Till We Meet Again

Yesterday we went to the funeral of Aunt Heather, who passed away Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by family and friends.  She had been battling a rare lung disease for a few years, and her life ended much too soon, as she was only 59 when she left us.

Aunt Heather was simply one of the most amazing women I have ever known.  She had the ability to tackle anything with gumption and creativity, and she made everyone in her presence feel loved and special.  She and Uncle Peter, after raising 3 children, took in several other children who needed a place to call home.

Our children loved Aunt Heather.  They have fond memories of her house because there was always so many fun things to do there.  From her decorations and activities, to the playhouse, chickens, pets, and good food, any old visit always felt like a party.

Aunt Heather loved antiques and anything old, especially if it had special meaning.  When she heard that we had named our youngest daughter after her (Heather's) Grandmother Clara, she brought over all of Grandma Clara's china.  What a precious treasure to pass down to our daughter from her great-great Grandmother and namesake.

Scott and I visited Aunt Heather several times in the hospital during her final days, and Scott was able to share some particularly touching moments and conversations with her during those visits.

While we know that we will be together again one day, we will miss her so very much until we meet again.

I'm a Proud Aunt (AGAIN!)

My sister had a baby yesterday. A sweet baby girl, named Keira, who weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz.

She was born on their Wedding Anniversary.

I can't wait to go meet her in a couple of weeks!!

Palmyra Pageant

We love going to the outdoor Pageant in Palmyra.

The boys did a great job cleaning out the van before we left.

This year when we arrived, the first cast members we ran into were friends of Scott's sisters family that we had met 12 years ago when they lived in Ontario.

Waiting for the show to start... Eating the famous Pageant Potatoes. They were as good as we remembered.

The cast was huge this year - over 750 cast members.

Afterwards we drove to Rochester and stayed in a hotel with a pool. We arrived quite late, but went for a swim in the morning, then made another quick stop at the outlets in Niagara Falls before heading home.

It was wonderful to go on our first family trip of the summer!

Easter Weekend

Here are some more photos from our Easter weekend. Some highlights:

• Samantha and I had a fun Mother-Daughter Activity Night at the church. Lots of crafts, decorating cupcakes, friends, and fun.
• Aunt Heather & Uncle Pete planned an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids... in the hen house! Such a fun idea and the weather was perfect.
• Clara loved the chickens.
• We headed to Colasanti's after the Egg Hunt. Our kids had fun playing with their cousins. I love the photo of Landon chasing JD.
• Brett and Scott enjoyed some time with Papa watching Hockey and Man Tracker.
• Nana made a beautiful and tasty Easter Ham, and decorated two tables for such a big group.
• Clara scavenged all of the chocolate eggs left behind by the older kids and had her own dessert party on the kitchen floor.
• We came home for Easter Monday and spent most of the day cleaning out the garage.
• For Family Night we made treat baskets to drop off for unsuspecting families. Our kids love to ring the doorbell and race to the getaway car (aka the van).

Happy Easter!

Good Friday on the Farm

We spent Good Friday with two dear friends of mine. We figured, during the visit, that the three of us have been friends for about 23 years now.

We don't get together very often, as none of us have lived in the same city for several years. But when we do get to see each other, we just pick up where we left off.

I love visiting the farm. It makes me want to move out to the country and become a farmer.

So beautiful!

These calves were only a week old.

The kids were so excited to pet the cows.

I Spoke Too Early... (Hello Again, Ridiculously Prolonged Winter)

As I sit here sipping a cup of hot camomile tea, in my warm pants and hoodie, occasionally glancing out the window at the snow covered ground, remembering the last time the school bus was cancelled for our kids due to snow and ice - wait a second, that was this past WEDNESDAY! - I thought it would be the perfect time to share some more photos of our Florida trip.

Our favourite family activity of the week was definitely swimming.

We had a pool at the villa where we stayed, and it was heated for the week, so that we could swim outside anytime, day or night, and it felt like a warm bath.

Our kids haven't been in swimming lessons for a few years now, but it was very encouraging to see their progress in one short week.

Samantha has always loved the water is a pretty good swimmer.

Brett and JD went from slightly apprehensive to deep end divers of golf balls in a matter of days.

Nathan is the one that worried Scott and I the most because he became nearly fearless in his swimming abilities pretty early in the week. He would go under the water and try to swim across the pool to us, or from us back to the steps. By the end of the week we had to keep him in a life jacket at all times.

Clara refused to even step foot into her swim suit for the first couple of days. She would sit in her towel and watch the rest of us swim from a lounge chair.

Next she started running around the pool, throwing the golf balls in for the big kids.

Then she decided Boots needed to swim, so she threw him in too.

Finally she decided she would go in the hot tub end of the pool, where she could stand up around the edge. She called it her "bath".

Our last night in Florida we went to Heather & Pete's for a final swim and BBQ with the cousins and Kim & Patrick.

Uncle Peter had the kids jumping off his shoulders, and even Clara decided to leave her "bath" and try out the big pool.