. As the baby elephant, the baby giraffe is about the size of her mother's leg.

by guest blogger, Sarah

Lobster

There are few pleasures in life greater than a feast of lobster. Here are a couple of experts at work.

New Blogger in the House

Resident author, Alison, has taken on technology and now has a blog of her own. Since she's only seven, I've restricted access to only those who have been invited. I popped a few addresses in from the top of my head, so if you would like an invitation, comment below and I'll dig out your email address for an invite.

The Golf Cart

Alison has been looking forward to being big enough to drive Papa Les' golf cart since her last visit to Cape Breton, when she was a mere 4 years old. This summer, now that she is seven, she got her chance.

She's a very cautious driver and managed to cruise about the property without hitting a single tree. The video cuts off before she answers my question, but her journal entry after her first driving experience explains in great detail how very thrilling and wonderful it was. Thanks for sharing your golf cart, Papa Les!

Yard Sale

Before I get into vacation photos, I have a couple of leftover July posts.

Rustle's girls have discovered the Wii and are on a mission to save up all their coins to buy one. Just hoping for enough change in the couch will take forever, though, so they've come up with a plan.

The first part is to start earning some money by doing chores. Now you might find a girl emptying a dishwasher, tidying her room or at least getting up and dressed right away in the morning.

As all employed people know, working doesn't always reap rewards quickly enough. So our girls and the kids next door decided to boost their money-making plans with a yard sale. They collected all sorts of stuff they no longer enjoy (and are keeping the rooms from staying tidy), made signs, and spent two weekend days pawning their stuff off on unsuspecting neighbourhood children.



Complete with Koolade stand.