Guess where we went?!

Our annual trip with the Rathwell family brought us to Ripley's Aquarium this year! Walking through a tunnel with fish everywhere you look has been on my bucket list since my pen-pal wrote to me about her experience when we were 8 years old. Dreams do come true!

Lunch at the mechanics!

Despite being delayed by a flat tire on the highway, and no jack which led us to calling a tow truck which led us to then driving to a mechanic to put on a new tire, only putting us an hour and a half or so behind, we had a fabulous time!
AND our dear old friend from our teen years, Pete, was able to join us!! It was so good to see him and catch up as much as we could despite mostly being pulled in three different directions at all times. (Sisters; Pete is a FANTASTIC third set of eyes, seriously; better than Eric and I put together, if you ever go sight-seeing in Toronto, look him up)

Also, needless to say, the kids favourite parts seemed to be the things that DON'T belong in the ocean; like the diver (Oliver was stone-still when the diver showed up, absolutely no facial expressions whatsoever, Isaac and Rosalie thought he was the best) the kids play center with a slide and submarine, and the moving elevator. Maybe everything seemed too surreal to take seriously.
I loved it. However for the price, I would probably go to the zoo next time to make a whole day of it with kids, and go to the aquarium on a nice date with Eric to actually sit and enjoy the calming waters and fishies. (or take a small baby, not 3 little walking kids who don't appreciate glowing jelly fish for more than 2 minutes)

Amazing, amazing creatures!

This guy was just hanging out on the very top of the tunnel, I put the picture sideways to show how scary looking he is! I don't think hollywood has ever had an original thought.

The Buckley's take on the school-world!

(The novel version...)
Isaac completed his first day of Junior Kindergarten today!
Although we will likely be taking him home for lunch, we decided today to let him go for the whole day as it would have thrown him off too much to bring him home then back again.

He has been very excited about school and as the day approached was talking about it regularly. The night before he went to bed right away with no fuss as he wanted to be sure he "had enough energy for tomorrow!" :)

We joined our neighbour's for the walk to school and Isaac and Silas (6) chattered the whole way toting their fancy new backpacks.
Once we got to the schoolyard however and the kids he knew ran off to their class group he sobered up dramatically and suddenly didn't want to go to school anymore.
He has two teachers, a man and a woman, who I got to meet and seem very lovely. They made an effort to greet Isaac but there was a LOT going on, which added to it being overwhelming I think. (Not to mention there was a little kid throwing a MASSIVE temper tantrum nearby) All the other kids in his class seemed sweet and most of them seemed used to the concept. I asked one little boy with a hat that said 'Legit' that I thought he looked super cool to which he responded smoothly "I know." And then I asked how old he was to which he replied sassily "Seven-TEEN."
Haha, he reminded me of my nephew, Josiah.

Eventually they went off in a line to the climbers to play before trumping off to the classroom, suddenly Isaac got super into it, (the idea if being first in the 'race' to the playground, maybe) and was good from there as I said goodbye and his teacher basically shooed me out of the yard. (Understandably!)

When he got home he was pretty snooty. His exact words were "I made terrible friends and it's a terrible school." As well as how boring it was. (Upon interviewing one of the older neighbour kids who were with us for a bit after school I found that they had to stay inside during recess due to thunderstorms and they started off the day with a school assembly which was understandably boring and long for a little guy)

At any rate by the time the day ended and it was just him and I after the other 2 went to bed it sounds like he likes his teachers and thought there was a lot of different things to do. Though he never told me specifically what, also that he met a kid named Alexander.


And he was sleeping about 5 minutes after I put him to bed.

On our side of things; Oliver and Rosalie had a 2 hour nap and it was So Incredibly Quiet around here.
The question of 'how are you doing, mama?" on my end is a tricky one, I feel a little guilty answering it, as to be honest it's almost a relief for me.
In a non-negative way, Isaac is a guy who lets you know when he is in the house. Because he's right there beside you the whole time. And when he is not bugging his younger siblings or asking for a snack or to watch a show (or lately asking if he can play with his neighbours) he is generally just wanting you to do something with him. Which is great, I love doing stuff with Isaac, but 12 hours of that every day can be a bit tiring. So it is definitely strange to have 6 hours of a very different atmosphere in the house.
On the other hand, time went sooo slowly, there were times I literally watched the clock tick. Our home is not the same without Isaac, he brings so much LIFE and LAUGHTER and EXCITEMENT, and I am so excited for him as he grows and desires to bring this life and excitement out of his home and to discover the world.
I pray that we can always be his HOME that he does miss and want to return to every day and finds rest, love and renewed faith & peace in who he is.

I'll keep those of you who want to continue hearing posted about the following days! Very exciting times for Isaac. I am feeling very optimistic about our decision to put him in JK.

Also on this day Rosalie celebrated her 3rd birthday, Eric and I dropped off Oliver at our friends house for a bit and took her out for 'a treat' although she wasn't feeling so well. She had a party yesterday so I think she was a bit sick of the whole birthday biz by today, and to everyone who said "Happy birthday!" to her she responded with "Happy birthday!" Adorable.

Each of my children are so different and unique in personality, oh grace be to Eric and I as we navigate our way through respecting and understanding them individually!!

I hope this video works, this is what Isaac learned today that he was very excited to teach to all of us