The last for awhile...

Their very last day with Val (and Lily!), who provided such wonderful after school (and sometimes full-day) care for the kids while we were here

I come to you on this sunny Tuesday, a day later than usual.  This is supposed to be the week where Clark and I pack up this place like crazy people - the kids are at "circus camp", Clark is done at work, and we have a tight deadline now.  But so far, this week has been "Tara trying to recover from a gastro-bug, and praying that now one else falls victim".  It has also, incidentally, been "Tara trying to negotiate a defense date that isn't literally when her family is en route, or during her father's big 80th birthday celebration" (the 2 possible dates I've been given). Thus the late post.  But I shall persevere, however quickly, as this is quite possibly the last post for awhile.  What with packing up all my gear, being in various different cities and states of dishevel, and perhaps even defending my PhD, I believe I will be taking a blogging break for at least a couple of weeks.  But rest assured there will be loads to update when I pick it up again!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few photos from last Saturday, which we spent at the "Puppets Up!" festival in the wonderful little town of Almonte.  It was really quite fun!  Alrighty, everyone, send good thoughts if you can spare them for the weeks ahead - they are going to be a doozy!

Live puppet?

A queen, of course

Their own personal puppet show

Hand-made finger puppet... 

... and sock puppet

A couple of larger-than-life ladies from the parade

Epic Celebrations

Early morning birthday waffles in all her finery

This weekend, my little girl turned 7.  SEVEN.  It hardly seems possible.  And in true Juniper style, she wanted a good, old-fashioned, rockin' party to celebrate. One with friends, and games and giggles and other such things. Unfortunately, for about 10 different reasons, it just wasn't possible  to plan such a thing this year.  Instead, we filled it with as much family-related fun as we possible could.  Shall I take you on a little recap?

SATURDAY, July 30th:

This was Juniper's actual birthday.  The night before, I decorated with banners and balloons and a felt crown, all ready and waiting for when Juniper woke up.  We started with a waffle breakfast (see above), followed by a "fancy" photo shoot:

Silly-themed shot

... and some quiet time to digest:

fancy reading

 Then it was out to watch the BFG at the theatres!  Linden had to take a few "breaks" from the scary giants, and ended up being passed from lap to lap, but we go to movies so rarely that it was still (I hope) a fun birthday treat.

who is who?

After the movie, it was lunch at Juniper's destination of choice.  We ended up at  Kelsey's, which Clark and I had, so far, managed to successfully avoid.  It was the most expensive mediocre lunch we've ever had.  Plus, Juniper was slightly put off that no one had yet noticed or inquired about her crown :)

Waiting for million dollar grilled (processed) cheese sandwiches. Yay!

 Then, it was home for a quick costume change, and off to the local wave pool!

Juniper went full boho over her swimsuit.

 While Clark and the kids were splashing it up, I was home preparing a very specific cake request.  It was to be in the shape of a butterfly; chocolate cake with white mint-flavoured icing, and lots of decorations on top.  Here was what I came up with:

The finished product!

Juniper was, I'm pleased to report, VERY happy with the result. "It is even more beautiful than I imagined", she said breathlessly.  If only she remains so easy to please!

About to blow out the candle

Sunday, July 31st: 
The next day, we were off to Morrisburg, where my uncle Bill and his partner Catherine live.  His daughter (my cousin) Ainslie and her family were there for a quick visit, and he invited us to come down for the day to take a trip to the historic Upper Canada Village.  It was a blast!:

Cousins of various heights, checking out some sheep

Contemplating the broom maker's house

Bill and Linden, taking a silly rest on the bench

Peeking in at the doctor's residence

Linden was obsessed with the horses...

... happily milked a cow...

... and was super into the 19th-century entertainment options.  I think we would have been happy to set up residence.

tea, anyone? 

Up to no good, clearly

The whole gang, post-ice cream at the end of the day

Thank goodness it is holiday here today - we need a day of rest after that much fun!  And while the weekend might not have been exactly what Juniper had envisioned, my guess is that she'll wrangle at least one more party out of some willing relatives when we pass through Fredericton.  So the celebrations will no doubt continue amidst the chaos of the next few weeks.  See you next week!

Flying volcanoes and frog touching

Off to explore the limestone quarry trail

We have officially entered that strange limbo period before a big move where everything is in constant balance between complete normalcy and complete chaos.  Soon, the scales will tip, and chaos will reign.  But for now we are at least still able to get out on our regular adventures, and snatch moments where it is just a typical day-to-day (despite, for instance, the fact that dressers are completely empty or that strangers are constantly tromping through our house). 

