CaptainOrange

Leo and Anwyn have been spoiling for a good back-yard fire. Between travel and bad weather, there have been precious few opportunities. Since there was only a little rain today I thought I'd take my chances as they lay. We invited Matt and Molly over for a couple of hours and stuffed ourselves with puffy (sometimes recently flaming) confections. Everyone seems to have their own way of enjoying marshmallows, but there is a certain... inevitability that Anwyn has managed to capture perfectly. Sometime after our discussion of the dangers of " chubby bunny ", Wendy noticed that there was a certain discrepancy between Leora and Matt that shouldn't go undocumented. Vampires vs Werewolves Before dropping my niece and nephew off at home, I decided to share my love of sunsets with them at one of my favorite viewing spots. The kids played Matt's latest made up pen & pencil game while I indulged myself in three of my obsessions; photography, sunsets and childr...

One of the big events that we had planned for our visit was a trip out to what we like to call the Gutoski land holdings. A number of years back, Gus' father, Tom, managed to get a sweet deal on a hundred acre wood of his very own. Greta just wouldn't shut up about how great it was. Wendy was so excited about it that I couldn't sleep the night before. That last bit is entirely fabricated and only and excuse to segue into my next story. I called my nephew, David, up and asked him to give me a midnight tour of the University of Waterloo campus. He was nervous that he couldn't live up to my expectations from some of our previous adventures. "Can Bri come, too?" he asked. Naturally I didn't mind if his girlfriend was there. I don't know Bri well, but she puts up with David's weirdness, so she gets a BIG benefit of the doubt. I went over to their apartment to pick them up. Bri gave me a hug. Strange. After a struggle to find parking near campus, we ha...

We had a mostly fun drive from Ottawa to Waterloo -- we did have to go through Toronto, after all. It was pretty uneventful, but we did stop to have a picnic lunch at a small resort village where we feed some gulls. The place we stopped was quaint and quiet. There was an entire beach made entirely of the best skipping rocks ever. Wendy was sick or I think I would have stayed until my arm was spaghetti. Don On The Job The other reason to move on was the facilities. The place we ate was equipped only with a port-a-potty. Let me tell you, I don't think "Don" was on the job -- despite the assurance. I think I might have been nervous if he was there anyway. We arrived without incident and commenced with the visiting. Anwyn was in the second day of being sick, but recovered with all speed when there was an infant to hold. Max Gutoski (2 1/2 mos) I was amazed at how great the girls were with their new cousin, Max. Gus and Greta's first son will soon be 3 month's old and...

Flight went off without a hitch and Lee and Sandi were ready and waiting for us when we got off the plane. Ottawa has been a steady stream of incredible weather since we got here. The highs have been 34-36 with the humidex pushing us into the 40s. We've spent a LOT of time sitting by the pond and watching the very entertaining frogs and the even more entertaining children. Jaws Crepes Bassin (pond) Leora had been pining for crepes since her last visit to Ottawa and the following morning, we were all the beneficiaries of her crepe dreams. She and Anwyn  helped Sandi put together an absolutely superb breakfast. I didn't have to lift a finger. The coffee was strong and black and the crepes were beautiful AND tasty. On Monday we went to the Museum of Civilization . All museums could take a page from their book when it comes to children. I wanted to spend the whole day in that section, but was vetoed by Lee and Wendy. We took lunch in view of the parliament buildings ...