Guest post by Sue - Leah's mom....Family, Friends & Fun..

Oh...and add "Food" to that too (groan!). Leah keeps asking, "Mom - have you written that blog yet? Mom - it's been nearly three weeks!" What - 3 weeks, I go home tomorrow -Noooo.... Already. Hmmmm - better write that blog!

Ken and I landed in Montreal nearly three weeks ago. Leah and Carl met us that evening. We spent the weekend exploring Old Montreal then headed east to Kingston. We were anxious to see where Carl and Leah had been living for the past year, Carl's school, Leah's work, their neighbourhood, and eventually, my relatives!

I was born in Ontario, and my maternal grandmother lived in Tweed, about an hour from Kingston. I have extended family in the area which I rarely get to see, so I was looking forward to touching bases with many people.

Yet, for all the times I had been to Tweed, I had never been to Montreal and Kingston (the birthplace of Canada!). Ken and I loved the old houses, buildings and history in both Montreal and Kingston. I think we saw enough museums and "old stuff" to keep us museumed out for awhile! While Carl and Leah worked 9 - 5, we wandered around Kingston, explored Fort Henry, walked the waterfront, enjoyed a boat cruise, and visited relatives!

My first day there I wanted to go to Tweed. Ken knew this was important to me and off we headed. First stop ( it ended up being the only one that day!) was to visit my great-Aunt Joanie. We chatted, had lunch with her and Fred, and chatted some more. My 2nd cousin, Nancy, stopped in, we chatted....well - you get the picture!!! Suddenly it was time to go, we wanted to be back to enjoy dinner and the evening with Carl and Leah! I knew I would have to head back to Tweed again another day!

The boat cruise that we enjoyed was a 5 hour tour on the St. Lawrence waterway around the 1000 Islands. I have always wanted to do that and finally we had the opportunity. It was a gorgeous sunny day, low humidity and a slight breeze - beautiful. We cruised past hundreds of different sized islands. Some had a single cabin on it, many had a gorgeous summer house, some were big enough for a small city! We continued to the historic Boldt castle, built for the love of his wife, by George Boldt. (sigh - so romantic) Unfortunately she died before the castle was finished and he stopped all work on it, never to return. (sigh - so tragically romantic - sigh!!!) For many years it was left to deteriorate until eventually in the late 1970's an organization took it over, rebuilt it as needed and continues to finish it. We spent two hours there, leisurely cruised back to Gananoque and then headed back to Kingston.

I think the main highlight for Ken, aside from spending time with Leah and Carl, was his fishing day with my 2nd cousin, Laverne! We left for Marmora around 10:30 in the morning - arriving in time for lunch with Laverne and his wife, Dorothy. Laverne, anxious to go, greeted us with, "Hi - let's eat so we can go!" Off they went and Dorothy and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon....and evening (!) just visiting and catching up. Soon after dark the two fishermen arrived home. Ken walked in the door with a grin on his face - I knew he'd had a great time! Laverne cleaned and skinned the pike and bass they had caught. Ken and I were able to take home about 8 small fish fillets for Carl and Leah. Mmmm - fish tacos the next night, they were yummy.

Another day we headed to Frankford to visit an Aunt and Uncle on my stepmom's side of the family. The back roads of eastern Ontario are beautiful, rolling hills, lakes, many deciduous trees, and rock - the great Canadian shield. There is very little top soil here as it is all rock. Many of the basements in this area are actually carved out of the rock! I find it so amazing. Since there are no "real" mountains in Ontario, they have roads and tiny little "4 corner" towns all over. I love it! Anyway, off we were for a visit with Aunt Barb and Uncle Stan. We stayed for dinner. I loved chatting and getting reacquainted with family members.

While we were here we were able to celebrate both Carl and Leah's second anniversary, and Carl's birthday. It was a good time to come! We had Carl's birthday down by the lake. Carl, Leah, and Ken went kayaking. Ken and I had originally tried canoeing, but the waves were too big for me and I was panicking....I'm literally a "fair-weather" water person! I sat and enjoyed the sun and breeze on sturdy land while the three of them thoroughly enjoyed their kayaking - another highlight for Ken. We had hamburgers in the park by the water when they finished, then home for ice-cream birthday cake!

