things i'm loving lately

we're slowly getting into some semblance of a routine. blaise only woke up once last night to eat at 3:45am and then slept 'til 7:30am. glorious. absolutely glorious. he's getting better at going down for his naps, but we're still working on it.
i've been baking lots more and crocheting and am currently on the hunt {which likely means i'll just ask my mom to send me some} yarn that's in the colours of angry birds which i can hopefully crochet for christmas for the boys.
we've sorta scrapped the "screen time tickets" for now, but we do only let the boys have 30 minutes on the iPad at a time. {noah would literally play all.day.long.}

anyway, i thought i'd share with you a few lovely things that i'm loving these days.

chocolate. all things chocolate. i hit this phase every time i have kids. i mean, i love chocolate in general, but this is intense. it comes on strong at the 2 month mark post-partum. i could just eat bar after bar after bar of chocolate {and i have. but not every day.}. it's ridiculous and i'm trying to curb it. but right now i'm currently loving snickers and twix. chocolate and caramel-y goodness. *drool*

lullabies. even if you don't have babies or young kids {or kids at all} get this album. re-done hymns speaking God's truth and peace to your heart. so lovely. {i absolutely love Page CXVI and would recommend all of their albums for anyone who loves hymns.}

i finally got into angry birds. it took angry birds star wars to do it for me. i think it's cute. and i secretly try and beat all of noah's high scores when i play but man! the kid is shockingly good! an addicting game made even better by using one of the best movie series of all time.

i downloaded this book to my kindle a couple weeks ago when someone posted on facebook that it was free. i thought, why not? a free book on parenting couldn't hurt and if i don't like it, i'll just delete it.
i have thoroughly enjoyed this book so far {not quite finished}. as i've entered this new phase of parenting three little boys, jamie and i have been reflecting on parenting and what life was like before kids and how things have changed since. benjamin kearns is funny and speaks frankly while also communicating some powerful truths about parenting and God's desire to refine and shape us as parents. it's not free anymore, but it is only $2.99. well worth it, i'd say.

i'm still loving the homemade graham crackers i posted about last week {just took a batch out of the oven minutes ago. the house smells lovely!}. i'm itching to pull out our christmas decorations out and get started, but that will have to wait until this weekend.
and speaking of christmas, i'm hoping to post a few entries on some of our favourite christmas things. stay tuned for more!

happy wednesday!

on having adventures and being productive too

last week we had a few things we needed to get done as the noon hour {or mid-day as they call it here} hit. they were:
1. take out money from the bank
2. mail a package of pretty ugandan jewelry to my sister in law
3. buy some chapatis {pregnancy craving and the boys love 'em!} to accompany our lunch

so we decided to go on a family adventure into mengo - a nearby area of kampala. we drove and parked at the hospital nearby and first went to get some money.
that was easily accomplished after jamie picked up jude to cross the road and noah tugged at my arm to "RUN!" across the road at the first break in traffic.

next up was to find the mengo "posta" {post office}. we knew generally where it was, but inquired after two more people before we found it. i had to buy a bigger envelope to fit all my goodies in but the posta didn't sell them. nope. it was the little hut just outside the posta that sold everything from pepsi and snacks to airtime for your mobile and envelopes. i bought one for 500 shillings. {2500 shillings = 1 canadian dollar to put it into perspective}.
the package cost 43,000 shillings to mail and i'm hoping my sister in law gets it by mid-september. mail seems to work a lot faster going out of uganda than it does coming in.

finally was the chapatis. jamie knew the area better than i did so he directed us to the line up of little stands selling chapatis, samosas, sodas, airtime and rolex. no. not the watches. a rolex is a local snack that's made up of a chapati rolled up with a fried egg and often some vegetables like onions and tomatoes inside it. it's good. but it's all fried. so i limited myself to one per year. and i've filled that quota already. ha! we picked up 3 chapatis and watched while they were being made. it was sunny and the boys were hot from walking back up the hill from the posta so we bought them a mango juice and the people around laughed and smiled as they drank from 2 straws and literally chugged away the entire bottle while the chapatis were being made.

it was quite the accomplishment for me being pregnant and walking around, but mostly? accomplishing THREE things in just over an hour. seriously. you're lucky if you can accomplish three things in a day around here.

