Goodbye to August

Aiden is well blessed with little friends! And we are all blessed with these new friends that have opened up their home to us - and others - generously so we can enjoy their pool (the girls especially have missed the free easy access to swimming we had overseas) and fellowship together. We're looking forward to Fall weather with reluctance, and happy for any extension on the familiar hot weather!

The week Imma was here, Dad and Mom were able to go running together a few days in a row.  Although asthma made it not quite so enjoyable, it was nice to be doing it together instead of Mom alone. We still manage 5 km, but not all at a run because of asthma.  It was a different feeling for Mom to be the better runner for a change!  One morning we were surprised to be met by these not far from our house...

we're assuming they are wild as we have never seen them before or since.

This morning we were working on finishing some summer school work before the "real" school year starts again.  After the initial resistance to a blank page for writing, engagement and enthusiasm did appear, and the girls asked for their Jovian newspapers to be shared here on the blog.  Happy reading!

Jasmin's retold: The Alien Times
Twin Jupiters. we have found a planet that is as big as Jupiter
No Longer the Biggest. This year an astronomer discovered a planet 3 times bigger than Jupiter!
The Meeting of Jupiter. In 2022 Earth and Jupiter are meeting 75 million kms closer than usual.
Marble Machine Attack! In Jupiter! Big balls of gas are flying out of Jupiter in to space heading to earth!

VBS and More

Jasmin being Jasmin! 

                                                               VBS photos...

 Lunch at church because











                       Graffiti Art Camp in the afternoons.

Just for the girls - Aiden went home and took long naps.  it was a long, very busy week for them, but they had good fun, of course.
We met for Friday supper downtown, as "on the way" I picked up Imma at the airport, here for a quick week's visit!  We've picnicked by the river (where we saw two new to us birds and a family of ducks) and in the park for a splash pad relief from the heat,

gone to see the light show again, and spent lots of time together at home just enjoying one another..

Waiting for the show to begin

Noisy scramble, Messy Silence

We had the weekend all planned out:

Go see the light show on Parliament Hill Friday night

Usual Saturday laundry and clean up

Supper with NiNi and YeaYea

A friend's church on Sun

Leave the kids with NiNi and YeaYea for a week of VBS...

2 1/2 hours before we needed to leave for the light show

Daddy says, "why not go to NiNi's tonight? We're going to be halfway there..."

Noisy scramble!

Supper to make and eat and clean up

Bags to find, choose, pack

Lists to write, and check, and add to, and cross off

Loud directions issued, and reissued, and relayed

Aiden helpfully emptying drawers, dragging fist-fulls of clothes

Laundry in, laundry out

A growing pile of things ready to go by the door

Everyone to change for a cool evening outdoors

Everyone and everything in the car

On the go amazingly on time!

Only a few things forgotten:

the violin to practice

midnight snacks for the every-hungry horde

Sunday afternoon, I come home alone

Messy silence!

Greeted by Saturday cleaning undone

with ample evidence Friday's whirlwind preparations added in

But the week is mine in the quiet

I'm given this time to plan the school year

But in-between thinking and writing and preparing

When I'm tired of sitting, cluttered with ideas,

Bit by bit I can tidy

And, what I clean stays clean!

I like the quiet

Getting enough sleep

Planning in blocks rather than inadequate snippets

I like knowing the kids are having a blast

And I don't have to be there

I like cleaning when it stays clean

But I am already very much looking forward to Friday

When noisy and messy will return.

Five for August Begun

An early morning run discovery that we want to explore more fully:

 I sat and watched a family of ducks feed and it looks like a place for a fantastic afternoon!

While Grace and Jasmin were in Chinese school one morning, Aiden and I checked out a new park. It was so good we brought the girls there after they were done.

We also met another homeschooling family there, with whom we hope to connect more.

This month we are turning grocery shopping outings in to one-on-one "dates" for the kids.  Only sometimes the attention gets sidetracked...

 Even by cows in the dairy section!

We started back into schoolwork slowly this last week.  It brings a relieving order to our days but I don't hold us to it if friends come knocking.

 Aiden wants to be a part of it, and has discovered colouring.  He does a pretty careful job of choosing colours for different sections and trying to stay within the lines.  He just hasn't figured out what hand he prefers yet!

I think he might be a lefty, looking at the number of times he switches to left and the quality of work.