Leah and Ken

Carl and Ken playing frisbee

BBQing

This was a great time for us to come. It was so relaxing in the morning to wake up to fresh brewed coffee, chat briefly with Carl and Leah before they headed to work - if we were up :), make plans for the day, then have supper and the evening with Carl and Leah. Mainly Carl and Leah cooked dinner for us - a real treat for me! Some evenings we vegged, I got to play scrabble with Carl a few times, or sometimes we watched a dvd. Both Thursday evenings while Ken was here we headed to the town square for a free outdoor movie. It was a really fun thing to do. I will miss the movie tomorrow tonight :(. Another evening we went for a "Haunted Walk" through the downtown Kingston area. That was fun - again, learning some more of the history of Kingston. Two or three times we did "city walks" using brochures. They explained a little bit about the many historic and beautiful houses in Kingston.

Last Saturday it was time to head for Ottawa. Ken had to fly home :(. We set out early in the morning so we would have time to see the "Museum of Civilization", just across the river from the parliament buildings (which Ken and I had seen already seen years ago). Again, it was a warm, beautiful sunny day. We suspect it was humid, but we were near the water with a lovely breeze, so never noticed as we lunched outside. Our timing was perfect, we managed to see the whole museum, lunch, and head to the airport in time for Ken to board the plane home.

I was the lucky one, I had four more days to enjoy before flying home - with Leah! Leah is coming home for the September long weekend. This has been planned for a long time as she was coming home to attend a friend's wedding. Unfortunately, Ken could not get those extra few days off, but I could!

Sunday morning it was off to a very packed church. All the university students have been arriving back for school! In the afternoon we were off to a family reunion in Roblin - that's in the Selby area, north of Napanee....is this helping anyone to get an idea of where in Ontario.....? :) I love some of the names here, so just have to use them! Anyway - the family reunion...again, second, third and maybe even some fourth cousins....was the family of my great-uncles. My cousin Marion and her husband held the reunion. The original part of the house that they live in is over 200 years old! The ceiling is only about 6.5 feet high and the basement - or cellar as they call it, is dug in to the rock and hard packed dirt. Sometimes in the summer, the river runs through it!!!!! Again, I can't say how much I enjoyed being with "my cousins". I must admit, having grown up so far away from extended family, I truly appreciate the times I have been able to spend with them and get to know them.

Cousins!

Monday I tried my luck, quite successfully I must say, at driving a bit around Kingston on my own. Tuesday I was much bolder, I met two of my cousin's for lunch, then headed to Tweed on my own. Literally over hill and dale until I arrived at the majestic Catholic church in Tweed, built probably of limestone. Tweed once had a limestone quarry near by. I do rather enjoy browsing through graveyards - seeing how old the people are.....were (some people think it sounds macabre, but, again, I like the history). However, the Tweed cemetery means more to me than that, my grandmother, grandfather and an infant uncle I never knew are buried there. So is my mother. There are many other numerous relatives and friends of my grandmother's buried there. I recognized many names. Then off to touch bases with a cousin, slowly drive down the street where my grandmother's house is/was, over to Aunt Joanie's for a quick final visit, then off to Leah and Carl's again. A quick bite to eat with them (I was gone longer than anticipated), then, off to the movie's. We saw "The Help" - good movie!

Today - well, time to think about the real world. Tomorrow I head home with Leah, so - gotta get this blog finished!! Leah and I are meeting shortly for one last quick shop around Kingston. We are invited to their friend's house tonight for dinner. So, what can I say about our visit. We loved it. I really wish I could combine Kingston with Langley..... Kingston is a beautiful and historic town. We loved the area and the history. Needless to say, Ken and I loved our time with Carl and Leah. I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with family. I hope we can stay in touch - even though it may mainly be through facebook!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

This past week has been busy, busy, busy as we prepared for our next guests to arrive and have since been enjoying our visit with them! We picked up my parents in Montreal last Friday and spent the weekend showing them around before we headed back to Kingston! Even though Carl and I had been in Montreal twice before, we had yet to try the true Montreal cuisine! So this time, we did!

French Onion Soup

And of course, poutine!!!

We checked out the Notre Dam, where Celine Dion was married!

And then we got to do something that I've wanted to do for a very long time...