noah was wearing his manchester united jersey {the kid is already a huge fan. he insists on often wearing his jersey two days in a row if he can get away with it.} and the ugandans liked to call out after him, "manchester united!" or "wayne rooney!" {i had to explain to noah that wayne rooney is a player on the man u team. he asked if he was a boy or a man and didn't really seem to understand how they could mistake him for a man. i didn't bother to inform him it's because he's white, has short hair, and a round-ish face.} ugandans generally love kids and will call out "baby!" after them. yes. even my almost 5 year old gets called "baby". jude really doesn't like being called "baby" and at the craft market that we frequent they actually know him as "the big boy" because he has yelled back at them, "i'm NOT a baby, i'm a BIG BOY!".

ugandans here in the city aren't the most friendly right off the bat. often they'll just stare at you. but say "good morning!" or "good afternoon!" to them and watch if their face doesn't light up into a big smile at you. especially if you're pregnant. or have kids. it's not what i thought it would be, but i realized that often if i don't make the first move, then all that happens is me getting stared at and feeling uncomfortable.
so there are similarities. life in the city is life in the city - no matter where you are. whether it's toronto or kampala. if you don't take the initiative to smile and say hello, chances are no one will do the same to you.

so smile and say hello to someone today and you just never know what might happen!

friday links!

well i've been on some kind of blogging roll these days! lots to say and the courage {gumption?} to say it, apparently. or maybe i just have verbal diarrhea. or maybe i know my time will be severely limited in a week or two {or three}.

noah playing with some fun popsicle sticks we got from jamie's aunt & uncle in canada.

right now i'm listening to mumford & sons, the boys are using up their screen time tickets {these kids!} and my hair is freshly washed {for the first time in 6 days. seriously. i'm disgusting. except that, i'm not. i am so thankful for my hair. God gave me some beautiful, low-maintenance hair and for that i give thanks.}

i'm finding it harder to breathe {drop, baby, drop!} and i get heartburn any time i eat anything and yet i feel a million times better than i did when i was pregnant with jude and a complete grumpster, impatiently waiting his arrival. i'm in no rush for this wee boy to arrive. i'm excited and anticipating his arrival, but i feel good. and i'm fine to wait for him to be ready. i love to think of it as him and God talking away and having conversations and then God says, "okay little man, it's time to meet your family now. but don't forget. i'm always with you." love it.

anyway, enough baby talk. here's some friday links!

i stumbled upon this article about adoption and how it affects all our families. even if you don't have an adopted child in your family, you need to be talking about adoption with your kids and educating them so that one day when they come across someone who is adopted, they are informed and sensitive instead of rude and confrontational.

another blog post about books for kids! this time it's chapter books for younger kids. i want to read them all!

the token DIY. but i honestly love this. it's SO gorgeous and yet extremely practical. done and done.

the only time i've ever missed having a microwave since moving here. it's probably a good thing i don't have one, though. right. that's what i'm going with.

and for the inner geek in all of us {or most of us?}. it's dr. seuss meets star wars. love it.

and now i'm off to make some chocolate chip cookies with my boys because we've all got a hankering for something sweet!
happy weekend!

kids are people too

so this has been on my mind and heart for the past month or more. so much so that i have a sticky note on my desk top {a virtual one} with some thoughts i've had on this subject.
then today a friend on facebook linked to this article which relates to how i've been feeling and what i've been thinking. {and also brings this whole issue back to my heart and it was a good read. go read it for yourself.}

basically, kids are people too. we need to treat them as such.
yes they are cute. and little. and squishable. but they have feelings. and opinions. and preferences.
now i'm definitely not saying that when a kid prefers to eat candy over vegetables that you should make sure you do a switcheroo and put a plate full of candy in front of them. no sir. but i think the way we speak to our kids {and the way you speak to other people's children - whether you have your own or not} should be respectful and understanding.

i've seen my kids poked, prodded, and picked up against their will while here in uganda. i've seen people get right up in their face and speak loudly and give no time for an answer before asking them another question. loudly. and in their face.

part of this is cultural, but i've also had things happen in canada where my kids are saying "no" and that they are done and the person playing with them thinks it's funny or cute and is not respecting my child's boundaries or request for said activity to finish.
you wouldn't walk up to an adult and pinch their cheeks or twirl them around or tickle them mercilessly and disregard any request for those activities to stop, so how come this is acceptable with our children?
how will they learn that when they say "no", people should listen and respect that if the adults around them don't seem to? or that they should speak up about things that make them feel uncomfortable and take a stand?

