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.