So today, I present those moments of normalcy, peppered with some inspired reporting from the fine journalists of juniperandlinden.org.  They were clearly very inspired to make a comeback this week.  Enjoy!

Cleaning out long-forgotten corners means finding long-forgotten treasures (such as unopened playdough)

Courageously walking along an old (tall!) limestone foundation

 An impromptu trip to Shirley's Bay resulted in an inevitable progression:

1. Jumping from boulder to boulder

2. Adventuring a little farther out...

3. And finally, stripped down to nothing but undies.  Hard to have fun in the water when you're fully clothed!

Stopping to take notes and complete nature sketches mid-hike

One of many froggy friends lounging by our favourite frog pond

Swinging on the hidden under-bridge swing by the pond

A typical day around here: superhero studies about dinosaurs on the couch, while fairy princess dances to her violin repertoire CD:

Also, I highly recommend the THREE instructional videos on offer this week, (which will also be archived at the official juniper and linden journalism site, available HERE):

Memories kept, and memories made

This past week was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.  We said goodbye to a very special woman - Clark's grammy, Betty Richards.  We were so lucky that the kids got to spend at least a little of their young lives getting to know their great grandmother, and to associate her with the beauty and peace of the Richards family farm.  Clark leaves tomorrow for the funeral, and the kids and I will have our own little remembrance back here in Kanata (and hopefully also when we next visit Oak Point).

In the midst of sadness, however, there was also light and fun. We got a short but very sweet visit from Zsofi, meaning that Jane, Erin, Zsofi and I got to have a rare girls weekend.  This was exceptionally well timed, as our world will change dramatically in the next couple of months - Jane will have a new little baby, and be moving to Fredericton, and our family will have settled in Dartmouth.  This means that a planned girls weekend such as this will be much more difficult in the near future.  It was a ball! Highlights included a day at the spa, chatting, eating out, strolling through shops undisturbed, treating ourselves to gelato, and nice long walks.  It is, I think, pretty amazing to have such old and dear friends to spend time with (however rarely it might happen all at once).

The one last group shot before we all parted ways (taken by Clark)...

... and another, taken by Linden

Since I spent spent much of the weekend hanging with my girls, Clark and the kids got up to a bunch of their own adventures, including: a beach day in Gatineau park followed by some nature exploring, a trip to "Judith's Museum" (AKA the Canadian Museum of History), followed by more Gatineau Nature exploring around Pink Lake.

Looking for freshwater snails in Lac Phillipe

A cute centipede Juniper spotted crossing the trail!

Big News!

A cold, rainy, wonderful walk through Point Pleasant Park

This post is, I fully admit, a day late.  It is also woefully devoid of photos.  But this is all with good reason.  You see, Clark and I only just got back from one completely ridiculous extended weekend in Halifax, where we were - wait for it - HOUSE HUNTING.  That's right, folks - for those who have not yet heard, this little family is packing up shop, and officially settling (for good this time), out east.

Clark accepted a position as a Research Scientist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), which is a branch of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO).  Going East was always something we wanted to do in the future, but it came much sooner than we had even hoped for.  You may have heard the big announcement a month or so ago that DFO has pledged to hire 135 new people (including a very wide range of different jobs) - I believe Clark will end up being the first of those hires.

From atop the Halifax Seaport Market

Not only will we be moving - we will be moving SOON. Clark negotiated a start date of Sept. 1st, which means leaving in a little over a month.  So.  We found a real estate agent, booked some plane tickets, secured Clark's mom and stepdad (wonderful people that they are) to come stay with the kids, and off we went, to buy a house.  Sound ridiculous?  It absolutely was.  Not only have we never bought a house before, we gave ourselves only two full days to find something we liked, make an offer, and set up everything that needs to be set up.  And you know what?  We actually did it!  I won't give details yet (as I suppose things can always fall through until the last line is signed and sealed), but the house is a little 1970s split entry on a quiet cul-de-sac in Dartmouth, and if all goes well, we'll take possession the first week of August. I'm still reeling.  You have no idea the whirlwind that was the last few days.  But we had a superb agent, who was able not only to help us find and get a great bargain on a house, but also to hook us up with all the other people we needed (inspectors, contractors, lawyer, mortgage broker....).  

