Sweet Brodie......

We LOVE babies in this house.  Every single one of us is a baby person, meaning we will drop everything for the chance to hold a sweet baby, and we'll do anything to make said baby give us a smile:-)  There's nothing better than the smell of a newborns head, the feel of a baby curled in my arms, and the sound of first giggles - I'm completely addicted to babies.  And I seem to have passed this along to my children, which is sweet to see but means I have to constantly compete with them to get enough time with any baby!

We were thrilled when Andi and Brodie came for an overnight visit - of course it's always great to catch up with Andi and to see her again, but as you can see from the photos, really it's all about her sweet son Brodie:-)

We bathed him, fed him, cuddled him, sang to him, and Ry constantly entertained him on the rings.  We played with his toys, bounced him on the ball, and cuddled him to sleep.  And we fell even more in love with this sweet soul....

Wish he lived MUCH closer, we'd love to see him much more often. xo

Celebrating Kea

Shortly after our return home, Kea celebrated her FOURTEENTH birthday.  I just cannot believe that I have a fourteen year old child.  I CLEARLY remember being in grade nine myself - in fact, I'm positive that it was just the other year:-)

We always set up a birthday table the night before, with the year in candles, the baby book (or in the case of the other two, what I've done so far in their baby books - each year promising myself that I'll finish it by the NEXT birthday.......however, Kea's the oldest, so she gets a finished book!) and various photos from throughout their life.  

Always so fun to glimpse through so many moments in her life so far - so. many. adventures:-)

We also set out the birthday crown, and the kids all happily put it on as soon as they get out of bed.  Used to be that they'd want to wear it all day long, even out and about, but now it seems a breakfast eaten in it is where it's at these days....fair enough:-)  

Every year Kea chooses to go to our local puppet festival in town to celebrate her birthday, which I'm very happy to accommodate:-)  It's such a fun way to spend the day, I LOVE the art of story telling and puppetry.  There's quite a few silly shows, but always a couple of FANTASTIC ones.  We always go to whatever show the Tanglewood Marrionettes put on - what an AMAZING duo.  Highly recommend seeing a show of theirs if you ever get the chance.  Another show that impressed us this year was a sweet performance by Theatre Motus, I would love to see more of their performances.  I LOVE that it's a treat each year for my kids to go to a day of puppet shows:-)

We also had a double sleepover with Kathryn and Izzy the week after her birthday, so that seemed to turn into an extended celebration - and a fun summer camp where we tried to fit in a bunch of stuff we wanted to do before summer was over....

Including a massive water fight:-)

I SOOOOOO wish I'd moved the camera over a little in time for this shot - I just LOVE the expression on Kea's face:-)

Strawberry Shortcake for cake - a classic Kea choice....

We went to Clip and Climb with our friends Kellylee (with Maya, Nura and Felix) and Kea and I raced up a side by side run a few times.....until I could finally beat her once!!!  It's such a fun indoor climbing gym, I really wish it was a wee bit closer as I suspect we'd go all the time...

These wheels turn as you climb, SUPER tricky.  I think we've only ever gotten to the second dial, crazy!

We went to the Museum of Nature to see a great exhibit on Bioluminescence, which was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, and we also made the trek out to see a Drive-In Movie - always a blast!

We've also always wanted to make solar print 'tie-dye' (with bleach spots, and then sponged on/splattered fabric paint) and it takes a couple of days to do so we tackled this while the girls were here.  They looked very cool when finished, though I need to get some better fabric paint as they haven't fared well through the wash.....next time.....

