The Pilot

The a/c broke in the van. I can't remember when. The discussions began. To fix or not fix. We took it in, he recommended this tie off thing? Fix the a/c in the front of the van but it wouldn't go to the back, some other guy would fix it, he wasn't sure how much it would cost... Ken didn't want to spend anything. We talked about just dealing with it for the summer. The summer isn't long, and then next year we'd get a new car. Then we drove a couple of places and it was bad. Very bad. Then we started having a different conversation.

And then all of a sudden we were selling the van and buying a Honda Pilot. It's a really, really nice car. (SUV - whatever!) It has leather interior. Heated front and middle seats. Cooling front seats. Moon roof and sun roof. Navigation and entertainment. I feel incredibly spoiled and grateful, a little overwhelmed and maybe a little bit excited. We took the girls this morning and went to go pick it up!

Goodbye van.

Hello Pilot!

Ken and the girls made meringues.

And we went to the Lim-Anderson's for dinner. (Ken and Jinx might have gone outside and sat in the Pilot for a long time.)

Kate loves Bella!

The ROM

I was so excited that the ROM was reopening. To have normalcy slowly and carefully returning is good, so good. The ROM had two days set aside for a member only welcome back before the public reopening. You have to wear a mask, and you have to book a timed ticket. So we did!

It was sad to look at the kid's area - all the hands on stuff that is closed, and wonder when it will reopen. But other than that, we had a great visit!

Simple Things in July

Food with friends.

Sisters and puzzles.

Awesome world maps that you finally put up on the wall.

Waiting to get the package to sell your van... (NEWS!!!)

Visits from Uncle Andrew!

Blizzards on toastmaster evenings and then watching Little House

Walks.

Fun math awards that come in the mail.

Helping peel carrots.

 

I Want Them To Remember

Sundays are far from perfect. They are often far from holy. Sometimes they are down right awful. I'm not sure what the girls will remember. I think I will always remember the sweetness of Ken blessing the sacrament for us, it has been so special. The sweetness of that ordinance in my home. I want my girls to know what the spirit feels like. I want them to feel the strength and peace and comfort that comes from the spirit. I want them to want their own testimonies. I want them to keep their testimonies. I want them to know that repentance is real, and it is freeing. I want them to know that they just need to keep striving. They need to repent and believe and so much is promised. And there is so much happiness and joy in this life.

And I would love it if they remembered some of the fun Sunday stuff that we did!

Toronto Zoo - Scenic Safari

This was our Canada Day celebration - two days late! I love how creative everyone has gotten. How can we do things, have fun, and stay safe? The zoo has been shut down since March, but reopened on May 23rd with the scenic safari. The route is part zoomobile, part walking path, and pretty awesome. We were all happily impressed with the route, the animals, and the experience in general. The funny thing is that today marked the first day that the zoo was open again to the general public - you can now go in wearing a mask, but we were still happy to do the drive-thru experience!

Okay, one more note... we took the Fit, as in the Honda Fit. The a/c broke in the van. We wanted to drive the van for one more year, but with a/c gone, it isn't looking good! We've gone a couple of places with the windows rolled down and it was pretty bad - the person in the way back was in physical pain. I sat in the back today so that there wouldn't be fighting. It wasn't the worst experience ever, but it wasn't the most comfortable. I suppose it was just an extra layer of fun for the scenic safari experience!