Lost

Does it get any better than a yarn bombing exhibit and free ice cream?

I have some fun summery pictures for you this week, to go with the (mostly) fun, summery times that we had.  But first, I thought I should share a story that falls more into the "terrifying" category than the "fun times" photos that follow.

So. It was Friday.  The kids and I were stoked for what promised to be a pretty spectacular day at Heritage Museums & Gardens - a bit of a drive, but a favourite spot to spend a morning (or a day, if you don't have nappers). What's more, the weather was gorgeous, and we were meeting three other families there with whom we love spending time.  All signs pointed to awesome.

Map of Heritage Museums and Gardens

As you can see from the map, the grounds are extensive, and have any number of pretty amazing features to visit. Right now, they have a giant bug exhibit, where you find truly ginormous ants and spiders and other such things displayed at various different areas throughout the gardens and grounds.

The kids stumbled across a spider in a web

As a kid, however, the highlight is truly "Hidden Hollow" (the green area in the upper right hand corner of the map).  It is a hike to get there from the parking lot, but absolutely worth the price of admission, all on its own.  It is this HUGE outdoor area with countless different whimsical play areas, and a massive treehouse overlooking it all.  It is magical. 

Linden poses on a stump on our long hike to Hidden Hollow

So naturally, though we spent a nice amount of time poking around different trails and paths to get there, Hidden Hollow was the main attraction. It was a zoo - completely crawling with kids and families, but with 5 adults between all of our kids, I was not worried about where my kids were most of the time.  Correction - I was not worried about where Juniper was at any given time.  Linden was being particularly difficult that day - going out of his way to be defiant and just generally unpleasant.  So I mostly stuck very close to him to make sure he wasn't throwing marimba mallets at unsuspecting kids or purposely sabotaging someone's painstakingly built lean-to.

Anyway, the kids played there very happily for a good couple of hours,  and had managed to stuff some lunch in their mouths, and visit most of the different areas.  Juniper wanted to check out the tree house, so I let her do that with the intention of packing things up when she emerged at the bottom.  When she got to the top, I waved and yelled, "Hi, Juniper!", then turned to extricate Linden from a squabble that was starting to erupt between him and some not-very-nice older girls who were in the middle of saying "go away little boy!" (this particular altercation, for the record, was actually not his fault).

Finally, I managed to get everything packed up, strapped Linden into the stroller, and turned to wrangle Juniper from wherever she was playing.  "Juniper!"  I yelled.  No response. Stroller in tow, I started systematically poking around all the corners and all the different play areas, asking the kids who were with us if they knew where she was.  I did the loop about three times before I started to get a little panicky.  She wasn't in the tree house, she wasn't in any of the different stations, and no one had seen her in a little while.  Hidden Hollow is big, but contained, and by all accounts she had vanished. I left Linden and the stroller with a friend, and started running.  I left Hidden Hollow shouting her name, everyone else doing the same.  I did a large loop around the perimeter - nothing.

By the time I got back down, I was in tears, and the woman in charge of Hidden Hollow asked if I wanted her to contact security.  Yes, of course I did.  She was very reassuring, telling me how the security guards there are amazingly good at their job, and that they would find her in no time, but by that point I couldn't even give a description of her clothes without sobbing. Somehow, in a relatively short amount of time, there was a man in uniform, with a walkie-talkie, asking me "what's her name, again?" 

"Juniper", I managed to tell him.

He nodded. "We've got her - she's at the gift shop".

"Oh my god, THANK YOU", I managed to sob, and took off at a run.  

The way back seemed to take FOREVER.  If you look at the map, it is actually a pretty good distance between Hidden Hollow (top right), and the Main Gate (bottom left), which is where the admin buildings and the parking lot are. 

As it turns out, Juniper had made it back to that area ALL BY HERSELF.  Two kindly old ladies found her just before she reached the admin buildings, and took her to the gift shop to wait. This still completely boggles my mind.  It is not a straight or intuitive path to get from one to the other, and we had meandered and poked along different paths on our way there. That she didn't just get completely lost along the way is kind of a miracle.

Apparently, when I was waving and saying "hi" when she was in the treehouse, Juniper thought I was waving good-bye.  When she got to the bottom, and didn't immediately see me, she just assumed that I had already left, and decided the best course of action was to make her way back to the car and meet me there.  We had a good long talk about that, and what she should do next time if she was in the same situation.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I was that terrified.  I would just break into tears throughout the rest of that day whenever I thought about it.  But all ended as well as it could have, and hopefully (at the very least), it was a good lesson.

