June

A little late but...

June was:

Enjoying great weather at the trailer. My favourite Friday night lately is dining al fresco, going for a boat ride, followed by tucking the boys into bed and relaxing in front of a campfire with a glass of wine.

Fishing, boating, tubing, biking.

Saying final goodbyes to a loved one as we buried my grandfather who passed away in January. Watching the boys try to process and understand.

Participating in a walk for Alzheimers in support of my mother-in-law.

Visiting Niagara Falls and watching the boys marvel at the sight.

Going for a sail on a friend's sailboat.

Cheering our sweetest four year old on as he plays soccer for the first time.

Finishing off Grade 1 with good marks and an achievement award for effort!

Celebrating one year of being at my new job and working on achieving another milestone toward getting my professional certification.

Trying to manage stress the best I can.

May

Wow, June already! We've been enjoying the few glimpses of warmer weather and spending plenty of time outdoors. I've been listening to the Arkells' album High Noon on repeat too. So. Good.

Lately:

- We've been weekending at the trailer. Sometimes it feels stressful/overwhelming after working all week to switch gears and pack up the car with the kids and everything we need but as soon as we get out of the city, I immediately feel at ease. The route there is familiar and nostalgic. R and I met not too far from where our trailer is and we've travelled those country roads often. We've been making a bigger effort to get up there every weekend this summer no matter what. I've even managed two days solo with the boys up there while R went into work from there. Many of our great neighbours up there help out a lot with the kids. The sense of community is really nice.

- Victoria Day long weekend was perfect. The boys went fishing a lot, we went to the zoo (the most fun was had not seeing animals but rolling down a big grassy hill and playing on a tire swing), swimming in the outdoor pool, and boating into a nearby town with friends for dinner. The lake was still cold but the boys insisted on going tubing. After a rough first weekend in the sleeping department for Noah, he is sleeping like a champ up there now. All three boys are sharing a bedroom which has been less of an adventure than we thought since they are so tired at night!

- We've been cycling! We took the boys out this month to a local Ride of Silence to honour and raise awareness for cyclists that have been injured or killed on the roads. B actually participated in the ride (approx. 7 km and on some busy roads) while R towed the littles in the trailer and I rode. B liked riding with the police officers on bikes and understood a little bit more about the importance of bike and road safety. The big boys really love riding their bikes and I hope that doesn't change as they get older. I splurged on a new bike for myself recently so I've been trying to get out on my bike more myself. I actually rode nearly 15 kilometres to work last week but couldn't quite muster up the energy to ride home so I've got some work to do! I'd love to be able to ride once in a while.

- Gearing up for kindergarten. N had his Welcome to Kindergarten Night this month and totally rocked it! He is so ready to join his brother at school in September and it was so amazing to see him on his own interacting with the other kids and teachers.

- Making the best of a rainy weekend. Last weekend was RAINY. Until this year we've left the trailer when the forecast was calling for long periods of rain. Entertaining the littles in a trailer that is less than 400 square feet isn't the most fun. Especially when your kids don't love watching movies and aren't old enough to play board games or read independently. This past weekend we stayed and had a surprisingly good time. The older boys did some organized indoor kids activities, Noah napped well, and we went with friends into town nearby for bowling and afterward introduced the boys to our old favourite, Night Kitchen take-out pizza, which we brought back to the trailer to eat with a glass of wine.  It was perfect.

June is going to be a busy month for us. I can't wait for summer!