A Day at the Lake

We all woke up early Saturday morning, and Robert announced that we were heading out for the day, but would not share in the whereabouts of our outing. Robert packed up the car and 30 minutes later, we arrived at a gorgeous lake, surrounded by mountains and trees, and it brought me back to my summers spent on Three Legged Lake at my cottage, and we had such a magnificent day. Such a great area, with a large play area for kids, complete with water trampoline, inflatable climbing structures and pedal boats with slides attached available for rental. This time, we did not opt to take part in the play areas or boat rentals as it is more suited to kids a little older, but chances are good that Andrew will just love it by next summer, when I'm quite sure, he will be very confident in the water. We finished the day off with a late lunch at a great casual restaurant on the lake, which was especially a nice treat for me as I did not have to prepare a single thing for this outing.

This day was another display of the pure beauty this country boasts. It was a nice change from our frequent trips to the beach, and though Robert prefers swimming in the ocean above all, I am a lake girl at heart and just loved the feeling of swimming in the refreshing salt-free lake water. (when Robert advised Andrew there was no salt in this water, like in the ocean, he then asked if pepper hurts his eyes...thinking that if it wasn't salt water, it must therefore be pepper water!!!)

Ryan's 1st Birthday!

Although my baby has not officially turned one yet, I wanted to have a party for him here in France so that Daddy could celebrate with us as we will be in Canada for his real birthday, and will of course be celebrating once again with all the Canadian clan. I decided to keep it small, largely because we've been very busy, filling each wonderful summer day with loads activities at the beaches, pools, etc. and I had limited time to prepare for a big party. We had lots of snacks and dips and ordered in pizza for dinner. The kids had a wonderful time playing together and Andrew is still talking about the party. He was most helpful beforehand, baking the cake with me, setting up the table, putting up the decorations, and 4 hours before the guests were set to arrive, he told me that he wanted to go outside and check the parking lot to see if the friends had arrived!!! He really enjoyed "helping" Ryan blow out the candle and opening his presents. And I'm quite happy that he is now finally excited about having his own party for his birthday. So this year, will be Andrew's first party with friends invited, and he's already named about 15 friends he wants to include and I will be sure to plan it a few weeks ahead of his actual birth date so as not to interfere with everyone's Christmas engagements.

Ryan was such a happy little guy throughout the party. It's hard to believe that it's already been a whole year since I was sweltering in the August heat, awaiting his arrival. This summer has been hot, but aside from a couple weeks in July, far from the intense heat of last summer where we pretty much had the a/c running nonstop.

Robert and I would both agree that this year has been our best so far, all thanks to the two little guys that now play and laugh together often, and add such immense love and happiness to our lives.