Well, I am going to try and get a lot of blogs in over the next couple of weeks before Dave takes over the blogging role for the summer. This is the third this week? Not bad. Maybe I'll even squeeze another one in tomorrow.
SO, every year that Dave has been teaching, we have our own little, “summer is coming” picnic at Mooney Bay Beach. It’s always some beautiful afternoon in June. I spend the afternoon packing up a supper and a huge bag of beach necessities. The kids and I pick up Dave right at 4, and enjoy our visit to the bay as a family. It’s always an exciting time, as we know that several more visits will be in store shortly.
SO, every year that Dave has been teaching, we have our own little, “summer is coming” picnic at Mooney Bay Beach. It’s always some beautiful afternoon in June. I spend the afternoon packing up a supper and a huge bag of beach necessities. The kids and I pick up Dave right at 4, and enjoy our visit to the bay as a family. It’s always an exciting time, as we know that several more visits will be in store shortly.
yesterday seemed like a good day to do it. I’ve been feeling a bit down the past couple
of days, and with a forecast full of RAIN next week, yesterday was the day. Each year the packing takes a bit longer with more kids,
hungrier mouths, and increased mobility.
But I got everything packed and ready to go and we were on our way by 4:30.
Fifteen minutes later, when we got close to the beach, we realized some major event was going on. Shoot. My friend told me a few weeks ago that the weekends are crazy busy IF there is an event going on, and always to check it out. We drove into the parking lot to discover it blocked off by a cop, who informed us the dragon boat race weekend was happening. Nobody was allowed in to park unless you had a special pre purchased pass. He directed us to the closest parking. Well, the closest parking was a few kms away. With the 3 kids, 3 bags, and NO stroller. We figured that this walk would be too challenging for everyone in the heat, PLUS the beach was insanely busy. Dave took charge and said we should just hit up another beach near our old stomping grounds on Carling. Brittania is the name. I agreed, and we hoped that the traffic would be bearable to get up into town and across the highway.
Well, what should have been a 15 minute drive, took over an HOUR! The traffic was slow moving at 5, and the kids were so sad. "BEACH! GO!" Janna kept hollering. Jesse was whining, " I just really want to be at the beach now" I was probably in the most despair, as I imagined Robyn needing her bed by the time we got there, or the beach being NO good. We hadn't ever been to this beach before. Dave kept up the positive energy in the car, and we were SO happy to finally arrive. The crazy thing is, this beach is only actually about 10 minutes away from our house. But it's in the opposite direction than the other beach, and so we sort of did a loop-d'Ottawa to get there.
It was a beautiful area! The kids had a blast. Jesse actually ventured all the way to his WAIST in the water on his own having a blast, where last year he just wanted to do sand castles on the shore line. Janna went all the way in with Dave, and had SO much fun. Splashing him and climbing and kicking her feet. Robyn and I watched most of the action by the edge of the water. She was sort of neutral about the waves lapping around her lower half, but VERY interested in the water. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it, and would occasionally reach down and try and scoop it up. Everyone had a great time, and it was worth the hour plus in traffic! We got home and got all the kids in bed just in time for my friend Kim to come by. She hung out while Dave and I got out for a date. What a great Friday!
Fifteen minutes later, when we got close to the beach, we realized some major event was going on. Shoot. My friend told me a few weeks ago that the weekends are crazy busy IF there is an event going on, and always to check it out. We drove into the parking lot to discover it blocked off by a cop, who informed us the dragon boat race weekend was happening. Nobody was allowed in to park unless you had a special pre purchased pass. He directed us to the closest parking. Well, the closest parking was a few kms away. With the 3 kids, 3 bags, and NO stroller. We figured that this walk would be too challenging for everyone in the heat, PLUS the beach was insanely busy. Dave took charge and said we should just hit up another beach near our old stomping grounds on Carling. Brittania is the name. I agreed, and we hoped that the traffic would be bearable to get up into town and across the highway.
Well, what should have been a 15 minute drive, took over an HOUR! The traffic was slow moving at 5, and the kids were so sad. "BEACH! GO!" Janna kept hollering. Jesse was whining, " I just really want to be at the beach now" I was probably in the most despair, as I imagined Robyn needing her bed by the time we got there, or the beach being NO good. We hadn't ever been to this beach before. Dave kept up the positive energy in the car, and we were SO happy to finally arrive. The crazy thing is, this beach is only actually about 10 minutes away from our house. But it's in the opposite direction than the other beach, and so we sort of did a loop-d'Ottawa to get there.
It was a beautiful area! The kids had a blast. Jesse actually ventured all the way to his WAIST in the water on his own having a blast, where last year he just wanted to do sand castles on the shore line. Janna went all the way in with Dave, and had SO much fun. Splashing him and climbing and kicking her feet. Robyn and I watched most of the action by the edge of the water. She was sort of neutral about the waves lapping around her lower half, but VERY interested in the water. She couldn't keep her eyes off of it, and would occasionally reach down and try and scoop it up. Everyone had a great time, and it was worth the hour plus in traffic! We got home and got all the kids in bed just in time for my friend Kim to come by. She hung out while Dave and I got out for a date. What a great Friday!
Following on the theme of comparing photos from Jesse’s last
4 years, I will do the same today!
JUNE KICK OFF MOONEY's BAY 2010
2011
2012
2013 at Brittania Beach
all ready to go...
we made it!
testing the water
so Jesse and Janna:
watching her siblings.
all done. We'll see you again soon
Chrissy, that last picture there of you and the kids looks like you are a movie star with her kids :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your trip to Brittania, I have never gone either, but have heard it's better than Mooney's Bay.