busy, busy like a bee...

We left New York State
(a week ago apparently).

Had a quick overnight visit with Auntie Kristen
the day before she was to be induced...
we left in the afternoon.
Eva was born that evening
40 minutes after Auntie K's water broke
in the back of a 2012 Rogue.
Wish we hadn't left so quickly!

She's cute eh?

A few days at the cottage...
Uncles and Aunts and cousins, Oh My!

And swimming.  Lots and lots of swimming.

A few days at home.
Sleep.
Play.
Pat the dog.
Go to our first big screen movie.
Brave.  Dude loved it.

Tomorrow?  On the road again!
Off to meet the wee Eva!
And then?  Ottawa Part 4.
Bring it on!

Cananda

We are back in canada.  New York State is lovely.  The whole culture camp experience was well worth the drive, the money, the time, etc...  If you ask Ben how he feels about it he is indifferent.

If you were there watching him it was a very positive experience.  I think the indifference comes from processing the constant over stimulation of the whole weekend...he doesn't usually work like that, an hour of tae kwon do, shift, an hour of lion dancing, shift, an hour of swimming, shift, dinner in a crowded room, shift, an hour of outdoor or indoor play, shift, an evening performance, shift, bedtime in a noisy hotel overrun by preteens and teens that see each other once per year...

Well, you get the idea.  In the moment he loved it.  Except the Cultural dress/preform on the stage part...really not a fan.  In retrospect it is a bit much to process it all for the wee dude.

All this to say we will make this a yearly trip.  New friends, old friends, and so much fun and adventure.  So much excitement.

And very few select moments of calm and reflection...

The camp will change locations for next year I'm told...hopefully not too much further away.  We drove 6.5 hours yesterday and will leave Auntie Kristen's for Nana and Grampa's cottage early afternoon today, another 2 or 3 hours away.  I had hoped to make the whole drive in one day but it was not to be.

If you have a few moments to visit the Catalyst Site, please do.  You can find them here http://www.catalystfoundation.org/  This foundation is small scale making big scale differences in the lives of children in Vietnam.  Fighting human trafficking of children right there on the ground through community building and education.  Caroline and her team have our support.  Ben and I will focus our charitable giving to this very worthy foundation starting right now.

another day of fun-in pictures

A peek into culture camp...Ben's day(edited)

7:15
nearly 11 hours after crashing, wake up
play with lego for a bit

8:00
breakfast, sausages mostly.  and watermelon
sitting with some of our fellow dragonflies, meeting the counsellors

8:30
a bit of  a walk about the lobby

8:45
camp photo, all 2 or 3 hundred of us, and a guy on a ladder

9:00-11:50
first day of mama ben sessions in separate places
Ben liked whatever they did but is non specific
Learning to name animals in Vietnamese?  Perhaps?
Eating pretzels

12:00
Lunch
noodles, fries, perhaps 3 of each

12:30-1:00
park time, 100 degrees but he doesn't seem to feel it

1:00-2:00
swimming with mama at the outdoor pool
then back to the room to change for the afternoon sessions

2:30
mama and me session 1
Tae Kwon Do
LOVED it.  for 50 minutes.  then LOST it.  for 10.

soooo over stimulated and tired. and hungry.
back to the room for a quick snack
of cherries and chocolate milk and a yogurt tube to wash it down

3:45-4:45
mama and me session 2
lion dancing and drumming out under a tree in the courtyard
got there early (see previous meltdown)

drummed for a few minutes with the personal attention of 8 or more counsellors
other kids began to arrive
engaged and having fun for about 30 or 40 minutes

wanted to leave...so we did...before the meltdown this time

4:30
a very needed and delicious ice cream cone in the lobby
back to the room for a bit of un-stimulating until dinner at 6

5:40 or so
off for a quick scooter ride before 6:00 dinner
very excited cause it is hilly here...makes for a daring ride...
only to find out dinner was changed to 5 and we didn't know
VERY unhappy to postpone the scooter ride
took a whole lot of prompting to get him there
ate plain noodles, one bite of a green bean and one bite of chicken
in 5 minutes

5:50-6:40
scootering again...down to the park (without a camera)
where he met a new best friend named Beckett
played a very active game of 2 boys vs 2 girls
with a boat involved somehow...
had a blast
Then in to wash up to watch the talent show

7:00-8:00
Talent show
more over stimulation
greeted by the Vietnamese red carpet
ALL of the counsellors create a tunnel and clap and cheer as each family entered
dude wanted NONE of it...
watched for 5 or more minutes before deciding to go for it
wanted his ears covered every time there was clapping
for the WHOLE show...
(and we left early at 8:15...it wasn't done)

8:15-now
decompressing with a bit of Rescue Heros on the ipod
sleep seems a long way off tonight
we shall see...

Tomorrow we are going to do only one mama and me session I think...
weather permitting we may go for a hike instead
(EDIT...went to weathernetwork.com and it's going to be hotter than...
well "you know where" tomorrow.  Probably no hike.  Hmmm....)

We are very busy, pretty tired,
but loving it
and making lots of new friends.

Let the Photo's Do the Talking

 the significance of a hamburger AND cheese

both of which were actually consumed

will not matter to many other than me...

a time of joy!

And a note...

he takes his games

face painting

and tattoos 

VERY seriously...

but throw a couple of cute teen girls

on riding toys at him?

All smiles and charm

and endless chatter!

Score so far?

Culture camp 1

Bad attitude 0

It's hot...really hot.

But the Delaware River area is lovely.

We had 4 hours to kill 

between check out and check in

so we took the scenic route from

Hancock NY to Ellenville NY.

Ben is tired of travel.

Glad to be staying put for several days.

Maybe he will snap out of the 

"I already have lots of VN'ese  friends.

I don't need any more.

I'm not saying hi to anyone!" funk.

It's special.

Busy, Busy,Busy...stop

Yup.
That's us.
Auntie Carol's retirement.

Auntie Kristen's baby shower.

Auntie Barb's retirement.
School year wrap up
and preschool retirement.

A day full of laundry and packing
while my child pranced about the house
on a mission to never dirty laundry again.

Then off on our epic summer journey...

First stop, for a few days, Auntie Kristen's house
where we found our precious Auntie timing her labor pains...
seems to have passed.

Spent hours having fun in the backyard pool.

Today off for pho
while working to keep the precious Auntie calm
and not high blood pressure-y,
fat ankle-y,
early labour-y.

Here til Wednesday
when we drive off for our over the border fun
at the Catalyst Camp!

Take a look at this LINK to peek at the fun!
We can hardly wait!