The Joy of Summer

What I've enjoyed the most this summer is definitely going to the beach and getting to spend a lot of time with family.

The Lovebirds, Mom&Dad.

Having my family from Norway and Finland come visit us was a lot of fun. Of course we also had a couple of arguments, that's inevitable when you have family come stay with you for two weeks in a row. But I don't find arguments to be a bad thing, as long as you solve them in the end. Arguments teach us things about ourselves. Each one of us learns where we still have room for personal growth. Nothing helps us grow and mature as much as human relationships do. Relationships are difficult because they challenge us to become better people every year.

Once I heard a pastor say: "God sees that we need to grow so he gives us a husband/wife. If that's not enough he gives us a baby, and if that's not enough he gives us one more baby." LOL. Yep, few things will make you grow more spiritually and mentally than close human relationships. :)

Another thing I'm enjoying this summer is the beautiful gifts we got for our Renewal of Vows. My stepson gave us a nice candle and my brother and his girlfriend gave us some encouragement to hang on the wall. "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." So true! :)

My summer obsession: Watermelon lemonade. I can't get enough of this drink!

One of my favorite summer memories: Spending many hours in the sun with family at Cobourg Beach.

The Summer bummer:

Nr. 1) The bugs. There's way too many bugs everywhere in August! Every time I try to relax outdoors the bees chase me out of my own backyard! I'm so happy that they have a very short lifespan.

Nr. 2) The rain. This summer has been much more rainy than the average Canadian summer. One minute you're enjoying a nice day at the beach and the next moment dark clouds roll in and you're forced to run towards the parking lot as the rain starts pouring down. When my Scandinavian family came to visit we went to Wasaga Beach and got about one hour of nice weather before we had to run to the car. The upside of a rainy summer is that you appreciate the warm and sunny days even more. When it's weekend and happens to be sunny you scratch all your plans, pack the car full of beach toys and head to the beach. It's called "summer priorities".

The rainy spring and summer has also led to Lake Ontario being flooded. The waterfront of Lake Ontario looks quite messy at certain places.

Canada Day

On Friday night I got all dressed up for another birthday party in the family.

Saturday was Canada Day and not just any Canada Day, it was Canada's 150th birthday!

We celebrated Canada's birthday by hanging out by the Harbourfront center in Toronto.

The giant rubber duckie was one of the most popular sights during Canada Day.

My Canada Day outfit. I should probably have worn something red and white for Canada Day, but I don't own a single piece of red clothing. Bright red is not my favorite color, but next summer I want to buy a red dress so that I can dress for the occasion on Canada Day.

I celebrated Canada Day with a slice of Saskatoon berry pie, but my favorite part of the day was the fireworks. The fireworks by the CN Tower was the most beautiful fireworks I have ever seen in my life! Well done Toronto!

On Sunday we took our first trip to Wasaga Beach this summer. I went swimming a couple of times and the water at Wasaga Beach was about 20 times warmer than in Cobourg. The water is always colder in Lake Ontario than it is in Lake Huron for some reason.

It isn't properly summer before you visit Wasaga Beach every year!

Sand in my flip-flops = a sign of summer!

I treated myself to a beavertail at Wasaga Beach. I had the Avalanche with cheesecake icing and Skor candy, it tasted amazing! I'm very grateful for how the weekend turned out, they had promised a lot of rain but in the end we only got a couple of hours of rain in total. It's July, my favorite month of the year, so I better appreciate every minute of it! :)

My Weekend Plans

This weekend I'm hoping I will be able to take another trip to the beach on either Saturday or Sunday. Last weekend was warm and wonderful and I spent most of my Sunday at Wasaga Beach. This Friday my husband and I have offered to babysit the cutest little baby boy we know, it's going to be a lot of fun! :)

I plan to treat myself to at least one iced latte this weekend. During the summer you can never have too many iced lattes if you ask me. :)

I'm also planning to have a date night with my favorite guy in the world on Saturday.

In case it becomes a rainy weekend I'm planning to lay in bed and read one of my favorite books right now: "The Good and Beautiful Life" by James Bryan Smith. This book really challenges me to keep growing with chapters like: "Learning to Live Without Worry" and "Learning to Live Without Judging Others".

I'm also hoping I will get the chance to enjoy at least one beautiful sunset during the weekend. This picture is from Sunday evening at Wasaga Beach last week. I'm wishing you all a fun and relaxing weekend! :)

Labour Day Weekend

We were blessed with a very hot Labour Day weekend this year, with +33 degrees Celsius on Saturday.

I decided to enjoy one more iced latte, probably the last one for this summer, as we took another road trip to the beach.

It was hot and busy at the beach as usual, but I enjoyed swimming in the clear waters at Wasaga Beach soo much!

I'm so thankful that I get to live close to The Great Lakes, Lake Huron is so nice!

We also enjoyed spending some time downtown during the weekend. I was very happy to be back in T.O. after spending almost a month at the cottage in Scandinavia.

We enjoyed eating dinner downtown and had lattes for dessert. After a summer of anything but healthy eating I'm so ready to get back to healthier foods. I plan to eat a lot of salads for dinner during the month of September.

Toronto by night, home sweet home!

Summer Moments

 

 

 

Some of my favorite summer moments this far have been taking long morning walks along the lake, having some strawberries for a snack every day and enjoying a beautiful sunset at Wasaga Beach. I also really enjoyed our trip to New York and had a fun birthday celebration at an Italian restaurant. July is one of my favorite months of the year!