How I spent my summer holidays

W.O. Mitchell's title will forever be in my head when I think about any of my summer holidays. But, here goes. . . a small attempt to share how I spent my summer holidays:

I went "up island" with my family. This is a rare treat for us, and the first time we've explored beyond our city and surrounding area. We loved the beaches, and discovered the most amazing pieces of driftwood. Our early mornings generally were spent at a play park, with visits to the beach in the afternoons. But on this particular morning we were the first on the beach (besides the park attendant who kindly took our picture):





James and the boys shared some lovely times together. He did take his computer with him, but tried to keep work to after the boys were asleep.



The big boys had a great time. They were so happy - it did my heart good to hear them laughing so much.



Aidan loved much of it too. The tide pools were his favourite, I'd say. But he also enjoyed our walks in the woods. I love the expression on his face in this one - I'm not entirely sure what he's thinking here. . . but he was fast asleep five minutes after it was taken.



All in all, it was a great holiday. I loved every second of it - and know that we have given the boys a wonderful memory to hold on to.

Of Tide Pools and Other Stuff

We're on holiday - enjoying the ocean at low tide and the warm tide pools that come with it. Aidan splashed happily in one yesterday, sharing it with little sea creatures like the tiny crabs that were the size of my fingertips. Aidan likes to clean things up, so he was throwing bits of sea weed away from him. He polished a clam shell against his chest, and watched as kids raced about trying to keep upright on their skimmer/skimming (?) boards.

Five minutes into our tide pool adventure a teen girl with Down syndrome came and joined us. She said hi to Aidan, and he waved back. Then she went about collecting bits of shells from the pool. I was curious, as I always am. Does she recognize that he has Down syndrome too? I wanted to chat with her mom, but as her mom stayed back and didn't come over, I didn't push it.

Still, of all the gin joints - I mean tide pools.... perhaps I should have gone and introduced myself anyway. I'm not usually shy to talk to strangers, but I seem to becoming more reserved as I get older. Maybe it's a Canadian thing?

Canada Day - Hip Hip Hooray!

Yes, it's Canada Day all day today, and I was able to share it with my sister and 3 lovely nieces. We had a great day - a walk to the park, a play in the yard, a snuggled-up movie, and birthday cake (for my sister, though it could have been for Canada too, had I put maple leaves on it instead of the daisies).
What has amazed me about this trip is how easily loved my little man is. When I first arrived, my friend, Jules, picked me up at the Toronto airport. I spent 2 days with her family and watched as her children fell head-over-heals for Aidan. I have pictures to prove it. . . you can see the love on their sweet faces:

And my nieces just carried on with the love fest:

How did I get so blessed? That's what I want to know! There are more photos and more stories, which I'll try to get back to before returning to my Mom's place (where computers dare not tread). Until then, happy Canada Day, everyone!