Up to Speed

They are growing up far too fast.  I can clearly see shades of the men that they are becoming.

And here is almost the same grouping of kids to show you just how much they are growing.  This photo is from 7 years ago.  The twins are almost 7 and Isaac wasn't even in-utero.  And Joe was so very, very blond.

 These two love one another deeply.  One can never guess at the depth, meaning or significance of sibling relationships.

The annual Partridge Race held at the start of October.  Isaac is the second orange shirt from the right.  It's fair to say that he trounced the competition finishing a full 30 seconds ahead of the next runner.  With only ten minutes recovery he then ran the 3000 metre open race against kids in grades 4-8.  He finished fifth.  If I hadn't been at his birth, I would say he had been born in Africa.

 Why do I have no photos of Joe and Ben?  Joe surprised us all and showed that training pays off when he finished second in his division.  He was in first place until the finish line when the second-place runner reached out his hand and beat Joe by a few fingers.  Joe was fourth in the 3000 metre finishing ahead of Isaac and two places behind Ben.  Ben placed second in his grade division and second in the 3000 metre.  Proud mama.

 And then Halloween and All Saints Day arrived.  Isaac and Sarah attended an All Saints Day party at a friend's house.  Because I have a box of costumes from which we fashion all saint and Halloween costumes, they too dressed as St. Scholastica and St. Benedict, a repeat of the twins from years before.  Granted, Sarah looks far more like an Italian widow than a Catholic nun.

 And Isaac bore a strong resemblance to the Grim Reaper.

 Next came Mariana's second birthday on November 4th.  Because she doesn't know better yet, we were able to celebrate her birthday by dressing her in a snowsuit and dragging her to a cross-country race an hour away in frigid temperatures.  Your third birthday might be better, Mariana.

 Two local teens were racing in the provincial championships and we couldn't miss the chance to see them finish fourth in the senior division.

 We did, however, come home to a good supper and a great cake.  Thank you, Grandma for the cake.  Mariana, it goes without saying: little girl, we love you to the moon and back.

Well, that was long

 The three middle boys started school (gr. 6, 5 and 2) at the start of the fall.  (Jacob and Hannah are attending high school on-line and at home.  Outside of having these 7 kids, the decision to school the twins this way has been one of our best decisions in 15 years.)  But, then a funny thing happened.

 Summer came back with a rollicking wave of heat that made up for a cool and soggy summer.  Sort of like a house guest that stays too long, but leaves behind an unexpected and lavish gift thanking you for the hospitality.  It was nice.

 We headed to the beach to bask in the remains of summer leisure.

 Not a stand-up paddle board - just a kayak re-purposed a la Joe.  The funny thing is that the kayak has a weight limit that is one pound less than Jacob's actual weight.  When Jacob uses the kayak, it sinks to water level and he looks like he is sitting atop the waves.

 I almost forgot:  before the end of the real summer, Joe and Ben acted in a play.  A friend of ours wrote a play about the role of the railway in our town.  It starred many locals and was a delightful combination of music, storytelling and rain.  Sigh to the last one.  Anyway, Joe and Ben's official titles were "local scamps" and they were told by the Irish stationmaster to, "Git on with ya, ya little buggers."  This line never failed to delight Isaac and Sarah.  As it turns out, the two local scamps are actually quite fine actors and memorised their lines and delivered them well.  I wish I could say that they put on the Barry's Bay accents, but those are real.

 Back to fake summer and Mariana in her bathing costume.

 "Hey, don't I know you?"  Twins passing on the beach.  This looks staged; it wasn't.

 Dad watching children in water and wondering at his wife and the camera.  The man behind it all.

Grainy - but I can never resist a photo of a big brother holding a much smaller sister.  Plus, the pigtails!