Moving on...

While it would be nice to write individual posts to catch you up from May to July...I have to say that they wouldn't be all that interesting or exciting...in fact, it would be a lot of the "same old same old"....May was a month we would like to forget, except for the wonderful bright points of celebrating Pepe's 70th birthday and mother's day.  Otherwise it was a terrible month for Andre at work, and a terrible month for me with extreme homesickness and general melancholy.  June was simply a blur of wrapping up the children's spring activities, starting summer activities, and getting ourselves through to the end of school - which seems to involve more whining and complaining about school than usual.  Exhausting all around.  Again, June's highlights included a dance recital, Andre's 40th birthday party with friends, father's day and a music recital.  All lovely!  So, let's not dwell, let's move on.

I've also had my moments of sadness at the loss of some special family members and 2 funerals I was unable to attend due to distance.  Something that I'm still not comfortable with and still struggle with regularly.  But, I would like to recognize these wonderful people who touched our lives and leave behind their legacy in children and grand children and all the wonderful memories we keep in our hearts.  We've also had the lovely birth of a baby.  We are currently trying to prioritize a weekend when I can get home to reconnect with my family, it will likely have to wait until the fall given our commitments at this point.  Again, I wish my support lived a weekend drive away...3-5 hours would be ideal....but until my situation changes I find strength and support where it's offered.  Andre is so good at recognizing my struggles - he is my rock of kindness, we are a team, he is my partner and we will get through this together.  It's also nice to have 2 amazing sisters in law who share my sensibilities and we all work to support each other and build each other up when we are feeling beaten down.  Your positive, encouraging words of strength and appreciation are so helpful.

Sorry so heavy...thanks for reading...Now, let's find joy in the happy photos from this tough spring...and move on in my next post.

Oh my goodness! How could i forget the bluenose? Sofia and I ran the fun run with her friends and Jake and Andre ran the 5k!!

Look at these handsome LeBlanc men? just love them all.  70, 40 and 10!  Happy Birthday.

Dance recital...the "wolves" from little red riding hood. They did an amazing job. It was a spectacular show.

The kids do gymnastics at a local gym where Ellie Black also trains - she had just returned from a competition where she won the title, and very graciously posed for pictures.  If you don't know much about Ellie here's a link.  She is at that gym all the time and works incredibly hard! 

team "Fulham" on game night.  I have to say we are really proud of Jake this year - he's not only enjoying soccer but he's getting really good! he doesn't like to miss a session and plays his heart out when there.