Summer Vacation 2014

September 01, 2014

Summer Vacation 2014

We loaded up the minivan last week for an end of summer road trip. We love hitting the open road. And given all of the supplies the kids need when we travel, a van is required. We opted for another Canada holiday and once again The Great White North did not disappoint. Here are a few favorite photos:

A Canadian delicacy - I recommend the maple

Parliament Hill

Oliver romping around at the farm

Enjoying the most beautiful porch

Happy girl

Happy boy

Obligatory family shot in front of famous building

Oliver making friends with a horse

Stunning farm

Tractor ride with our dear friend

Breakfast in Montreal

My guys waiting for a brioche

Oliver exploring Vermont

Wavey excited to be almost home

Comments

Anonymous said…

What beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing! nm

September 2, 2014 at 3:18 PM

Pamela said…

Oh, that last picture of Waverly made me smile! What a great picture. I'm so glad your family was able to enjoy a great summer vacation together.

September 15, 2014 at 1:29 PM

Welcome to Holland

By Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland.""Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.