Looks like summer is here!

Signs of summer that were spotted this weekend:

making and eating homemade ice-cream--

spending hours playing in the water (I know, not very "green" Uncle, but sooo refreshing!)

enjoying some juicy watermelon--

and grilling up some tasty treats!

Hooray!  Summer's here!!

A step back in time

***Warning...long post with lots of pictures...continue at your own risk ;)

 For the long weekend, we decided to take a mini-break and go explore the Storybook Forest.  What a lovely little get-away! 

This park really is a step back in time.  Take a leisurely stroll along the tree lined paths and say hello to all of your old Mother Goose, storybook and nursery rhyme friends.  Yes they play music throughout, but there's not an animated character to be found!  Love that!!

So come join us as we take a lopsided peek at this little house:

Crooked man's house

and stop to peer into this place:

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater...

take a ride on The Little Engine Who Could:

Keep your eyes and ears out for those sinister characters...you never know when you're going to come across one!

Jack and the beanstalk with the Giant

Little Red Riding Hood's "granny"

and sometimes all that sight-seeing makes ya just want to sit down for a few minutes, whether it is on a magic flying carpet, a wooden chair or even on a block!  Whew!!

After we finished touring Storybook Forest, we went out to the rest of the park to explore.  Since it was opening day, the park was relatively empty (another yeah!) so we didn't have to wait for rides and once we hit the "kiddie" section, sometimes the Noodle was the only one on the rides!!

The Noodle has such a good time riding on all the rides.  She wasn't scared at all!!  Since we had never been to this park before, neither J nor I really knew where anything was located.  Finally we made our way towards to back of the park, which was where all the rides were located that are geared towards those '56" and under'.

Once she realized that they were her size, she was all about doing them by herself.  Little Miss Independent!

This spin-y one was about all J could take...twirling around makes him feel SICK!

After a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, we decided to call it quits and head back to the car...the sky wasn't looking nearly as friendly as it had earlier in the day.  Good thing...after driving for about 15 minutes the heavens opened up, the wind roared and sparks started flying (literally).  After pulling off the road to let the storm pass by we made it to the hotel...only to find out they had lost power.  Sigh.  Luckily we found a restaurant close by that hadn't lost juice and by the time we got back, the power was back on.  Good thing, because how do you explain to a 4 year old that they can't go swimming, especially when you can see the indoor pool from your hotel room?!

See ya!

We're going to start the holiday a few days early...see you soon!

Asian Festival Downtown

After finishing up with Thomas, we hopped into the car to head Downtown to go to the Asian Festival.  Last year was the first year for it and it was 1 day long.  The turn-out had been so great, that they expanded it this year and made it 2 days long!  Not only was the festival showcasing Chinese culture, but also that of Korean, Japanese, Cambodian, Thai, and Indian.  There was music, dancing, fashion, performances and of course, food, food and more food.  Yum!!

"I like rice!"

Some of the performances:

Day out with Thomas

Oh yes, we bought into it...hook, line and sinker!  Our early childhood PTA got a group rate on tickets so of course we had to go.  Initially, when I got the 9:30 time slot (with the expectation that you will arrive an hour early...on a Saturday...to a place that is about 45 minutes from our house) I was a bit bummed--no leisurely lie-in.  But, it ended up being the best!  Since we were the first train run, we got great parking, hardly any crowds, beautious (is that a word?!) weather and our pick of photo ops.  Fab-u-lous!! 

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the crowds, activities and yes, even Thomas!

Waiting...and waiting...to ride the rails:

 still waiting...

And we're finally off...time to enjoy the ride!  Peep peep :)

Last Day of Preschool

Where has this year gone?!  Seems like just yesterday we were heading off to orientation and the first day of preschool!  It has been a fun year, filled with memories, laughs and new friends. 

The Noodle with her teachers:

They had an ice-cream party to celebrate...what kidlet doesn't love that?!...sang a song...got their certificates...and then they were outta there! 

She and I decided to really celebrate and go out to eat.  I asked her where she wanted to go for lunch (we rarely do this) and gave her some choices:  Chinese (we're having that tomorrow when we go to the Asian festival Downtown), pizza (Daddy's making that for dinner tonight), Mexican (kinda hinting for that...but alas, no), P*nera for soup or Chick-fil-A (ding, ding, ding we have a winner!) or as she sometimes calls it "Chick-a-lay".  Boy, was she jazzed!

And now, school's out for summer!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

This is what I got when I asked for a nice, big smile.  I expect this look from a pre-teen boy, but a 4 year-old?  Ahem.  What do we have in store for us?!

Unexpected change in plans

We had such a nice morning planned.  I had gotten us tickets to go see the symphony put on a children's concert.  A nice short performance, but enjoyable none-the-less.  Too bad my e-mail's spam filter intercepted the message, telling me that the concert had been moved up an hour.  Soooo, after arriving at the hall at the originally scheduled time, we realized that we were going to have an unexpected change in plans!

J, always the quick thinker, suggested going to walk in the park across the street.  Brilliant!!  While it had been drizzly, thankfully the rain had subsided enough so we could get out and enjoy this picturesque place. 

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but neither J nor I have ever explored here...so it was new to all 3 of us!  There are lots of "green" spaces around our city, but this is the only one (that I'm aware of) that has the feel of a London park (Regents Park, St. James, etc.).  Beautiful!

So, even though it wasn't quite what we had expected, the morning ended up being lovely...and the rain/thunderstorms held off until we were home--safe and dry!