Ivy and I hung out on the Merry-Go-Round, of course, while Kit and Leif just did coaster after coaster after coaster.
Ivy got to reconnect with her pal Bryn (the Brynster) and the talents of the St. Brights were showcased once again at Shona's party. No pics, sorry. This year we did The Family Circus, with Leif and Kit juggling, Hannah hula-hooping and the girls and I doing some bendy stuff.
We also managed a trip to my favorite place, the Cabin. Quiet, peaceful, filled with other adults to play with the kids. I LOVE it there!
Hannah built a bird house with Al
Leif was goalie and I took shots on him every day
And Ivy, well, she lay around in the grass alot. It's lovely grass.
We took in the 4H fair in Coombs. The Geese were fantastic.
We hit upon a book called Planet Ocean at the library. I’m debating buying it, it was just that cool.
Hannah acquired a drum set and quickly figured out how to play one of her favorite songs. (Doorbell by white Stripes, see archived entries for links). We had our first family and friends band show, it was fun and loud, and looked like this, with Leif on drums and Hannah in the bone-suit:
Hannah is voyaging into the land of reading, with such classics as Big Pig Dig and Ted’s Red Bed. Like any reader on the threshold of this new skill, she often guesses at the words based on the first letter. I’ve pointed out how some words look almost exactly like another, except one letter is different. So if she knows how that first word sounds, the next one can be a breeze.
We were lucky to have Ryan and Shona and their kids over for a wee visit. While Ivy and Bryn continued hatching plots in odd languages, they also took some time out for a bit of singing. Or at least, Ivy sang to Bryn and Bryn listened patiently. Again and again.
The kids were intrigued by the different kinds of cameras Shona brought along. One in particular was an old school point-and-click, very similar to my mom’s first camera, which I had around here at one point. Shona explained distance, when you would switch it to different settings and why, and then let them loose with it on the beach. She’s told me some of the pictures are fabulous. I’ll keep you posted.
Besides Ivy’s singing to Bryn, the house has also benefitted from Hannah’s unique musical ramblings. In the car she started in with her latest, the Molecule Song. We haven’t chatted molecules/atoms/cells since the spring, but somehow she came up with “Molecules are in everything, yes everything. The car, my skin, that dog over there.” I think it’s a pretty cool tune actually. Very Veda Hille.
She’s also discovered Louie Armstrong and plays his cd often. She’s picked out one of his tunes on the piano and plunks away at it sometimes.
Even though we’ve lived here for 10 years now, we’ve never seen jellyfish at the beach. Yet this summer they are everywhere. Loads of clear ones, the kind I remember from childhood summers on the boat with my brother, how they glowed in the night waters. And burgundy ones that come in only one size: BIG. I’ve tried to find jellyfish books at the library, but like many scienc-y books, they are all older and vague, often hand-drawn (which is SO cool, but not what we need here) and covering the world-over, not just our little West Coast jellies. I’m sure the internet has stuff, but it’s so much nicer to gather around a book, than my laptop. And you can take it to bed, or read while you eat breakfast. Books rock.
Leif’s love of hockey continued this summer. I found a cheap and flimsy, yet functional and repairable, goalie net at a yard sale, and his love of goalies soared. Hannah got right into it with him and they were out in the driveway everyday. After coming in with a fat lip from a slapshot from his sister, Leif asked about getting some gear. His buddy Taro told him the second-hand sporting goods store (Sports Traders on Store Street) carried hockey gear, we were off. He tried on lots of stuff, and after much discussion and price comparison, he brought home a helmet with face cage and a goalie stick. He paid with his hard-earned paper route cash. Once home he improvised with my old baseball glove and his goalie gloves. And now he only gets nailed in the crotch.
Speaking of his paper route, the kids have come up with a new game. There’s a great tire swing at the end of the route, so it’s our reward. I stand in the middle and push the kids around me, and they’ve decided I am the Sun and they are in orbit. So they discuss which planets they are, telling Ivy she is always mercury, she’s so small. It’s nice being the Sun.
In July I did manage to wedge in a little rant about the Canada Day holiday and its history as Dominion Day. They didn’t really feel any inkling to join in my feelings of wishing it was still Dominion Day. But I tried right? We did take in some Canada Day festivities, mainly ice cream in the hot sun in the harbour. We tried to get on Naval ships and stuff, but the line-ups were huge and tiring. Next year we need to plan our own shindig, though I say that every year. We did partake in The Living Flag, a downtown business initiative that was fun, and hot. You can’t tell it’s us, but we’re in there. We’re the ones wearing white, even Ivy.
The kids did a schwack of swimming lessons this summer, the time of year when great classes are offered during the day time, yay. Hannah did her level 2 and 3, Leif his level 6 and 7.
Their fabulous teacher Nelly retired this summer, at the end of their classes. This warranted some baking of course.
Hannah drew herself swimming with Nelly, and signed it from all of us.
This summer the kids were introduced to a St. John pastime, the model plane air show. I stayed home and painted the kitchen. Everyone was happy.
We had many a tea party this summer, sometimes inviting lego storm troopers, others not. The menu was always the same.
Leif also stayed up one night creating a very sweet surprise pre-birthday breakfast tea party for Hannah. He wrote out menus, made place cards and folded napkins into fans. In the morning I was chef and server, and all three of them cavorted around together. It was a great idea.
Hmmm, what else happened this summer? Oh right. Hannah turned SIX.
And then . . .
Woohoooooo! Six is perfect!
She’s been counting down the days since about May, forever changing her cake request, finally deciding on a truly Hannah-esque cake (pink and white icing with green polka-dots and storm troopers on top, strawberries on the sides). A lovely party in the park was the plan, and then we took them all to the pool to cool off. She had a great day. Once home we had a little family party. She’d been asking for a certain lego set since last fall. She’d wanted it for Christmas but we said no-go sister. It’s a really expensive set! So we got together with all the grandparents and pooled our dimes. She said it was the only thing she wanted, so she got it.
We finished up with an early September camping trip to Ruckle Park with Ryan and Shona et kids. Leif and Hannah honed their disc-tossing skills, and Leif discovered that he loves disc golf, just like his Papa. Ivy and Bryn sat in little camping chairs observing the bigger kids, like the little old ladies they will be some day. Hannah read her Hiyao Miyazaki comics and I jumped in the Pacific every day. It was a much-needed little holiday that should've been longer, but we loved it while it lasted.
On a very sad note, this summer we said good-bye to our lovely Bodhi-cat. She was struggling with some hyperthyroid issues, and that distracted us from discovering that her cancer had returned. She stopped eating and we couldn’t figure out why. She hung out with us in the back yard one sunny evening, and I snapped this picture. She died later on that night. She is missed.
Kisses
C
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