summer...so far

This summer, like so many in my life has been hectic and a little crazy.

We started July with one of our favourite summer activities - Canada Day in Pugwash.

Celebrating Canada Day in Pugwash is a bit of a Nova Scotian tradition for us. It starts with a parade...

heavy on the pipe bands - we all love the pipe bands. Then lunch with one of our favourite ladies from church - she is always so generous in taking us in and feeding us...and then a visit to the highland games.

The highland games are always fun to watch. The boys are always impressed with the strength these men have and I think it is fun to watch a bunch of big guys twirling around in skirts. 

My mother-in-law is from Scotland so all the kids feel a little connected to their Scottish roots every time we visit the games. 

Some of my boys want to try it and prove to everyone that they are the strongest. See that blurry kid back there on the wrong side of the ropes heading for the pitch...the one who had to be moved out of the way before this guy could throw...that's right...he's mine. 

I've been trying to let the kids have a bit of fun whenever I can. I'm trying to loosen up a little and let them enjoy the little things in life more often. They only get to experience childhood once...

You would think this kid won the lottery when I caught him blowing bubbles in his milk and asked if I could take pictures of him. He obviously thought he was going to be in trouble. It made me wonder...how mean am I usually? Yes milk spilt all over the table and the kid...but he really had fun and I had another opportunity to teach him about cleaning up - win/win. 

I've been feeling little guilty because most of our summer has looked like this. My kids...especially my youngest...have spent so much of their lives living out of boxes. This summer we moved back to British Columbia...new city this time. I am hoping our moving days will soon be over. At least the big moves. 

The only thing that I like about moving is the opportunity it gives me for road trips! (and yes I do realize that it is probably much cheaper and a lot easier to just take a road trip - my entire life has been a little like choosing the shortest line in the grocery store...you know the one...that short line that always takes the longest to get through...a constant lesson in patience). 

I love driving across Canada. And it is a good thing I do because this was our fourth time doing it! 

On this trip we were able to stop and visit some new-old friends in Manitoba. The boys had so much fun - well, we all had fun, but my boys in particular had a great time. 

We all learned a little about shooting guns...

riding quads...

and catching frogs.

As always the trip was beautiful and we loved being back in the mountains. We missed them.

It has been two weeks since our arrival and I am exhausted. After cleaning our new home, unloading boxes, beginning to unpack, visiting family, and getting in some canning...I am ready for a vacation. 

Yesterday, we took the afternoon off to have a bit of family time at the local heritage village. 

It was kind of nice heading back in time for an afternoon. But, that is all the vacation I am going to get for awhile...more boxes are waiting to be unpacked and I refuse to be the family that lives amongst piles of boxes. Maybe I'll have time to sneak in a bit of fun next week...

happiness...

The hubby and I have been formulating plans for our future...our Plan B future.

I've been reading old journals, looking at family photos and reading my old blog posts.

As I think about our future while looking at our past, one item stands out...

When the hubby and I were engaged, I would bring home tourism brochures from the travel agency I worked at. We would look through them and talk about all the places we could live. We were young and the whole world was available to us. The thought that we could live anywhere in the world was exciting. After looking for weeks at brochures for a reason that I do not know we settled on Prince Edward Island. It seemed perfect. We talked about it for weeks, months...but I had a mortgage and a good job and after we married, we stayed where we were.

Nine months into our marriage, I was given the opportunity to take a business trip to New Brunswick. The tourist board flew a number of us over and showed us why we should send our clients to New Brunswick. If I had been single without a mortgage, I would not have returned home. I loved it. Each place I went I fell more and more in love. I remember the last night of the trip standing outside the Algonquin hotel in St. Andrews by the Sea. It was very late at night and tears were running down my cheeks and for the first time in years, I felt like I was home. I missed my new hubby but I did not want to leave. I spent an hour on the phone with him trying to convince him to drop everything and meet me there. We could open a BandB or something, right? We could make it work. I loved the few days I spent in New Brunswick and talked of it often over the next decade.

When my hubby mentioned graduate school in Nova Scotia...I jumped at the chance!

FINALLY...I would get to live in the maritimes.

