Summer is really here and I’m finally beginning to understand what all the hype is about this season: it’s hot, the sun stays out way longer, and we’re always off doing fun things. I don’t really like the part where my eyes keep watering and I come in from outside looking like I’ve been stung by some bees (an expression that I don’t really understand, but other people seem to get), but for the most part, I really like summer.
Over the past few weeks, Mommy and me (and Uncle Steve) have been hanging out at Grandpa’s house doing something called “renovations” – they don’t really have me fooled though, it’s just a grown-up word for big mess. I have so much fun when I’m at Grandpa’s house – I get to go swimming in the river and we have bonfires at night. The only part that’s not so great is that we’re away from Mama C because she’s at work and Mommy and I miss her a lot. But that also means that we get to come home to her and that always makes us both really happy. This week we were up there with my favourite friend-family, the Randall’s (that’s MeMa’s family for those of you who understand my lingo). They decided to take some time off and they all came up to play with me. It had nothing to do with the river or the quiet or the canoe or the bonfires, right?
Summer also means that we get to celebrate something called Canada Day. What I learned is that this is a weekend where we get 3 whole days with Mama C! On the Saturday we all got in the car and drove somewhere called Kitchener to see a whole lot of my family! When my great aunt Crazy Gail died, all of her brothers and sisters decided not to have a funeral but to have a big party instead (she was my kind of woman!). Even though we were all still really sad that she couldn’t be there to be the centre of this big party, we still got to have a fun time just hanging out and being with each other.
For me, this meant finally getting to meet some (more) relatives that I hadn’t met yet. I know I’ve said it before, but I have a LOT of family! I finally got to meet Aunt Helen and Glen, and Aunt Dot from “down east”, and then Uncle Earl and Aunt Sue from “out west”, and then more and more and more cousins: Gary, JP, Sarena, Darryl, Robin, Jamie, Jesse….it was just crazy! Someone also brought pictures from over the past few years and I got to see all of the Aunts and Uncles growing up, and then some of Mama C and Auntie CC growing up too. I even got to see one from Grandma and Pa’s wedding day!
At this party though, I also go to hang out with Auntie CC, Uncle Rico, Thor and Ollie! It was the first time that Ollie and I really got to hang out and talk – you know, just the two of us. We had a pretty good talk and he tried to convince me that I could drink water from a cup like he does. I’m still not entirely sure, but I’m thinking about it.
Then I got to go swimming with Mama C and Uncle Rico and Thor, which was fun but very cold. In the end Mama C and Uncle Rico played “kid swap” and I got to snuggle with Uncle Rico while Thor and Mama C went on a swimming adventure. Then Ollie came in the pool too while I got out to hang out with Mommy, Auntie CC and Alexandra. They were in the pool for so long that they almost missed dinner! I knew Mama C liked to swim, but where are her priorities? In the end it worked out okay for me because I got to snuggle with Alex, which is one of my favourite things to do. Every time she see’s me she gets more and more comfortable and this time she even tried to change my diaper…although she stopped fast when I peed on her!
On Sunday, it was actually Canada Day! Everywhere I looked people were dressed in red and white (except for me – the mom’s made me wear my rainbow dress and said something about Pride – they seemed sad that we weren’t going there). During the day we went to Stan Wadlow Park and walked around and saw all the vendors and food, Blinky the Police Car and all of the rides that were set up. We didn’t stay too long because it was very hot and I needed a nap, but we went back at night and that was the best part. We met Uncle Steve and Telly and Rachel and after they all bought some food, we laid around on a big blanket. Then, when it got dark, there were fireworks!! I love Canada Day! Uncle Steve couldn’t get over how quietly I just sat and watched the colours and the mom’s seemed pretty happy about the fact that I was obviously watching them as well (sometimes I think they like to be reassured that my eyes are working hard).
