How I spent my summer vacation: A photo essay

Our second annual pilgrimage to Eastern Ontario took place during the middle three weeks in August. Last year and this, Nana & Grampa have taken their holidays in August and taken to their sailboat. While they are gone, they need someone to look after the pool and to feed the cats. We have happily sacrificed ourselves, packing up the kids and a trunkful of stuff, and headed out to the countryside to spend our own summer holidays. It's a nice break from the city, and access to 12 acres of land as well as a pool (not to mention air conditioning, a screened-in porch, and cats to babysit the kids). Once again, we had a great time this year.

Summer vacation should, in my opinion, be spent wearing a bathing suit. My girls were all over that idea.



Waiting to get into the pool area.



Daddy diving.



But we did a lot more than just play in the water. For instance, Maïa worked on her math skills, as well as her digital clock numbers.



Solanne figured out how to make an S: this is her first recognisable "Sol."



Maïa likely caught whatever bug that got Solanne (see camping story below). This is her, feverish, sleeping.



Maïa recovered rather quickly–just in time for Nana & Grampa's brief return. One of the special things that Nana does is make open faced sandwiches... with faces. Here's Maïa decorating...


And here are her creations: Derek (on the left, with a beard) and me (right, with pickle cheeks).



Maïa



And Solanne (made by Solanne).



During our stay, we were graced with a visit from Derek's uncle & aunt and two cousins. Mike and Rosemary live in Nova Scotia and visit family in Ontario every summer. They stayed with us for two days on their way back home. Paul and Chris, the cousins, had a lot of fun playing with our girls. Here's Chris enjoying ice cream with his little cousins.



While the parents were away, we planned a party, complete with bbq and swimming! We had some friends from Ottawa over for the day. These are Maïa oldest buddies in the world, along with their sibblings; this pic was taken at the end of the day, just before everyone left, right after the Pyjama Parade.



The cats and kittens that live on Nana & Grampa's property are a great source of entertainment for the kids. There have been a number of litters this year; the first two or three being in April. The latest batch, however, were born during our stay (one day Crimson was huge & pregnant, the next she was as skinny as ever and unbelievably friendly). Here is Maïa holding one of four of the youngest litter. This little black cat was about a week old in this photo.






This kitten is one of the early litters; his name is Flower (he was named before we realised he was a boy). Flower is a semi-wild kitten; he likes being around people, but doesn't particularly like being touched by them. He did, however, like running after Solanne. I think he understood that she's a "kitten" too.



This little guy is Ezra; he's the only remaining kitten of a mid-summer litter. He is easily the cutest kitten born there in the past few years. He's very friendly and unbelievably fluffy. I would almost take him home. I think he's Maïa's cat; he followed her almost everywhere when his mother brought him out of hiding.



This is Maïa demonstrating how a mommy cat takes care of her kittens. The kids played a lot at pretending to be cats (when they weren't actually playing with the cats).


And all too soon, it was time to leave. On our way home, Solanne was not terribly impressed with having to be in the car for an hour and a half, especially when squished. But she was a good enough sport.


And Maïa fell asleep.