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."

Thank You May. You Have Brought Joy.

Last week the other parents picking up their kids from school were wearing winter coats and boots. Those like me (who are stubborn and refuse to wear winter coats in May) shivered looking for patches of sunlight to stand in.

Today we were ALL in summer skimpies (classy of course) and desperately looking for patches of shade.

It's Fabulous!

The May long weekend just passed.

It gave us a chance to breathe, barbecue, set up the back deck and spend enough time together to actually get a little sick of each other.

I'd forgotten what it was like to see The Hubby too much. I kinda like it.

The Kiddos decorated every outdoor surface in chalk. Dipped in water to give a bolder effect of course. (Also more challenging to wash off. FYI.)

We chomped on burgers and chugged lime fizzy "drinks". We all got a little sun burnt and wished that there was another 24 hours to the day just so we could pack in more living.

Household chores were neglected. All business work was set aside. Our little world revolved around the back deck and finding a "new" beach for a Prince and Princess to explore.

That became more of a trip than we bargained for.

At first it was a leisurely adventure.

We found the Scarborough Bluffs. And yes I have lived 20 minutes away my entire life and have never seen the beauty those cliffs exude. Magnificent. Truly.

But cliff-ish areas are not ideal for a Prince who thinks that he is part gecko, part spiderman with the way he climbs and leaps.

When we finally found the entry to the beach... a couple of hundred feet below, it was closed off.

Apparently everyone else had the same awesome idea we had.

Hours later we found "new" beach in a conservation area the opposite direction. The Munchkins were thrilled and didn't seem to notice the brutal humidity and the flies eating Mommy and the fact that the beach was a small rocky/sandy area along a slow moving stream.

They were in their element.

May is going out with a BANG.

I am single-parenting for the next 11 days while The Hubby plays some amazing shows out West.

I am thinking that that little neon green ten dollar blow up pool might just save my ass.

Speaking of ass. I thought I'd leave you with one. ;)