More memories of late summer

 Remember when I said that the blog is our photo album?  Well, here is a post to prove just that!  Lots and lots of photos to remind us that the glories of summer will come again and to prove to me that when I look at these photos, I don't recall feeling exhausted, despite the fact that I really think I was on that particular day.

 Odd to think that Matthew was not yet walking at this point.

 Luckily this particular beach is very shallow for an extended distance making crawling in the water quite easy.

 Oh, baby bums!

 And a little girl who is not so little and much taller as we approach this summer.

 Mariana looks exactly like I did in a bathing suit at that age.  Perspective.

 Matthew before his hair changed from baby hair to little boy hair. 

 Lest you think the camera fools you:  she is just as impish as her photos imply.

 

 I can never resist photos of oldest and youngest siblings together.

 I like to think of these as my paparazzi photos.

 

 And a family photo to round things off.

Dave turned 43

I have officially arrived at the age where I can easily remember the kids' ages, but find it really hard to remember which number follows the 4 when it comes to those of Dave and mine.  1976-2019 equals 43, in a backwards sort of way.  Dave celebrated ten birthdays in our old house and this birthday was the last of all the family birthdays celebrated at the old house.  Thus, mediocre pictures to mark the end of a venerable chapter in our family life.

 Isaac is absolutley enamoured of Dave and spends a lot of time hanging off of one of his shoulders.  Also, that high chair:  we had two of them with covers for the twins.  At some point the covers were removed (raggy and stained) and one high chair lived at our house and one at the grandparents'.  They survived 17 years and we officially threw both in one of the many dumpsters that helped our move.  Some things I am not sad to see go.

 Dave's t-shirts are almost exclusively comprised of free graduation t-shirts that he receives when ordering grad wear for his grade eights.  High fashion.

 The crowd around Dave in his birthday photos has been ever-growing and ever-changing since his first birthday of our marriage when we found out I was pregnant with the twins.  Well, we found out that I was pregnant; the double surprise was revealed several weeks later.

Matthew looks adoringly at his father and Mariana looks with exasperation at her mother.

Partridge Race

The Partridge Race is both one of my favourite and one of my most nervewracking events of the school year.  This marked Ben's last year racing this event and my father got some great photos of him throughout the race as well as before and after.  For the sake of posterity:  Ben placed first in the 1600m, second in the 3000m; Joe placed second in the 1600m (different grade level than Ben) and fourth in the 3000m; Isaac was first in his 1600 m and fifth in the 3000m; Sarah was second in the 800m.  Dave paced most of the races on Jacob's bike.  (One of the side-effects of having so many kids is that one's own bikes tend to be coopted by one's children.  Dave and I have both lost our mountain bikes and share a road bike.)

 How I love that smile.  These photos are from October and, seeing this photo, I can see that Ben grew up over the winter.  Gone are any remnants of baby fat and his hands somehow became those of a man over the winter.  Subtle changes that can easily overwhelm a mother with sentiment.

 Joseph remained in second throughout most of the 3000 until shortly before the end when the boy immediately behind him took first place.  Joe was trying to wear the boy out so that Ben could remain in the lead.  I was very touched by Joe's willingness to sacrifice his race for his older brother and best friend.  In the final roundup, running is far more about character than it is about fitness.

 Ben slightly disappointed at missing out on the overall trophy.  Once again, character prevails.

 Joe whipping his school jersey off in an effort to cool down and find something to drink.

 Isaac looking intense as he preps for his race.  He is fourth from the right in the light blue shirt with the Bosco jersey.

 Some last-minute team building.

 Isaac's strategy is always to take the lead and gain more and more of a lead as the race proceeds.  He has the physical strength and mental toughness to stick with this strategy until the end.  He is also incredibly fit.  He never really stops moving the entire day and if he goes for a run with me, he runs up and down banks, backward and forwards until he runs an extra kilometre or two.

 Strategy in place.

 This is Isaac in the 3000 metre running against kids a few grades higher than his.

 Coming through the finishing chute.

 Ben keeps finding younger siblings to look after.

 Another favourite smile of mine.

 Our lone girl in the race, Sarah.  We really didn't know if Sarah had inherited the running gene.  She is a really laidback kid and we didn't think that she had the drive or the desire to pursue running.  We were wrong.

 Through the finishing chute.

 She's also got a great set of pins that propel her quite admirably.

 Another gorgeous smile.

 Three Afelskie brothers prepare to run the Open 3000 metre.

 Benjamin

 Joseph.  As I conclude this post, I realise that I am mysteriously missing photos of Joe's 1600 race.  Hmmm.  Must keep looking.  He's not a boy that can be missed out on!