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End the season on a high note with these simple but super fun summer activities for the whole family!

• Go on a picnic (or host one!). Pack a picnic basket with your favorite sandwiches or salads, and go out.  Eat with your family some place other than a dining table.  You can also host a picnic-style luncheon with friends or your relatives. Be it in a park or your backyard.  One thing for sure is this is a refreshing twist to your usual get together.

• Go camping. Plan a simple camping trip.  Bust out your tents, sleeping bags, board games, and get together with your friends or the whole family for some quality time out in the woods.  A low-key option for kids is taking them on a “camping trip” to your backyard - BUT with all the bells and whistles, so they’d still get to experience all the fun activities associated with spending some quality time with their friends outdoors.

• Go swimming one more time. Enjoy a fun day at the pool, Gregoire Lake, or a splash park one last time before summer ends; or don’t miss out on your chance to go swimming this summer if you haven’t had the chance to do it yet.  Take lots of photos - make memories with your family, and don’t forget to hydrate and wear sunscreen!

• Frozen Treats! Spend a day with your family and friends and enjoy healthy home-made frozen treats, like fruit popsicles...

There are a lot of home improvement ideas available for your home. Here are a couple of easy ones, so read on!

Jazz up your house numbers. It’s one of the first things people see when they come to your house anyway. Here are some great ideas for you!

Give your windows a makeover. Update your curtains, curtain rods, and holdbacks/tiebacks. Matching them with the room’s overall color palette or theme makes it even better!

Restyle your bookcase. Decorated bookcases are a delight! Use like-colored items for your decor, and add pops of metallic finishes to create a cohesive flow without sacrificing style.

Add some greenery. An indoor plant in the living room, fresh herbs in the corner of your kitchen, or an assortment of  low-maintenance succulents will give more life to your home.

Give your cabinets an Anthropologie feel. Class...

Spring has sprung in Fort McMurray! Here are some tips for exterior maintenanance on your home.

Mowing

Keep the blades of your lawn mower properly sharpened. A clean cut ensures that your grass will recover more quickly rather than when the grass is torn from dull mower blades.

It’s also advisable to leave the grass clippings on your lawn after mowing. It will serve as a natural fertilizer to help the grass grow healthier. Under wet spring conditions, however, you will want to remove thick grass clippings, or it will end up smothering your grass.

Fertilizing

Before considering the use of fertilizers, remember that aeration is still the best way to promote grass growth - or any plants for that matter. It allows more air to reach the roots of your lawn and promotes new growth. While an aeration machine will do the job quickly, they are heavy and bulky. And what if you don’t have one, or there’s none around for you to borrow or rent? Any machine evolved from an old school concept, so there’s no shame in using items that will end up with the same holes. Pickaxes, garden forks, and spiked boots will do the job anyway, so a DIY wouldn’t hurt. Read up on how to aerate your lawn here.

Compost and other organic fertilizer like ground up egg shells are still the best ones to use for plant growth. These can be applied at any time of the season in a thin layer, and raked over your existing...