The End (of Summer) is Near.

Ahh, Summer.  You came just in time.  You lifted our spirits after a long, cold winter and brought us outdoors in anticipation of barbecues, beaches, camping and sun tans.  You were hot, you were glorious, and just like the summers that came before you, you've gone by far too quickly.

This summer in particular has gone by extra fast.  It was a blur of sleep deprivation, chaos and love after we welcomed our second daughter in June.  They say that with a newborn the days are long but the weeks are short... no words could ring more true.  There have been days that felt like they'd never end.  Days with a crying toddler and a baby who refused to be put down, days in which showering felt like a major accomplishment. There were many long, long days, but in retrospect they really went by far too fast.  I'm not sure how it's happened, but my tiny little Briley is already 2 1/2 months old and her big sister is fast approaching her second birthday.

We've spent the majority of our summer in Edmonton, a change from our usual weekly camping trips. Our free weekends just never seemed to line up with the weather... if I'm going to rough it, I at least want to be warm while doing so.  As it turns out, keeping busy in our city isn't that difficult in the summer.  We try to get out at least once per day, whether it be to a park or the gym, for a walk around the block, or just to wander the mall aimlessly.  We've been to farmer's markets and festivals, showhomes and on several drives to explore the fancy, mansion filled neighbourhoods.  

A couple of weekends ago we packed up the car and the kids and drove to the Villeneuve airport for the Edmonton air show.  As a family of aviation geeks (even Aaralee has come to have an obsession with "ay-panes"), we were rather excited! As we approached the airport, there were very few vehicles to be seen and certainly no huge crowds as we'd anticipated.  I was initially disappointed at what would likely be a rather lame event, but thought that I'd double check the ticket dates as sleep deprivation sometimes gets the best of me these days.  Oops.  As it turned out, we were a week early. I apologized profusely, and thankfully Ryan laughed it off.  It was just a trial run to ensure that we knew how to get to the airport!  

We returned the next weekend (after triple checking the dates) and it was an entirely different place.  Cars and people everywhere! I'd pre-purchased tickets online, but Ryan won us an extra pair. We decided that instead of giving them, we'd go both days.  The first day was a bit chaotic with long lines, a mess of traffic and a bit of disorganization... we gave the event the benefit of the doubt... after all, it was the first show in 10 years.  The next day was substantially better and we had a great time watching the amazing performances and chowing down on food from the food trucks.  Aaralee enjoyed herself, and Briley slept through the majority of it.  As long as the show returns, we will as well! 

These last few weeks of summer we plan to spend plenty of time outside as well as taking advantage of everywhere that is free for kids under 2.  I'm cheap, and sadly Aaralee is about to actually start costing money to bring to fun places! If anyone wants to find us between now and her birthday, we'll be riding the carousel at the mall over and over and over again.  

I hope that you all enjoy the remainder of your summer and that it goes by super slowly... unless you live in Dubai and are praying for more bearable temperatures.  There is still time for adventures and summer fun!