THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - August Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
I’m running behind!! I haven’t had a chance to write this yet because we’ve been full of visitors! Life has been really busy and full of summertime fun - as it should be! I love that we’ve been enjoying our summer to the max and I really do feel like we’ve been making the most of it. The weather has been hot, hot, hot and sunny every day in Toronto. It never rains and it’s very humid and like 30° every day. I feel grateful that our house has air conditioning (our first place that ever has!) but still try to take advantage of being outside as much as possible.
July’s adventures began with Canada Day. I took a fun yoga class in the park and we went to the fireworks at night (Archie’s first time, but he was pretty scared of them). Hopefully he’ll be more into it by next year.
There were plenty of great friend hangouts this month, with kids and without!
The Toronto Fringe Festival happened and I went into full Fringe mode!! I saw a total of ten different Fringe shows and many of them were extremely good. The quality of the shows on average at the TO Fringe was pretty impressive, however the Edmonton Fringe is still the best overall, with the most amazing Fringe grounds. I liked how the Vancouver Fringe keeps all of the venues in one small, contained area. Montreal Fringe is pretty similar to Toronto’s, except with tons of French shows. We took Archie to his third Fringe - he has attended a Fringe performance every year of his life!
Shows to see if they come to the Fringe in your city:
Night Feed
The Huns
Boy Falls from the Sky: Jake Epstein Live
We watched the latest season of Stranger Things and a Scoops Ahoy opened in Toronto! So of course we went and ate special show-themed treats! (Netflix opened two Scoops Ahoy locations; one in Toronto and one in California.)
We had a zoo day with the kids! Archie loves hanging out with his little BFFs Brayden and Cole.
We had a Girls Night without the kids too! We went to a really fun Hawaiian restaurant! Followed by a walk to the best ice cream place!
Lianna was in town from Vancouver so we spent an afternoon having a visit with her in Oakville.
Pool hangs at Melanie’s house!
I was very excited to go see the musical Dear Evan Hansen. I loved it!!
And then we were off to Muskoka to the family cottage for five days! We had a really incredible time with the whole Golem crew and Archie especially loved the time that he got to spend with all of his cousins. We played in the lake and in the pool a lot. Plus I’m always happy to have the chance to enjoy my favourite water activity: standup paddleboarding. I felt pretty relaxed! This was our longest “summer vacation” for this summer.
And of course there was yoga. I basically teach a preschool yoga class for all of the kids now, ha ha.
This is another friendly reminder that you should definitely come to visit us in Toronto! Toronto is a big and exciting city with tons to see and do! We have a really nice guest room waiting for you and I enjoy loading it all up with special goodies for you!
Sarah and Shane came over and took advantage!!
It was wonderful to have Sarah in town and Enobong and Ian also came to town from Collingwood and we all had yet another zoo day!
I loved finally getting to meet baby Blake AND baby Ava!! They are both such sweet and beautiful girls. ♥ Spending time with babies really reminds me of how much I don’t want another baby. I love my friends’ babies, but I really don’t think that I would enjoy to have another one of my own. Maybe this will change? But I think that it’s less and less likely. The more time that passes, the less likely that it is.
More fun with the ABC crew!
Next my parents came to visit from Regina! This was their first visit to our place in Toronto since we moved here and they stayed for a week. It was great! We got up to so many different things! My mom and I went to a taping of Cityline on CityTV, which was super fun! It airs TOMORROW morning (Wednesday), so set your PVRs! You’ll see us in the audience for sure!
It was a jam-packed month! I loved all of the lake time and quality time with family and friends. ♥
Now that things are simmering down a bit, I’m looking forward to getting back into my regular yoga practice. I haven’t been able to go for the past few weeks with all of the things that have been going on. My body needs yoga movement!!
Life with Archie:
Archie is now two and a half years old!
For a boy who was late to walking and talking... All I get now is comments about how loud and chatty he is and how much he runs around like a tornado. I absolutely love his big, beautiful spirit and never want him to change!
He has recently started saying “I love you” to me, which is basically the best thing ever. He knows the entire alphabet and can count to ten.
I can do a manbun in his hair now, which is an exciting development!
He’s still amazing at trying new things and still eats just about anything that we put in front of him. He’s our little “try guy.”
Archie loved spending time at the cottage so much and he loves his cousins.
Archie has gotten really comfortable and confident with swimming! He swims around in deep water (with water wings on) like it’s no big deal at all. He also loves swimming with his face under the water, which is great to know that he understands how to hold his breath.
Archie had SO MUCH FUN with all of his friends this month!! He really loves making friends and being with his friends so much. He’s just really friendly naturally and is an all-around good time guy!
And then it was August! Already!
My parents are at our place for the beginning part of the month and among other things, we’re going to see the stage musical Come From Away with them. I am so excited to see it! I love live theatre! Tim is also going to take an extra day off for the long weekend and we’re going to go to Centreville (a little amusement park) on Centre Island.
Crystal is coming to town from Oxbow and I’m looking forward to getting to see her!
We’re taking Archie to Day Out with Thomas, where they have a life-size working replica of Thomas the Tank Engine and he’ll get to ride him. Thomas & Friends is easily Archie’s favourite show, so I’m sure that he’ll love it!
Then Tim is taking an entire week off later in August and we’re planning to go to Canada’s Wonderland. We’re also driving up to Tobermory (a harbour village on the Bruce Peninsula) and staying there for two nights in a little beach-front motel. It’s a 3.5 hour drive away and I secretly hope that it’ll be just like Vancouver Island. Or at least something like it. Maybe? (I have never been before but Tim has.) In any case, I’m really looking forward to it.
THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:
August 3rd is Zena Domanski’s 68th birthday!
It’s my mom! And she’s 68 years young! And she’s celebrating her birthday with me this year! My mom has shown me that there’s no reason to ever slow down, regardless of how much older you get. My mom is still adventurous and willing to try new things and I hope to be exactly the same at her age! I LOVE MY MOM!!! ♥
August 5th is Krystie Coutu’s 7th wedding anniversary!
I hope that Trevor spoiled you on your day, although it sounds like you were the one doing the spoiling by going to Rob Zombie, ha ha! Where did you end up having dinner?! So glad that you guys got to share some fun celebrations!
August 5th is Sarah Turnbull’s 2nd wedding anniversary!
You and Shane have been through a lot in two short years. You both certainly have reason to celebrate because you guys keep crushing it together, no matter the adversity.
August 8th is Lacey Suttie’s 10th wedding anniversary!
10 years is such an incredible milestone!! I can’t wait to see pictures from your vow renewal and I already know that it was special and magical. I wish that I could’ve been there! You and Dallas are the best!
August 15th is Enobong Anstey’s 4th wedding anniversary!
Wishing you and Ian a romantic day and hopefully a kid-free celebration!
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