rebecca joy

Me and my boy.

Yesterday, my sister, her kids, and some childhood "sister's" of mine made the trip to Marineland. I love Marineland. Any amusement park that boasts a kid's section that actually gets an adult's adrenaline pumping is doing a very good thing. I would even say that a few of the kids rides were legitimately more appealing than those in the adult section. I mean, how lame was that octopus? Anyways, we went for the kids. Joc and I just happened to abandon ours on occasion to ride the dragon, and the coaster :)

On that note, it was so fun to see the "kid" come out of everyone. Mine didn't need much coaxing, but I have a feeling that some had been repressed over the years, and I'm glad they got a chance to play.

The last time I've been to an amusement park with this crowd was in grade 6 or so, when the Brouwer girls took Michelle and I with them to Florida. Bush Gardens. My first ever amusement park. Marineland, obviously, can't compare to that day, but it was cool that 15 years later, we could relive those memories.

Anyways, here are some whales. A lousy photo, but proof of our daytrip.

Levi, being swarmed by "goats".

Our entourage. A lot of strollers, a lot of fun.

Joc and I, living up to the "Sky Screamers" name, and screaming our heads off.

Shannon. The baby whisperer. Morgan on a leash, double fisting some babies, and no doubt planning to capture Levi, who has managed to escape Michelle's iron grip. The day wouldn't have been the same without her :)

Me and Talaina, with co-ordinated outfits.

Jesse. Oblivious to everything but being fed-- every 2.5-3 hours. Thank goodness he can down a bottle. He might have held us up :)

Giving the old "pouty lip". Definitely gets that one from James.

And that's it for Marineland. An awesome day, that will hopefully be repeated. At least, it better, because we all paid the extra $5 for a summer pass.

But the May 24 weekend leading up to Marineland is worth mentioning. Back home in Hamilton, I discovered the Royal Botanical Gardens, and James, Jesse, Ryan and I spent our Saturday morning exploring it. Gorgeous. Later on in the day, James and I grabbed some vegetables, turned over our plot, and planted. This summer we hope to bring in beans, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, kale, zucchini, and cucumbers. Already anticipating free produce.

I also tackled the front garden of our house. Even though I hand selected the perennials for the garden last summer, I still managed to mistake some for weeds, and out they came. The result? A very empty flower bed.

I was able to snag a few replacements from Maple Leaf, and after about an hour of sweat and toil, the garden was planted. It definitely felt good to get out and get to work. Now we just need to figure out a watering system that doesn't involve a rain barrel and a couple lousy buckets. I was under the impression that we lived in the 21st century...

But anyways, the idea was also to get out of James' hair so he could get some thesis writing done. He didn't, thanks to Jesse. Speaking of which, that's us, at RBG. The rest of the weekend was packed. Crepe breaky with the house, bbq at the HAAA, bbq at Kristina's, bbq at Doug and Vanessa's-- exactly how a weekend ought to look when you are on the verge of summer.