Saturday, July 16, 2011

Summer thrills...

School's out, and I say hooray! And for me the countdown begins. Not the excited counting the days for the kids to return to school, more like the bummed countdown of how fast the summer is flying by.
It's all bittersweet to me these days. Each passing day, every moment of growth and discovery the kids make is another day closer to their own adulthood. Next September marks the start of SK for my youngest girl, and grade 10 for my oldest son. When their feet spring out the door that day, I will hear their steps echoing away into adulthood, and I am excited for them as well as filled with wrenching sorrow that their steps must necessarily carry them away from me.
However, that day is approximately 52 days away, and I will try to remain carefree and enjoy summer with them while I can.
So far the youngest ones have been enrolled in some classes at the early years, and we've been busy with dental appointments and Drs and all that thrilling stuff. We took a trip to visit my husband's family in the bustling metropolis of Cornwall, On.
The younger kids had good time, it was their first time camping, although we did that in my FIL's motorhome so I am not entirely sure it counted as camping. We got to go for a boat ride, visit a cottage, hike, visit 2 sets of their grandparents,stopped at the Big Apple in Coburg, took a trip to Prehistoric world, and BBQ'd it up with family.
All the kids got to see fireflies for the first time. There were so many it was really lovely.
The first morning we woke up after not really sleeping,and Zans was in a foul mood so we drove to a local Tim Horton's for coffees and a treat for the kids. We were going to take the ramp to the 401 to Cornwall, but then I spotted the East Montreal one...and off toward Montreal we went!
We didn't go all the way there though, just as far as Dorion. Bailey really had to pee of course, so we just popped into the golden arches. She thought it was cool to be peeing in Quebec, though she was disappointed in the lack of French flags. I guess we've done most of our travelling through the States, where flags are in abundance.
Now Zander keeps saying he wants to go back to "The Bus" as he called the motorhome, and the beach. Poor guy, doesn't realize how FAR it was, in traffic....
Bailey was excited to get to class the day after we came back. I naively thought she couldn't wait to tell her friends about the dinosaur exhibit or the boat ride/swimming in the St Lawrence. What does she say as she bolts from the car in excitement? "I can't wait to tell Lainey that I peed in Quebec! "
Of course that was the highlight of the trip. I guess when we drive to Maine in August I should find a lot of special bathrooms for her to stop in and impress her friends!