canada eve...

we made it home from the cabin just in time yesterday to see the fireworks at the harbourfront for canada day. even though canada day is today, for some reason, they held the fireworks on what they called "canada eve", apparently they haven't had fireworks there in years and they kicked it off with concerts all day, too. when we got there, jully black was on, and we took our seats and waited. it was nowhere near as busy as fireworks at the beaches, but we agreed that they were better. they even had "I *heart* U" fireworks.

 the 'raining gold' ones are always my favorite.

the bonus was that because this is closer to us than the beaches, and there were less people, the walk home was much quicker and easier! 

ps: don't forget that today we say goodbye to google reader. you can follow along on bloglovin here.

such a beautiful sound...

most years we try to make it down to the beaches to see the victoria day fireworks. it's one big spectacle where a huge chunk of the city gathers on the sand and watches the sky light up. the fireworks were beautiful and they're always fun to see.

but what's not fun is the whole getting home after the fireworks, along with like, 100,000 other people. toronto transit (in any form-buses, streetcars, and subways) just cannot match the demand of how many people go. it becomes an absolute nightmare, and then add in the people who choose to drive and the streets become completely gridlocked. subways are rammed, cars/streetcars aren't moving (& they're packed like sardines) and good luck getting on a free shuttle. any other time we would have walked a bit until we left the crowds behind and then got on a streetcar, but you know, about 5 minutes after the fireworks ended, the clouds opened up and it POURED. the streets were a disaster, as everyone attempted cover with jackets and whatever they had. we stood there for a bit, unsure of what to do. obviously public transportation in the near future was out of the question and so was walking, it's just too far. we managed to catch a cab just out of all the craziness. had we caught the cab in the mess, i can only imagine what our toll would have been.

it was raining gold dust on the crowds here, or at least it felt that way.

canada day fireworks...

on canada day, we went over to my parents for a nice little bbq. it's weird being such a short drive over to them now (i'll get to the move and the new place, eventually. i'm currently tethering from my phone so i don't want to do too much on my computer until our internet is installed (the 9th!! oy). they had the whole shebang; chicken, sausage, ribs, pasta salad, fries, corn on the cob, salad, and a bocconcini/tomato/basil salad. all so delicious.

a little limoncello cheers to me being back.

after dinner, we headed back home (!!) and took a walk to the fireworks by the pier. they were a little lackluster this year, but we always enjoy going to fireworks a couple times in the summer.

 nearby train tracks on the way down.

perfect light at the sun was going down.

representing canada and 'exhausted from moving' smiles.

progression of the sun setting.

brightening the sky.


happy july!
my birthday month :)

we love our fireworks...

back from the cottage, back in toronto, back to reality. lots of updates from that soon, but first, we saw fireworks for canada day!

the boats on the pier

just hangin' out

keeping the kids entertained while waiting...

so that piece that i'm holding-they were flying into the crowds as the fireworks were going off! i kept getting hit in the face and on my arms haha it wasn't until after it was done and we looked around that we realized how big the pieces actually were!

anyway, it's a total heatwave in toronto right now..hitting the mid 40s with the humidex, so it's nasty (at least i've got an air conditioner). i'm full of sweat in about 3 minutes..disgusting! and my moms here for a few days to hang out, but it's just too hot to go anywhere or do anything outside...rather annoying..

ps..i wish i was still at the cottage :(

first gear, it's alright, second gear, lean right....

once we got home from the beach, we changed, hummed and hawed at whether we should take chloe with us and decided that yes, we should. seriously, every dog that walked by on the beach, i was like "i miss chloe, we should have brought her!" but it was just too hot and it wouldn't have been fair-next time we're going just for her, and we won't go as long, and maybe on a day when it isn't 35 degrees.

anyway, chloe was a champ and went on the subway and bus with us to get back to the beach for the fireworks! yay for her haha she just chilled on her own seat on the subway, and people smiled at her like usual, cuz she's cute you know.check her out! not the happiest girl, but it wasn't a long trip.family photos while waiting for the works to startshe doesn't realize she's kinda heavy, and she likes to stand on meshe has one fast tongue...i don't have one of those awesome cameras with the ability to capture the fireworks in a really cool way-working on that one. so this is what turned out kind of..
i was nervous of what chloe would think of the fireworks; would she be shivering, scared, hating me because i brought her? nope! she layed in my lap, her heart wasn't even beating fast and her little head just turned and watched what was going on (even though black and white for her, how sad). i was so happy because now i know she can come to more! :)

hey soul sister...

well look at that-it's friday AND it's a long weekend; May 2-4...yay! it's my first year not seeing fireworks this time of year in a long time, makes me kind of sad..oh well, i'll live right?
(UPDATE: yay i will be seeing fireworks afterall! duh! dylan will be here and of course toronto would have fireworks; we were planning on going to the beaches monday anyway and that's just where they happen to be that night :) )
pic via

on another note, we planned our first camping trip! well, the date anyways. we still have to pick a spot to go. it's not till june 25, so it's still awhile away, but it will come fast, considering we went to NYC almost a month ago already!! camping=fires, s'mores, spider dogs with diana sauce, hanging out in shorts, bikinis and straw hats, drinking, a lot of corn, taking ridiculous pictures, swimming in some ugly water, laughing and all in all good times. i went twice last year, and one of the times i was the only girl, so i got my own pee tree!

see, isn't that special?? haha with a toilet paper roll and all!

it's another gorgeous day in the city, and i hope to enjoy it even though i have some reading to do..i finally got my coursepack for my summer course 10 days later! it's been 10 days of hearing 'it's not ready yet' or 'oh, we just ran out, another 2 days' blah blah blah..order enough for the class!! so ya, now i have 4 lectures of readings to catch up on..but i will get out!
♥