Sometimes...

When people talk about marriage being work, and marriage being hard, and and and. I mostly disagree. Being married to Ken is easy. We've had problems and stresses, we've had sickness and money fun, and the children... if that doesn't stretch you, what will?!?! BUT through it all, Ken is my partner, my equal, my best friend, my everything.

I said that to Alice - well, actually to all the girls at some point this summer, and Alice totally called me on it.

"Mom, he can't be your everything. What is he, your air? Your food? Your clothing? Mom, Dad is not your everything!" And then she giggled because she thought she was pretty smart.

Yesterday on the way home from Ottawa Ken and I had a disagreement. His point of view was completely different from mine, and I was upset. I was really, really upset. I don't get upset at Ken very often, but when I do my world feels upside-down.

I went to bed upset. I woke up upset. I felt upset all day. And then we had a date. A wonderful friend of mine is a singer and an actor. She was performing in a play and had gotten us tickets. We had arranged everything before we left for Ottawa - when I still liked Ken (just kidding... mostly).

Ken and I left on our date and I was still upset. We drove to the train station and talked. We rode the train downtown and we talked some more. We walked to the play and we talked. We saw the play. We hugged Zorana and chatted with her in the street afterwards for a few minutes. We walked to a restaurant and had dinner (beside a totally awkward couple on a date - maybe a first date - shudder), and we talked. We walked back to the train, and we chatted more. We rode the train home and chatted more.

I remembered why I liked him. Sorrys were said and my world felt right again. My marriage to Ken isn't hard because for the most part we know how to disagree without hurting each other. We're both quick to say sorry, quick to say I love you. I am always thinking about how to make him happy, and he's always thinking about how to make me happy. We're both each other's number one. We take time to have fun with each other without the kids, and as a family with the kids. We both work outside the home, and inside the home. And he makes me laugh. I love my Ken so much, and I'm so thankful for him.

Ottawa et Val-de-bois

Friday, August 9
Having a Science Centre pass means reciprocal deals. In Ottawa we got into the Aviation and Space Museum as well as the Canada Science and Technology Museum. We left the hotel eventually, (after laundry, swimming and breakfast, and changing rooms) and spent just over an hour at the Aviation and Space Museum. It was just enough hands on for the girls not to be completely disappointed. There were lots of planes, and now that I've been there once, I'm good!

After finishing our aviation fun, we went to lunch at Subway and then we were off to the Canada Museum of Science and Technology. We went to the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. His mind blows me away. What it would be like for him to see his inventions come to pass... crazy! There was a big display about the Mona Lisa as well. It featured pictures from a study that was done. It showed what the original painting would have looked like at the time. The display was mostly look don't touch, so the girls didn't love it. (We dropped off some sun rocks.)

Then we had fun exploring until the many Elliott boys showed up. Janelle has just barely moved. I don't even know the exact date they moved - the 17th of July maybe? Anyway Janelle and Jon are now four doors down from Sonia and Ben and their boys will grow up together, which is just magical because cousins are magical. The Science museum is great, the kids loved it and had so much fun.

We stayed until close and then we drove over to Orleans and after having a tour of Sonia's we had a yummy dinner at the Janelle and Jon Elliotts.

I am so blessed to call these women friends.

Saturday, August 10
Cabin DAY! Ken's sister Jenn, her husband Eric and the boys all live in Tokyo right now but they have their place in Val-de-bois, their beautiful cabin that Eric built. The weather forecast wasn't too promising but we were determined to make the best of it. We got there pretty early, before too many people had got there. I liked that, because then I could visit with Jenn a bit. I was actually able to visit with Jenn several times throughout the day, and talk to other people, and it was good. Laura and Joaquin were there, and lots of Jenn and Eric's friends.

The girls loved catching frogs, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, and eating yummy food! It rained, it poured, and then the sun would come out. Alice was in heaven, all of them enjoyed themselves, but my Alice, she loves nature and roaming free and she was in heaven. I'm so glad that we made the effort and the expense of going to see family. Spending time with family up at the cabin is special.

We eventually made it back to the hotel and everyone had a shower/bath and then got tucked into bed. I had to take a picture of Fiona on the counter. She is undaunted by her size. She doesn't complain when she can't reach things, she just figures it out. Her independence and tenacity are such strengths!

Sunday, August 11
Today we got up, had breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and went to church with Janelle and Sonia. The sacrament meeting was so powerful and uplifting. They had a bunch of the youth speak about their experiences doing Trek. Trek is a re-enactment of the pioneers crossing the plains with handcarts. The youth walked and camped for four days, pushing a handcart for 40 kms. Their testimonies about the Savior were so uplifting. I was so glad to have been in that sacrament meeting. It gave me so much hope for the future to hear them.

After church we drove to Prescott, Ontario, we stopped and had lunch and walked around this cute little, historic town.

I should add that while we've been driving we've been listening to the "How to Train Your Dragon" books. They are so funny and so great. We all love the stories. There are movies by the same name but they couldn't be more different - the only similarity being the names of the characters.

We continued driving, we stopped for gas and a bathroom break, but we kept driving until Colborne, Ontario. We'd never taken the girls to the big apple, so we decided to stop. It's mostly just lots of hype, but it's cute, and the food was good.

We got home safely around 9:30 and after emptying the car, everyone went to bed. We had a wonderful long weekend away and everyone was happy to be home.