Before we get to Canada, let’s stay in the States for just a tiny bit longer…
07/20/22- Swimming our brains out
This morning was devoted to chores and school, then we did lunch and put the twins down for naps. We had a reading party for a bit, and then the three older kids and I all went to the pool and swam our brains out. Once Jonathan finished work and the twins had woken up, they all came and joined us.
Eventually, we came back in and had dinner. And poor Jonas could barely keep his eyes open dinner. We eventually resorted to having him drink half of a Dr. Pepper so that he would be able to stay awake for his violin lesson at 7. Poor little fella was so ty ty.
After violin was over, Clara, Logan, and Jonathan all went back to the pool to swim some more. They swam until the pool closed at 9.
And to Logan’s delight, they saw a frog on the walk back to the house.
07/21/22- Rest Day
Everybody was pretty dang tired after swimming and being out in the hot sun all day yesterday, and so we took things pretty easy today.
Jonas was feeling pretty weak cause he hadn’t eaten much dinner last night. 
Jonathan was nursing him back to health. 
These two are always up to something. 
They are so dang funny. 
Little artists. 
Isaac biffed it pretty badly on his way back from the pool yesterday. I asked him how his goose egg was feeling he said “Red” 😂 
These twins love their dad. 
They have a funny way of showing their love. 
😂😂😂 
😂😂😂
An Infamous Incident
So, after dinner, I took my yoga mat and laptop out onto the front porch to do a yoga video. As usual, I took off my wedding ring and another ring I usually wear, and I placed them on the keyboard of my computer so I wouldn’t forget to put them back on.
At one point, while I was doing my video, I moved my laptop to a better position and my rings slid right off the laptop and down under the deck through a crack.
I did the rational thing and went and got a human who was capable of thinking more rationally than myself. Namely Jonathan.
He came out and assessed the situation. The deck is built in such a way that we really didn’t see any alternative besides partially dismantling it to get my wedding ring back.
But Jonathan used his top notch brain. He went in and got a wire hanger and we tried hooking the ring through the crack in the deck. All the while, the children were crawling all over us and all over everything.
We were nearly to the point of just making them go the flip inside. But as they were playing around, they had moved the welcome mat. And as it turned out, the welcome mat was covering a grate.
And that grate could come out.
We tried again with the wire coat hanger. Jonathan moving it around, and me guiding his motions. But the hanger was too fiddly.
But then, Jonathan used his top notch brain AGAIN!! He went and got the broom and wrapped the hanger around the end of the broom. Suddenly this was feeling a little more doable.
Within a few short minutes, we had not only rescued my wedding ring, but my other ring as well.
HAPPY ENDING!! And all it required was the sacrifice of a wire hanger. JONATHAN IS THE MOST HANDSOME OF THEM ALL!!!
07/22/22- To Montreal!
The morning started in a pretty standard manner: with the twins making mischief. They got a hold of a package of band aids and opened them all and spread them throughout the house. Sigh.
Jonathan did a half day of work and once he finished for the day. We loaded everyone in the car and started driving toward Montreal! It was a lovely drive. And it was fun to see all the French signs everywhere.
Eventually we made it to the Airbnb. And it is the COOLEST PLACE!!! It is the primary resident of an artist and it just has the coolest vibe. You can tell that they have done some pretty extensive renovations. I absolutely loved it. I contemplated ways that we might kick them out and steal their house…
Also, we took care of their cat, Monroe. I actually hadn’t known when I booked the place that we would be watching the cat. But it turned out just fine. The kids loved her, especially the girls. And she was the most mellow cat you could possibly imagine.
We fed the kids (with provisions that we brought from New Hampshire) and then Jonathan and I went out for dinner.
Another cool thing about our place here is that it is in an incredibly walkable/bike-able area. There were tons of restaurants and shops and even a couple of boulangeries (bakeries) 🤤🤤🤤
We ended up going to a Lebanese place called Boustan. I was in the mood for shawarma. And it was really delicious. We had such happy tummies.
After we finished our dinner, we walked to the grocery store which was just around the corner and picked up some breakfast foods and snack foods that we could take with us on our adventures.
We are ready to tackle Montreal tomorrow!!
