How I spent much of my Canada Day long weekend - and some really sinful pasta!

Summer vacation may have just begun, but already we've been enjoying it to the fullest. It's been a busy start to the Canada Day long weekend, and I've loved everything about it (Except maybe all the mosquitoes! Still nothing like Manitoba (my original home), though, so I shouldn't complain.). I got a teeny sunburn both days, but it happily turned into a tan by the next morning.

On Friday we headed out to Bon Echo Provincial Park and hiked the High Pines trail. We got out there early enough that it wasn't too hot yet, so the hike was great. If only there hadn't been so many pesky bugs! Last year we did the same hike, but there were so few black flies, horse flies, deer flies and mosquitoes. Maybe because we went in the middle of August last time. Mental note - go back again in August and September!

At Bon Echo there's also a dog beach, which we absolutely LOVE. Eventhough Tibbs is part Lab (the other part is Sharpei), he just doesn't like the water. We brought him here last year and he hated every minute of it. This year he was a little bit better, but still not a huge fan. He likes to stand in the water, but doesn't appreciate it when we pull him in deep enough that he has to swim. I thought maybe watching the other dogs swim would convince him, but no, he's too stubborn! Either way, the picnic and beach fun was a nice way to cool off after the hike. The scenery is nothing to sneeze at, either!

Around mid-afternoon, we headed over to visit a friend of mine at her trailer park. Rhianna had spent the night at the trailer for my friend's daughter's birthday party. When we got there they were in the middle of the park's Canada Day celebrations. They had sundaes, face painting, tattoos, and rides on the fire truck.

Beach number 2 for the weekend! The trailer park has it's own little man made lake that's spring fed and well maintained. It used to be a quarry. There are no motors on the lake, which I love. It was nice to sit with my friend and chat while we watched the kids swim out to the floating dock. Rhianna was having so much fun she didn't want to leave at all. :P

Once we eventually got her to leave, we ate dinner in the van on the way home. I had made some chickpea salad sandwiches that morning and packed them up to go, so it was as easy as getting them out of the cooler and handing them out. Gotta love that!

Back in Belleville (and after a quick nap for Kyle and I), we headed down to the marina to watch the fireworks going on at Zwicks Park. There was lots of crazy antics, as per usual. I love my family so! Happy Birthday, Canada! 144 years old! Of course the kids had to calculate how old they're going to be for Canada's 150th, and we realized that Avery will have just graduated high school. *Gasp!*

The fireworks were impressive! This was the first time we got to see the Canada Day fireworks here since we were camping at Bonnechere last year. They were great, and there were multiple times that we said, "Oh, this must be the finale!", and it wasn't. Haha.

During the evening, once the kids were asleep, Kyle and I started watching Season 1 of 'Lost' that I got from the library. We hadn't watched the show when it was on TV, so this is our first time seeing it. Can you say creepy? I have so many questions that I want answered NOW. So far, it's great!

Saturday brought us a sleep in - um.. a real big sleep in ... 11:30! Eeep! After we got up and ate some breakfast, we headed out to North Beach in Prince Edward County. We love this beach and were hoping for waves, but none were found. So sad! Either way, we love the beach and plan on spending a whole lot of time there over the summer. :)

When we got home I ran out to get some groceries and then whipped up an easy dinner of Creamy Asparagus Pasta and a Greek Salad. Oh my, it was sinful. Mmm mmm mmmmm.

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

1 box fettucine noodles

2 tbsp butter

2 cups chopped asparagus (about 1 inch pieces)

5 cloves garlic, minced

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 cup whipping cream

200g grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the asparagus, garlic and black pepper and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock, and cook another 3 minutes. Add the whipping cream and cook for another 3 minutes until the asparagus is tender.

Mix the cooked (and drained) pasta with the cream/asparagus mixture and the parmesan cheese. Toss to coat well and serve immediately.

The evening found us over at the house of some friends of ours with a bonfire, good company and more mosquitoes. There's nothing quite like ending a day with hair that smells of a bonfire. At home afterwards - two more episodes of Lost! We're addicted already. :)

Happy Canada Day weekend, Canadian friends!