one of the realities of living here is being treated like a celebrity.
while we were up north on safari, it seemed like every single staff person at the hotel knew my kids by name and would say hi to them. which was fine. but it was the staff coming up to us during our mealtimes and demanding conversations with my kids and one staff even demanding jude to share his food with him and when jude {understandably} refused, he picked up jude's fork, put it in a potato on my plate and then put it in his mouth. um? no.
it's no wonder that my older son, noah, does not take well to this. he dislikes a lot of attention to begin with {even from people he knows}, and so this has been extremely stretching for him. we've worked hard and role played with him to help him learn that even if he doesn't feel like being someone's best friend, it's still polite to say hello and shake someone's hand. {the shaking hands thing is not even close to happening, but we're still working on it.} we talk through situations, but i completely understand how hard it must be for him.
after our experience at the hotel, it's no wonder he hides his face or gives an angry look at strangers to ward off unwanted attention.

anyway, all i'm saying is, let's treat these little people with respect. just because they're little does not make them less of a person.

agree? disagree? thoughts or advice? i'm all ears!

three

you didn't think i forgot about two on the second, did you? good. i didn't.

someone was not very cooperative. and it wasn't the unborn child in my womb.

it's three kids on the third! {for this month. we'll go back to two on the second until baby is born}.

our third is due this september and we'll find out next week if we'll be adding a third boy to our troop or a girl.

linking to Steph who takes pictures of her 4 kids on the fourth

superhero wednesday

some days you just need to be a superhero.

jamie had a shirt that had shrunk and was too small. he mentioned this to me and i immediately snatched it away after seeing something my friend kelly had pinned on pinterest. this brilliant idea of cutting up a big shirt to make a superhero cape for little boys. absolutely brilliant. and easy. and i had all the supplies.
you see, i find tons of fantastic ideas on pinterest, but the supplies are not always available here in kampala. but this? this i could do.
in less than 5 minutes i had created TWO capes out of one old shirt. {for the back piece of fabric, i just cut a slit big enough to fit over their heads.} and then to make it even more awesome, i made a mask out of the long sleeves!

i'm not going to lie. i'm quite proud of myself. 

someone is already too cool to pose for his mama.

{go gryphons!}

what have you done lately that you're proud of? is there an easy craft or activity you can do with your kids? please share!

green

almost 10 days since i last posted. goodness. where has the time gone?
well, we've had water back. then lost it again for a couple days and now it's back again. praying it stays on.
we're spending a lazy saturday morning with cartoons on my computer because the power is off, drinking starbucks coffee and eating biscuit cinnamon rolls and playing impromptu games of baseball in our front yard.
and it's St. Patrick's day today!
we won't be eating any green food {except for the beans and zucchini that were in the leftover stir fry we had for lunch} but i did make the boys some lovely green play doh this week in honour of st. patty.

best play doh

you can triple or quadruple this recipe and cook it in a large pot with good results

1 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 cup water

1 tbsp food colouring

1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional) 

combine the flour, salt and cream of tartar in saucepan. add the water and food colouring and whisk until smooth. cook over medium heat until playdough is nearly set. add the vanilla extract {i did the first time but vanilla here is kinda weird smelling so i didn't add it this time.}. stir until blended, then remove and knead ad when cool. store in an airtight container or a ziploc bag.

we made a batch of this to give to our friends and even added green sparkles for some st. patty's day fun! this play doh is incredibly smooth and soft and so much cheaper than the store bought stuff! i give my boys tooth picks and popsicle sticks and googly eyes and it's hours of entertainment.

and here's the story of st. patrick {a la veggietales!} for those who aren't familiar with where we get mixing green beer with lucky charms from. {er, scratch that. not really sure who made that tradition up. i could do without the green beer, but i'd LOVE some lucky charms today. oh well. maybe i'll whip up something green for dessert. it's pizza night tonight!}

aaaand....if you're looking for something sweet for you to whip up for that special someone, try the white russian cupcakes with kahlua buttercream that i made last year. YUM.