 We spent two years there and as I look back at our pictures at the smiling faces of my children playing on the beach I realize that (aside from the long commute that my hubby had) we were happiest there.

 We loved the ocean, the day trips, the museums, the galleries, the history, the architecture, the slow-paced lifestyle.

 The maritimes suit us.

The past few weeks we have spent hours discussing and more hours pondering and praying about what we should do. Looking at our photos...of the house we lived in (that is owned by my mother-in-law and rented out) and available to us...it did not take us too long to decide where we should be.

Plans are in the works for a more permanent summer move to Nova Scotia...we feel relief, peace and happiness...no more lobsterless summers for us!

photos! again....

There seems to have been a glitch with my last post...so I think I have fixed it
and am reposting...(sorry for the repeat!)

So, we are well into our small home experiment and we are still working out the glitches!

The biggest one is our internet connection. We are sharing wireless internet access and our "cottage" has a tin roof which seems to be blocking the wireless signal and so far we have had internet only a few times over the past three months. We have moved the computer (again) and so far (about three hours) it is working! hurray! I am keeping my fingers crossed and while it is up I thought I would share a few photos as my blog has been looking very black and white.




our vehicle heavily weighed down (notice how close the uhaul is to the tires!) in Quebec

Interior view...can you find the kids? As I said we were VERY weighed down.

We didn't make many stops this trip (see above for explanation) but we did stop at the parliament buildings
 in Ottawa...
I love them!

When I downloaded my pictures I realized almost all of my cross-Canada photos were of hay fields through the prairies...
I love driving through the prairies even though many people warn me of how boring they are...I think they are beautiful;
must be in my blood or something...
Our trip seems so long ago now. I would love to do it again without all of my worldly possessions in tow.



When downloading I also discovered I had taken way too many photos of my canning ( I was SO happy
to be able to get to the Okanagan in time to can). In the end, even though we didn't arrive until the end of August
I still managed to put away 250 jars of produce. Just wait until next year!!!


Here are a few of my favourites...



We arrived just as cherry season was ending...I didn't get any canned but did manage to pit and freeze a few large
ziploc bags full...and have since made the best cherry, chocolate chunk scones...which were eaten too quickly to get
a photo...next time!

We also caught the end of the green beans and with those I made....

Dilly Beans

Which I have never had...and I couldn't believe how crunchy they are! I only made seven jars
but next year I think I will make a few more - the kids love them!

I was able to get a lot of tomatoes and so I canned some (first time canning tomatoes and I don't know
why I didn't do it before...so easy!) I froze tomatoes pureed with fresh basil in large ziploc bags for sauce,
I also made ketchup, BBQ sauces and Salsa...

and I oven-dried tomatoes...very time consuming, but well worth it - they are delicious!

Peaches were one of the things that I missed the most about the Okanagan. Store bought peaches
are just not the same as those purchased from a local orchard.

and I made three kinds of pickles.

I really love having a closet full of canned goods! And I love that everything turned out.

Our small home experiment is still going well most of the time. Our biggest problem right now is the amount
of condensation in the house. There is no fan for the stove and there are six of us breathing in a small space...
we are starting to try and combat mold on the windows and in the front entrance. We have had to shuffle things
around and I've had to pack away some items to reduce clutter but I think we may now have that under control....
I hope!

I am missing having all of my books and dishes out. And my daughter is not too excited about sharing a room with her
brothers. The kids are all in the loft (largest room) and we have curtained off an area for my daughter, but it is just not
the same as having a room to oneself. We are creating a curtained off room for my oldest son today as well... and
hopefully that will satisfy for now. Other than that it is all good and I am learning that very little space is needed. I think
the problem lies not in the amount of space each person has but in the amount of stuff we have accumulated and now we
don't have room for it. That may have to be our next experiment! I have been homeschooling the kids and have noticed
a HUGE difference in the way they are getting along. I am loving all the extra family time (minus dad). The oldest three
have all learned to play chess and have been having competitions. With the snow arriving this past week we have also
been able to get in our daily tobaggan run and for the first time ( I think ever!) I am loving our Canadian winter...

so far, so good! I'll keep you posted!