Canada Day

When our 9 year-old nephew Connery called us last week to tell us he missed us and asked if we could spend Canada Day with him and his family, we melted. What reasons could we give not to come?

So yesterday, we packed up the wagon with Maia's homemade Canada Flag mounted in the back window and made the trip to my parents' to celebrate being Canadian with the fam. The forecast looked pretty grim for these two days, so we were surprised by quite a lot of sunshine and the unexpected gift of many hours outside. No sparklers or fireworks this time, but a really great time together. I even got in some strawberry picking (jam-maker-wannabe I am) and a little golf with my brother (if whacking balls into the sod farm that is now their extended backyard counts as 'golf'). Oh, and I got a nap today. Such luxuries!




And the cousins had so much fun playing together. I loved the sound of little girls squealing from the tire swing under the apple tree.... the collection of bugs... trike and wagon rides... the dog agreeing to be led around on a leash by the kids again and again (good boy, Phil).... hide and seek... creating games from scratch... songs at the piano. I always find that while I enjoy my girls when I'm alone with them, my enjoyment is multiplied when shared with others who get at least as much of a kick out of their sweetness and their antics.







Eliana is clearly able to say 'Oma' and 'Opa' now. (I think I got one lone "ommy"... that's right, not "mama" but "ommy" without the 'm'. Hey, I'll take what I can get.) My parents wanted to get a shot of themselves with the grandkids. We had a few fun attempts. Whatever shot gets mounted on the wall will certainly be a real life moment with someone frowning or drinking formula or walking away! Funny.




Here's our little clan with Oma and Opa as well. Can you tell we did our part to look Canadian?


So thankful for this country and for this family. I cherish these family days.