Summer, it is!
We were hit with consecutive hot weather (above 30sC or around the 90sF) on the last week of June. It was hot! Kyle and Keshia has started their soccer leagues. Kyle is in the 8U while Keshia in the 12U. Both completed their school year well. Keshia received the Ambassador Award for Grade 6-English at her school. It was a surprise to us, her parents. But we are very proud for her award!
We are back from our vacation (summer trip). We started our trip on June 29, 2001. We drove up to Portland, ME and spent the night there. The following day, we spent about 9 hours on the road to reach Rochester, NY. We got to meet people whom we (especially Jr) know mostly through letters. It was also nice to join them in their worship service. Next stop – Wooster, OH.
The drive was not as long as the previous one. We were there in about 5 hours. After two days, we have driven over 6 eastern states and more than 2,000 kms. Now, this was the vacation part. We were able to relax and enjoy the 4th of July fireworks. Keshia and Kyle had a lot of fun playing with their younger cousins, Tirzah, Josiah, and Joel. They even get to fly a kite!.
We drove to Toronto, ON after spending the first week of July in Wooster. We were hosted by Jr’s former co-worker. They treated us (thanks Toto & Estee) to Canada’s Wonderland. Kyle was able to join us in the bigger rides. He enjoyed his first spinning rollercoaster ride. He was limited to some rides in Cedar Point last year because of his height. The rain didn’t spoil our fun. The SplashWorks was a nice place to soak and enjoy the water slide.
Jr had his training/workshop at Oracle Training Center in Mississauga on July 9-10. It was a good time for Karen and the kids to go around malling. We were fortunate to watch Lion King The Broadway Musical at The Princess of Wales in Toronto. The show was fabulous. The stage set, costumes, and effects were awesome. Kyle didn’t miss any action of this two-and-a-half hour musical which showcased most of the songs from the movie as well as new tunes just for the musical.
We had an opportunity to visit Karen’s college teacher/missionary (Lillian and Jacob) in Komoka near London, ON on our way to Sarnia. Jacob and Lillian are involved with SEND International office here in Canada. They are still very fluent in Pilipino. We drove on to Sarnia and spent the rest of the week there. Jr’s parents were able to find an apartment of their own. It is a block away from Leo’s (Jr’s brother) house.
The following day, Jr’s family had an impromptu reunion of some sort in Chatham. His brother from New Jersey drove over to attend their cousin’s wedding. There was also a featured 2-on-2 basketball game – Ontarians vs the New Visitors (from New Jersey & New Brunswick). The New Visitors won 12-10. The Ontarians won a tennis match four years ago against the same New Visitors.
Kyle and Keshia had a lot of time playing with their cousins. Keshia even attended Vacation Bible Class at Emmanuel Baptist Church with Dana, Trina, and Nikki. Kyle spent most of the time with Kim, and Leonard. Landy and Annabelle’s house was full that night. We had the chance also to watch Nikki’s graduation where she received Valedictorian honors – congratulations Nikki!.
The next day, we started preparing for our trip back home. Our aunt in Sarnia allowed us to pick some hastas from her garden. Karen was so happy to have them. (Thank you Auntie Elvie!) Then on July 14, we drove to Owen Sound, ON to attend Mike & Jenni’s wedding. We were able to see some more cousins. It was a good photo-op for us. After dinner, we started our drive home. Jr could not believe the traffic at 400 from Barrie, ON to Toronto at 10:30pm on a Saturday. We spent the night in Port Hope then continue our trip to Fredericton the following day.
Miquo (our dog) was so excited to see us upon our arrival at home.