The Reading Club

Reading this year has become a passion for Rosalind and very lately Carolina is starting to get the bug too. She is working her way through the Dick and Jane books and also the Harold and his Purple Crayon books. Trips to second hand stores, the library and Chapters are top on our list of preferred spots !!!!!

We are probably a little late off the mark getting into this reading passion but its so good to see as Chris and I are readers - me in particular !!!!

Rosalind is just inhaling books - currently is into the Little House series along with the Fairy series and Geronimo Stilton of course !!! I am looking forward to introducing her to Enid Blyton and Arthur Ransome !!

How to Keep Cool And Have Fun Too !!!

We were lucky enough to be invited to a few of our friends homes over the past heat wave and into their swimming pools. One of these was Rosalinds school buddy Cassandra , whose pareents have an above ground pool. Now I've never been a particular fan, mostly because of the look of the things .. they are not the most attractive additions to your backyard. But I have to admit, being able to jump in and cool off at any time certainly had its attractions . The kids were totally hooked and swimming like wee fish in no time.

So out we went and got ourselves a round pool - 18 feet diameter. We would have picked a 15 foot one but there was none to be had. It's not been set up on the most level ground - Chris didn't want to take the time to build a frame and level it properly for this summer - this will hopefully be a fall project once the pool is down for the winter. The idea is we build a frame and fill it with gravelly sand and this will make the ground level for the pool. I am hoping we will do this in the fall for next year and not leave it till the next spring .....

Its not the most attractive thing in our yard but not as bad as I thought. Its a salt water pool so its a bit different to get set up and Chris is still adjusting the ph etc water levels.

The girls have had an awesome time playing around in the pool. Rosalind is diving with her friend Lily for coins on the bottom - getting great practise swimming underwater and having so much fun they dont even realize the skills they are learning. Bring that hot weather on !!!!

Canada Day In Ottawa

Things sure get serious when it comes to celebrating Canada Day in Ottawa. Everyone is wearing costumes or outfits of white and red and everyone is partying !!!! We left for Ottawa on July 1, it was a slow drive up there as everyone had the same idea. Got up to Ottawa in time to order in pizza from the Colonnade Restaurant and had dinner with Chris's parents and then off to Parliament Hill to see the sights.

The number of people out and about in Ottawa was just amazing and up on the hill - the most wonderful concert , capped by a performance by the Bare Naked Ladies !!! Everyone was in a terrific mood , given the numbers of people everyone was in a great party mood.
Rosalind has incredible stamina and was many people were jammed in with us - all for a magnificant 15 minute display. And it was magnificant !!!!!!
up for the party. Carolina needed a nap so while Chris and Rosalind checked out the action on the hill, Carolina and I sat down and snuggled and listened to the performance . Then at 9:30 we headed for a spot to watch the fireworks ( along with hundreds of other folks ). We were wedged in with I cannot even guess how many people were jammed in with us - all for a magnificant 15 minute display. And it was magnificant !!!!!!

After it was over , we took a 10 minute break to allow the crowds to dissipate and then we walked home to Chris's parents house and happily and quickly into bed for the night.

Happy Birthday Canada !!!!!!

Rosalind the Squeemish - Carolina the Brave

Well it is Rosalind who wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Truly she does. She loves all manner of animals and critteres . However when the great snail roundup began, it was her sister Carolina who was pressed into actually picking up the little slimy things and putting them into their cages. And so it is with worms, spiders and other buggy type things Rosalind encounters.





So on Sunday when we decided to go to Waterloo Park with the dual purpose of letting Chris show the girls the construction work at the Perimeter Institute and also see the animals, we encountered a toad on the path. Rosalind wouldnt go very close and didn't even want to poke it with a stick to see if it was alive , dead or terrified. Carolina on the other hand didn't hesitate - picked it up and examined it closely before finally freeing it back towards the woods. Rosalind does have a love of and a tender heart for all creatures but I suspect her career as a veterinarian may be somewhat restricted unless she can coax her little sister Carolina to be her professional assistant !!!

