Eleven Half Birthdays!

August 21, 2011 - the first half birthday!

August 21, 2012

August 21, 2013

August 21, 2014

August 21, 2015

August 21, 2016

August 21, 2017

August 21, 2018

August 21, 2019

August 21, 2020

August 21, 2021

August 21, 2022

I love you Alice Rena!! You just keep getting better and better. I'm so grateful I get to be your Mom!!!

Four Days, Four Sunsets, Four Loves

 

It started on Tuesday. When I drove Fiona to gymnastics, the sky looked so cool. The clouds looked amazing. After I dropped Fiona off, I drove to Kinsmen park so I could capture the sky. When I picked Fiona up, the school still looked really pretty so I decided that we needed to go to this spot at Rotary to take a pic. 

Kinsmen Park

Rotary Park

On Wednesday I told the girls that if they walked down to the lake with me I'd buy them blizzards.

Paradise Beach

Paradise Park

When Kate and I were driving to DQ we went up Westney because I wanted a frozen lemonade from Tim Horton's, and the sky looked amazing. So I decided to take a detour and I took Kate to the same spot as the night before to take a pic of the sky.

Rotary Park

The pics made me so happy, and they're so beautiful, but then I thought, hey wait. ALICE! Thursday will be Alice's turn. So it was.

Rotary Park

And I thought it was complete, but then I thought KEN! So Friday was his turn, even though he was exhausted and didn't want to walk around.

Rotary Park

I'm so grateful for my loves, for my Kate, my Alice, my Fiona and my KEN! Happy Friday!

Sentimental Mood

Sometimes I'm just struck with a pervasive feeling of sentimentality. Maybe a little bit of melancholy? It's almost the end of the summer and I'm feeling a bit sad today. I love my summer's off and I mourn the end of the season, even if it makes me feel a little greedy.

This week has been pretty quiet - no big stuff, lots of little things, and we still have two weeks of holiday in front of us - including a visit from Auntie Wendy from England, and cousin Brian Miller too. But today I feel it, the transition, the end of one season and the beginning of another.

The tree is going to turn soon! I think the top of it looks a tiny bit golden aready.

I enjoyed the way the sun was hitting my hair on the walk with Milo this morning.

I looked at the school yard, so quiet and still today. In two weeks it will be bustling!

And I put a penny in the coin jar, but not before feeling slightly sad that they aren't made anymore.

So far today, I've spent too long doing my French on Duolingo, walked the dog, cleaned my desk, and I've texted and messaged a few people.

And now I've been planning the Peterborough trip!

I'm glad that there's summer left. AND I'm grateful for my good girls. They've done chores and creative stuff this last week. They've been kicked off computers a bunch and it hasn't always been gentle, but they've done stuff! Kate made an awesome stop-motion movie. Alice has stretched, and stretched some more - her splits are crazy cool, Fiona created a beast of a duplo house today. They've been helpful, they've played (they've also whined and complained) but they've been great!

Oh and Ken. I love that he works from home. I love that we have lunch together, and chat, and walk the dog together (most mornings and some evenings). I'm so grateful for summers. I'm so grateful to be a teacher and have these summers with my girls!

Not Cottage Week 2022 (but kind of)

**It is Thursday, July 31, 2025

This was the year that renting a cottage was not in our budget. But travelling to Ottawa to stay with our friends and do a little bit of stuff was!

Earlier today I was posting about cottage week 2025 and I wanted to go back and make sure that all of my cottage week posts had been posted. This was as close to cottage week as we could get in 2022 so here it is.

Friday July 15

(We must have driven up to Ottawa on Thursday afternoon/evening, because there's no way Fiona and I would have gone to Hazel's swimming lesson at 11:15 otherwise...)

We tried to go to the Museum of History, but it was sold out for the day or something.

So we went to the Museum of Nature which we all loved. It was so good, and even better, we got in for free because of the reciprocal program with the ROM.

Emily and I hung out at ByWard market for a bit.

She was giving me art lessons because I was supposed to teach grade 7 art in the fall. I ended up doing a swap with the homeroom teacher and teaching drama/dance and she taught her own art. It was perfect. I really liked this mixed media piece and at the time, I thought I would use this idea for an art lesson. And I just really liked the art.

We met up with Janelle for dinner at an Indian place. It was so lovely!

Saturday July 16

I love how much Holden and Milo love each other!

An awesome visit to the Museum of History in Gatineau!

Always awesome to see Sonia's sister Angelot at the Museum!

Bella and Milo!

If I remember correctly Ken and Jinx went out on the town tonight and Sonia came to visit at Emily's.

Sunday July 17

The quick trip ended as quickly as it started.

I'm sad we don't get to see the Lim-Anderson's as often as we used to when they lived in Toronto, but I'm thankful for the time we do get to spend with them.