Halfway Gone

Another of my scenic early-morning shots here...this is what Quidi Vidi looked like at 5:30 this morning. The hue du jour was orange instead of pink this time. Amazing.

It's been quite an action-packed day, starting with walking the lake at dawn. The kids went to Vacation Bible School at a nearby church (not our own church, which means I don't have to run VBS, but just get to bring my kids and enjoy the well-staffed program!), where they've been having a blast all week. We've been going there for several years, but last year Christopher was very reluctant to go and flat-out refused to attend a couple of days. This year he's totally into it -- his best friend is going, plus he's made a bunch of new friends there. I usually think of Emma as being the more outgoing of the two kids, but this year at VBS it's Chris who's always in the middle of a crowd of friends. When I picked him up at the end of the program today he was exchanging phone numbers with a boy I'd never seen before. Of course, Chris being Chris (and exactly like me in this respect), goodness only knows where that phone number is now, but it was a nice gesture.

This afternoon the kids and I went up to the cabin with all the visiting cousins -- Jackie and Andy and their girls Rachel and Kat, as well as Aunt Bernice and Jennifer. We did some swimming and some boating. It was fun, but today was a little cooler than the weather we have been enjoying, so there wasn't as much basking in the sun as there might have been. It looks like our three-week stretch of perfect weather is ending and being replaced by cooler, wetter weather ... just as we are about to leave the country. Oh well, too bad about everyone who has to stay here!


As if that weren't enough excitement for one day, this evening we took the kids to the Wonderbolt Circus, a can't-miss summer event. This local circus troupe put on a fabulous show as always, with acrobatics, clowns, juggling, and FIRE. The kids always watch the whole show open-mouthed with wonder, and I can't tell you how much I love it (even though the Wonderbolt Circus is completely responsible for our children learning the word "buttocks" last summer -- a word which became a centrepiece of their vocabulary and caused huge gales of laughter whenever it was repeated).

On my worst parenting days, when I want to sell my children to the circus, I always hope the Wonderbolt Circus will take them. 'Cause then at least they'd be having FUN.

All this action is only the lead-up to our Big Excitement: departure for our two-week vacation in England on Saturday night. In my mind, I'm halfway gone -- the thought of London is becoming more real than the everyday reality of life here in St. John's, as these last few days tick away. This will probably be my last blog from home, but we're hoping to be able to hit the occasional internet cafe and update from the road, so watch this space for British developments!!