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!

We're off...

Going on a little holiday. Just me and the three billy goats. My neighbour's daughter (from back home) is getting married, so we're heading out. Can't wait to get there - though I'm a little worried about the getting there bit. Aidan is an unpredictable traveller these days. Either he's happy as a clam and chatters in his sweet way. Or, he's screaming like a Banshee. I'm crossing my fingers and toes for a smooth, trouble-free flight.

Anyhow - I won't be blogging much (if at all), as I won't have easy access to a computer. Maybe that's a good thing, though I will miss my daily browse through the blogosphere to see what every one's doing. I'll look forward to reading about every one's adventures when I get back.

Wish us luck!

My latest attempt at being creative....

Penelope Flew
By Carol N

Penelope flew on a flying fish,
Around the world and back again.
She wrote it all down
With a golden pen,
Then presented her tale to a Pelican.

The Pelican said, “How do you do?”
He ate the pen and Penelope too.
He ate the fish , then off he flew,
Around the world and back again.

Note: it is my intention that the pelican didn't really eat her - just took her for another ride. Not sure if the picture is scary or if that is clear.

Ball Pit, Family Photo & Brotherly Love

Nothing Gold can Stay...

Such a lovely couple of days. We attended Variety's Boat for Hope and had such an amazing time. The Navy, Coastguard, Fire/Rescue, etc. hosted a day of incredible fun for kids with special needs and their families. I'm planning to write more about the event when I have photos ready to post.

Then, today we had Kieran's First Communion and Confirmation. Kieran looked so grown up standing in front of the church. He was quite serious through the whole event, but after he took a sip of the wine, he made such a hilarious face. He didn't mean to, but his whole body kind of shook like he'd just tasted Buckley's Cough Syrup. Later he said, the wine MADE me do that! Liam found that quite funny.

In the afternoon, to celebrate our new and wonderful life here on the coast, we went to the ocean. Aidan loved playing in the sand. At one point he was lying flat on his belly making sand angels. Kieran played football with James, and Liam ran between the play structures and the water (much like a puppy, that boy). I dreamed that I could be in one of the lovely sail boats writing a story, and then we had to get back home for supper and baths and bed.

Such a perfect day. A perfect weekend. One of those, "I'm grateful to be alive" times in life that bring such great and profound joy.

But, nothing gold can stay... now Aidan is coughing up a storm, and it's beginning to sound a lot like croup. Will be spending the next while monitoring to see if it's bad enough to go to Emergency. He's resting now after being steamed and having a long cuddle and an inhaler, hopefully it won't be a bad spell.