Successful Surviving.

Summer has arrived in blazing glory.

This past Saturday I soaked it up with my Parents and Kiddos.

I stayed out on till the wee hours with "My Ladies" and then went to pick up some giddy Munchkins from Noe and Popops after a Pilate's class that felt more like boot camp.

Sitting at my my Parents kitchen table I felt like I was ten again.

Eating breakfast sausages and pancakes with the breeze blowing in through the open back door... the only thing that added fifteen years was my children yelling for more soy milk!

To keep the annual tradition alive we headed down to the Artfest put on by the City of Pickering the last weekend in May.

There were jewellery vendors galore, wood carving and paintings and a gory eyeball exhibit for those who fancied it.

It was lovely.

This artist was wonderful to chat with. he was delighted to gab about the flow and fluidity of water and foliage and truly captured the beauty of our beach in a way I haven't seen locally.

While The Princess slept, The Prince went off crafting with Popops. I found them creating a masterpiece with paintbrushes and sparkles. It was such a masterpiece that I am still trying to sweep the sparkles off my floor. Sparkles:1 Me:0

Every year I am in awe of my childhood home.

The fragrance of the garden stays the same.

The sticky heat the settles in the upstairs family room is the same.

The cool and soft light room in the living room is the same.

And my Mom nagging my Dad to finish up his jobs around the house is the same.

It's a constant in my life.

To beat the heat we "swam" in our blow up pool (that we damaged almost immediately.) And right after they posed so fabulously The Princess pinched The Prince and he doused her with a bucket.

The Kiddos wore "new" costumes love a neighbour/friend whose son had saved them.

The Prince refused to take off his giant muscle power ranger outfit until I convinced him that heat stroke was imminent. (It sounded more like: "Take that off NOW or I'll put it away for a week!)

The Princess was a Ninga Turtle. Cutest damn butt-kicking turtle there ever was.

On any given summer day this is what you'll find on our little corner of the boulevard.

Fences serve no purpose around here. We are one giant front lawn.

And again courtesy of our loving neighbours... Who doesn't adore playing with a nativity scene on May 29th. I know I had fun.

The Princess was put to work for a good while hauling sod from a new garden to the trailer.

She slept that night.

So did The Prince.

But most importantly. I got a full 7 hours of rest.

I call this "Successful Surviving."