Well I think it is appropriate to officially say goodbye to my favourite season {summer} seeing that is the first weekend of fall, my second favourite season. The season, more so than spring, that is the season of renewal and fresh starts. Perhaps its because of school getting back in gear or maybe its because hockey season revs its engines again….or it can be suggestive that pumpkin spice lattes give the people the rejuvenation they have craved since last fall. But summer, even though you had your moments, you still give me the respite and relaxation I need every year. There is so much to be said about sunshine being good for the soul.
So in order to fully let go of this season of solstice I must pay respects to the wonderful memories, experiences and products that enriched my day grind.
As soon as that school bell rang {and I thanked the Gods} I got the heck out of dodge. Hubby, Little Man, The Dude and I drove direct to my childhood summer home-away-from-home, Muskoka. I had a plan…a big plan for my summer agenda but the first activity on my list? A nap. Hells ya. Wrapping up a torturous first trimester, my head hitting that pillow was a Mark Messier guarantee. Let’s just saying I far surpassed my quotas for naps this holiday. Thank you Hubby, I adore you and appreciate your patience.
If you haven’t ever spent a weekend, week, month, or even the whole shebang up North you need to. It’s a great opportunity to connect with people you haven’t had the opportunity to connect to in while, including yourself. I mean really connect, like get off the grid, and take in the elements {and a few cocktails if you aren’t prego–to which I vowed previously to NEVER be pregnant in the summer again..oops}.
So you all know I can be….well….wordy. Diarrhea of the mouth, long winded, verbose, loquacious, or even bombastic so I’m going to take you on a photo diary our summer spent in good purpose. As you know I didn’t blog in my usual fashion but heck ya I’m a shutterbug so I was staying connected with you all via social media. Let’s take a look at the season past…
This summer memoir also serves as a guide to what you SHOULD be doing if you ever get the chance to visit this beautiful place that I do indeed call home.
WEBERS!
No trip is complete unless you stop at Weber’s. The hallmark point to which you realize you are ‘almost there’ and those delicious “Barbecue Charcoal Hamburgers” help hold you over until you reach your destination. I’ve been stopping here for years. Kids love it and they love either sitting at the coloured picnic tables or taking their meals on board the Webers train for a unique imaginative journey. It’s simple and its perfect. You must get a burger, with extra pickles on the side, the fries…possible contender to beat out McDonalds for the “Best Fries in the World” {get that seasoning salt on there}, and obvsiously the chocolate milkshake. This IS NOT the time to be worrying about bathing suit season. Indulge and enjoy in the simplicity of this place.
 |
| Eat inside the Webers Train! Especially nice for rainy day stops like ours. |
 |
| Hamburger Selfie |
MUSKOKA MARKETS!
I did find the time between naps to blog about the markets up North because I love them so much. This is also a great experience for kids as well. There are tons of options to keep the kiddos entertained. I fell in love with several vendors and intend to support them further as they are accessible outside the cottage season as they come from near and far to share their amazing products. Check out my blog post to see what I featured in the Markets held in Rosseau, Huntsville, Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Port Carling. Highlights? Macaroons and Lavender. Boom.
GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD FUN
Like I said, Muskoka is a great place to get off the grid and reconnect. Having friends come up is a breathe of fresh air and it gets you off your butts if you’ve gotten a bit too comfortable in your adirondack chair. We had the chance to see the wonderful Webers {no connection to the burger biz mentioned above, and also had good friends drive all the way up from the Dub {Windsor} to come and enjoy a couple days on Mary Lake with us. You may recognize these gems from my February feature “Doing it Right: The Life of a Hockey Wife” article, Christie Bezaire and new assistant head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs DJ Smith. They brought son Colton and his buddy to experience the Muskoka Cottager Premium Package.
