Summer in Ontario

Since Joe and I are both teachers, we have the luxury of having a long, scheduled time off together each summer. As many of you know, we  have taken full advantage of this the past 2 summers by going on amazing trips. Right now, the count-down is definitely on with only 2 more weeks of school before summer holidays.

Our first big trip together was two summers ago to South America. We travelled through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina over 6 weeks. It was amazing, and intense, and took up most of our summer. We saw Machu Picchu, the Bolivian Salt Flats, did a bunch of hiking and much more. It was incredible.

Last summer we headed to Europe (Joe had never been!). We spent some time in France, Belgium and Germany. We even stayed a few days with my host family from my year in France. It was the best! I was also in my first trimester of pregnancy at the time, so an easier trip was perfect... although it was hard to pass up the beer and wine!

This summer, we are not going on a big trip. A few factors made this decision. First, obviously, is that we have a baby. Don't get me wrong, we had dreams of one last trip while Henry is easily portable, but it just didn't make sense in the end. Secondly, with selling our home, it just didn't make financial sense this year. 

All of that being said, I am SO EXCITED to spend the summer in Ontario! Traveling is great, but there is almost nothing better than a summer spent here. I love the long days, patios, cottages, camping, barbeques, hiking, campfires, warm days and cool nights. We are going to attempt camping with Henry. I think we'll start with a 1-night trip and go from there, depending on how it goes. And it'll be nice to enjoy our pool for one last summer :)

What are you looking forward to this summer?

Europe Bound!

Can you believe that in all of the madness of packing to move, Joe and I found time to plan a trip?!

Well, we did!
Last night we booked our flights, our hostels, and our train passes. We are officially heading to Europe this summer!

This is Joe's first Europe trip, which is pretty exciting. I have more experience, having lived in France for a year through University and having done a couple of other trips as well. I'm excited to show Joe through some of my favourite places, and seeing a few new ones, too!

We will be spending a few days in Paris, and then a few days with my wonderful host family near Nantes, France. After that, we will head North to Belgium, and then to Southern Germany to finish it off. Altogether we will be in Europe for 16 days in July.

I have felt a little stressed at the idea of a trip in the midst of our many expenses right now (new house that needs some work, new car, need to new furniture, etc). But I think I just need to remember how it feels to be in Europe in order to feel good about it. To sum it up, this picture embodies how I feel when I'm in Europe.

I'm getting excited :)

Where my mind is today.

I have a lot on my mind today.
I need to get it out on paper my blog!

1. First off, I want to put something to rest. My photo of the day project. I know I made it almost 1/6th of the year through. I could keep going. But I have found the past few weeks it has just felt like another thing on my "to-do" list. It's not something I've been looking forward to, or enjoying like I thought I would. Some days it was a scramble to find something to take a photo of. So, without further ado, I think it's time I stop. So, if you've been wondering where my new photos are...well, they don't exist. And they won't. I have decided I would prefer to record this year's happenings through writing. I have found since starting to write my blog it has become such a stress reliever for me. Writing things down puts things in perspective for me, which can be a good thing as I sometime have trouble looking at the bigger picture in life.

2. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was considering going car-free at the end of this month when the lease of my lovely Yaris ends. Joe and I went into the Toyota dealer yesterday to discuss our options, and now we are leaning toward something very different. It seems crazy, and a little backwards, but we are considering upgrading to a larger vehicle. (What?!) Our reasoning is that in a year or two, we will most likely be welcoming a new little one into our family. The Yaris doesn't seem very baby friendly, so we thought of what might make more sense. On top of that, we thought about all of the things we DO use our car for, like camping and skiing and bike trips...and they all seemed like they would be easier with a bigger car. All of that being said, we will still try our best to not use the car. It would be great incentive for me to find alternative ways (biking, busing) to get to work when we move in May to a home that is more than double the distance to my workplace than our current place.

3. The travel itch has re-entered our home. This summer, Joe and I have decided we are going to go to France and Belgium, and maybe Germany. Again, this may be the last summer there is only 2 of us, so we want to get our traveling in :) I'm really looking forward to visiting with my French host family again. I haven't seen them since 4 summers ago when they came to visit me in Canada. They haven't even met Joe! I can't wait to introduce them.

4. We move in 80 days.

5. How are we going to afford all of this?

6. I love my life.