Sugar Shack and Soaking up the Sunshine

Last year's adventure to the sugar shack was a chilly affair. We were all bundled up beyond belief and it was way too cold for the sap to be flowing. This year was quite the opposite, with it being a bit too warm for ideal conditions. But it did allow for us to enjoy a few of the other things that the sugar shack had to offer.

After the third installation of the car seat, we were on our way to pick up Grandma and Poppa to join us for pancakes and lots of sugar. They were our secret decoys to keep Simon entertained in the car which they managed to do with an assortment of books and Poppa's fish hat. We got to our destination a few minutes after its' opening and as a result managed to avoid much of the crowds - 20 minutes after we got there, the line-up ran out the door and seating was a bit more scarce. Simon enjoyed having a maple syrup dip and managed to coat most of his front which was quite the feat considering he only ate about 4 bites of pancake and a sausage - mental note for next year, do not sit in the window overlooking the playground!

Once breakfast festivities were over, it was off to said playground to check out "Dan" (the tractor), the see-saw, the slide and the shovels. It took a while but Simon braved the crowds of pushy kids and made his way round the playground, only breaking to run out front to check out "Jasper" the dog (a well mannered installation who had parked himself in the sun on top of a picnic table). After a few trips between the playground and the dog, we picked up taffy on the snow and then decided to take one of the trails around to see what this maple syrup stuff was all able. Simon was not his typical slow self and had us through the trail in less than the recommended 15 minutes - obviously they were not measuring on toddler hyped up on sugar time!

After 20 minutes of running up and down a hill (and taking a few head first tumbles), a few more trips down the slide, a trip to the gift store to buy maple flavoured cotton candy (the main reason for our trip and was almost not possible because of a mix-up with cleaning the machine) petting the horses and of course the dog, it was time to head out. Simon was noticeable grimy and tired and happy to have spent the morning outside leading his Poppa here there and everywhere.

Simon almost passed out in the car on the way home but soon discovered that it was funnier to pretend to sleep. After dropping off Poppa and Grandma, we spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon outside, eating lunch, raking the grass, rediscovering outdoor toys until naptime. It is so nice to be able to enjoy the outdoors again.