Photo(s) of the Day September 7th

Sophie poses with the Pilot of an OPP Helicopter that landed at Family Day part way through the festivities

A member of Wellington Counties Mounted Unit poses with her horse

Sophie showing us her driving skills on an ATV

The Golden Helmets' Motorcycles wait for their riders

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Today was Family Day at the OPP Communications Centre here in London, and since police services are sort of the "family business" Chris, Sophie, I, and our nephew Brandon spent the morning and part of the afternoon taking part in the festivities. It was quite the big event, with many departments within the organization doing demonstrations and showcasing their equipment. We watched the Tactics and Rescue Unit both climb up the outside of and repel down a six-storey building, met horses and riders from the Wellington County Mounted Unit, and shared some face time with a dog from the Canine Unit. The equipment displays from each department were fascinating, and included protective gear from the Explosives Disposal Unit along with their bomb-detonating robot, Hazmat suits and breathing apparatuses from the OPP's Drug Enforcement Section, and armoured vehicles from Bruce Nuclear Power's Reaction Force. The highlight of the day for most of us was the demonstration by the Golden Helmets, the OPP's precision motorcycle team. At both high and low speeds the intricate maneuvers this team performed were impressive, and were a great way to celebrate the hard work done by so many members of the OPP family - including my husband and sister-in-law. Thanks guys!

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Photo of the Day September 6th

On our way to the gym this morning Sophie spotted one of London's popular cupcake shops and asked if we could stop there for an after-the-gym treat. Now, we often share a fruit smoothie when we're done but I think having a post-workout cupcake sort of defeats the purpose of going to the gym in the first place, so I said no. Instead I decided to use her request as inspiration for an activity we could share, and with Sophie manning the hand blender we made devils' food cake cupcakes this afternoon. While they were in the oven we sat down and drew a picture of our cupcakes, then got out the crayons and markers to decorate them with the colours Sophie wanted to make the icing for each little treat (all different, of course). Once the cupcakes were out of the oven and cooled we brought our picture to the kitchen and used it as a guide to mix the icing and food colouring. I think the end result is vibrant and lovely, and Sophie can barely contain herself... waiting until after dinner to try one is driving her crazy!

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Photo of the Day September 5th

Today was our official "errand day", and by the time it was over both Sophie and I were completely beat. We were out for almost 8 hours in total, and really needed some quiet, no-need-to-accomplish-anything time when we were done, so we went for a little walk around the neighbourhood before bed. A young boy of about three was walking ahead of us with his grandmother, and we caught up to them when they stopped in front of one of the houses on our street and started laughing. It turned out the object of their giggles was a small squirrel, little more than a baby, who was checking them out. Quite a brave little thing, he had run up to them when they walked past the house and was now following them down the sidewalk. When he saw us he bounded to where we were standing (I have to admit I had a quick National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation flashback and was prepared to bolt) and wandered around us for a bit before heading up the front steps of the home and watching us head down the street. Its rather bold nature makes me think it must have been raised by the people in that home, or at least hand-fed from when it was a tiny thing... I hope it stays safe out and about, despite its rather domesticated nature.

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Photo of the Day September 4th

I took Sophie for a walk this evening before dinner, just as the sun was starting to lower in the sky. It's a beautiful time of day to be out; the temperature is just right and we enjoyed the sun casting a golden sheen over everything, not to mention the sounds of people coming home from work and greeting their loved ones. I was shocked however to notice several trees in our neighbourhood whose leaves have started to change already - some have even fallen. I think we'll look back on this year as "the summer that never was". We ended up at Tecumseh so Sophie could run, climb and slide in the playground for an hour before heading back home to make quesadillas for dinner. It was a great way to end out day and, as I suspected, play time at the park wore her right out - she was asleep within 5 minutes of "lights out".

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Photo of the Day September 3rd

As a stay-at-home-mom I spend a lot of creative energy coming up with games and crafts to do with Sophie and our little friends Rhys and Rowan, but I'm still surprised sometimes by the ideas that pop up when I least expect it. When Rowan's daddy came by to pick him up today we were in the midst of some creative Play-Doh time, and Rowan pointed out that the colour of Play-Doh Sophie was working with (black) matched our cat George... hadn't really thought about that before, but it inspired me to make a little mini-George for Sophie to play with this evening. I made the cat itself and Sophie made a little bed, blanket and food bowl for it, which lead to about 45 minutes of non-stop story telling about this little cats day. It's funny to see where an off-the-cuff comment can lead!

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Photo of the Day September 2nd

I absolutely love having Sophie help out in the kitchen while we're making dinner... it gives her a greater appreciation for what goes in to making the food we serve, and I'm hoping that it will encourage her to have a broad focus when it comes to the foods she eats. Like most kids she has strong affection for Kraft Dinner, Disney character shaped soup from a can and peanut butter, but she's just as likely to ask for sunflower seeds, hummus or slices of red pepper for snacks so I think she's got a leg up on some four-year-olds. Today we're making Broccoli Cheese soup with some veggies and cheese we bought at the market on Saturday, and I've decided to teach her more of the ins and outs of food prep. She's an expert at washing veggies in the colander (which often looks like playing with veggies in the colander - but whatever) and now we're talking about which veggies you peel and which you don't, complete with a convenient excuse to peel carrots. Once she understood the method she got a kick out of showing me how fast she could help me peel them - it reminds me of the fun she has using the salad spinner to dry lettuce - the faster she goes the more she giggles!

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Photo of the Day September 1st

Sophie's new "snack bag", which matches her back-to-school backpack.

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So here we are in September... my first "back-to-school" September to be specific. Whenever this month rolled around in the past I would think of it as the unofficial start of fall, the month of Chris's birthday, the Western Fair, the grape harvest at local vineyards and the Wine Festival in Niagara. But September has taken on a whole new meaning this year, with Sophie entering JK in just under two weeks... aside from working out our new routine, there's been the purchase of a new backpack, stocking up on reusable snack containers (Tecumseh is an EcoSchool, so we'll be sending only "litterless" snacks), and shopping for shoes that don't have laces so she can do them up herself. Sophie's so excited, and I'm sure we'll all do well with the transition to her "school-age" years... despite my sense of shock over it having arrived already!

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