Celebrating Brent

As a family we decided that when our children turn ten years old, we'll no longer have a birthday party with their friends, but instead they will get to spend some special time with Mom and Dad, just them, no other siblings, doing what they would like to do.

Since we were in Nova Scotia on Brent's actual birthday (August 29) he has been (very patiently) waiting for his special day. We were finally able to squeeze it into our schedule on Friday!

Brent loves golf, so Mark, being the great party planner that he is, (have I told you the story of my mom's 65th?!) suggested we go to the glow in the dark mini-putt in Ottawa. Turns out, they were having a special tournament for CHEO, so Brent was allowed to renege on his promise to go easy on us, to see if he would qualify for the playoffs. The helpful lady at the front desk snatched our score card (to enter in the contest) before we could total the score, so we're not really sure who won. But we know it was pretty close, and we had a lot of fun. I'm pretty sure my score of 8 on one of the holes put me out of the running!

After that it was off to The Works for dinner. CLICK HERE to see their website. A super great place for fantastic burgers. With 67 toppings and 469 combinations, there is a burger to fit every palate.

Brent had the San Fransico Treat with Kraft Dinner and cheese (ON the burger, not as a side).
Mark had the Malibou Meltdown - beef burger topped with a crunchy onion ring, beechhouse sauce and 3 cheeses: havarti, gouda & brie.
I tried treat my heart a little more kindly, and had the Pesto Pizzazz: pesto glaze, chopped sundried tomatoes, black olives & brie cheese on a turkey burger.

Oh, and did I mention their spicy die-cut chips are AMAZING!!!!!

The waiter says that dessert is a very low selling item on their menu!

Thanks Brent for turning 10, and picking such a great place for dinner! It's a real joy to spend time with you, and we look forward to many more "special" days.

(Sorry no pictures were taken of this spectacular event)

Uh, Oh!

Not only have I not posted in a while (what else is new? Well, I did change my blog template a while ago...still not completely satisfied...) but I have discovered yet another whole realm in photoshop: textures and filters. Here's a sample what has been keeping me away from cooking and cleaning lately.

Here is the original photo...Shannon having a blast in the PEI waves:



And here is one I've tweaked...just a little...turning the photo into art. FUN!

Day 17 - The beginning of the end

Today we began the trip home. This morning we still didn't know how far we wanted to drive, part of me wants to just get home, part of me wants to drag it out as long as possible. We ended up stopping in Edmunston at Riverside Iroquois RV park. A good place for overnight camping, listening to the sounds of trucks in the distance (miss the ocean waves already) Just another 8 hours and we should be home. The kids have been amazing. It's been so fun spending so much leisure time with them. I love how Brent always wants to hold a hand when walking; Devin is always trying to make us laugh, and Shannon is the one that discovers the neat stone, or flower, or shell.