summer, school and family

Another day, another essay.

I must admit my brain is almost hitting overload. I have about four weeks until my final two exams and then I am taking a couple of months off. In three months I will have completed six classes, written nineteen essays, four exams and read about seven thousand pages of texts and novels. But, finishing is still a month away and I still have nine essays, two exams and about three thousand pages to read...sigh...and it is summer. Luckily, it has been raining for the past two days so I don't feel too bad about missing out.

The sun is coming, the kids have their last day of school on Wednesday and then the fun begins. However, I will be buried in books for a few more weeks. I can do it. I am excited to be over the hump and on the downward slope of my degree and I am learning a lot! I just hope with all the information going in that I will be able to retain some of it.

I am also so happy to have my hubby home with me to play with the kids. (not so happy that he is jobless) but very happy to have him around after two years of seeing very little of him. I am really looking forward to summer holidays. I don't know why but I just have a hard time relating when I hear other women say how they dread having the kids home all summer... I love it. For me, there is nothing better than having my entire family at home or out and about together. Growing up I was that abnormal girl who never wanted to get married, never wanted to have children and here I am married for nearly thirteen years with four kids and LOVING it. Getting married was the best thing I ever did.

Anyway, the hubby has been out all morning gathering boxes (oh yah, I also am packing up my house and moving in six weeks) and I have been sitting at the computer procrastinating writing an essay... so off I go to write a geography essay on globalization, maquiladoras and borderlands...and then I get to start packing today!

So begins my summer...

life changes

Well...my mind has been all over the place lately. So many thoughts and questions and ramblings that I haven't quite known what to do with myself, my hubby has been in Prince Edward Island for two weeks working on an art project and I have been at home hanging with the kids and doing homework. The past few weeks have been challenging as I have had so much on my mind and no one here but my kids to talk to. I miss my husband. Luckily I have an amazing sister across the country who has called a few times to check up on me, knowing I am without adult conversation. I love my sister, what would I do without her.

My thoughts have been all over the place as a few weeks ago we decided that after two years on the beautiful east coast of Canada...

We have decided to leave. We will really miss it. As I look over the photos from the past two years, my first thought is I can't believe how much the kids have grown and my second is we have had so much fun! Nova Scotia is a beautiful place (and so is New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) and we have been so lucky to have been able to spend two years here.

There are so many things we have been able to do and see and we will really miss our maritime summers; our time here will be such a good memory for our family. But, it is time for us to move on, to continue to move forward. For us, for now, that means ROAD TRIP!!!

woohoo!!!

We are so excited! Now, for many the thought of ten days with four kids driving over five thousand kilometres is not cause for excitement. But, I am a big believer in getting there is half the fun! Driving across Canada is a road trip at its finest. Driving across Canada is something I have always wanted to do (sorry Newfoundland I am not skipping you out intentionally). Now, I get to take my second trip (most of the way) across Canada. I am excited. My hubby, the kids and I all had an amazing trip last time. We learned SO much and had so many surprises learning about our Country: it is REALLY big (can I repeat that? REALLY big!) and we have a very SMALL population. tiny.  It is almost overwhelming. But, Canada is truly beautiful. It is amazing. I encourage everyone to take a little drive across this amazing Country. What an experience and I get to do it again!!! How lucky am I?


So, now I need to get back to my books (my courses end at the end of July) and I also need to start figuring out what we are going to bring with us and what we will leave behind in this corner of the world. On to the next segment of our journey. I have no idea where we are going yet (other than British Columbia) but I am enjoying the process of figuring out what is best for our family and I just keep my eyes focused on the future while enjoying the present. Isn't life great!

Building castles and planning foundations

We spent an afternoon at the local bird sanctuary one day (when the sun was actually shining!) and I was so happy to see so many beautiful blooms...

I came across a great quote today that I wanted to write down somewhere where I would be able to find it again...I thought this would be a good place:

"I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart and then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them."
 ~Joseph B. Wirthlin

I really love that. My mind has been in this place for awhile (well, in the moments I am not thinking about homework).

My daughter had her first sleepover this past week-end and when I mentioned to her and her friend that I had to go and do some homework the friend looked at me like I was crazy and said "aren't you a little old for homework?" Well...yes, I guess you could say that I am, especially to a couple of ten year olds. But, I am learning so much and I have always wanted a degree. I think that it is so important to constantly be moving forwards towards your goals even if you risk looking ridiculous to others.

I recently read the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau, which I really enjoyed. So often I have heard the quote "go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you have imagined". But, that is only a part of it; the full quote was so much better!

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; new, universal, and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves around and within him; or the old laws be expanded, and interpreted in his favour in a more liberal sense and he will live with the license of a higher order of beings. In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex, and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundation under them." ~ Henry David Thoreau 1854

I think that is my all time favourite quote. I wish I had heard the full quote a long time ago; I think it is so much more powerful. Dream big and then get to work to build those foundations. That is what I am doing right now, dreaming big and planning out those foundations....

busy month

I can't believe it is already June and not only that but a week into June...soon it will be summer and I am not ready.

I have been slaving away over the books and finished up my last essay on Monday. One semester finished and a second that has to be completed by the end of July. So, every spare minute (and the not so spare ones as well) have been spent with my face in a book. My eyes hurt. This has been a really crazy time at my house. My hubby has been away all week working on an art project with a colleague in Prince Edward Island so I have had the four monkeys all to myself. I only wish I had more time to play with them. He will come home tonight for about 36 hours and then right back at it, hopefully he will be done in another week.

Despite all the craziness I am on track to finish in time and the dishes and laundry are amazingly done and I have even had time for a few stories, cuddles and board games. My daughter had her first sleep over at our house last night (isn't it amazing how fast they grow!) Everything is going so smoothly...I am almost scared. My one big neglect has obviously been my blog. I miss it and would like to spend a few hours in the blog world, but the books are calling so I just thought I would type a quick note so I can feel like I have had at least a few minutes of time just for me.