Where to start?

I guess tardy is an understatement when it comes to explaining the lateness of this post. I will try my best to recap the past month for you all ... including pics as I can along the way...

June 30 - July 2 weekend
So the weekend after this last post was the Canada Day long weekend and we were fortunate enough to be invited up to our friend Greg's family cottage. We arrived late on Friday night and everyone was already seated around the kitchen table playing poker (shocking!). So we sat down, and I (not Seth - haha) actually got down to final 3 - of course I had no business being final 3, not even sure how it happened myself, and I was quickly outed at that point. That's okay - it was bedtime anyways.

The boys got up ridiculously early that morning to go fishing - I mean BEFORE the birds early - not sure how they did it. Liz and I were up around 8-ish and because the sun wasn't really shining, we decided to head into Trenton to hit up Old Navy for a bathing suit (for me) and some breakfast. Both objectives were met - I finally had a preggo bathing suit and our bellies were full by the time we made it back to Brighton. We stopped and picked up some sunscreen and groceries - all in prep for a lovely, sunny long weekend!

Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with our plans - and it remained pretty overcast and chilly for the rest of the weekend. I didn't get to try out my bathing suit or my chair floaty (boo!). And the word "tan" was stricken from our vocabulary. As was "fish" for the boys - they didn't do so well out there. On the upside of the weekend though - lots of yummy food, always fun Sequence competition, and rediscovering the board game "Clue" (although this version was Master Detective - impossible to find in a toy store now, as it was a limited edition, but the best version of Clue you have ever played). Good times had by all - with the exception of the drive back on Monday - that was a nightmare, took over 3 hours when should take only half that - oh well, that's the price you pay for getting out of the city for the long weekend.

July 6-8 weekend
The following weekend saw us travelling again. This time to Kingston on Friday night for a quick stopover, before continuing on to Carp (Ottawa-area) for a wedding on Saturday.

We got into Kingston quite late on Friday night and went straight to bed (staying at Sara's mom's house) - up early on Saturday morning we spent it sitting outside enjoying the sunshine on the back deck. After a yummy lunch of perch fillets, we were on our way to Carp.

The drive took us through more small towns than I could count - and it was so winding that it constantly felt like we were backtracking, but after a lovely 2-1/2 hours we finally made it! Just in time for a quick visit with Seth's parents + Nana, time for Seth to jump in the shower and for us to don our dress-up clothes. I got so lucky that friends have had to attend weddings pg before me, that I had a lovely black dress that I borrowed. The v-neck was a little more scandalous than what I'm used to showing off, but the accordion pleated skirt was adorable (and also succeeded in making me look like a bit of a house)!

The wedding was for Seth's Uncle Kenny + his (now) wife, Yvonne. It was a lovely ceremony and great reception - lots of family, everyone having a great time, hilarious speeches and shenanigans by Kenny's son, Jessie, and delicious munchies (yes, it's the food that keeps me going people). By about midnight though, I really felt like I was turning into a pumpkin, so dragged everyone home with me.

The next morning we were up early again and not feeling so great - hit the road before noon and decided to take the 'scenic' route home - Hwy 7 all the way to Peterborough. A few quick stops for fresh blueberries and a chip wagon, and we were home in a mere 5 hours - ha! That's okay - it was nicer than taking the 401 all the way and we got to stop in at Grandma Cronk's farm in Mountain Grove so I could show Seth around a bit.

The next morning I woke up with a terrible stomach flu (I know it was some kind of bug, but I still blame the wild blueberries) - I was sick for 2 days, with only ice-chips to ease my stomach issues - wasn't fun and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

July 13-15 weekend
Luckily for us, while the weddings continued, our weekend traveling didn't have to. This weekend we were attending the wedding for one of Seth's cousins - but because it was in Oshawa, we didn't have very far to drive!

Saturday morning poor Seth had to work - but I was up early too - heading up to Brooklin as our current house owners were having a big garage sale and I wanted to check it out (and drop off the cheque for the leather couch we were buying from them). I picked up Greg & Liz on the way and we were there by 10-ish, but unfortunately the suburbanites get up super early, so practically everything had already been sold. Oh well - we got the leather couch and that was clearly the best item up for grabs! Although would've been nice to snag the chiminea (sp? little outdoor fireplace thing) for $10 before one of the neighbours did - oh well.

Then Saturday afternoon it was off to Oshawa for the wedding - another beautiful ceremony and we got to see a few friends from high school that we hadn't seen in a very long time. The reception was a few hours later at a nearby hall - delicious food (and LOTS of it!) and open bar (how unfair that I had to be pg through that!) ... all in all a great night and looks like they will be a very happy couple.

