summer stuff

The pictures I posted last time for Father's Day seem to sum up much of our summer so far: hanging out on the deck and not doing too much!

Jonathan started at Extend-a-Family day camp right after Canada Day weekend. He's going for 5 weeks so this is a great routine for him. Each morning we drive him to St. Lawrence College (less than 10-min. drive) where he is greeted by a counsellor and taken to his classroom to drop off his backpack and do activities with the friends in his group. He is still in the youngest group, age 4-8, and they have a great time doing puzzles, singing, playing with play-dough, and going on outings to the beach, swimming pool, Buskers Festival, splash pad, park, etc. He enjoys his days at camp and the staff are great with him, so it's nice to know he's having fun and thriving in his summer routine. The respite care is also truly a godsend for us. Long unstructured days don't suit Jonathan very well and he can be quite demanding and fussy, so to be honest the thought of an entire summer just having him at home would be pretty daunting. But when he's at camp there's always something going on and lots of attention, so it works really well.

Allison's been going to camp too, with Quintilian School, but only for 2 weeks: she attended the week before last & again this week. They've had some fun outings and activities too and she is very comfortable with the staff & kids there since she's gone to camp 2 previous years and attends Quintilian's Tues. night social club throughout the school year. On the off weeks we've been having some special times just with her: going to Tim Hortons, having lunch out, going for walks, etc. Last Friday Allison & I went to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and loved it!!

Weekends are usually pretty quiet. On Saturdays Rich usually takes Jonathan to the schoolyard to do "yell0w-blue-red," and Allison & I hit the library; then we hang out around home and eat supper on the deck if possible. On Sundays we go to church, then probably "y-b-r" afterward, then hang out at home for the afternoon and eat supper on the deck again! Sounds a little boring and sometimes it is, but we just try to keep it simple and enjoy it as best we can. The summer's been gorgeous (except for last week's heat wave which was not so enjoyable) and we're making the most of it.