confessions of a young mom on sunday

today i went to church {as in, i entered a church building} for the first time in at least 2 months.
i know.
but church is hard. at least, i find it really hard here.
in canada, we entered our church to familiar, smiling faces. we didn't stick out like sore thumbs. we promptly dropped off our boys in their safe, incredibly creative and age-appropriate children's church classes.
then we would often happily chat with a friend or two in the lobby and walk in to find a seat to familiar songs to worship to. the sermon would usually be thought-provoking and Bible-based. then we would pick up our boys afterward, chat with friends until the lobby cleared and we would drive home or to a friend's house for lunch.

in uganda, we drive to church and immediately heads turn when we pull up. we are muzungus. white people. the boys are often happily greeted by ugandans with good intentions, but it's often too much - especially for noah - and i have to keep reminding them to say hello and be polite and not be rude or grumpy.
we somehow corral the boys into a pew and try to keep them from crawling all over the ground that's covered in a fine, red dust. they are up and down and fighting with each other and i can barely pay attention to the song that's being sung. then children are dismissed to their classes and i walk with the boys to theirs. they are expected to sit for the remainder of the time listening to a lesson or colouring. maybe they sing a song or two. the doors are left open to the courtyard, which leads to the parking lot. i stay with them because they'd run out in a heartbeat if i left them.

today we went to a different church that we could walk to. at our other church we were one of a few young, white families. at this church? out of at least 200 kids in their children's church, they were the only white kids. we were stared at. pointed at. giggled at. but the lesson was told much more engagingly for the boys' age despite being expected to sit for the entire time.

today was better. and i'm betting it's not necessarily because of the lesson {although it was so much better by leaps and bounds than any other lesson i've heard for kids since being here}. it was because my reason for going was different. today i went for my kids.

we are not in canada. we are in uganda. it is good to go through hard things. it is good for the boys to learn to deal with stares or "standing out". it is good for us to show our boys that church is an important part of our week. it is good for me to go. if only for the sake of my children.

january two

i love steph's idea of taking monthly pictures of your kids. so i'm hopping on this bandwagon!
maybe this will help my boys to learn to smile nicely for family photo opps.
but i'm not holding my breath.
here's the first of many more {i hope!}.

{this just happened to be taken on january 2nd of both my boys. so i'm using it. i'll be more intentional next month. promise. also? they're standing in front of an elephant skull. awesome.}

lesson {re}learned

i thought i had blogged about it before but i checked. i haven't.
so we took family pictures for our christmas card back in october.
for the most part, they were a massive fail.
i mean, in the end i did put together a decent christmas card {reveal to come soon!} but i did have to use multiple pictures due to...well...this:

or this:

or this:

and get a look at this fantastic shot:

i believe this picture really does say a thousand words. this one's going down in the family yearbook for sure.

the aftermath/bribing with the promise of lollipops if we got smiles:

oh family pictures. the lesson {re}learned? lower your expectations.

jude's face says what mine wanted to at the end of this photo sesh.

a great Christmas video

so i found the perfect christmas video.

have you heard of this incredible program called Jelly Telly? it's all kinds of awesome.
so they have a christmas video {you can watch trailers for it here.} and i bought it and then downloaded it {over the course of many hours overnight - yep. our internet is slow-ish.}. we watched it this morning after working on paper snowflakes {one of our advent envelope activities} and building a fort in the living room.
anyway, this video is great. it is entertaining for the littles who may be on the young side to understand everything in the video, but it also explains everything from why we call it "christmas" to christmas trees to st. nicholas and how they all point to the birth of Jesus.
most importantly, the gospel is shared clearly. i love it.
it is exactly what i was looking for.
noah did throw an incredibly large tantrum after it was over when i said he couldn't watch it again {right away}, but i'm taking that as a sign that he liked it.

date night and big Sunday brunch

so we had our first date night since moving to kampala.

we went out for dinner and a movie.

and i took a boda boda. at night.

it was terrifying. 

i honestly do not want to do it again.

and there is no way i will willingly let noah or jude take a ride on one.

absolutely terrifying.

my legs were like jello for a couple hours afterward.

but i digress.

we got there safely and quickly and a lot more cheaply than if we had taken a private hire (taxi cab). 

dinner was delicious, i laughed out loud (a lot) in the movie and we got to chat about a lot of things.

