My youngest...

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

It's been a couple of weeks now that Findlay's been in school and while he's not thrilled with the daily grind that is "big school", he goes without too much fuss. I think part of his resistance to going, is that he knows that some of the freedom that he had before is gone.

Something that has helped to get him out the door in the mornings for the last two days has been riding his bike to school. When I saw him ride ahead of me on the way to school, I flashed back to the days when I would walk the girls to the same school with Findlay in the backpack on my back! While I don't miss those days, I marvelled that we're already onto the days I had thought would never come.

Time will tell if he becomes the story teller and book worm that Olivia is, or the hard worker and math whiz that Meredith is, or if school just isn't going to be his thing. What has struck me about his first weeks of school, is how much he enjoys music. Both of his parents are musical, so it's not a surprise that he would be interested, but so often we overlook that interest for him.

I just look forward to helping him nurture his passions, whatever they may become.

I love my clothes line....

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

I remember in my youth when my mother was on a mission to get clothes onto the clothes line. Of course in my domestic ignorance, I didn't get it. Even once I started doing my own laundry, I didn't get it. But then, children came along and while with one child I did a little more laundry, the clothes line didn't have the magic that it does for me now.

With two very young children living in an apartment and doing endless loads of laundry using a coin-operated washer and dryer, I finally got it. Of course at that time, I didn't have it (a line, that is).

When we moved into our house there was already a clothes line. This excited me.

When life gets busy, we often no longer take the time to consider the weather and whether it's a good "line day". In my mother's generation, your day was determined by the weather. If it was a good "line day", you found something that needed laundering and did it. You bleached diapers using the sunlight.

Based on what we're doing to our planet, we should start considering the weather and whether it's a good "line day". I'm trying to, and I feel such a sense of pride and accomplishment after putting the puzzle of laundry out on my line (because of the rocks, it's important to hang things in a certain order to avoid dragging). I don't get that same feeling when I throw things in the tumble-squeaker (our dryer now has an annoying squeak that is likely the sign of it's coming demise).

The one thing that my clothesline can't do very well is remove the cat hair from our bed covers....but we're the ones who chose to live with cat hair in the first place.

Maybe after reading this, you'll feel inspired to hang your clothes outside for that fresh-air smell. A well-hung clothes line really is a work of art.

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Always underfoot...or arm...or on-lap

Our senior cat Mouse, likes us. He likes us so much, that at any opportunity for a lap...he's there. Here he's enjoying some quality warmth time with Andrew at the computer. It's the next best thing to the lap for him. Kind of the same idea as when they lie down on the paper. Cats are great....except for the other one we have. He's just crazy.

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

First day of school!!!

What an exciting day. Everyone was thrilled to be going to school...but Meredith and Findlay had too many butterflies in their stomachs to eat much of anything. Hopefully they've recovered and are eating a big lunch now as I post this!

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Findlay on his first day of school....

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

More happy campers....

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Happy to be back in Canada!!!!

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Story Land

The kids enjoyed a venture to Story Land while the Moms shopped. A much better way to keep everyone amused!

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

The non-shoppers of North Conway...

I think Andrew's eyes started to water the moment we entered TJ Maxx. He's just not a shopper.

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Neither is Findlay....

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

The campers of Conway Lake

We enjoyed camping at Conway Lake. We referred to it as "Cul de Sac camping" as we were all around a big circle and quite close together, but it was a reasonable price and there wasn't much available for the long weekend when we were booking. It worked well from a traffic perspective as we never had to go far to get to the shops!

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Leaving from Fredericton

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Departing early from Fredericton to get to the US!

Final Summer Road Trip!

We headed to North Conway with the Falcon Run Tullochs for some back to school shopping and a camping trip all in one. It turned out to be fabulous weather (compared to home) and some good deals were found on the shopping front. The drive was long for all of us, so we're really looking forward to the day when teletransport is an option!

Here are some shots of the weary travellers....

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember

Keigan squinting his eyes from the sun...

From 2008lateAugustearlySeptember