Summer Lovin'

Beginning of the summer

Summer is officially done and I think that I can safely say that the kids loved it.  More time was spent at the cottage than at home which for them is pure heaven.  There were day camps, long walks, swimming, swimming and more swimming, parades and generally tomfoolery.

Declan spent 3 weeks doing day camps both in Kincardine and Hamilton and loved every minute of it. Canoeing at the RBG was a hit and swimming at camp in Kincardine was his favourite.  I think Rhys loved his snuggles with Grandma Shirley at the cottage the most and will miss them terribly.  For Leighton it was a summer of discovering what he could get into and where he could go.  He is now in a forward facing car seat and he is just about to start going to daycare.  They are all growing up so fast.

I turned 35 this summer.  From what I am lead to believe I am now old.  There are certainly days when I feel it.  Today was not one of those days.  I was down at the beach with Declan and Rhys running around in the water and trying to catch minnows in the shallows of Lake Huron.  It was hilarious how bad I was at it.  Leave it to Andrea to upstage me and catch 2 in the span of minutes when I was trying for about half an hour!  At least I know I can count on her to forage if required!  In my defence I had Rhys' huge feet splashing around and scaring the fish.  Yeah, that's it, that's the reason I sucked.

One of the best memories I will have of this summer is watching Declan and Rhys play Crazy 8's with Andrea's Grandmother.  How incredibly lucky these boys are to be able to spend time with their Great Grandmother and at this point in their lives they will remember doing it.  Rhys' enthusiasm when we would pull up the drive with her in the car was absolutely enthralling.  He would almost physically pull her out of the van after opening the door for her with a hearty "Hi Great Grandma!"  Amazing.

On the nights when I would drive her back home we would normally have a quick discussion about the  way things were when she was young.  How amazing is it that I can speak to someone who remembers her Father being out on the ice in the winter on Lake Huron with the horse and sled, cutting ice to bring back to the ice house.  She remembers the first time she left town on a train bound for Toronto.  She remembers what it was like to live without cars, plumbing, electricity and so many other things that we take for granted.  On top of that all she is as sharp as a razor when it comes to Euchre.  She never misses a trick and I have learned more about the game from playing on that old table in the cottage with her, my Mother-in-Law Shirley and Andrea than I have playing with anyone else.  If that makes me old than so be it.  Unless you have had the pleasure of that company you will never understand.

Andrea and I also celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on September 2nd.  We have certainly packed a lot into that time.  3 kids.  Wow.  Time is flying by so quickly.

Last long weekend at the cottage in 2012

Of Riots and Trains and Wonderful Days

Day 2

An early morning for us both as we slept from around 9:00pm until 8 in the morning. The day before had worn us down significantly. Saturday was going to be an exciting day for two reasons. One was that we were going on the London Eye and the second big deal was Declan was going to meet his Great-Grandma for the first time.

Heading to the tube at Victoria Station Declan stated to get excited about the idea of being on trains. We quickly developed a strategy for getting us both through the gates since they required me to carry him through. I would give him the Oyster Card and he would scan us through. It was great teamwork and he was so happy to be helping. A quick jaunt to Embankment and we got out to a large crowd with placards, flags and buttons. Apparently we had just found ourselves in the middle of the largest protest to hit London since 2003.

We naively continued on our way across the bridge to the Eye amidst loud groups of people and roving bands with drums shouting slogans. We arrived at the Eye, checked in and thankfully there was not a terribly long line. Once on the Eye we stood at the one end of the pod and watch London rise before our eyes. It was gloomy out which we expected and all of our pictures show the fog that was in effect that day, but we really enjoyed the half hour just watching out the windows. Declan even said at one point, “I can see the whole world Daddy!”. Not the first time he would say it on the trip but definitely one of the cutest.

Once we were done it was time to make our way to Charing Cross Station so that we head to Sidcup. However, once we arrived at the footbridge to cross the Thames we were met with a police barricade and the information that the bridge was closed and that we would have to walk to Waterloo Bridge to get across. It wasn’t worth the extra walk so I decided that we could just go to Waterloo Station and get on the train from there. In hindsight I am glad that I did. I saw some pictures of the Victoria Embankment on the news and it was absolute bedlam. I don’t know how Declan would have handled that.

I have been to Sidcup for three stays over the past 10 years and it hasn’t changed at all in that time. The walk from the Station to my Grandmother’s took about 20 minutes and Declan just spent that time walking on grass and low garden walls.

Upon arrival at my Grandmother’s she was waiting at her door at the end of the hallway and Declan ran to her and gave her a hug. Probably the most heartwarming part of the whole trip. This trip was originally planned as an opportunity for Declan to meet her and he was amazing with her. We also were joined by my cousin Rhiannon who I met once when she was about 3 months old. It was truly great to be able to catch up with my Grandmother and meet Rhiannon as an adult. Declan took to them both immediately and spent a good portion of the time exploring “Great-Grandma’s flat”.

I have only really seen my Grandparents on a handful off occasions over my life as they have lived either in England or Australia for the entirety of it, but I can honestly say that I have always felt calm around my Grandmother. I find that she exudes calm and even when she is cross never really raises her voice. I have always found her presence to be comforting and I see that my son picked this up immediately as well. I will always treasure that afternoon.

We had a nice light lunch and spent the afternoon in conversation. I was able to log into Skype and have a call with Andrea at her parent’s house and Grandma was able to see Rhys sleeping in his bed there which she seemed to really enjoy.

It had been a long day and we decided to head home around 5ish. We had watched the news and found out that parts of the West End had actually experienced some good old fashioned rioting so we decided to forgo the regular route and had Rhiannon drive us to Dartford so that we could take a train directly to Victoria Station. Good idea in the end I think.

We ended the night at a restaurant called Giraffe where we had a short meal because Declan was so incredibly tired. He started to get a bit fussy, which I can’t blame him for and decided that he was not happy with the pasta that they brought him. We ate a bit and then just went home and crawled into bed. We watched Wall-E for about 5 minutes and he was out like a light. What a great day.

TOMORROW: Bluewater Mall to meet more family.