and yesterday was Sunday which meant that we had big Sunday brunch!

it was delicious. i love big Sunday brunch. trevor said to me that he doesn't know which is more exciting; Friday pizza night or big Sunday brunch. i couldn't pick either.

we had bacon and cheesy scrambled eggs with banana muffins (for the kids) and coffee banana scones. yum!

next week i'm making these. um, i'm really excited.

after brunch, while we were at church i was getting pretty frustrated with the boys. they were fighting with each other and up and down and not listening and  i could feel myself getting angry.

angry at the boys. angry at our church for not having children's programs that start at the beginning of church and just angry that i didn't get to have a peaceful church experience. 

as we sang (i forget the song), the thought of sacrifice and picking up our cross and following after Jesus struck me. hard. 

motherhood isn't easy breezy. 

but it isn't the easy breezy things in life that conform us to the likeness of Christ, is it? 

nope. 

so i lowered my expectations, prayed for patience and love and moved through and forward to choose to have joy. 

and church finished early! 

i was thankful for that. (is that wrong?)

we're just over 6 weeks into life here and it's pretty good. my next goal for myself is to make up a monthly curriculum plan for noah including games, crafts and reading/writing. hopefully by the end of the week i can have something made up.

happy Monday to you!

friday night fun

it all started with some life ministry staff {stephen & grace} dropping in on thursday afternoon. they mentioned they would come by on friday and make matoke. and bring their kids. their 5 kids. 

love this ugandan culture.

so we didn't really know what to expect. 

but more people kept getting invited and at final tally i think we had about 18 people over last night for a dinner and impromptu birthday party for little junior {the fifth child of stephen and grace}.

so we sent nick off to the market to pick up some drinks and a birthday cake and grace and stephen and i prepared food in the kitchen.

they showed me how to make matoke, ground nut sauce and chapati and i introduced them to the glorious food that is quinoa {although in the end we all agreed that it was useless for me to show them how to make it as you can't buy it here in kampala}.

we all snacked on roasted ground nuts {exactly like peanuts} and popcorn while we waited for the matoke to finish cooking.

the kids watched some cartoons on jamie's computer as the power was out.

kids are the same no matter where you are. they all like cartoons.

once dinner was here and everyone had arrived we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of matoke, chapatti, quinoa and fresh pineapple {you have not eaten pineapple until you've eaten fresh, tropical pineapple} and bananas. 

it was a fun and relaxed night and it felt good to have a full and happy house. 

he swims!

once he figured out the water wings and realized he had independence...

pure joy.

and for me to watch my child learn a new skill, become confident and excited about his new ability...

also pure joy.

like nothing I have ever experienced until I had kids. 

being a parent is really, really cool. 

big challenges.

massive blessings.

linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesdays

Jude's laid-back birthday party

I decided to keep things low-key and relaxed for Jude's birthday party. seeing as we'd be in someone else's house, I wouldn't have any of "my" things and not really a large place to host our families, I decided it would be better to just chill at the beach.
and so a week ago we did.

and it was awesome. and relaxing. and a lot of fun. and exactly the way birthday parties should be.
don't get me wrong, I've done the themed birthday party and there's a part of me that enjoys all the details and planning but this was definitely not the time to do one of those parties.
it was a time to celebrate Jude, enjoy some good food and hang out with family.
so we set up a table, some blankets, camping chairs in the shade near the beach and tied some balloons to a huge tree.
then we did cake and ice cream as soon as everyone arrived so that it wouldn't all melt before we had a chance to enjoy it.

Jude loved singing and blowing out his candles and he insisted that he was in fact, not two, but three and a HALF.
funny kid.

my awesome photographer sister took a bunch of pictures of the day since I left my camera back at the house (which really wasn't that far, but it was nice to not worry about getting "the" shot and just enjoying the moment).

my favourite shot of the day. 

