This is Summer - eh?

Ah yes, glorious summer days. Sunshine, warmth.... unless you live in Ottawa this year that is! No really, it hasn't been that bad - we've had lots of sun and days in the mid-high 20s, but it is quite different from last summer which was in the 30s for a lot of the time with high humidity and warm nights. Not having lots of heat and humidity has made it far easier to get out and about with the kids without everyone getting hot and cranky, and sleeping at night has been a breeze - we've even needed a light blanket most nights. There was an impressive thunderstorm the other night that woke us up at about 3am, but generally it's been great - and busy of course!

Over the last few weeks, we signed up Miss 4 for a day of summer camp a week at her school. She loved it - they did cool activities like Yoga and Tae Kwon Do and we loved it too as she would be nicely worn out from a busy day and we could have a quiet day at home or arrange a playdate with younger children the twin's age. (Not that they play with other kids - who needs to when you have each other?!) Of course, she also generated a lot of artwork, so I need to sort through and secretly recycle - between school work and the drawings/colouring she does at home we're getting overrun! At least the twins just scribble still, I'm sure in a few years we'll have enough to wallpaper the whole house :)

We've had 2 sets of visitors since my last blog too, which was great. The first couple (Aussies posted to the Washington area) came the weekend after hubby's folks left. They only had a couple of nights with us, but we managed to get a bit in. They were blessed with the best weather of the summer (high 20s and sunny) so we spent a day in the city (beginning with a coffee in the market of course) before seeing the sights. I did bring the kids home for lunch, but hubby stayed out with our guests and they did a lot of walking but managed to have a beer in the sunshine in the afternoon. Our babysitter was booked so that we could have a night out, and we had a delicious dinner in the market before going to Mosaika - a sound and light show about Canada projected onto Parliament. Hubby and I went last year, and it was quite a similar show this year, but it's still a good option, especially with out-of-towners. It was a perfect night for it too - warm and dry, so no need for a jacket or a picnic rug. An ice cream for the walk home topped off the night. The next day we stayed closer to home (the grounds of Rideau Hall, home of the G-G) before they flew out early afternoon.

Our second set of visitors came 2 weeks ago and that was pretty crazy, but also lots of fun. Our friends are posted to Boston and have 2 kids - a 5 year old and a 2 1/2 year old. Miss 4 was very excited to have a visitor sleeping in her room; we would have been excited too if they hadn't woken up super early and started chatting loudly! Funny to overhear them though :) We had a very busy few days. We went to the Museum of Civilisation again (this time, Miss 4 and I got to stay while hubby brought the twins home early) and they loved it; the kids all had a fantastic time. Hubby and I watched all the kids at the Rideau Hall playground so that our friends could do the tour of the Governor General's residence (something we should probably get around to doing one of these days). Our fabulous babysitter agreed to look after all 5 kids (although we did put the younger ones to bed before we went) so that we could have a night out to dinner. It was fantastic - went to a local restaurant that is amazing and had a great night with a very funny waiter. It was good to be the rowdy table...and rowdy because we were having fun and not because of noisy kids! We also did the traditional trip to the boulangerie at Byward Market for a bowl of coffee and pastries before seeing the sights, and also checking out the Busker Festival. They also snuck out with hubby one night to see Mosaika. As well as that there was lots of hanging out in our backyard having a drink while the kids played. The twins were getting quite used to house guests by this point and loved the extra attention and Miss 4 loved having a playmate so the kids were sad to see them go....although I think they were all pretty tired from all the excitement as they slept a bit more in the few days afterwards!

Last weekend we managed to be busy too. On Saturday afternoon we drove down to Kingston (when will the twins get the memo about sleeping in the car...???) to spend the afternoon and evening with my uncle and his family. (One of my cousins is about to move while another is back briefly from overseas.) It was a beautiful day and very nice of them to let us crash the start of their family week. They'd rented a gorgeous 'cottage' (ok, I'm calling it a house!) right on Lake Ontario with a huge backyard that conveniently included kid's play equipment. On Sunday we had a pool party to go to, and while the unheated pool was not really warm enough for me (anything deeper then my belly button involved too much flinching and Miss 4 had very chattery teeth) it was a nice day to be outside with good company.

Well, that's all the big stuff but we've also been busy in between all that. There's been a friend's birthday BBQ and friends here for drinks and BBQs (always nice to catch up with whole families, as opposed to the usual mum and kid playdates). We've had playdates at parks (including a nice morning up at Gatineau Park on a lovely walking trail) as well as homes (our friend's who have a bouncy castle are always a big hit!) I took Miss 4 to another movie with one of her little friends (Epic - I liked it but she may have been a little young, the bad guys were scary and Spoiler Alert the Queen is killed early on). It's funny to think that I was worried that summer would drag by without the routine of school and playgroups, but quite the opposite  it's flown by and it's hard to believe that we're back into our routine in a few weeks.

I'll fill you in on the tail end of our summer adventures next blog. Right now, I'm glad to see the sun out, and hoping it stays out as the British and Australian High Commissions are having an 'Ashes' cricket match at the G-Gs this afternoon. Hubby is opening the bowling I think. Should be fun - go Aussies!