It’s been a busy week for all of us, with Paul getting stuck into full time hours at the hospital, and me trying to figure out what to do all day with three kids under 5. This is where we’ve missed our family and friends back home, and I’ve longed for some adult conversation over a coffee to keep me sane! A couple of chance encounters with some other moms at the play park gave me 10 minutes of normality, whilst hoping they didn’t detect an air of desperate “befriend me!”

JOINED A TRAIL RUNNING GROUP

I’ve joined the London Ontario Trail Running club and the two trips out with them have been a breath of fresh air, quite literally! They’re a great bunch of people who’ve got me addicted to London’s beautiful trails; clambering over tree roots, up steep, rocky hills with breath taking valley below, crossing streams and running through long grass, shouts of “move fast” making me wonder what’s lurking (I’ve since bought a load of bug off spray). I can’t wait to discover more of what’s right on our doorstep. It still amazes us that around the bustling city is so much beautiful nature and wildlife hidden away.



CANADIAN WEATHER

We’re still adjusting to the weather; I continue to take the kids out for walks or to play, not realising just how hot the sun is, never mind the added bonus of humidity! But the thunderstorms are something else. More than once the sound has woken me in the night, making me think a plane is crashing into the house! And the torrential rain! Still getting used to going outside after a rain shower expecting it to have cooled down, only to be hit with a slap of warm, wet air that you can hardly breathe in. Still, I shouldn’t complain coming from Northern Ireland weather…


LEARNING TO DRIVE AGAIN

With my Canadian driver’s licence firmly in place, I’ve plucked up the courage to drive some of Canada’s roads. My first attempt consisted of Paul in the passenger seat droning on “you’re too close to the edge Jade, YOU’RE TOO CLOSE TO THE EDGE!”, while the poor girls sat silently in the back, having been sternly instructed not to say a word. I’m still getting used to being able to ‘turn right on a red’, as well as crossing four lanes of a road to turn left, while feeling like I’m playing ‘chicken’ with oncoming traffic. Joking aside, it’s given me more freedom to travel further while Paul’s working, although one week on I’m still getting into the wrong side of the car to drive. Even Grace shouts “mummy you’ve done it again!”.


OUT OF LONDON: GRAND BEND AND BURLINGTON

The past weekend saw us leave London behind to go exploring. On Saturday we took a trip North to Grand Bend beach, one of Canada’s best known blue flag beaches. I’ve obviously never experienced ‘spring break’, but that’s exactly what it reminded me of when we pulled into Grand Bend: cars lined up waiting for a parking space, while hoards of young bikini clad and tops off gals and guys (we felt REALLY old) wandered down towards the beach. With Paul taking up most of the footpath (or do I say sidewalk now?!) with the double stroller, and Grace and me walking behind with baby wipes swinging from my trusty rucksack, we couldn’t have looked any cooler…The beach itself was packed, but we managed to find a spot. Within five minutes, we were all down at the water dipping our toes in, a mix of excitement at getting to sand and sea (or rather lake), as well as nostalgia as we thought of home. As has always been tradition with us, we collected a couple of stones from the beach as a reminder of our trip. An outdoor lunch at Willie’s Beach Bar (again, much too cool for a young family of five) was delicious, with the beats playing and the girls happy to dance and eat their yam fries at the same time. Before getting back to the car we promised a trip to the play park which allowed me and Paul to chill - literally - with some iced coffees from the cutest cafe ever - Highway Girl. The journey home was quiet, and let us look out as miles and miles of cornfields and enormous farms and barns passed us by. Although we MAY have taken a wrong turn and got lost, adding another 30 minutes to our journey.



With family living in Burlington, we took the 401 highway for a visit on Sunday. After over an hour of driving on this long, fast road, the Burlington skyline came into view, and was just gorgeous. But not before we passed a few choice signs offering us trips to places like “Ponderosa Family Nudist Resort”! 

 

After a pub lunch at The Queen’s Head making us feel like we really were back in the UK, we took a walk down to Lake Ontario, a vast stretch of water on the edge of downtown, with a lookout tower and a long path stretching to - you guessed it - ANOTHER play park. The sun was shining and the buzz of everyone loving life made me almost forget the craziness of the last year. After a barbecue where tiny Aoife the dog whisperer befriended my uncle’s two huge dogs (now affectionately named ‘the brown one’ and ‘the old one’), we were back in the car and home for bed time. 



ONTARIO’S WILDLIFE

I know I’m still harping on about the wildlife, but really Canada - you keep surprising me. This week’s wildlife watch has shown us a seriously bold, brave squirrel, literally on its hind legs walking up to us to either beg for food, or else attempt to just snatch it out of Grace and Aoife’s hands. Doesn’t help that Aoife tried to chase it and pull its tail, while Grace bent down with a cracker saying “here squirrel!”. And then one night when Paul was out of the house I heard a really strange sound coming from the kitchen. As I crept out to investigate I see this huge, green winged creature on our patio door. After taking about 20 photos and video evidence,  Paul comes home, only for us to find another one (or maybe it was the same one) on our living room window! After a lot of internet searching and asking around, we’ve concluded that it was a grasshopper, and not a praying mantis. This combined with our new found knowledge of ‘Cicadas’, giant fly-like bugs that make the craziest sounds from the trees, especially at night, is making us Canada wildlife obsessed! We just need to spot a deer now to balance things out…