happy canada day!

Holidays and celebrations are getting much more fun as the boys are fully aware of them now … but also a lot more difficult as it sets the bar high for me to keep up! No more "The baby will never know the difference" excuses anymore! Sam was away all weekend in Vancouver visiting Jeff and Eli and so making plans for Canada Day ended up being a very last minute affair. We hummed and hawed about going downtown to all the festivities around the Parliament Buildings like last year but frankly we were exhausted just thinking about it … and a beach day at Willows sounded much more relaxing! I had come across some flag decorations last week at the stores and so we strung up 3 long banners of Canadian flags across the kitchen and dining room after the boys went to bed last night. I woke up this morning to hear Felix click open his door, trot out a few steps, stop suddenly and then say very emphatically "Wowwwwww". (Win for Mum.) And then … "Canada flag!!!". I love that they also love the little things … and they were sure surprised this morning! After the usual getting ready and getting out the door routine we were off to Willows Beach for the morning … a windy morning but, oh my, hot! Summer has begun indeed! Flying kites, digging holes, building sand castles, eating sandy cookies, drinking sandy coffee, catching flyaway umbrellas … somehow it's never quite as relaxing as you think it should be for these ol' parents, ha! Three more things today: we brought out the sprinklers before supper for one fully naked and one almost naked boy to get soaked in, we had yummy red and white pancakes for supper to celebrate (with berries and whipping cream) and everyone's asleep now but we're waking up Henry and Walter in 2 hours for Sam to take them to the fireworks for the first time. Yes, holidays and celebrations are exhausting and a lot of work sometimes but so much more fun as the boys grow up! Happy 147th Birthday, Canada!