Lots of jumping on the trampoline, elaborate playmobile games, eating lots of candy and, of course, numerous menthos and diet coke experiments......I think Kea felt well celebrated by the end of this week:-)

Grandad

Now that we're home, and somewhat settled back in after such an event-filled summer, all of our adventures are sinking in, stories remembered and retold around the dinner table and the reality of day to day life settling in once more.  How fortunate we feel to have so many wonderful friends and so much family that we truly enjoy, we felt completely spoiled by all the love and attention we received.  I was blown away by how welcoming everyone was, how they opened up their homes and lives for us to jump in for a day or two, and went out of their way to cook us special meals, show us favourite sites and take us under their wings.....we finished this trip feeling very loved:-)

It's also been sinking in just how unreal it feels that Grandad is actually gone.  He has just always been there in my life, quietly supporting and loving us and always there to visit, look at old photos with, tell us stories, encourage us to play music, play a riveting round of crib with, give us horseback rides as kids, take us for a drive......he leaves a real hole in our family.  I don't even know what to say here, but it feels so odd not to honour him more as we continue to say good bye.  During his memorial, I heard men talking with wonder about working with him for years and never hearing him raise his voice or lose his temper.  I heard mom describe him as the first feminist she'd ever known, and I'd totally agree with that description - I grew up with a strong pride of my female ancestors through Grandad, alongside a strong sense of pride in my family history.  I heard other family members remember a safe harbour, a quiet strength and calm and I was happy to know that others felt the same about him as I.  I know that I spent a lot of time with him in my adult life, and tried to absorb as many family stories as possible, hear the stories to go along with various photos and soak in his quiet chuckle as we played game after game of crib, but I can't help but mourn the many stories and memories that have now passed with him, being able to see the joy he took in his family, and the reassuring hug followed by his "I am so proud of you, and love you very much".  He was a great man, and I'm honoured that I got to have him as a Grandad. xo

I thought I would share his eulogy here, for anyone who is curious to read more about his life:-)

Celebration of Life Ceremony for Glen Falladown: Eulogy

Welcome everyone, it is so good to see you all here.

We’ve come together to celebrate the life of Glen Falladown and I am honoured to share these comments provided by his family.

Glen was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and son. His life was rich in friends and colleagues. His early life in Saskatchewan, where he grew up with and eventually married his wife Martha, was never an easy life but one that he loved to tell stories about. Those stories were full of humour and appreciation for friends and family. He admired the hard work and spirit of the early settlers in the area and he was often nostalgic for the simpler days of the past.

He was a man of deep beliefs and strong convictions and during his life his actions and accomplishments were true to these.

Glen was deeply committed to his family – a family that included Martha’s brother, Ed Walsh and his family, and her sister, Mary Rhodes and hers. When Glen and Martha married in 1950, and then raised their three children – daughters Lynn and Harriet, and son, Tom - I’m not sure they imagined some day being surrounded by 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He was a loving grandfather to them all and was interested in all that they did and who they grew up to be. And, when his children and then grandchildren began to marry and have families, he extended the same interest and welcome to everyone who joined the family.

He believed in the value of community and the importance of working with others to improve the quality of life for everyone. He was a volunteer fireman in Hedley and in Princeton where he and Martha made their home for the last 51 years. Glen was a first aide responder for the volunteer ambulance service and an instructor in industrial first aide. He spent most of his working years responding to emergency calls and reaching out to help others. He would often stop along the highway to assist a stranger who appeared to have car problems.

Glen was a man who relied on reason and compassion in life. He raised his children to respect the rights and abilities of others around them and he educated them through the example of his own quiet and patient response to life’s challenges. Whenever the family traveled, they could rely on Glen to reach out to others in a campground or a picnic area to learn more about their own travels and where they had come from. He had a strong interest in everything and everyone around him.

Glen was also a man of many eclectic talents. Perhaps not all of you knew that he could yodel? Or that he was a competitive ring toss player and an avid crib player? He was also an excellent singer and could harmonize beautifully with others during sing-alongs or while listening to the radio. And he greatly enjoyed CBC radio and
was rarely without a radio nearby. His children quote him as the source of a family tradition of prefacing many conversations with “I heard on CBC recently…..”

Glen worked with his hands. He built things, fixed things and made things work. He drove truck at the age of 15 and that included keeping the truck repaired and running. He was then a logger and finally hired on as a mechanic and welder for the town of Princeton. He worked on house repairs, he gardened and, when some of the older trees were cut down in the yard, he used a chain saw to carve artwork into the stumps. In 1967, Canada’s Centennial year, Glen worked with a volunteer group to restore an old fire truck and get it running again for the Towns parade. And he built moving toys and models that ran on steam and fascinated the children.