Noah and I had prayed ahead of time that it would be a nice day (as it was forecasted to be thunder showers and feels like 41 degrees!) and it was an amazingly perfect day.
later in the day I said to Noah:
Remember when we prayed and asked God for a nice day for Jude's birthday?
Noah: Yeah.
Do you think God answered our prayer?
Noah: I think SO!

it was a lovely, laid-back birthday party for a two year old and I wouldn't change a thing.

why?

why are you moving to africa?

why are you packing up your lives {into 8 rubbermaid containers} and flying halfway around the world?

why are you going, especially when you have two young kids?

and then...

why are you taking your kids away from comfort? safety? opportunities? wealth? friends? family?

even if you don't say it, i know you think it sometimes.

because of Jesus.

because He loves us and it's his love that compels us to leave what we know for the unknown.

because our love for Him causes us {causes me} to actually desire to give up everything for the sake of bringing Him praise.

it's because of our kids that we are going.

not despite. or even though we have kids.

our call is their call. 

as a family we are called to africa.

the opportunities they will have are like none i could ever offer them living the life we live in canada.

their eyes will see things they would never see.

they will experience life as most of the world knows it.

 they will learn to live with little. 

and i know they will love it. 

{it's their parents that will probably have a harder time.}

they will see their parents striving to obey God and listening to His voice to go.

they will likely see us making mistakes and learning to lean on Him more and more. 

we will bond together in a way all families should, but the western world and all her distractions make so difficult.

us & Jesus. 

David Livingstone {missionary to africa} said this about leaving the "benefits" of england:

"Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice."

this is what i want for me. for us.

we leave in one week today.

there have been crazy setbacks due to my procrastination and lack of planning;

but we go....

(in 7 days and counting)

my random life

just now i walked into my room to find noah in his "quiet time" sprawled on my bed with books covering his entire body - even his head.

he peeks out from under the books and says,

mom, i'm not done yet.

i tell him i know and asks him if he wants some music. he says yes. and then he says,

and then go back out, mom.

well alrighty then.

i ask him what he's doing and he says,

being quiet.

um, okay. sounds good to me. strange child.

also this happened today:

and i wish i had my camera with me last night at 10pm at the beaches jazz festival. noah was shaking his booty and grooving to all the big band jazz. it was awesome.

the kid has some sweet moves!

share the love

farmer's tans.

no, scratch that. i don't love farmer's tans. 

but both my boys have 'em.

because they're almost always in a t-shirt. 

hence, my love for sleeveless shirts.

and specifically for younger kids - rompers.

oh my heart. 

on a day like today (yeah, it feels like 46 degrees with the humidity) noah is in a sleeveless top and jude is in a sleeveless romper and i.love.it.

i think 2 yrs might be the longest i can push the romper on jude, but dang! so cute!

Old Navy

Carter's

Carter's

love.

what are some summery things you love?

today is funday

...but it's actually wednesday.

noah likes to ask what day it is. pretty much every single day. multiple times a day.
i don't really mind.
sometimes i just tell him straight up what day it is.
sometimes i sing it to him.
sometimes i say it in a funny voice.
he thinks i'm silly.

we went to centre island today with our dear friends, the humphreys.
we got to the island before them so we had some family time in which we enjoyed some good old fashioned swinging

(why yes i did dress my boys in the same outfit. it helps to find them in public places. i know. genius.)

(o hello runny nose!)

and of course...rides, rides, RIDES!

(even though it looks like jude was cowering, he loved every second of it. promise.)

and then once we met up with our friends there were some more rides!

(okay, so noah totally loves rides. he's SO happy!)

and we went on possibly the fastest merry-go-'round known to man. seriously. it was fast.

and apparently i took a lot of pictures. but it was good. because it's been a few days since i picked up my camera and took some pictures. and some turned out pretty good (if i do say so myself).

and it was oh-so-good to hang out with dawn & eric again. we've had some good times and memories with those two and it's sad to say good bye for who knows how long (though i hope no longer than 2 years!). 

and (last sentence i start with "and", i promise) the kids went the entire day with NO NAPS. we didn't get home until 8:40pm so it was a loooong day. but they did really well, all things considered. 

so maybe it was funday and wednesday all at once.

from 6 to 13

...in 5 years.

5 years ago it was just the six of us. 

Mike, Elisha, Jamie and I road tripped it to Windsor to hang out with the newlyweds, Steve & Regan. 

Now there are thirteen of us. 

6 adults.

7 kids.

It didn't feel like there were as many of us as it looks. 

Does that make sense?

It was fun. 

I have some good memories that I'll recall over the next two years with fondness and thankfulness to have such wonderful people in my life.

*photo credit to Regan Thomson (or at least to her camera. and to the kiddie ride attendant that took the picture.)