The Sunday after the wedding, we headed back into Oshawa to have breakfast with Seth's parents, took them on a tour of Brooklin (since we were so close by) and then ended up doing a bunch of furniture shopping in Whitby. Seth had his heart set on a king size bed, but I've brought him back down to the reality of budgets and basic room size.

July 20-22 weekend
This next weekend we had kept open as we knew after 3 weeks of planned weekend, we needed one just to recuperate. Seth had a baseball tournament, but also had to work the Sat morning, so he wasn't able to attend all of the games. Instead we headed out furniture shopping (again!) - trying to see if we could find any better deals at the outlets. Not sure if you've shopped for bedroom furniture lately, but unless you're willing to drop a bucketload of cash, you cannot find very many bedroom sets that are even reasonable in the price/quality continuum.

After getting no where pretty quickly, we headed home for the night - renting a couple of movies and getting some munchies to have a quiet night in. Seth decided to take a 'nap' when we got home (5pm) and ended up sleeping until 11pm - I actually woke him up by getting into bed to go to sleep for the night. Needless to say, he was up super early Sunday morning, but that was okay as we had to get up early for his 9am baseball game (last game of the tournament) - grabbed some breakfast and headed down to the field. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur - I don't think we did much of anything (I may have packed a bit).

July 27-29 weekend
Our last (planned) travel of the summer - we were heading out on Saturday morning to my Dad's cottage (just north of Kingston).

We did have plans to go out on Friday night with Ryan, who was in from Ottawa for the weekend, but unfortunately I got the call that evening the my Grandma Cronk had passed away - it was a bit of a surprise, even though she was 90, so wasn't really in the socializing mood that night.

Saturday morning we headed out and hit some crazy traffic and it ended up taking us over 3 hours to get there - not fun. It was great when we finally got there though - there was all sorts of family that I hadn't seen in a long time, we got to go out on the boat for a tour around the lake and again, there was all sorts of yummy food! And they all decided to surprise us with a mountain of presents for little baby V - a TONNE of newborn outfits, some blankets (one homemade quilt that is so sweet), a baby bath and some other diapers + wipes and goodies. Really, we got spoiled - it was so nice, but I almost started blubbering like an idiot (pg hormones strike again!) ... managed not to embarrass myself too much I think.

Sunday morning we were all up pretty early and had a light breakfast before heading out in the boat for some light fishing - Seth finally broke his unlucky streak and caught two small-mouth bass - although sadly one of the fish swallowed his lure and ended up dead - poor guy. We were back on the road by 1pm as Seth had two baseball games back-to-back starting at 5 - we didn't have time to go home, so I had the chance to sit and watch some baseball, relaxing in the shade.

Aug 3-5 weekend
For what is normally the long weekend for most folks, is just a regular weekend for me, as I don't get Monday off (Civic holiday isn't a stat holiday) ... yes that makes me a little bitter, but also means that we don't have to fight traffic on the Monday back from whatever cottage we would have been at.

Instead we had a quiet night on Friday, and headed out on Saturday morning to do some more furniture shopping (have we finally made a decision yet, you ask? Well, yes we have - and proud to say that we are going to get close to 40% off the total price - that's what shopping around, and connections, gets you!). We also hit Costco to get our membership cards activated (we're now officially suburbanites, before we move even!) + then we headed over to a friend's new house on the east side of the city. They've downgraded in mortgage value, but upgraded from a house perspective - it's crazy what a few kilometres outside of the city will get you in added value - just nutz.

After the grand house tour (including raiding their backyard blackberry bush for some treats - yes, they have a blackberry bush in their backyard - so jealous), we headed around the corner to another friend's house for a Sat night bbq. It was nice just sitting around, shooting the shit for several hours, and the food - well, let's just say, I've been spoiled for food this summer. Banana & cherry chocolate burritos were served for desert if that gives you any idea.

Sunday was spent cleaning (for Seth) and packing (for me). I would say we now have about 80% of our non-essential items packed - just a bit more to go, and we're ready for the movers in a few weeks.

This week we meet with the lawyer to sign all the paperwork (and hand over the certified cheques), and in a week and a half the house is ours! I can't believe we're finally getting to this point. House poor, but happy - feels like we've been waiting for this forever.

Well, that was a short novel - I promise I won't leave it so long again in the future. Have a good week everyone - I'll leave you with a pic of my belly (a few week's ago, when I was 28 wks - I'm even bigger now I think) ... love to you all.

S&S