I have two words to describe our summer this year – joyful and HOT! We left BC at the end of June, just before the heat wave, and made our way eastward to Manitoba to spend some time with family (during another week-long heat wave). Boy, did we need the break! Just having some cousins to play with and other adults to chat with was so wonderful for all of us! Joyful.
We also used Erik’s parents’ place as a staging ground. In preparing for our US camping and road trip, we quickly discovered that we were way too late to reserve sites at almost all of the National Parks we were wishing to visit. Every RV site, small or large, was reserved. Even private campgrounds within short drives of the parks were full. Yikes. So we decided to sell the trailer and buy tent-camping gear. Yes, we decided to downsize even further from a trailer to a tent. Thus, we used our time in Manitoba to outfit Chuck with a new “fanny pack” (hitch box) and acquire that which would be needed for car camping.
Our time in Manitoba was also filled with summer camps and swimming lessons. Claire and Molly and their cousin, Céleste, attended a local equine-led life-skills camp where they were given challenges to complete by working with camp team mates and with horses. It was an amazing program and the girls had a blast. They came home tired, dusty, and full of stories each and every day.
Another special event was getting to try scuba diving equipment with Erik and his father at the local pool. After swimming lessons one evening, we were given a corner of the deep end of the pool to use where Erik and his dad submerged a tank with two regulators for breathing. Erik took each kid down to the bottom and let them experience being underwater while being able to breath. I was so proud of them for having the courage to try. It’s a very nerve-wracking feeling to convince yourself to take a breath in when you are underwater. We were very grateful to Grandpapa for getting the gear tested and filled so that we could have this experience.
Last, but not least, we got to celebrate Simon’s 6th birthday with family in Winnipeg. We had planned to go to an outdoor theme park with rides and games. Sadly, it was over 30 degrees and was also during a time when the Winnipeg air quality was poor due to forest fires in Ontario. As an alternative, we found an indoor fun place with glow-in-the-dark mini putt, bumper cars, laser tag, and an arcade. Simon was totally in his element! We topped it off with pizza and ice cream cake. What more could a 6 yr old ask for??
We followed the heat East into Ontario and then into Ottawa. We were able to stay in our own home for two weeks and got to spend lots of time with friends. It was so, so, so nice to see everyone and for the kids to get some much-needed time with their besties. Erik got some house repairs taken care of while I handled some of the health-related administration. It was the fastest two weeks of the whole summer and we were soon rolling out again with our sad goodbyes.
We called Perth home for the next 2.5 weeks where we got to hang out with my parents and my siblings and their kids. There’s nothing better than being with loved ones and we had a whole year’s worth of hugs to catch up on. Plus, my parents are very good cooks, so we ate like royalty. Just look at this:
My sister is also in Perth and her place is affectionately known as the “fun house” since my three always love playing there. We spent our time between Grandma’s and Aunt Mandy’s. We also took a day trip to Kingston to see some friends and give much needed hugs to those we’ve missed. But the big summer finale was a full family gathering where we staged two days of outdoor games (during a heat wave), big meals, and lots of storytelling. Thankfully, Mandy has a new pool so we had a way to cool off after our shenanigans.
September approached, and as many got ready for back-to-school, we packed our stuff into Chuck with the intention of going to the US and then onward to Mexico. Erik organized for our truck to be shipped over the border and for us to fly across to meet it. This is the only option available to us as the land borders remain closed. We ended up delayed by four days, but that’s a story to share with a beer. On Aug 31, we flew in a helicopter from Windsor to Detroit, cleared customs, and started the next chapter of our edventures.
