Going through the archives

There were many aspects of not having access to a computer that were extremely challenging. One was taking four thousand photos between August and December, capturing farewells, camping trips, birthdays, beach time, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas and everything in between , and not being able to go through them or edit. I have just begun to go through them, which has been a very slow process. Everyone gathers around and we reminisce about what was happening at that particular time- its quite fun actually, just not productive in a timely sense.

We had a chuckle while remembering the evening we 'chopped' down a tree. It was when we were selling our house. It was a crazy time, we were physically swamped with preparing the house for selling in a two week time frame. We put have the house in storage to create a 'larger' looking space, painted or touched up every room, concreted the front porch, and so on. The day before it went up for sale our Realtor came by to do a walk through. She noticed a dead tree on our part of the boulevard and commented we really must get rid of it. We were living in a fast forward mode, everything feeling quite urgent, so as soon as she left Chris and the kids got to work. It was late (and therefor dark), all our tools were packed, accepted a rusty thin saw (more like a nail file!) we managed to dig out of the garage. Chris sawed, sawed and sawed, for a really long time. Everyone holding their breath in anticipation. When he got close to half way the kids started pulling on the ropes he had tied on.

I, of course, that this was hilarious! So I became the helping photographer :) Saw, pull, saw, pull. This lasted at least 45mins., Finally it was down. The kids took great pride in pulling it up and down the street. Good times. I know are neighbours missing us!

The ju jube made me do it

I like my babies (boys and girls) to have long hair. Who can resist the wavy curls, that moppy mess? Not me. Alas some Christmas candy got stuck in Shai's hair, and despite my best efforts the only solution was a trim.

It goes without saying how cute he looks still, but there is a pang in my heart for how he now seems to look older. That's just not fair.

O Christmas Tree

There is a few things I would love to share about Christmas. As most, we have Christmas traditions that we hold dear. We love to cut down our tree, some years it has been raining, others its green and many there is snow on the ground. While we have lots of trees, there aren't any suitable for us to cut down. We never would have guessed living in a very tree covered area that we would have a challenge in finding somewhere to cut down trees. Everyone we asked puts up a fake tree, so after lots of research we found somewhere almost an hour a way!! Off we went Santa hats and warm gear on.

We now live in an area that gets a lot of snow, more than we are used to. This year this has been an exceptional amount. We arrived at the tree farm to find the trees buried in four - five feet of snow. The trees actually looked as though they were only a few feet high sitting on top of mountains of snow.

As we attempted to trudge through the waist high snow, one child in hand, we commented how we felt like this was a Chevy Chase moment. The wind was whipping, the movement difficult. When we found a tree we thought we might like we had to dig it out in order to be able to cut it down. This took about 40 minutes due to the high amount!

After all that work we were happy with whatever the tree looked like. The long hall back and then Chris put it on the car. While he strapped it down, a woman in heel boots and a light coat commented that what she does is come in the summer to pick and tag a tree for the farm to cut down just before Christmas and then pick it up. She suggested I think about that for next year.

It wouldn't have been a Chevy Chase moment though we hadn't have hit really bad, icy weather on the way home. And of course you know we had to have the tree fall off the car due to the high winds. We got it home to find a huge hole in the one side, the tip broken and most branches mangled.
It looked perfect. And its tradition.

Our new friends

One of the first thing the kids wanted me to share about our new home is the deer. We have all spotted on hikes or the side of the road, but never in our backyard. It has been such a joy to have them visit, to come around the corner to find a mama and baby under the trees eating the berries. As part of our solstice celebration we make special treats for the animals- this year particularly for 'our' deers. We don't tire of spotting one, something Shai as quickly caught on to. He likes to stand by the window and yell 'DEER', have us all come running - to find nothing but him laughing! What a guy.

Happy New Year!

So much has happened! We've moved. We moved three hours north, to a small town, in a big house with 3 acres, where I drive an ATV sometimes! I don't buy coffee out anymore, I stack wood and build a lot of stick shelters. I miss my dear friends and am thrilled by the time freed to craft and explore new places.
There has been so much I have wanted to write about, to remember, but the whole process has been scrambled and fast, emotional and crazy. Getting a job offer, selling our house, buying a house, storing our belongings, grabbing spare moments with loved ones, moving, all in two months. A whirlwind. As much as I have wanted to record the past five months, it hasn't been possible. It is too much time to back track and fill in all that empty space. I am going to post a few photos from each month for my own record though, which will be below.
Now that I have access to a computer at home (even though its dial up) I plan on sharing what we are up to here on Hillside. I have missed being in this space, my place to ramble.
To a new year!

Playing with photoshop on a rainy evening

That sounds so civilized, doesn't it?

Ragged Falls

Friends we visited while checking out Huntsville know how much we enjoy hiking. They took us to one of their favorites, Ragged Falls Trail. We followed a path that hugged the river and water fall. At the top the rocks form a look-out and natural rest area. The boys loved jumping from rock to rock, checking out all sides.

We continued along to find a shallow place to swim. With this rainy summer the water was quite high, but the water level or soft squishy ground didn't stop some of our party (others convinced some for piggy backs).

At the bottom the boys were treated to a 'whirl pool' at the bottom of the falls. Everyone enjoyed exploring a new place with friends.

Sorry Mum, more mushrooms!

On our recent trip North, friends took us for a hike on one of their favorite trails Ragged Falls. (more to come :) It has been a rainy summer there, as it has here. Which for us fungus fans is very exciting. Every few minutes the kids were running back to tell me of a different type of mushroom they found; red, grey, brown, orange, yellow, big, really big, small, dotted, spikey. Incredible.

Molars.

They are hard work.

And painful.

Staring Penny the Penguin!

Her debut was amazing! She invited her grandparents, cousin, and good friends to her big performance, in which she played a penguin named penny. It was her first time on stage, which she was initially nervous about but quickly got over. Her role was a penguin on an island discovered by a group of adventurers. She sang lots of songs, and three lines in the play. During the week the kids worked on all the props and decorations, they sewed and painted their own costumes, giving them a real sense of ownership for the play. It was a true joy to see her shine at something that was so important to her to be a part of.

At the sculpture park, there is a campsite complete with fire, kettle, boots. Shai is signing hot. Too cute.

Sculpture Park

We drove past the sculpture park

every time we dropped off and picked up Aria from camp. The kids were so excited to stop and visit all their favorite sculptures. You can hear them call out their favorites as they found each corner, tree or path. After doing the rounds in the outdoor park we headed inside to view the display of the Group of Seven and Tom Thomson.

Park Days

It never ceases to amaze me, the creativity that arises just playing at the park.
We have been visiting various parks quite regularly lately. The boys and their friends brought some ropes to one of their favorite places and created swings from the the football posts. They tried swinging, flips, tumbles etc. It was like a little mini circus.

We also joined our Friday families at a splash pad for some play time. After a dip in the water the kids worked hard filling the slide with rocks completely from top to bottom. They used their towels as carriers for the rock, transporting it to the top. They took turns sliding through them when it was finished.