Canada Day

It was a great day.  The first day a summer vacation was spent outside with friends. 
A small town parade. Some sunshine from above. And water slide to keep cool.



Loved watching this girl play today!

 Good Food.  Good Friends.  Good Times. 

Happy Birthday Canada!

Countdown

The countdown is on.  Only four more days until summer vacation officially begins.  We have big plans for summer...lots of lazy pj mornings, a few trips to the beach, a visit to the animals at the local petting zoo, yard work, painting, organizing...all those big jobs that are put off until we have more time.

In cities and small towns across the country, students are filing into arenas and community centers sporting caps and gowns and listening to inspiring speeches about new beginnings, fresh starts, dreams and possibilities.  June is all about Alice Cooper shouting out his famous lyrics...Schools out for the summer...

I think there are more life changes, more important decisions made, and more hopes for the future in the month of June than all the successful New Year's resolutions combined.  Whether you're graduating preschool, high school, or college June signifies the end.  And just as the last binder hits the recycle bin...the night staff at Wal-Mart are unpacking boxes of loose-leaf and number 2 pencils getting ready for the next round of hopes and dreams.

No one graduated from school this year at our house.  But we will celebrate the end of the school year anyway.  Because with school being over, family and friends start holidaying and visiting... and that means us too.  We had a great weekend catching up with family and celebrating new beginnings with friends on their big day.

My sweet little niece proudly wore her birthday badge today, joining the two year old club.  It was a party full of tomorrow's little hopes and dreams. 

Let the countdown begin!

6.21

The summer solstice is here.  Today in our beautiful north country the sun will barely sleep. Today is the day we long for on those blizzarding January days.  The first day of summer.  The longest day of the year. 

We spent Father's Day and the first day of summer in one of the best ways possible....camping.   Camping with family in our town's own back yard.  Literally,  a three song drive from our house is an amazingly beautiful campground carved out of Canada's Boreal Forest.  Each campsite is surrounded by birch and evergreen trees and bordered by steep rock cuts perfect for little girls to climb and explore and get dirty with their cousin who is here visiting for the first day of summer.

I have many happy camping memories from my own childhood... burning sticks in the campfire, trying to toast the perfect marshmallow, washing dirty feet in a basin before crawling into the sleeping bag and feeling it's cold zipper against your skin.  On the top bunk in our camper there was a tiny sliding window that my brother and I would open so that we could here the snapping and crackling of the campfire and the laughter and conversation from our parents and our aunties and our uncles as we drifted off to sleep.

And now my girls are making their own memories.  Memories of the great trek to the top of the scenic tower to take in the breathless view of green and blue from lakes and trees and sky.  This great trek to the top of the world as Callie puts it.  Memories of walks along the beach, tossing rocks into the water.  Memories of roasting hot dogs and building sweet and sticky s'mores.  Memories of staying up late and getting up early to go fishing.

Memories of a family spending time together, talking, laughing, sharing...getting to know each other again and again.

Some people struggle with understanding the concept of camping.  For some can't see past the dirt, the bugs, and the effort it takes to move your life into the wilderness for a few days.  

But, for those who get it, you know what I mean when I speak of the inner peace you feel when you have your morning coffee outside with the birds and the squirrels.  You know that a hot dog has never tasted better than when you've cooked it yourself over the campfire and you eat it at a picnic table covered with a plastic table cloth held down with little metal clips.  You know there is something greater than you when you look up at the night sky and search out the big dipper amongst the dotted pattern of the stars.

All of our camping memories are possible because of my parents.  They have taught us that the effort is worth it, repaying you tenfold for what you put in when your girl begs pleeeease can we stay one more night.  They let us tag along on their camping journeys...showing how it's done until we grow our own camping roots.

Summer has arrived.

Father's Day

What makes a good father?  I know the answer to this because I have the best dad.

And so do my girls.

A good father is patient.

A good father enjoys his children, he wants to spend time with them, play with them, teach them...love them. 

A good father chooses his family first.

A good father is proud of his girl.  He is a daughter's first love.  He holds her hand the whole way.. until the day he must give it away.   Then he holds her heart.

Above all, a good father respects and loves the mother of his children. He teaches his children, by his own example, to honor their mother and this, in turn, teaches them how they too shall be honored in any relationship.

I have been blessed.

Happy Day

Yesterday was my birthday.  It was a good day.  My phone was vibrating all day alerting me to the the newest birthday wish written on my wall.  It's such a simple thing...a few key strokes containing a birthday greeting followed by 'share' but every time my phone buzzed I had to look to see who it was from.  This simple thing made me smile and elevated Tuesday's status from regular day to great day.

Things have been a little hectic around here lately.  Jon was away on a long trip for five days so it was just me and the girls going through the motions of the daily routine.  We missed him and it was a happy day when he got home. 

Lexi finally recovered from the flu bug only to be bitten again five days later...uhgg.  She woke up on the weekend  irritable and clingy, next came the fever, then a trip to the emergency room and finally some antibiotics for her ear infection. The month of June has not been kind to Lexi. 

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In other news...

This girl sure can run...

I'm not sure who will be more sad when our Saturday morning soccer match comes to an end Callie or me.  I love watching her, my little sporty spice, run with all her might...giving 110%.  And when she scores a goal she just stands there, all shy, waiting for her reward... a cheer or a high five or some encouraging words from the crowd -aka- her mama.

Lexi likes to hang out at the soccer field too.  She's a big fan of the half-time orange break.



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We are looking forward to doing a lot more of this...

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Mother Nature never forgets my birthday.  She always gives me the gift of blooming lilac bushes.  And yesterday I stopped by my mom's house to cut my birthday bouquet of fresh lilacs.  Their fragrance has encompassed our entire home and makes you want to breathe in deeply when you walk in the door.

It was a happy day. A birthday celebrated in the quiet comforts of home.  I don't mind getting older.  Everything seems to get better with age.  I am grateful to be alive and in good health and surrounded by family and friends. 

Grandma's new red door...the color is awesome.

 

Happy Day.