Summer on Wagner Lake

We have had a wonderful start to summer, their summer starts on June 21st weird eh?? Anyway it has been very warm this week and we have had some great parties in the neighbourhood lately, everyone who has a lake front property has an amazing park like area in front of their houses and its lovely in the evenings, they are set up really well for summer here.

These are photos of our friend Denises birthday and the summer solstice party at our friend Lyns house as usual most of the neighbourhood was there drinking beer and generally having a good time, everyone asks us what we are busy doing here on the weekends well this is about it we are having a wonderful time with the neighbours its lots of fun and they are wonderful people, they have really made us feel very welcome.

We have been out on their boats this week and doing lots of swimming in the lake its quite warm now, not the sea but quite refereshing all the same. James has been happy because he has got to do some skiing and wakeboarding and Steph has been her usual waterbaby and spending every spare minute in the water. The lake is fresh water and cleaned by a flow through stream.

Kids are now finished school for the summer get this 10 weeks off and I finish school on Monday, Kevin is finished tomorrow and then we get organised for our big trip.

Well just wanted to touch base with everyone before we are of on Monday for 5 weeks so will hopefully get to put lots of photos up along the way.

Ottawa Tulip Festival

May saw us head of to Canadas Capital - Ottawa about 4 hours drive north east of us, for the Tulip Festival and to experience more of Canada.

We had a wonderful weekend here, this is a beautiful old city with lots of magnificent buildings and a very European influence. We had lunch at a restaurant at the end of the Rideau Canal to begin with, this canal is man made and is the longest skating rink in the world in winter. There were tulips all along the canal, these come up after winter and were everywhere and in every colour. We then were invited along with the other exchange teachers to have afternoon tea at the Australian Embassy and meet the Aust Ambassador to Canada, quite young man very personable. Then we had a BBQ at one of the Canadians house in Quebec, all French. Ottawa is in Ontario divided by the Rideau river and on the other side of the river is Quebec so all French, very interesting.

Next day we went for a tour of the Parliament buildings very old and English, they are very pro monachy here much stronger than Aust. Anyway it was lovely and quite huge. We then had a native experience and saw TeePees and had a native lunch, which was also quite an eye opener.

We then went to the museum of Civilisation the next day and this was really amazing reading about the development of another country is really interesting and its so different to Aust and the fact we knew very little about any of it made it very worthwhile.

May Activities - Spring in Wagner Lake

Well as you can see the snow has finally gone and we have beautiful tulips and greenery, never thought it would come. The temps are warming up nicely, still a bit cold at times but getting to be quite nice.

We have been busy over the last month, we have been to Ottawa (pictures and stories below), James has had a few Venturers camps and Steph has been getting ready for her ballet recital. On top of all this we have been getting ready for the summer and the end of school which is very strange but all that usually happens in Aus in December is happening now in June so its all go with summer parties and break up school events.

Took Steph and a few of her friends to Canadas Wonderland on Friday and they had a great time went on heaps of rides and I came home with a lovely head ache, photos below.

She has been missing her friends quite badly lately and she really neede cheering up its been hard for her to fit in with a group here, girls this age are pretty cliquey and she has found it hard to find a nice group. She is really well though I am now giving her Methotrexate injections which was pretty harrowing at first but its all fine now, she is of all her other drugs and we go to the Sick Kids Hospital again in a few weeks for her check up, but as you can see she looks very healthy, we finally have a bit of puberty happening which is good.

James has yet another girlfriend and is really doing well at school now so he has finally settled down and now has his final exams for yr 9 then is finished for the summer. Its been a struggle getting him through but he seems to have picked it up now which is good. He is very happy and very comfortable in his school he is much more of a social bunny that Steph and seems to get along fine wherever we put him.

Kevin has been working long hours to raise money for us to go on our summer trip so he is always busy with that still no word on being able to teach here they are hopeless, we really hope to get him teaching in September would make our finances much more confortable.

Anyway enjoy the pics.