SOLD

SOLD .... well its a done deal.... they are moving .... mid July. House has been found and negotiations finalized in Hamilton. Really nice house in very nice neighbourhood ......in Hamilton ( sigh ). There is some work that Erik will be getting done asap but its a most charming house and its to be their new home mid July. I suspect there will be a lot of traffic back and forth between Kitchener and Hamilton as certain little girls miss each other and require play dates and sleep overs.

Moving Away, A New Stage for All of Us ....

Sigh ..................Well , eldest son Erik has a job in Hamilton that has been going well and he and Lisa are now committed to the move to that town and to ending the commute , important especially considering the lengths and times of the shifts he works. The house was listed last week and we've had the past weekend, open houses, both Saturday and Sunday ( while we were up north having our romantic weekend and all that previously talked about non- romantic stuff, one of my colleques at Coldwell Banker was handling the open houses for me) and with an agents open house Tuesday and a couple of agent showings, last night brought us an offer !!! Conditions to be waived this coming Friday May 28th so hopefully all will go well and they can start to focus on the other end of the transaction - the buying of the new home in Hamilton. I am excited for them !! We will miss them terribly - its funny , how used you get to the little things people do for you .... and its been like that with Erik and Lisa . We've been so fortunate in being able to see them and ( ok, lets face it, ESPECIALLY) Jillian virtually every day , they've been there for us doing favours , and so have we returned favours ...I think both thinking the other is doing more in that regard.

Hamilton is not the end of the earth but it makes for a more deliberate and scheduled get-together - less spur of the moment - kind of relationship. If this deal does go through and we hope it does for them , then the close date is July 16th ...not very far off and a whole new chapter for us all !!! Seems like they just got here - its been almost exactly 4 years - hard to believe.

Great New Friends - Great Old Friends

When Rosalind was 4 and in JK one of her first good friends was Emilyn. They were in the JK, SK and Grade 1 at Suddaby PS together and loved spending time with each other. For a bit of that time the before and after school care was at the same place as well which just enhanced the bond. When we moved Rosalind and Carolina ( who was to start in JK ) the year Rosalind was going into Grade 2 , it became hard to keep the connection. We have tried with occasional ( very occasional ) playdates and birthdays to keep Emilyn and Rosalind connected and to help keep that friendship alive .

Carolina, now in SK, rolled into the new school with Jillian at her side and the two have pretty much stuck it out together either the best of friends or worst of enemies. Over the past month, we have heard a new name over and over - Maya. Apparently a brand new student at school, in Grade 1, as she comes from England where there is no JK/SK split and so is the same age as Carolina. Maya is a very sweet, darling little child and seems to be a great match for Carolina.


There is great hugging and kissing and just general cozying up at the beginning of the day as they greet each other and sighs and hugs at the end of the day when its time to go home. Maya is really Carolina's first best friend. She has gotten along well with all the kids in her class but there has been no deep close friendship bloom. A high point for Carolina was being invited to Maya's parents house- warming party. The parents allowed each of their kids a friend to the party and Maya asked Carolina. The two played very well and Carolina still talks about it. For Carolina's birthday I kept trying to get to the essence of what she wanted for her birthday and finally she told me she wanted Maya over for a playdate. This from the girl with the big party last year who just glowed as all her class sang Happy Birthday to her !!! So Saturday, we collect Maya and go to Build A Bear where they can each pick a stuffie and make it , give it a heart, a name , an outfit and come back to our place to have a tea party with their new stuffies.


Rosalind will have her play date with Emilyn Saturday including any part of the tea party they want to join in with the 'little girls' ( as Rosalind is so fond of calling Carolina, Jillian and their friends ).


Its so neat to see your childrens friendships grow and develop. Its also hard to see those friendships tested by individual personalities and charactor traits of the players !! It is part of growing up but hard to watch and offer advice from the sidelines, letting your children make their choices handling these new situations. We seem to have seen a bit of both the thrill of the new friendship and the challenge of the other in the past few weeks .....