We’re hitting the half-way point to our summer; four beautiful and extremely warm weeks behind us and approximately four more weeks until we have to face the back-to-school rush. We started our summer with a short trip to Ontario to visit our families and friends. We made a brief stop in Ottawa to see Eric’s brother Daniel, then drove to my in-laws’ cottage for the Canada Day weekend.
Eric and I took each of the kids out in the canoe, dodging the wakes of various powerboats. Here we are just off the dock with William trying out his paddle:
My parents-in-law provided some fancy inflatable toys for the kids, and they took full advantage! Here, Charlotte relaxes on a blow-up recliner while the boys pilot their inflatable seadoo:
After the cottage, we spent an afternoon at my in-laws’ house in Unionville, where Charlie was traumatized by watching an episode of Scoobie Doo involving vampires; it’s been a month and we are STILL hearing about these scary vampires and listening to her wails: “Why did you let me watch that? Why?”
We spent some time with Eric’s sister Tasha, seen here cuddling with Elijah after he was finished with the deluxe Slip-n-Slide set up in the backyard:
It was a short visit, but we all had a great time. Here are the kids with Grandmaman and Grampa:
Next, we headed down the 401 to Guelph for a few days. The weather was consistently gorgeous, so we spent lots of time at parks and in backyards, visiting with family and old friends. Here’s my brother Dan hanging out with William and Charlie at a splash park:
We attempted to take a family portrait of some of Eric’s cousins and all our kids in his uncle Kevin’s backyard, but William didn’t have the patience to hold still until the timer went off on the camera:
All too soon, we had to rush back to Montreal to attend the wedding of some good friends and for Eric to start teaching a summer course at McGill. My parents came to visit us a couple of weeks later so they could watch the boys play soccer… a great plan, except that the record-breaking heat on the day of the game meant only 3 other players showed up! Here’s Grandma ready to cheer on the boys anyway, with a thirsty Will:
Elijah is consistently MUCH more excited about soccer, and this game was no exception. Here he is, completely focused on that ball and getting it down the field:
Here’s lovely Charlotte, hanging out beside the soccer field:
My dad missed out on the proper soccer game, but he still enjoyed lots of quality time with the kids. Here he’s reading to Eli and Charlie:
In less than a fortnight, we’ll be heading down to a rental cottage in Ogunquit, Maine for a full week of beach, relaxing and (hopefully) sunshine. We can’t wait!
life after twins? 