We went around town like tacky tourists in a horse and carriage! It was marvelous!

We walked around Mont Royal and checked out the view of Montreal!

And then we took my parents to Schwartz's so they could try the world famous corned beef on rye sandwich and where they shared a romantic moment...

Back in Kingston, I gave my parents a quick tour of the city on Monday

And then it was back to work for me and more exploring for my parents!

While Carl and I have been working, my parents have been touring the area and catching up with old relatives of my mom's. We've been spending the evenings together, making dinners, going the beach and just enjoying each others company! Tonight we plan on doing the Haunted Walk of Kingston and tomorrow evening we will take my parents to the movie in the square! So much to do and see and so little time!

Little One

Today would have marked our little babies growth at nine weeks. It would have been about the size of a little green olive. We were going to start telling our family and close friends around the 10 week mark that we were indeed expecting our first baby. Our little one would have been born around March 15th but one week ago today, we lost our baby. I was exactly 8 weeks pregnant when I knew something was wrong. After spending 10 hours in the hospital last Tuesday it was confirmed that I had had a miscarriage. That day was the day that we were supposed to have our first ultrasound and meet our baby for the first time. It was an extremely tough day for both Carl and I.

I knew miscarriages happened often and I was fully aware that it could happen to me but I guess you can never really prepare yourself for how it would feel. It's odd grieving the loss of a baby, not fully formed and that you never knew. But it's more than grieving the loss of the baby but the loss of all the plans we had made, the plans to tell people, the plans to have the baby, where it would sleep, choosing a name, bringing it home to meet you...The grieving has been more than just letting go of the little one.

Because we were so excited about our first baby, we of course took a few pictures...

4 weeks

6 weeks

I guess if it was supposed to happen, I am glad it happened earlier than later in the pregnancy. We do have faith that God is in control and that he is now taking care of the little one until we reach heaven and get to meet him or her ourselves! So Mom and Dad (x2), you have a little grandchild in heaven waiting for you. Grandma and Grandpa (each of you), Oma and Opa, you have a great grandchild waiting to meet you in heaven. And to all our siblings, you have a niece or nephew up in heaven...

Until we meet again little one...

Could It Be The Last?

I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by! Our normal routine for this summer has been pack, go camping or on some adventure, come home, unpack, do laundry and re-pack for the next weekend! This past week was no exception! However, this past weekend was our last camping trip that we had planned (although we might go again in September, we'll see!). Friends of ours that moved to Canada from South Africa about three years ago had never been camping before and really wanted to go with some experienced campers for their first time! I guess they thought we were experienced enough so off to Charleston Lake Provincial Park we went!

Michelle and Tinus have a three year old son that kept us all very busy!

All five us piled into one canoe and I attempted to get a picture of at least four of us!

Carl and Keagan had fun in the water while the rest of us relaxed on the beach!

It was a fun weekend and once again we got home, have unpacked and done laundry, now just have to get motivated to re-pack one more time! This weekend we are heading to Montreal to meet my parents! We are very excited to have them come stay with us for a few weeks and looking forward to showing them around town!

The Georgian Bay

Ok, so I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do - I have 3 blogs in mind and I'm not sure if I should combine it all into one, write three separate ones today or write three separate ones and post them on different days...I guess I'll just start writing and see what happens! Let's go back to last weekend, August long! When we first arrived in Kingston, one of Carl's teachers told him about "the" place for kayaking in Ontario, the Georgian Bay. So back in early spring we started planning our kayaking adventure! Over the months we invited a few friends to come along and last Friday, all six of us headed to the Georgina Bay! Since it's about a 6 hour drive from Kingston, we decided to drive the 3 hours to Toronto on Friday night and stay at a friends and do the next 3 hours on Saturday morning! About 20 minutes away from the boat launch, we loaded up our cars with rented kayaks and were on our way!

Kris and Kellie

Yours Truly

Carl

Ryan and Holly

A Snake

As mentioned, this area is "the" place to be for boaters and kayakers and being a long weekend, there was a lot of people! Most people headed to a nearby island called "Franklin Island" but we thought we'd take our chances on a smaller island called "Snake Island" (which we later renamed "Spider Island"). After about 1.5hours of paddling we arrived at Snake island and scoped out our campsite for the next 2 nights! The first night we shared the island with one other group but the second night the whole island was ours!

