Summer 2009

Wow, it's hard to believe that yet another summer is coming to an end - they are just too short in Canada!! I made sure that I captured as many events as possible on film.

I was privileged to be able to spend six weeks at our family cottage in Ontario with Alex and Eric. Unfortunately, Marie was not able to join us as she was focused on writing her doctoral dissertation (although she did manage a trip to China for a conference presentation in July with Eric :)

The cottage is always a great place to relax and unwind and this summer was no exception. The weather was a bit cooler than usual with a fair amount of rain but hey, it was wonderful to smell the fresh clover and view all the wild flowers during my morning runs and bike rides. Alex and I were alone for the first three weeks and we managed to construct a soap box derby car from "scratch", which Alex drove in the Smiths Falls Annual Soap Box Derby. Our inspiration came from observing the Moosefest Soap Box Derby in Dryden, Ontario during our drive from Calgary to the cottage. We also played a fair bit of golf at the local courses but our frustration with the game grew over the summer since our scores continued to get worse with each round we played :(

Christy, Charles, Benjamin and Cathy were able to join us for a week at the cottage (sure was nice to have some company) and we had some great ping pong and card games - along with some fun on Splash Island and the Water Mat in the Rideau Lake. Eric flew to Ottawa after his trip to China and we made a couple of field trips. One, to Montreal to visit Christy, Charles & Benjamin at their rented apartment in downtown Montreal, a couple to Toronto for Argonaut and Blue Jay games at Rodger's Stadium and another one to the Haliburton Highlands to visit Aunt Catherine & Uncle Warren at their cottage and a brief visit with Eric's friend Thomas at his cottage.

The weather finally warmed up for our drive back to Calgary (that is a long road trip) but it sure was cool and wet when we arrived in CowTown. After living the "cottage life" for an extended period of time - I've found the adjustment back to home and work life to be rather challenging (what happened to my patience?). Alex and I are already planning for next summer at the cottage by starting a "new boat fund" (we're saving every penny for a new power boat :)