The Muskoka Cottager Premium Package:
Learn to Ski/Tubing
Jump from “Rocky” a massive cliff, into safe and welcoming water
Friendly Fishing Competition {where bragging rights are all that are desired}
SUP boarding
Trampoline Shennanigans
Excessively elaborate meal planning and indulging
Late Night Card Tournments
Staying an extra night because you just didn’t get enough QT
 |
| So glad I was able to meet up with this Hockey Wife friend, Kodette. Good hearts, good conversation, good RAW food at Rawlicious. ICYMI: Check out my blog post on this “Doing it Right: The Life of a Hockey Wife“. She’s a super mom, wife, trailblazer for Autism Awareness and a badass friend. |
 |
| Getting Raw at Rawlicisous. |
FAMILY REUNIONS
Making time for family during the summer is a must. It’s the best time to get together because you are almost guaranteed to have a weekend or two where you can schedule a time to get back to the basics and enjoy some good old fashioned fun. Literally. On two separate occasions we got down to it. I LOVE organizing! So amongst birthday cakes, pregnancy reveals, and FaceTime calls from those who couldn’t join us, we played some good old fashioned field games! Yep! Potato sack races, egg toss, and spoon races were some the events that created the smiles and robust sounds of laughter at the McFarland games. I really wanted to get a blog post out on organizing family games for 40+ people but I didn’t have the time….because I was planning games for 40+ people…and being a mom while Hubby was out in Calgary doing his thing for Hockey Canada. {Proud of you.}
 |
| Pregnancy Reveal for #2. Lakeside style. |
EAT WELL! BE WELL!
 |
| ICYMI: Check the link to the left, to the left. |
Staying active and eating well is always difficult if you step out of routine. I didn’t get a chance to be super active this summer because well…I felt like crap. I wanted comfort food and naps. It was brutes. So needless to say my Dr said I was “up the creek” and I needed to get back on track. Nuf said. When I’m stressed…I’m an eater. I don’t over indulge in quantity, but I indulge in things that aren’t of quality. I was having a rough go of some things this summer so it was a battle with myself to stay positive and just do the best I could do. Drink more {water}, get active, and don’t be so hard on myself. Check out my blog post of a healthy and organic frozen treat: Yogurt Pops! If you are ever in the Huntsville area, I highly recommend visiting the Totem Juice Bar. I made myself a regular consumer of their cold pressed juices and was able to get a bit of education of their products and process from owner Brent, who opened this business with his wife Rebecca. Since I wasn’t making the best choices when eating I knew it was important to ensure my little babe in my belly was nutritionally satisfied. Using all organic, raw and local ingredients, these tasty and nutritious juices are definitely well suited for any flavour palette. Go.Check.Them.Out.
Visit their site here –> http://www.totemjuice.com
 |
| Having fun with my water intake helped me stay hydrated. *BLUEBERRY KIWI PEAR* |
 |
| *CUCUMBER MELON* with a side of swimming Golden Retriever |
 |
| *APPLE RASPBERRY* |
 |
| Getting some wake surfing activity in before I retired from my beloved watersport is retired for the duration of this pregnancy. |
Working on my LPGA card…
 |
| Family walks to get me off my keister. You can find some good hills in Muskoka. Don’t forget your bug spray! |
Stay tuned for my next health and fitness adventure…PREGO STYLE!
NEW BEGINNINGS
 |
| Well that was easy….until |
Part of the craziness of the summer involved selling our home on the fly and making several trips to our hockey hometown to find the next home that would suit our growing family. The sale of our home? Easy peasy! Sold in a day with multiple offers. Amazing right? Totes Magotes. But the purchase? Yeahhhhh…… like I said there were a couple frustrating road trips to our hockey town to find this said home and to my surprise we couldn’t find a thing! We saw over 25 homes and nothing seemed to have what we needed. Let’s just say a couple of hormonal tears were shed on these journeys. And I questioned internally…How many times will I have to do this?! On the bright side of things, we did end up finding a home we are happy with and excited to finally be together in! We also had the chance to see some of our amazing friends who just had their first adorable little one as well. No matter how difficult things get, friends are there to help shed light and love on the situation, or at least distract you.
 |
| Following our realtor around… |
 |
| Garage Sale’ing it to get rid of the ‘Moving Day’ clutter seemed like a good idea. |
 |
| In love with his new cousin…Thank goodness for new beginnings. |
And look who got wordy again….So I’m going to end it there. Only because I am excited to get my new Fall Blog Post up soon! I’ve got some favourites that I am uber excited to share. All in all, I am pretty content with how the summer went and can’t wait until next year, but until then, I am optimistic and roused by the new beginning heading my way in the near future.
Love You All,
K.