He would be the first to tell us to not brag but he was also very proud of his accomplishments, of his family and his work. He would also encourage us to not exaggerate and to reflect honestly on his life. It wasn’t a perfect life and there were disappointments and hardships along the way. His dream of being a logger and an independent businessman was not realized. He often despaired of what the world was coming to. He grieved the treatment of First Nations people in our country and the violence, greed and war in the world. He always cheered for the underdog. At times he focused much more on the happiness of the past and the comfort of his memories of old family friends.

But overall, Glen was resilient and faced adversity with stoicism and humour and this was particularly evident as age took its toll. He modeled for us all how one faces the ravages of poor health with grace and dignity. Glen was a religious man who was confident that he would be reunited with his loved ones after passing on.

Glen’s strongest wish was to remain in his own home as he aged. Thanks to the loving care of his wife, Martha, and the support from his daughter, Lynn, and granddaughter, Hallie, his wishes were respected and until his final weeks he was comfortable in his own home.

Each one of us holds a personal piece of the tapestry that was Glen’s life and his legacy. As we move to the open mic, I want to thank you for being here today and I encourage you to share your stories to help enrich and broaden the memories we all hold so dear.

I will now welcome any family members that wish to speak and, after that, we’ll open the mic to anyone else who wants to share.

Cross Canada Road Trip - Part Nineteen

And from there, we hit the road and just kept on driving, driving, driving east.  You'll notice I took very few photos over the next few days, and most of those that I did, I took with my i-phone:-)  We entered Saskatchewan, not even stopping to pose the kids in front of the sign (must.not.stop......)

And that was Saskatchewan, gone by in a blur:-)

Into Manitoba - here we did stop, for a quick pee break, but no posing was done by the kids.  They were so over that!!!!!  Amazing, we had such a lovely drive out, hardly any fighting at all, listening to stories on CD and working on activity books.  But once Jamie joined us, the three kids were all stuffed in the back and I noticed that the bickering increased ten fold.  Then keep them in the car for 14 plus hours of driving, day in and day out, and moods do not improve - go figure:-)  Luckily we came across a few Tim Hortons along our way (!!!!!!) and donuts seemed to help the matter immensely....

HAPPY to be out of the car!

Since we were driving until 10 or 11 each night, we decided to forgo camping - too much time and hassle, when we just wanted to get up early and keep on driving.  The first night we grabbed a hotel just off the highway in Brandon Manitoba....

Ahhhhh, free hotel breakfasts - so hard to find real food.  The kids were thrilled, Jamie and I not so much......

Getting closer - it's almost exciting, but we know we still have about 24 hours to go.  Ugh....

Back to rocks and pines.....

At this point, we succumbed to movies on my laptop, and just let the kids veg out.  Peace from the backseat at last!!!

Grabbed another non-descript hotel room in Marathon, Ontario.  

Oh look, more rocks and pine trees.  Driving, driving, driving.....

and driving.....

Kea became a pro at filling up the car - when it was just the four of us, I'd often have to pee really bad by the time we stopped for gas, so I'd run to the bathroom and leave Kea to fill the car:-)

We were a few hours from home when we hit MORE road construction.  And they were blasting rocks with dynamite, so we had to sit here f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  Talk about torture!!!!!

But finally, WE MADE IT!  Home sweet home, and boy was it great to be back!!!!  To sleep in our own bed, catch up on all our mail, have some new clothes to wear once more - what a thrill!!!!!!!

All in all, a most fabulous adventure - I'm super glad we tackled the cross Canada road trip:-)  Time to rest up and settle into home again, before starting to really think about our next adventure.  Perhaps a month long canoe trip in Algonquin?  A train trip to Churchill, Manitoba?  Hopping over the pond to visit my mom in London?  Better start saving our pennies once more......