Cold all over.

We have been camping! It was cold, but this time we KNEW it was going to be cold and we were prepared for the cold. 

Now we are enjoying the second-last day at our little pool, which incidentally is also cold. 

An EMBARRASSMENT of cousins.

We had house guests again! Joel was gone for a week so my sister and her husband and her baby came to keep us from murdering each other company. Remember the LAST time my sister and her baby (and my parents) were out? LOOK AT THESE TINY INFANT CREATURES.

Ack, they can't even sit up. And now, look at them discussing the merits of this blueberry.

Eleanor had a couple of sad moments because there was no other three-year-old to play with, but she made do.

Rosey took some time to get used to WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE there are in this house.

Eleanor was like, I will be your friend.

She is going to love being the oldest cousin once she gets over being the oldest cousin.

We took them to the ice cream bus because why even HAVE an ice cream bus if you're not taking people there.

The babies got empty cones and were stoked about it. And then you have to go to the splash park to run off all that ice cream. IT'S TRADITION.

And then. AND THEN. We took them to the new Kinsmen Playground that just opened up.

IT IS UNREAL.

Like, LOOK AT THIS HUGE TALL SLIDE THING Eleanor is emerging from.

Look at this, I dunno, pile of climbing logs!

LOOK AT OUR BABIES ON A CAROUSEL.

LOOK AT US ON A TRAIN AROUND THE PARK.

LOOK AT ELEANOR ON THIS ZIPLINE SHE WAS SO BRAVE and my sister was at the far end, taking pictures and hollering HOLD ON TIGHT, HOLD ON TIGHT because you really get jerked around at the end.

So that was amazing. And then we went to Stacked Burger House for poutine. Look this way, matching babies!

Buncha defiant bitches.  We got three poutines and it was about a poutine-and-a-half too many poutines, even with the babies' help.

Eleanor had to be dragged from the table. 'Just three more French fries and then I am all done!' The next day, we took them to the library for story time. Rosey had, by this time, taught everyone how to boop each other on the nose.

We also took them to the farmer's market, which (it turns out) is super lame on Wednesdays. At least we had the hens.

And the treats.

Did I mention we were at the pool every day after naps?

Every. damn. day.

Geneva, you are ridiculous.

What else. We did pretend-face-painting a lot.

Eleanor and her auntie did some sketching together.

There was just, like, non-stop nose-booping.

Gonna boop youuuuuu.

Went to the thrift store, went to the comic book store, went to the coffee shop, all of which Eleanor referred to as 'going to the shops.'

Went to the graveyard because why not.

I feel like Rosey got used to all the bodies in her presence, Eleanor got used to having to share all available adults with others and their own pure exhaustion, and then it was time for them to leave. Good visit, all in all.

Strawberry Week.

We had houseguests again last week, about which anon. Eleanor is basically addicted to having guests so I have been trying to distract her from her sorrow now they are gone. So we went berry picking. 

LOOK AT HER PICK THOSE BERRIES LIKE A GROWN-UP PERSON. 

Don't be fooled, though. After like four minutes she was all, You pick into the basket and I will pick into my tummy. 

Geneva was like, WHAT GLORIOUS WORLD IS THIS. 

But also she cried a lot because teething and sick, and walking in teeny adorable rain boots on uneven ground is hard. So I had her in the backpack for like half of it and my sacrum, you guys. Worth it, though. 

We picked 8L of strawberries in about an hour, and ate at least half that amount again. I'm declaring it Strawberry Week. We will have shortcakes. 

At the Ex

We went to the animal fair.

The birds and the terrifying beasties were there.

The weather cleared up and it literally only rained for like the three minutes I took Eleanor on her first roller coaster.

Despite her grimly determined expression there, she loved it amazingly (like she was ever going to do anything else).

We left it too long to get food, so that we were all STARVING by the time we picked a bench and sent Joel off to hunter-gather and I held Geneva while she cried and cried and made little *more more* signs with her asking hands. But that was the lowest moment of the afternoon because then the mardi gras parade came by and threw beads at us while we were eating our hot wings and fries.

And then we went to get a treat, and Eleanor wanted ice cream because she always wants ice cream which is why I don't let her choose every time, because I wanted an elephant ear or some mini donuts or I DUNNO A FRIED FAIR TREAT and did you know that a funnel cake sundae is a thing that exists?

Because it is, and it is incredible.

All the way home, we couldn't stop talking about what a perfect fair food it was, and how happy we were, and part of it was that deeply satisfying euphoria you get when you let yourself get truly hungry and then FEED yourself, but part of it was pure sugar rush.

We almost didn't make it to the Ex this year because busyness and weather, but we're so glad we did.

On the fringe.

Joel ain't home again this evening, but the Fringe Festival wraps up at the end of the week and by the time Joel is available to us again, we're going to want to go to the Ex and we aren't going to have time to walk down as a family and sit in the middle of the street to watch, like, Ukrainian dancers or whatever.

Plus, if I take the girls down by myself, we can share a perogie poutine and I don't have to cook.

Geneva is like, Don't you dare feed me give me that fork I am super good at this, watch.

We spent most of our time pseudo-stalking down these two characters. Eleanor could not let them pass without accosting them.

They were the most gracious neon fox and wolf we have ever met, because they stopped every time so that Eleanor could make small talk at them.

We got mini donuts, and I gave Geneva one after I'd shaken most of the sugar off, but NOT ALL OF IT because the whole way home she was like, Pfbbbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbfbf.