getting the most out of it

my boy is getting so big... sniff sniff

eye spy a frog ... do you?

It's hard to believe that we only have 4 more days left of our family vacation. On one hand it feels like we've been away from home for a long time (we have, over 3 weeks!), while on the other hand, I just can't believe that it is almost over.

It's always bitter sweet, these visits of ours. We get little visits in with our friends and family that leave us wanting more and missing this place that used to be home. Where oh where is home? I get confused by the end of these visits.

This morning Winslow and I are off for a day trip to Montreal to see our good friends Eugenia and Irvine. They recently added a new babe to the family and so I am so excited to be able to go and meet my newest "nephew". I have a couple of "nephews", as I'm sure many of you do too. When your dearest friends start to have babies, how can you not be an "Auntie" and how can they not be your "nieces" and "nephews".

So today Winslow and I head off to Montreal sans Noah for a little adventure. I'm very much looking forward to our little escape. It will be so nice just to be the two of us. We've actually had quite a few dates since coming home for our vacation, it's been really nice to get some time to be just together. It's so important to make time for each other, but it doesn't always happen when life get's busy and the day to day stuff takes over.

And just as much as I love "couple time" and think it's very important, I have to say that "family time" is my favourite way to pass our time together. I'm glad that we've been able to carve out little pockets of family time together, because it important to reconnect when we are being pulled in different directions (like when on holiday).

Winslow and I both love taking Noah out to parks and for walks and we both know that Noah needs and loves being outside in the fresh air. Yesterday we took Noah to one of my favouite places in Ottawa to go for a walk, the Mer Bleu Bog. It's an amazing little conservation area right close to the city and offers a beautiful board walk to walk along. It's just one of the most relaxing and restful places in Ottawa, I think. We actually took Noah there when he was just 5 weeks old.

As I said before, these trips home are bitter sweet for us. The excitement and anticipation of coming home and seeing everyone is so wonderful, but saying goodbye is so difficult. The other side to it all is the guilt that I feel when I acknowledge that Ottawa really isn't home anymore and hasn't been for years. Yes, our family is here and in that sense, family makes it home, but really and truly, our lives are now in Whitehorse and I need to be okay with saying that and not feel guilty. Ah personal dilemmas, we all have them right?

So just 4 more days of having fun and getting in all the sights, sounds and smells of the big city. Then we are back off to the Yukon, back to our simpler more gentle way of life and I'm ready for it. I'll miss everyone here, but I'm also missing the quiet trails, foggy mountains in the morning, and wood burning smells of my town. I've missed the morning play groups where we see familiar faces, having tea with my mama friends and cooking dinner in my own kitchen. I'm ready to get back to our routines, to do my meal planning and to take it easy.

xox