Lynda and Eddy's Wedding Part 1

Part One - the Preparations.
So much to do to get ready to host a wedding at your house.  The gardens, the food, the decorations, the tent, the table settings, the spare bedrooms, the wedding cake, everything takes time and time and time.  Lynda and Eddy took care of the wedding part of things, the minister, the photographer, caterers, music etc. (Lynda even made her own wedding cake!!) and my parents worked hard to get everything ready at the house. It paid off beautifully.  By Saturday, everything looked spectacular. We all helped out as much as we could.  Grace would not tolerate a whole lot of me running around but I did get in a few good nights of decorating maple syrup bottles, putting together centre pieces for the tables, painting, etc.  Everything for this wedding was made by family, which gave it a nice feel, including the candle holders, the bouquets, all the decorations, the centre pieces, the maple syrup gifts, the dinner, everything.  The rain we've had this spring and summer did not help with the preparations however.  Because it was so wet down by the pond, my dad built a platform overlooking the water with a pergola on top.  He also built benches for all the guests to sit on since chairs would have sunk two feet into the ground it was so soft.  He added a flagstone walkway from the steps to the pond for Lynda to "walk down the aisle."  Here is part one, the "Before shots".  More to come (including the actual wedding!!) over the next couple of days.   

Grace using an allan key to assemble the table.  She's even smarter than I realized!!!!

Fixing Carolyn's hair, a favourite pastime of Grace's

One salt and one pepper on each table A!!!!

Grace, always trying to help out...

Daisy, taking in all the commotion

ICE CREAM BREAK!!!!!

Even the guests had to help out!

We need how many of these things carried into the tent???

Not everyone was hard at work.......

Building benches

Choosing flowers for the tables

S. doing jobs he never thought he'd have to do.....

Just two cousins chillin' together!

Visiting Great Great Aunt Mary

Grace and I had the pleasure and honour of visiting with my great aunt Mary this week in Toronto.  We took my aunt Anne and my mom and met up with some of their cousins and Aunt Mary at Swiss Chalet.  It was a stinking hot day and the hour long drive in an air conditioned car was a nice reprieve.  Mary was delighted I think to meet Grace and we had a great little visit.  Mary turned 95 this year and as you can see is still going strong!

Get that tongue in there Grace!!! What a little monkey!

Grace really liked Patsy's dog until she did this.....

Ending our day with coffee at Aunt Anne's house

Wasaga Time!

Grace and I have been busy the past few days enjoying some summer fun at a friend's cottage.  It had finally stopped raining and we headed north to my friend and colleague Deb's cottage at Wasaga Beach.  A third friend joined us as well with her two kids.  Deb and her girls were such great hosts, making us feel welcome from the moment we arrived.
The sun had finally come out after days and days of rain and while it felt warm and cosy up at the cottage it was a little chilly down at the beach! The winds were strong and the waves were stronger.  That didn't stop my girl from forcing me into the water the minute we arrived.  
I can assume this was Grace's first time ever touching a sandy beach and splashing in the waves.  It made all three moms a little emotional watching her for her first time, not just because it was her first time to experience the beach, but because had Grace and I not been brought together through adoption, Grace might never have had an opportunity to touch the soft sand with her toes, to feel waves rush over her feet.  From the photos I think you'll agree, she liked it, and sometimes it's overwhelming to me to think of all the things she might have missed had we not become our little family of two.


ps.  Grace slept better at the cottage than she ever sleeps at home, full night and a long nap.  I mentioned to Deb that I might need to move in!!!!!
pps.  I've only included a few photos of out cottage good times.  Will post more later of the whole group if the moms are ok with it

Before heading up to the cottage, we had a lovely get together with good friends, former colleagues of mine.  Here's Grace showing Emily how to make bubbles!

Some night time visitors to the cottage.  A pair of baby raccoons found the empty chip bag we forgot in the wagon!

"I like this place Mommy!  Can we stay here forever?!?!"

Busy, busy busy!

My girl does love to eat!  Nothing like having a bowl of scrambled eggs on your lap and a cookie in each hand!

Nose kisses 

Making Lemonade

My little sweetie turned 23 months old yesterday.  We never even made it off the driveway, but during a VERY brief break in the rain yesterday, Grace showed her mama how to make lemonade out of lemons!!!!

Busy Times....

I have quite a few posts I've been working on lately, many of them only half written or waiting for me to have time to add photos, all of them unfinished as a result of my very busy almost two year old!!!  I will get to them as quickly as I can as there are some funny Grace moments I would love to share with folks and some precious photos of Grace and her cousins.  We've had lots of family events lately including nephew K's baptism (photos in a separate post, just scroll down), nephew S's graduation from university, several birthdays and this weekend past I hosted a wedding shower for my sister L. I worked hard to get my gardens presentable (not an easy task with all this rain and a "helpful" almost two year old!!!) hoping we could enjoy a beautiful garden party on Sunday.  Alas, the rain came again. And again, and again and again.  Some brave cousins and aunts ventured outside for brief moments but for the most part we were stuck inside, a disappointment to me but no one else seemed to mind too much.  Good food and good conversation and it was nice to catch up with so many family.  

Grace enjoyed "handing" her aunt the gifts by throwing them at her!!!!

My girl stuffing her face with chips.  It was her first time trying them and she kinda liked them!!!

Teaching Aunt Anna how to play the piano

"Didn't you leave any to share with me???"

All three cousins getting a ride in my backyard

Grace likes to do things in unconventional ways.  She always pushes the wagon instead of pulling it.  Who knows why?!?

K's Baptism

We celebrated the latest baptism in our family last weekend.  Here are the photos.

Even in your good dress, you still gotta ride your horse a little!

And chase bubbles...

And walk Baby...