It’s been almost a month since my last post! Summer. That about sums it up… these beautiful summer days that just beg us to just be! And so, we have been relaxing, playing and hanging out with some of our favorite people.
There was the chat with a girlfriend that she was going camping… and her husband had got called into work and so we was going to be alone with her kiddies. Hey… I thought, why don’t I join her? I asked the boys if they wanted to invite a friend (the older 4) and got Sanj to drive up with me ( my first time maneuvering the trailer). He helped set up the tent for the boys. I set up house in the yurt, we unloaded the bikes, food and set up camp. We had such a lovely time!
There was this island that the boys swam/canoed too and spent many hours fishing… trying to catch the creepy water snakes I saw slithering around… ewwww. Give the boys some water… and life is good.
My younger ones loved the canoe and practicing and playing in it.
Victory! Sanj stayed the day with us, after setting up camp and got in some fishing…
Smores!
Of course I could share picture after picture… but after a couple of days of camping, we packed it all up…
We went home… the older boys were packing and getting ready to head out to their SERVE destinations (a mission trip of sorts). The younger ones and I were heading off to Maryland/Washington DC to visit my brother and family and cousins.
We braved the 100 degree temperatures and played tourist in DC. The boys had a chance to even do the news. 
Max being Max. The Canadian Embassy on the left of him and the Capital building in the back, which he is trying to carry.
Cousins trying to understand the craziness of 911.
We had such a great time with cousins and aunties and uncles and of course there was a whole slew of family we didn’t even get to see with the shortness of this trip. Yet there is something about family that just warms the soul. I love that feeling of comfort that fills me when I am with the people that I love and I know love me.
I got to even fit in a girls night with my dear SIL and cousins (well, techically they are Sanj’s cousins, but I claim them too). We saw a crazy movie called… Beasts of the Southern Wild … definitely a great movie… but not what I was expecting. I loved hanging with these sisters of mine, chatting, eating, laughing… I miss them. 🙁
I explored the world that so intrigue’s me, the mind of an introvert… as I questioned and invaded my SIL’s space… and she so willingly indulged me. lol
There was water park day, a day with my friend from high school… who graciously had us to her house and pool and we played and played. There was hanging out with family and eating Popeye’s chicken… (we don’t have that in Peterborough… and a little spike in cholesterol is ok now and then, right?)
The boys and I had a day home before the older boys returned home. It was a quiet day. I realized that the raised decibels usually occur when the older ones were home… especially Sammy. Soon we were all home, sharing our adventures of the week with each other.
This past week bought one of my closest friends here for a week with her family. We have never had the opportunity to be together with our families. Usually we seek out our girls weekend away from the men in our lives. What a treat! We spent time getting to know each others boys (yes, more boys were added to the fort… she has two of her own). The boys asked, “What do we call them?” I said, “Auntie and Uncle… as they are as close if not close then some family.” In the most important ways that matter, they are family.
The week was full. Crayfishing with the boys, a day at Silent Lake (where I camped with the boys), where we fished, canoed and hung out. We eat and eat and eat. We ended one night with a campfire in our yard.
I think this was my favorite night. Sanj and Linda (my girlfriend) knew each other from days long ago too… and soon they, including Linda’s hubby, Ron, were singing songs from our youth. The songs we sung were church ones, ones that just filled my soul with comfort. It made me yearn for heaven. You know, where will will never say goodbye again… where we will be reunited with family and friends and live forever.
Wow… it made me miss all those that I love that we are separated from due to the miles. It made me sad, knowing that in days I’d be saying goodbye again, to my bestie and family.
It was a good week. It will have to keep me filled up till we hook up again. 🙁
That’s summer this far…. it’s been busy… full of fun day, hot days and making memories. I hope that someday, when my boys are grown, they will look back and remember all the times that we shared…
And will share, as their is still one more month left of summer…