Summer Begins

Today is the last day of 1st grade for Rosalie. It's been the usual kind of hustle-bustle these last couple of weeks--buying summer clothes, filling out camps paperwork, finding gifts for teachers. But at this moment, sitting here at home after dropping Rosalie off at school, after sharing our usual 5 or 6 hugs, kisses, and blowing-kisses when I drop her off in the classroom, it is quiet.

I have that feeling again, just as at the beginning of the school year: our baby is growing up! What a wonderful, horrible, heart-ache feeling. I was in such a hurry to see if Rosalie could check a unicycle out from the PE teacher for the summer that I even forgot to take a picture of her this morning. Hopefully this afternoon I'll get a snap.

But now, to get caught up on the latest:

In mid-May we took a trip to Victoria, BC, thanks to Michael's work, who sent us on a trip as a thank-you for working there for 10 years. I am a fan of Michael's work.

We took a seaplane up--that was such a beautiful experience. Michael has wanted to do this for years now, and I see why. Flying from lake to lake is pretty cool in itself.  Also, it's magical to fly in such a small plane, grazing over and recognizing our personal landmarks such as our own neighborhood, Rosalie's school, and also Michael's school on the Olympic Peninsula. If I held my brain in a certain way, I was able to not be too alarmed each time our tiny craft hit an air current, especially when we were flying over big water. Landing in the water at Victoria, BC, was a thrill.

We stayed The Royal Scot Hotel in a homey suite,



and enjoyed being so close to the giant historical buildings that draw so many people to Victoria, such as the British Columbia Parliament Buildings

and the Empress Hotel.


This area is also right on the waterfront, where boats dock.

On the first day we went to Butchart Gardens, a huge private garden (or series of gardens, really) full of gracious beauty. I gave Ro a little sketch pad so that she could draw flowers as we explored.

 

One of my favorite flowers was the blue poppy.

 But there were other lovely specimens everywhere.

Lots of fun fountains and sculptures, too.

A particularly magical part of Butchart Gardens is the Japanese Garden.

 You could almost imagine a fairy popping out from behind a shrub at any moment.

The Italian garden was nice, although the biggest draw there was the Gelateria.

Returning to the hotel, we noticed that there was some magical landscaping, even close to home.

We also went on a tour in a horse-drawn carriage. Here's Michael---the horse. He was a very helpful steed, though he lost a horse shoe on the way back, and Michael (the person) ran back to pick it up.

After that, we wandered around the city a bit. 

At the last minute, we decided to sit on a bench and wait for the lights in the Parliament Building to turn on, as long as it was already nearly dusk.

Plenty of time for selfies.

 And goofing off.

And finally, after an extended wait...they turned on!

On the last day, Rosalie and I went to the Empress Hotel for tea.

 At first, she was a little nervous, because we had talked in advance about the place being rather fancy, but after a few pastries and some very-sugared fruit tea, she relaxed into the luxury of it all.

Afterwards, the three of us went to Beacon Hill Park, which features the "Beacon Hill Children's Farm."

The true draw of this farm/zoo would have to be the baby goats petting zoo.

...although the peacocks strutting around were pretty cool, too.

Most of our time was spent watching and petting the goats.

They could be quite cheeky. This one was nibbling on the lady's hair, I believe.

Happy goats.

Beacon Hill Park also had some magnificent trees.

We took the Victoria Clipper home. It was kind of like being on an airplane. As you can see, Rosalie is deeply immersed in chapter books now. Really proud of this reader!

 She also made a friend on the boat. The two of them went around on "missions" created by the friends' dad. Like, find out how many seats are on the boat. They went around with a clipboard; it was very official.  At the end of the voyage, Rosalie asked me to get her parents' contact info so that they could have a play date later. I have to admit I have not followed through on this. But the act of reaching out, and saying, "I like you, I hope I see you again," well...that's magical in and of itself.

On to some tidbits.

Here is what is now known as "The R Club." Riley, Raya, Rosalie, and Rowan. I have a feeling that The R Club will have lots of meetings this summer.

 The other day the school had a carnival, and I signed up to do face painting. Here's some of my handiwork.

 Last weekend we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa at Ocean Shores. They never want to be in pictures, but check out this enormous dinosaur plant they have in their garden! Feed me, Seymour!

Anyway, that's it for now. Stay cool in the sun!