Aug. 6, 2007 -
I thought I would take a moment an update you after my long silence. We have had a very nice summer, if not extremely busy so far. We been back from Ontario for almost 2 weeks and I can hardly believe it. While we were in Ontario we had a great visit with my mom and dad and with my friends in Windsor.
I traveled with my friend from here, she was going to visit her son and his girlfriend. The trip went very well, we talked the whole trip and it made the time pass very quickly for me. We, the boys and I, spent the first week at my brother's and my friend Barb's in Windsor. We didn't do much exciting but visit, swim and let the kids play and reconnect after a year of separation. CW's got 2 friends that he's had since birth, their mom's and I were all pregnant for the first time at the same time, we all had boys and I think we had our first play date when CW was 3 weeks old. Every time we are together we take a picture of the 3 of them and get copies and all the boys have them framed on their dressers. Barb's daughter and CW are more like sibilings and still get along great which surprises us because they are both growing up and we are waiting for the day when she is 'too old' for little old CW. Barb's little one is the same age as DJ, they have an interesting relationship, if they got to spend more time together I'm sure they would work out all the kinks.....right Barb. 
I did get to go out with my girl friends for dinner, we went to my favourite restaurant and had a lovely meal and a long chat, there is a lot to catch up on.
The second week we were at my mom and dad's and we were busy. We went to Niagara Falls on Saturday, which was fun and I was grateful that my back/hip held out for most of it as there was a lot of walking involved. CW and DJ were great. I was a little concerned for DJ as he has no fear.....and Niagara is not the place to be brave, but he was really good and listened very well, although I did keep an eagle eye on him. We didn't visit the commerical area at all, I don't think CW knows that all that stuff exist up on the hill. On Sunday my parent's church had their closing programme for their VBS and since it is a huge church they do this up big as well, it was a BBQ and carnival. The boys enjoyed themselves but by the end of the afternoon they were tired and grumpy. On Monday we headed for the beach, and on Wednesday we went to the zoo. Then on Friday we went to Story Book Gardens with my brother and his family. I was a great park with several large climbing structures and mazes. They also had a jumbo size splash pad. DJ is afraid of the water or rather hates water in his face but did amazingly well, I think the excitement outweighed his fear.
When we got home we had a birthday party for my dad, he had turned 60 back in February but we weren't there to celebrate. Everyone was there except W so we had a big family BBQ, with an ice cream cake and a variety show. Each of the grandchildren did a little something for Papa, it was neat. DJ said his memory verses that he had be learning and sang a song along with his favourite CD. CW said some of his memory verses and played a piece on the piano. My brother's kids did stuff too. My sister doesn't have kids yet...actually isn't even married quite yet so she took pictures and video. I think my dad really enjoyed being spoiled, he said that he always wanted a summer birthday and now he knows why.
We left really early on Sunday morning for our return journey, this time by myself. I was nervous. Everything went well until I hit Montreal, then I had the detour of my life. It was over an hour and a half out of the way, with signage in French only.... and I had a mini panic attack. (This is where CW snickers and says mini? ;) ) but God was with me and we made it through in one piece. I was jittery for the rest of the day but we made it to the hotel in one piece. The second day was a piece of cake in comparison with no major cities to drive through, I was glad to get home though. Twenty-two hours driving in two days is plenty.
W thought that my trip home was supposed to cure my home sickness but actually quite the opposite happened. My desire to move home is more acute then ever. I am glad to be in my home, I just wish I could transplant it to somewhere in southwestern Ontario.
These last two weeks I've been cleaning and organizing and prepping for school. W has been working a lot of overtime, which is good and bad. We have managed (or I should say W) to pay down our debt, now all we have left is our mortgage. It feels very liberating. We thank God for providing the means to do this!!! W will continue with all this over time until our family vacation in a couple of weeks. We've rented a housekeeping cottage in Cape Breton. W and the boys have never been there and I haven't been since I was 13 we are very excited about it. Not sure the boys will enjoy the Cabot Trail but they will definitely enjoy the Fortress of Louisburg.
