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...

Nova Scotia 2013

We are here and we are connected. ... sort of... our phone still isn't working.

The strange thing about returning to a house that we lived in before is that after the first day it felt like we had just returned from vacation. We were back home after a LONG holiday. I keep wandering into the living room and shocking myself asking: Where is my furniture? and where did this mess come from? All I want to do is flop down on my couch and pick up a magazine and relax...I am so tired.

After the craziness that was June (and May for that matter) with writing essays and exams, getting rid of stuff, packing and then loading the trailer (and then unloading and reloading...don't ask) driving across Canada was somewhat relaxing. Except for the heatwave that followed us across country...and me without my air conditioning.

I drove over 5500 km.

Myself.

I have never driven farther than the Okanagan to Vancouver on my own. That is only about 5 hours. This was over ten times as long.

The trip was good and fairly uneventful...other than celebrating my baby's sixth birthday in Kenora, Ontario. We went out for Kalamari and spent the evening talking with a couple of fishermen at the end of the pier. The kids were quite taken with the one-eyed Newfoundlander...he offered them many pieces of advice and may well be the highlight of the trip. (Other than the big curly slide at the hotel in Brandon, Manitoba of course).

I was happy to arrive home. Happy and tired. I have spent the past week doing all the fun things...like unpacking, trying to get our utilities in order and getting oil changes on our vehicles. And then staring at all the boxes of books that currently have no shelves.

Last Saturday...before I started in on all the fun stuff...we took a day off and went to the beach.

After all the time in the car the kids needed to have some space...

The boys were really excited about being at a beach with creatures to collect and look at again ... they never did learn to love the lakes of the Okanagan.

They had such a good time collecting crabs and snails and jellyfish...

The day was a scorcher with record temperatures over 30C very hot for Nova Scotia. It was so nice to be able to go down to the beach and cool off.

While it was a regular hot summer day for us... for many it was unbearably hot and the beaches were PACKED!

I love Nova Scotia. The boys didn't even realize how busy the beach was.

After the beach we decided to splurge on our favourite post-beach treat...

Nothing is easier after a day at the beach than throwing a bunch of lobsters in a pot for dinner. I love that we can do that here. It feels so luxurious...and tastes so good!


The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful.

Although, we did go strawberry picking.

 Moving when we did we get a very extended strawberry season. We were able to experience a good portion of the season in the Okanagan and then arrive in Nova Scotia for the beginning of the season here. No one in our house is complaining!

My favourite moment was when my youngest came over to where I was picking..."mommy I found one just for you". He had the sweetest look on his face...

that of course disappeared as soon as I lifted up my camera.

Our days have been busy but we have been enjoying the little bits of exploring we have been doing.
We are making the most of our summer while trying to organize the house. We have had a few walks around the neighbourhood and trips to the park. We'll be able to do more when the hubby finishes teaching his class at the end of the month. For now, I think the boys are happy just to be out of the car...

and I am happy to be home and finally settling down... at least a little.