Spring and Summer 2015

November 01, 2015

A long overdue post which has been partly finished for ages. Our trip to Cuba didn't work well as a transition to Spring. In April, there were major snow storms. During one, I ended up hitchhiking to work because our hospital's policy is that you only get paid if you make it in (next year, I'll use snowshoes).

The warmer weather did eventually arrive, and soon afterwards we had some nice visits from Papa Penn and Nana Maggie. Some highlights of my dad’s visit were an absolutely lovely brunch and museum morning, nice evening chats, and a visit to the sea. When Maggie was here, she and Will especially enjoyed a canoe trip and time in the garden.

In May, we celebrated Clara's “frozen-themed” 2^nd birthday. Clara had been singing the songs from Frozen for a few months prior to her birthday (even though she and Ben are both still too nervous to watch the whole movie through). She was one lucky girl-- mom made gorgeous cupcakes and Will built her an actual ice wall. Ben and my contribution was to make a fun “pass the Olaf” party game.

We were in Halifax for most of the summer. Ben played “real soccer” on Tuesday nights, and I was able to meet up with a few friends for drinks after a swim many Mondays. I was very happy to be able to swim a lot this summer- with the kids and without, in lakes and at an outdoor pool near our house. Will and I found some opportunities to play tennis too, and are gradually improving our skills (e.g., we can actually play "ten-is," where we get the ball back and forth 10 times). Ben absolutely loved swimming and decided that it was his “talent”. Will was really active this summer, biking lots and even starting to run during his lunch break some days.

Ben continued to enjoy his time at preschool. He played in the woods with his class most days, building forts and climbing trees. He formed some nice friendships with a few of the kids and seemed to be very well liked by his classmates. He is more and more interested in telling us about his days and sharing his observations of the world. Recently, he told my mom that he loves it when Will calls him his "son". We asked him if he knew what Clara was to Will, and he suggested that she should be his “moon.” He and Clara can sometimes play together for brief periods, and I can’t wait until they are just a little older, so that it takes a few minutes longer before trouble starts.

Little Clara’s language skills skyrocketed this spring. By August she was talking in sentences all the time- one of my favourite initial ones was to hold up her baby and ask me to "kiss her on the noggin". As I write this, she's supposed to be napping, but is singing song after song and chatting away to herself. She even has some "sitting on the potty" skills (usually demonstrated at times when we'd really prefer she was sleeping).

In August, we had a week-long family adventure in Acadia National Park in Maine. We took 2 days to drive each way, staying at a hotel in Saint John New Brunswick to break up the journey. The hotel had a pool that the kids enjoyed (they also enjoyed jumping on the bed and watching TV commercials). At the park, we stayed in a monster tent, and it took us a few nights to find our groove. Groove = As it’s getting dark (and not before) Will and I on our new comfy air mattress in the middle, Ben with Paw Patrol on the Ipad on the left, Clara sternly instructed to sleep on the right. She would gradually move closer and closer to the centre of the comfy mat seeking “cuggles”, such that everyone else was in one eighth of the tent, but at least everyone was quiet and we were eventually able to sleep.

The park was beautiful, and the highlight was cycling on old carriage roads through the forest. It was like cross country skiing on bikes. A good physical workout and nice and cool because of shade from the trees. On one day we went on a nature boat out into the sea, and on another we did a hike up a small hill. There was also a public beech in the park that was nice for swimming. The exciting surprise of the trip was that our campsite had a little café with meals that the kids liked, lobster and corn on the cob, and wine and beer. Ben liked that vacations meant ice cream on most days, and Will and I enjoyed reading a new book together. Both kids have asked to go camping again, which is promising.

Soon after that trip, I visited Ontario for 10 days, and had the chance to see so many people I miss. One of the main goals of the trip was to be at my friend Jen's wedding. They surprised us by getting married at their wedding (the original plan had been for it to only be the reception). We spent time at Jen's cottage afterwards, and I got to meet Jen's gorgeous baby and to canoe in the dark! Aimee and I had a good chance to catch up, and I now have significantly greater understanding of the joys of chicken raising.

The trip lined up perfectly with a performance in Toronto of Stephanie's compositions (very impressive!) Steph and I talked and ate our way around Toronto- excellent conversation and super-tasty Ethiopian food. Alice was also in the Toronto area for her brother-in-law's wedding, so she, Emily and I had a long overdue reunion. It was great to see Emily's house, meet baby Maelle, and drink lovely, lovely wine. So nice to have uninterrupted stretches of time to have conversations with people I don't see nearly enough. Will held down the fort at home admirably. One night, he and Ben moved forts, to a tent in the backyard :)