Unusual Summer Part 3

For the kids, Halifax means...

Playing with Selah, Imma's new dog

She is puppy enough still to have all the energy to keep up with kids! They had great fun in the house and taking her for exploring trips in the woods. They also had the taste of frustration that comes with a not-quite-fully-trained dog that gets loose or wants to play more than they did...

... at Imma's house and at friends' houses

Backyard campfires

Practicing for that perfect s'more I think we got pretty close....

Sandy beach days

Queensland beach, the day we went... Lots of people on the sand but very few in the water.... Disappointingly too cold for us Asian water temperature spoiled people... But that didn't stop Grace from trying at least!

Hanging out with cousins

At Imma's, at their house... Wherever we are, lots of noise and lots of fun!

Enjoying summer sun

So glad for the down time to just enjoy sun and quiet beauty!

For the kids, Argyle means...

Rocky beach days

Crab hunting

Exploring the places of Mommy's growing up...

Reliving memories

Twilight windmill walks

... Mommy looking like Imma, talking with Imma's friend in a place they went often!

Crash course in sailing

...and Mommy actually did crash the boat!! Well, only scraped up on a rock between two islands, but still... Aiden was pretty worried we'd have to swim :o)

 

Mackerel fishing

 Aiden has wanted to fish for ages, so our friend who took us sailing brought along some rods and we all got to feel the thrill of catching fish. Although now the kids are spoiled for "ordinary" fishing as every cast caught a fish in under a minute!

Hats from a friend

For Mom and Dad, a bit of what Halifax & Argyle means...

Giving Imma grandma time with kids

Catching up with family and friends -  

so much great talk and good food!

Very full days charging and draining us

Alive in prayer

Juggling family fun, rest, ministry.

Moving Imma to her new house - so perfect for her!

Enjoying precious evenings of talk over tea

Sharing childhood experiences with our own kids

But also, 

Michael had to make a weekend trip back to Toronto for his grandma's funeral

We flew to St John's without the kids for a weekend to speak at a few gatherings of our soon return to Asia

Pressure to finish work leftover from before we came

So many people we didn't get to connect with!

Maybe, we'll just have to go again....

Unusual Summer Part 2

Those two weeks of "normal" summer?
Got pretty filled up too
No real lazy days of summery nothing much to do
And yet, somehow, just right

Grace sang again at the Glebe Centre
Much appreciated, especially since Aiden joined in

Mom tried out AquaFit class
And discovered that a morning run and a lunch time AquaFit is a bit too much
A great recipe for a solid afternoon nap

A few park days fit in
A splash pad evening
An over lunch time meeting with homeschool friends
An on the way home stop for some extended monkey bar practice

We made it to some friends' hobby farm for an afternoon
No one wanted to leave!
Watching a baby chick begin to hatch
Exploring the woods
Whirl pooling the backyard pool

Normal life extras:
Friends over for supper
Daddy to a Redblacks game
Skype calls with far away friends
Lots and lots of backyard raspberry recipes
Muffins galore and even a pie

And a once in a lifetime Canada150 opportunity
La Machines in downtown Ottawa
We took the bus (our first time, and we almost missed it!)
Braved the crushing crowds
Got close to Kumo the spider to watch it wake up
Surprisingly was passed closely by Long Ma the dragon horse
Discovered Jasmin's violin teacher in the mobile orchestra

And in-between we tackled a 3 page long to do list
Preparing our house for our Airbnb guests while we're away this month
Fixing all those little things to be fixed "sometime when I have time"
And at the same time planning and preparing ourselves
For the long drive to Halifax
A month at Imma's house
As many meetings with dear ones as we can fit in
And school for when we return

We made it!
Everything got done
Nothing left behind (nothing important at least)
Only took us an extra hour than we budgeted
And here we are enjoying ourselves

Unusual Summer Part 1

We stopped school June 16
Stopped, not really finished
And our schedule went haywire

The first week mom and dad had a week long training seminar to attend
Last minute changes meant
A week of juggling childcare transport arrangements

Those last minute changes?
YeaYea having open heart surgery in Kingston
Wow, what a week!

The next week we had cousins to play
All day every day
Living in our house

Lots of fun and new experiences
Singing for seniors
Touring the animal shelter

July began with a wet muddy Canada Day
Saw no fireworks
But made many memories

We had a few days peace - well, not really, as we had to
Catch up with all we'd been missing
Plan and prepare for our week in Toronto

Concerned it'd be too much for us
Worried there'd be melt downs
Too many changes, not enough rest

But God was gracious
2 days camping just our family
2 friends homes giving us plenty of room for rest

Think we came home more rested than we left!
Thank you God, thank you friends
You gave us just what we needed

And then 2 weeks of "normal" summer
An oasis in the busyness
Wait - we have to plan and prepare for being away in August....

I know there's a whole month and a half missing...

...hopefully I'll get around to sharing some things of that busy summer start later, but here is a surprising contrast of time at the river from last year. It was our first time there this summer yesterday (it's been an uncommon summer so far) and it was so different!

This year:

Aiden "fishing"

Intrepid (and wet) explorers making it to the rock that was just a first step last year

 And last year:

I think we've had both years' worth of rain this year...