Canada Day Weekend

Happy Belated Canada Day!!!

I hope everyone got to enjoy Canada Day this year. Jake was the only one of us who got to make a celebration of it, while we stayed in to pack. I didn't hear very many fireworks going off and I was quite surprised. Maybe it was the poor weather that kept everyone indoors.

It had been a really long week because Owen and Will had finished nursery school the week before and their therapy had a week off. Trying to keep them not only entertained, but on some kind of a scheduled routine, was next to impossible. Add that to the fact that their home is slowly coming apart in packed boxes and bare walls, it could explain why Owen has had such a rough week. Will has actually had a pretty good time of it and has done a lot of giggling and laughing. Owen, on the other hand, has been sooooo whiny and has had quite a few tantrums of his own. He was stimming a lot and didn't seem to know what to do with himself. It has been really tough on him (a sign of things to come with the move? - we hope not).

Another busy weekend for us. It started on Thursday, when Dad celebrated the end of his school year with a staff party up north. As usual, Jonathan embarrassed me by not realizing that it was supposed to be pot-luck, so who showed up empty-handed?? I suppose it's my own fault. This isn't the first time he never bothered to check when we've been invited to a party and I should have just assumed that I should have brought something. Needless to say, the food was yummy and it was nice to see that Jonathan's co-workers really do like him -- don't worry, Jonathan, I always knew they did. The question is... are they laughing with you or at you? :)

On Friday, one of our oldest friends (oldest as in.. friend for the longest), Nicole and her mom, Fran, came over and plowed through our house on a packing spree. They were an amazing help and managed to pack up a large brunt of the mess that has been accumulated by the kids- TOO MANY TOYS! O and Will spent the day with Diane and she somehow managed to keep them outdoors nearly all day long without any major meltdowns. Jake was lucky enough to go with his Grandma to Ontario Place and it sounds like he had a fantastic time. Hopefully soon we'll get some pictures from Grandma that we can post in here. Jake spent an overnight that brought him into Saturday, where he went straight to his cousin Spencer's house for another sleepover! He was lucky enough to get invited for their Canada Day celebrations and they watched fireworks. At home, O and Will played with Diane while I packed and Dad went into the city to watch England lose to Portugal in the quarter finals of the World Cup. We aren't allowed to talk about that.

Sunday morning we were supposed to head out at 9am to go to the cottage to have a goodbye celebration with Bumpy and the clan. Naturally, our schedule was bumped by a couple of hours and we got there midday instead. It was gorgeous out and we had a really good time. Owen's new fear of the water hadn't diminished at all. When he got his first glimpse of the lake, no word of a lie, he froze up and did a 180 and started running for his life in the opposite direction. I had to run after him full speed while calling his name and he wouldn't even look back. I picked him up and he clung to me for a good half hour before he would even walk around the waterfront. By the end of the day he was finally letting the lake lap around his ankles. He still isn't nearly as comfortable as he was a few weeks ago near the water, but at least we're back in a positive direction with it. We can't figure out where this new fear has come from, but I have to admit that it made the day a lot easier because we didn't have to worry that he would jump in!

Owen inched his way closer and closer to the water until he was finally comfortable with it again.

Bumpy and the "gang" investigate the haunted barn to see if they can find any ghouls or spirits.

My Brother Phil and new baby, Mitchell. Look at those cheeks!

Looking at this picture, it amazes me how much Will is looking more and more like his big brother, Jake.

Hayden, Spencer and Jake. The "cousins". Feasting themselves on gummy worms, Joe Louis and candy-worms. Luckily we were outside for them to burn off that sugar high.

Will was the complete opposite of Owen and kept signing the word "more, more!" to his Dad so that he could be thrown back in the water over and over again. We didn't experience a single tantrum all day from Will -- I honestly think it's the first day in months that that has happened. Jake, Hayden and Spencer got along wonderfully. They really are the perfect age now. They pretended to be part of the Scooby-Doo gang as they hunted for clues to solve the mystery of the missing Aunt Lin (because she knew where they could find the shrimp ring). Jake ended up spending the night and we headed back home so the twins could sleep in their own beds. We couldn't have been more than 5 minutes down the road before they passed out, snoring. It was a really nice weekend and a great way to say goodbye.