BIG BREATH.

So that is my long, terrifying story.  The rest of the week was pretty grand, and ended in a spectacular Sunday, where (among other things) Juniper and I went to a celebration at Highfield Hall and Gardens.  Free ice cream, lots of great activities, a yarn bombing exhibit, and the opening of a fabulous installation put on by some wonderful local potter friends of ours, called Collaborations in Clay (see here).  I actually really wish I'd gotten a picture of that, because it is put on by Kim and Hollis, both of whom I feel lucky to have met through my pottery journey here, but (more to the point) Juniper truly considers them both dear and bosom friends.  I will make sure to snap a photo next time around.

And... here are those photos I promised. Have a great week!

On our way to a lovely backyard Mexican-themed fiesta at the Morrisons' 

Linden asked me to help him into this tree, and then said "OK - now take my picture".  No joke.

"Smile, Juniper".  Maybe one day it will be a nice, normal smile :)

A particularly beautiful yarn-bombed tree

OK - is this not a pretty amazing elephant for a 2-year old?

Nothing feels quite so powerful as being in charge of the hose.

up north and back again

Joyful running: Covered Bridge, Wakefield QC

You got treated to a guest post last week!  Clark totally stepped up to the plate, and remembered that I had no way of posting in the middle of of girls' retreat. I had just sadly resigned myself to the fact that we'd have a missing Monday, but was thrilled to get back to Wakefield Monday evening, and find that the blogging had gone on as usual.

So, clearly, we did an epic road trip with the kids, managed some complicated details in the middle of it all, and then made it home in one piece.  I'm not going to say it was a piece of cake, or that I came back refreshed and ready to tackle the world, but I am, at the very least, extremely happy that we did it. 

The kids were truly as good as you could hope a 2- and 4 year-old would be on such long stretches of driving, which was 9.5 hours on the way there, and 11 on the way back.  There was a prize bag involved (with new books, drawing pads, stickers and the like), more snacks than seemed humanly possible to consume, ipods loaded with classic Sesame Street episodes, endless supplies of kids music, and lots of rest stops.  For instance:

Jumping Jack break at the NH liquor store, of all places

Lunch picnic break after crossing the border

The main goal of the trip was to visit some pretty amazing people, and to that end, we had an awesome time.  For almost the entire trip, the family hunkered down at Judith and Simon's absolutely gorgeous house in Wakefield, QC. We had an entire floor to ourselves, so it was comfortable, homey, and luxurious.  There was also a crazy-amazing backyard play area, complete with climbing wall, swings, rings, fort, soccer net, and zip-line (plus a trampoline next door). And even though Juniper started off the visit by being sick (a day of puking, followed by some night-time extended periods of hallucinating, which was terrifying), it was honestly a nicer space to convalesce than it would have been if we were home.  Plus, miraculously, no one else got sick, so it could have been much, much worse.  Plus, we got to hang out with Simon and Judith, which is always such an amazing treat.  How I wish we lived closer!

So many delicious meals around this table!

Then, on Friday, the family dropped me off at Jane's house in Ottawa for the beginning of our girls' retreat.  2014 marks the 20 year anniversary of when the group of us all started hanging out (ie, the beginning of highschool), so there was an agreement that a reunion was in order.  Masterminded by Erin (who also lives in Ottawa), and hosted by Jane, somehow 6 of the 8 of us managed to make our way there for one hilarious and jam-packed weekend. There was a lot of chatting and laughing, some old-school road tripping, a whole lot of ridiculously good food (food ended up being the focal point of our side-trip to Montreal), and it all ended with a trip to Spa Nordique.  Ummmm... amazing. Seriously.  I may have to move there just for Spa Nordique. 

After one of the best meals I've ever had, at Damas in Montreal

 And now we're back! I feel like I'm still recovering a bit (I'm just getting over what ended up being a 3-week-long sore throat), and Clark has been going full-tilt overtime since our return (which means I have as well), and Juniper is in a little lull between the end of pre-school and the beginning of summer camp (she'll be going two mornings a week, starting in July), so the days have been packed.  Juniper is in a phase where she writes signs, and then very earnestly wonders why people are not showing up.  It is ridiculously cute, and a little bit heartbreaking. For instance, on Saturday, she spent a good part of the afternoon making little patties of mud from the garden, and put out a "flower compost on sale, open until supper" sign. It was a super good deal, too - 50 cents/patty, but you could also pay in leaves. No one came except me and Clark.
And this morning, she got dressed in a fancy skirt and dress and tiara, and put a sign in the window, indicating: "dance going on today". An air-conditioner repairman mistakenly showed up at one point (oh, if only we had an air conditioner to repair!), and she honestly thought he had seen the sign and had come for the show.