And so there you have it.  We are home now, trying to get our feet under us, and starting to switch into moving gear.  There is packing to be done, moving truck to be booked, logistics to figure out, financing to secure, and - likely somewhere in the middle of it all - a thesis for me to defend.  But I choose not to think about that for now.

As a side note, I'd like to give a little PSA to avoid renting from Dollar/Thrifty car rentals, who ended an otherwise wildly successful trip on a very sour note.  They completely scammed us, and now we're sorting out the aftermath of a claim they are trying to get us to pay for "tire damage".  I would love to tell you the story in person if you ask me one day, but suffice it to say that it is a ridiculous story, and outright premeditated sleazery on their part.  So even if they are offering the best deal, it isn't worth it.  Trust me.  They make that extra money by scamming you out of it when you bring the car back.

Whew!  That's all for now!  I bought this blogging time with new books for the kids, and I imagine my beautiful window of peace and quiet is about to expire.  But it was nice while it lasted!  

Canada Day Weekend

A beautiful repeat visitor to our window feeder

Happy belated Canada Day!  And happy July 4th to all my American friends, as well.  I am going to keep this post short and sweet, as this is the first Monday of the kids' summer vacation, which means I am currently being bombarded with requests for food, demands to mediate internal disputes, and pressure to get us all out of the house and release a large store of pent-up energy.  But I should at the very least throw a few long-weekend pics on the blog, right?

1. Last day of school:

Thursday marked the end of Junior Kindergarten for Linden, and Grade 1 for Juniper.  While I had lovely first-day photo shoots for both kids, the last day shots were more of an afterthought, taken with my phone as I tried to usher everyone off to swimming lessons.  But here they are:

Juniper, last dayshot

Linden, (cheeky) last day shot

 2. Canada Day
We hosted Canada day this year at our place, inviting Jane's family and Erin's family.  I was two days out of some not super-fun-periodontal surgery, and therefore was not at my hostess-ing best (and couldn't fully enjoy all the yummy food, either).  Also, though there was a shot of the three ladies (me, Erin and Jane), Jane felt she looked "too pregnant", and I literally was unable to smile.  So that will remain forever stored away. But it was still a blast, and the kids, in particular had loads of fun:

Juniper and Poppy

They (sort of) sat still for about 10 seconds for a group shot

 3. Lac Bleu
On Sunday, we met Oli and family for a little hike around Lac Bleu.  This is the same place where Erin and I fed the chickadees last winter - a beautiful boardwalk hike no matter what time of year.  Though we brought seeds, the chickadees were not interested this time around, but it was still lovely:

Juniper, hoping for (and perhaps a little trepidatious about) some chickadee love

With Oli on the boardwalk

Linden, with a long piece of grass in his mouth, acting as a clear role model for his younger admirer

OK - off to go do some summer vacay parenting.  Wish me luck!

Who doesn't love a good recital?

Impromptu after school picnic snack in the yard 

This week I will keep it short and sweet, as there are no great stories to tell.  It was the second-to-last week of school, followed by a fun, hot weekend.  The highlights? The Carp Farmer's Market, playing with Zack, a trip to Shirley's Bay, and the year end music recital, in which both kids participated.  Here's the photo reel:

Showing off some leg tattoos before the got completely obliterated in the splash pad

Casually strolling through Shirley's Bay

A study in purple

Relaxing and reading the programme pre-recital

 This recital marked the first real music performance on stage for either child. It was both a big success and a bit of a disaster.  Linden, for instance, was the youngest kid by about 2 years.  He was only playing "Twinkle Twinkle", which he was, incidentally, able to play BEFORE he started taking lessons last Fall (don't get me started on the quality of lessons we ended up paying for).  Anyway, he was the second child to play, and the first one to play on piano.  The bench was so far away that he almost couldn't reach the keys, and became completely befuddled.  Seeing as no stage hands or recital people were coming to help, I ran onto stage, pushed his bench WAY in, and set him on the right path.  he recovered marvelously.  When it was Juniper's turn, she insisted she wanted to me to accompany (rather than perform solo), which set the young stage hand into a tither, and put me on the spot.  But of course, it all turned out fine in the end. We went for gelato afterwards in celebration, which suited everyone just fine.

Post-recital treat: Stella Luna's gelato.  Yum!

Here are two clips from the recital, in all their glory:

I'll leave you with some Linden musings from dinner last night:

"You know, if I could be something else, I wish I was a bird.  Or the same me, just with a bulldozer.  Or a Christmas tree at Christmas time".

Hard decisions, for sure.