After a long day of driving, packing up the kayaks, paddling into the wind, setting up camp and swimming, we were starving! Carl and I were in charge of packing the food and for our first night we were all looking forward to some yummy pasta! Our tummies rumbled as we watched the water boil until finally, the pasta was ready! Balancing a large pot over a little stove, Carl went to lift the pot to drain the pasta and lost his grip...

Spilling our long awaited dinner all over the ground. Since there isn't much room in kayaks we didn't really have any extra food use in lieu of the pasta so we had to make due. We picked up each piece of pasta, put it into a mesh bag that I had and went down to the lake for rinsing! Once rinsed, we hand cleaned each piece of pasta, getting all the dirt and pine needles off. Then we re-boiled the pasta and finally enjoyed our first dinner (with a little extra crunch!)

In the area there is tons of islands that are all crown land. There are no actual campsites anywhere and no campsites, means no bathrooms and I'm not sure if you can tell but most of the area is all rock which means no dirt for digging which in turn raises the question "where do we go to the bathroom?" Well, let me just show you how the guys answered that question...Introducing "The Throne",

Above, you'll see a nice rock shield, surrounding you as you do your business. Find comfort in the nice mossy floor but don't forget your flat rock to do your business on and remove after use (refills are found to the right). Flat rock to small? Use the orange shovel for assistance! Having trouble seeing how this works? Maybe this will help...

Thanks for the demo Kris! What you can't see in this picture is that this area is not only in a low lying area for privacy but it is a prime waterfront location! In fact, I took this picture while sitting there...

I'm kidding, I wasn't actually sitting there, someone else was enjoying the same view from that seat as I was from our campsite :) After a small campfire while watching the sun set, it was off to bed! The following day was spent doing a little more kayaking, swimming and relaxing!

This guy wanted to join in on our sun bathing!

Our second night there we saw the most amazing lightening storm I have ever seen! The storm wasn't close enough for us to hear the thunder but we saw the sky, off in the distance light up like never be before! It was pretty amazing! On day 3, it was time to pack up and head home but not before a nice morning swim...

...For some us anyways, they swam in the cold water while I enjoyed my nice warm tea from the sidelines!

Upon our departure we had a little...or should I say, large friend wish us well...

Yup, probably the biggest spider I've ever seen in the wild! But he wasn't the only reason we renamed the island "Spider Island" it was for the hundreds of other spiders we saw that weekend and for the numerous cobwebs we each walked through during our stay...Ugh, still gives the heeby jeebies!

Overall, another successful weekend away!

...Guess I'll be writing 2 more separate blogs!

Guest Post by Carl

Hey everyone!

While Leah was running around New York with Catherine, I went home to beautiful British Columbia for a friend's wedding. I feel like I saw all of Metro Vancouver and then some. It was good to be home. The mountains seemed bigger than when I left!

Dad made the trip down from Whistler to pick me up from the airport. It was sweet to see him. It wasn't really the classic moment, where the family member is waiting for you at baggage claim...think more of a dad driving a car with a trailer whipping around the airport-drop-off area for the seventh time looking for me out the side window and then quickly swirving out the way of other vehicles as he sees what's going on in front of him....I jump into the moving vehicle with luggage in hand. We then took off to have breakfast with my Grandma and Grandpa Funk by my parents photo shop (D&R Photo - you should check it out).

The next day I headed up the Fraser Valley for my friends, Jason and Leah's (another Leah), wedding.

What a good looking couple.

Here are some good guys! Jeff, on the left, is a future world class architect who contemplates life as he stares weirdly in to the distance, and Alasdair, in the middle, likes the colour orange (he also teaches in his spare time).

Did I mention the mountains seemed bigger. In Ontario they call steep driveways mountains. If they saw this, half of Ontario would instantly get vertigo.

After the wedding I headed over to Colin and Brittany's new place for the night and then went out for breakfast with Colin and the Kennedy's.

After a little De Dutch Breakfast I saw my in-laws for a quick snack in Langley, saw some friends at a BBQ in Aldergrove and then went up to Whistler for another BBQ with some great family that I haven't seen in a while.

It was a great weekend and I am stoked that I got to see so many of you. We can't wait to hang out with you all again.