If only people had known what a good deal it was!

 At the very least, the weather has been phenomenal here - warm and sunny, coupled with a crisp, fresh breeze, hovering around 19 degrees C.  Perfect for - well - most outdoor adventures.  Saturday we went to an awesome Mexican-themed party at our friends' house, and yesterday we spent much of our day in and around the "Arts Alive Falmouth" fair, Juniper rocking her new oversized dress shirt and my hat.  Not a bad way to welcome in summer!

Clearly, she looked ridiculously cute.

Guest post: Fathers' day, by dad

Tara's off on a weekend retreat with her high school girlfriends in Montréal, and the kids and I have hunkered down with our good friends Simon and Judith in the Gatineau region of Québec so it's my duty to fulfill the regular update. Our drive from the Cape to Ottawa went pretty well, all things considered. The kids were about as good as you could expect two people under 5 to be on a 10 hour trip -- no meltdowns, no significant issues, but no naps, either. Tara brought along a bunch of "prizes" to be awarded after successful rest stops, a few of which were big hits.

Now, on to the photos. First, the Child Center Carnival day:

Linden making huge bubbles

Cuteness!

Face-painting was a popular activity

After the long drive to Ottawa, a nice night at our friends Jane and Mike's place, followed by some puking by Juniper (some kind of stomach bug I guess), we made it to Simon and Judith's in the Gatineau hills. Below, some photos from our adventures over the last couple days while Tara has been away:

Story time with Judith

Making Fathers' day surprises at the Wakefield Farmers Market

Making good use of the nice neighbors trampoline

Superhero mask-making at WestFest!

Juniper showing her strength on the high striker (with Simon's help). She got a 4!

Almost on our way...

Post-sprinkler picnic

 Clark is back. Thank. Goodness. I survived the week - albeit barely.  I pulled it off with the help of wonderful neighbours, an extra day of preschool/daycare, a bunch of Advil, and a whole lot of bonus sleep whenever I could manage it.  But my throat is still quite sore (over a week later!) and I'm perpetually exhausted.  So whatever this was (is?) really did a number on me.

Juniper making a fairy house at pottery class.

 Anyway, needless to say, I did not spend the week snapping whimsical pictures of our many hilarious escapades...  I was too busy grasping desperately at the threads of sanity that were receding farther and farther with each passing day. (not to be overly dramatic or anything).

Today we madly try and get ready for an epic road trip - bright and early tomorrow, we are off to visit some wonderful friends in Ontario and Quebec.  Did I mention it was a road trip?  With two young, demanding, bouncy kids?  Please wish us luck. Juniper has already packed her own suitcase, and apparently I'm not allowed to touch it or make adjustments, so we're already off to a good start.

I leave you with a mixed media piece I found on the easel yesterday (acrylic, glitter glue, wildflowers), entitled "buttercup painting".

buttercup painting

Sick and solo

Mud Pool

This is going to be a short post - I am sick with some sort of flu-like thing that has left me miserable, but clearly functional enough to take care of both kids solo.  Clark is off at a conference in Quebec, I literally started getting chills and a sore throat etc maybe an hour after he left.  Needless to say, this weekend has been a bust, but there were a couple of things during the week that were picture-worthy:

I weeded the garden, and Juniper made herself a "mud pool", where she sat and made mud cakes for hours.

Linden, of course, joined in on the fun when he got up from his nap.  They have never been so muddy.

Juniper, about to go to "kindergarten orientation". WHAT?  That's right, folks - kindergarten in the fall.

Tackling the climbing wall

At a b-day party on Saturday, which  I miraculously brought them to.

I'll leave you with some Linden musings I've been getting lately. You can let me know if they make sense to you, because I'm still trying to puzzle them out...

Linden: "Mom, can I squeak your breast?"
Tara: "Ummmm... no?"
Linden: "Why?  Is it too hard?"

Linden: (grabbing my face with both hands) "Mom, can I rip your face off?"
Tara: "Goodness, Linden! No!"
Linden: "Why?  Is it stuck?"

And there you have it. Here's hoping the rest of my solo week goes better than the first bit!