How did all of July go by without me sneaking in a blog? The days are long, and at the end of those long days I'm all out of brain power to sit down and write something that makes sense, that's how! Here we are in the third week of August with summer coming to a close, and I have lots of things to fill you in on. Here goes...
House renos are underway! We continue to be amazed by the fact that it's finally happening, and even though we're two weeks in, there have been big changes. The main floor is gutted and the addition is down - and with these two big first steps there have been no major surprises or speed bumps (even with four layers of flooring in some places - !!). Without the addition in the back the yard seems enormous, though the plan is to replace what was there with a sound structural space complete with bathroom, laundry room and family room (with a big back yard view); no more tippy room! The addition that was taken off had no foundation save for a few above ground beams. While this big big job is being tackled we're staying at a few rental places in the neighourhood, and rental numbero uno is working out for the most part (so far). We're living in a two-bedroom ground floor unit of a house across the street from the kids' school, so it's close to our place and walkable to what we're used to. Next up we're headed to the cottage and Bowmanville before moving into our September and October place. Hopefully we can be back in the house by early November! I'll try to do a better job of blogging to post photos and updates of the house.
After another year with minimal travel, we made our way out west to visit both sides of the family, and it was the highlight of the summer for sure! We flew to Calgary (no delays/hiccups) and after a long day of travel rolled into Fernie where we were greeted by cousin Anouk on the front lawn of my sister's family's house. After three years of no visits, it was great to see everyone, and meet their youngest daughter Simone. The highlight of the Fernie leg of the trip may have been our incredible hike to Bisaro cave - this was not a hike for the faint of heart! There were ladders and bridges and a few switchbacks that required steady eyes and feet, but with a good adult to kid ratio and some priming (safety, listening to the adults in charge, etc.) we felt comfortable that the kids were good to go. The views on the way up were so so beautiful, and the cave and cave explore at the end were memorable to say the least! The big kids and Steve explored into the cave with Sarah and her friend Duncan, and experienced the complete darkness of one of BCs biggest known caves (but with headlamps). We also went for a river float, Steve and Hendrik went whitewater rafting (which sounded incredible - there was cliff jumping and a sandwich that has not yet been replicated), Sarah and I went mountain biking and trail running, we visited Island Lake Lodge, ate many fabulous meals outside, and I dreamed of future summer and winter visits. I did make a few notes on all of the wonderful things we did there, so I'll post a photo - this is more for me than it is for you (I think - I'm not sure you'll be able to decipher my scrawl!).
The Calgary leg of our trip was also fabulous, and the kids loved spending time with their cousins! We went downhill karting (this might have been the highlight), watched movies, went for walks in the woods behind their house, went to the zoo, ate more amazing meals, had a campfire, went to splash pads and playgrounds, and chilled and spent time together - so good! Steve and Hendrik left a few days before the rest of us to get home for some baseball games, and we joined and hit the ground running with summer sports and activities. I also coached a volleyball camp and had a great time being in the gym with friends and a great group of athletes.
Other summer notables - in brief - are a few great visits to the cottage, lots of baseball, a beach day at Port Burwell, soccer (for Alana), and time with friends and at playgrounds around town. Hendrik's baseball team is still going; they're competing in the London and area finals tournament this weekend and are undefeated going into their third game. Hendrik pitched three inning yesterday morning and did a great job! I was at Alana's final soccer tournament, so missed out - but I got to see her team through to the end of a fun season. Alana and Jordan both spent a good amount of time on the diamond too, and they both enjoyed their seasons and seem ready for more! With summer wrapping up soon we'll head to the cottage one more time, and hopefully get some rest and relaxation (and a bit of prep and planning) in before school starts again. Summer always seems to go so quickly, but when you think back about everything we've been able to do it does seem significant. I'm so thankful we get to spend summers with our kids! Hope you enjoy the photos and I'll try to get another one posted before we are back in the classroom.
