With Skyler turning 18, and facing his future, family life will alter dramatically as he moves upward and onward in the next year. I am trying to relish the time we have together now as precious, despite the absolute assurance that my laundry level will go down dramatically once he has moved on!
Our summer got the grand kick off with all of our graduation and anniversary events, and once school was out, we could relax somewhat, although the house renos and repairs called loudly and clearly!
First up, Cousin Pickle had a carnival 5th birthday party, with the water slide being the big draw. The kids played on this all afternoon, and the weather supported it.
Pickle opening presents with his mom.
Evie having a fun time at the fish pond with one of her cousins. We were so glad we had taken advantage of a nice day since a week or so later, it got a little bit cooler...
...And Sean headed off to kayak camp in 13C temperatures! I couldn't believe the thermometer that first morning, and it was rainy to boot. But it did warm up somewhat through the week.
With his group on one of our city islands.
Sean never tells me too much about his day, but I checked in with his instructors on a daily basis to see how his day went. Obviously, some new and important kayaking skills were acquired. He never complained about the camp, and I think the interaction with other peers is important, little though it may be for him. He did know a couple of the kids at the day camp through school, which was a help. I put him in day camps throughout the summer, not too many, but just enough to give him some new experiences. Otherwise, there are too many days where he will just lay on the trampoline and stare at the sky, or bug his little sister incessantly. He really needs to make some friends and start doing some social activities with them, but it is hard for him, and hard for us to find the opportunities. I'm always looking for inspiration in this department...I'd love it if he found another quirkly little fellow to be a friend to hang out with.
Moustache Day
Sean second from left. His moustache had fallen off, he tells me.
Pirate Day. Always an important event in the islands!
Our beautiful seaway. This is one of the narrowest channels in the islands for the ships to navigate. It's lots of fun when the wake comes in to shore!
Sean is a little leery of the wave action!
Also in July, my friend Janice came on her annual visit from Singapore. We've known each other for over 20 years, from Goethe Institut days in Toronto. My German speaking ability has withered away, but she married a native and has sons the same ages as ours, both incredibly fluent in German and doing well in French and Mandarin as well. I love to hear about Singapore, having our own memories of it from past travels. We can have the most dismal humidity here, and Janice always stays fresh and cool, having acclimatized to the tropics. She did have to travel here last winter in our deep freeze though, which paid her back in spades. I've experienced that too, when your body is used to the heat, and you arrive somewhere in a winter climate. You just can't warm up!
I should mention Lola's attire. Our poor puppy had a wart removed from her leg, the second time she's had to wear a cone in her 8 year life. She hates it, but comes to a grudging acceptance of it. It must be horrible not to even be able to go up or down stairs without this thing jarring your head every few seconds.
Our three on the way to church one morning. I can still get the boys to go when they have usher duty. Evie loves it anytime.
A summer ritual for me and Evie is to go to the local fairs. As Sean has developed an interest in wasp's nests this year, we took the photo for him. This same guy sets up at a lot of the local events, so Seanie got to see the display for himself later in the summer. It is pretty impressive. There's a web link on the sign if you've got your own interest.
This particular fair is an agricultural one, with lots of animals and the veg/fruit/flower/homecraft displays, very old fashioned and fun. Evie and I took in the heavy horse show too. She loved the horses, and the outfits (some of the ladies all wear decorative hats while carriage driving).
What's wrong with this picture? I couldn't believe they had a carriage event for such teeny horses.
On another day we took our canoe and kayak out for an afternoon spin. Contrary to what it looks like, Evie is not doing all the paddling; Bob has a trolling motor which makes canoeing two kids around easier for him. Sean is not much of a paddling enthusiast, despite his kayaking camp experience.
What Sean did find to do this summer was to set up games and activities that he could direct, for Evie and the little kids living in our basement apartment. Here, he is taking Evie for a ride in the wagon, which he calls the "Ambolito Ride". I don't know where the word came from, just another of the mysteries of Sean. He loved running the kids up and down the hill (evidenced by the worn path in the grass) and also had a mini-putt course set up using all of our old bits of pipe and eavestrough lying about. The problem was that I'd have to mow the lawn and he would have to move the countless bits of mini-putt course, and set it all up again later, much to his chagrin. "The lawn literally does not need mowing" he'd say, as I would behold the new forest of trees sprouting up at the bottom of the yard.
Here he goes, with the scary mansion in the background.
Evie has started with a certain "photo fatigue", and often won't smile for me when I point a camera at her, or hides her face. I like action shots with children, so it isn't a huge issue, but she will gift me with her beautiful smile on occasion...
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