Around my birthday (end of July) we had some friends in town from Nelson, BC. Not just friends, but Sharon was like a mom to me when I was little. So,  on the day of my birthday, Simon took the day off and we headed to the Cabin to spend the day with my mom, Sharon and her boyfriend Al.

This is Sharon… I just adore her!

We had a great day, hanging out, talking and walking around the property.

The boys took to Al who is a history buff and they were immersed in conversation all day long. They enjoyed the time with him and Sharon so much that they said that they want to move to Nelson soon so that they could be closer to them to be able to hang out more often. I can’t wait to move!

(My mom, Al, Sharon, me and the kids)

 Sharon and my mom… friends for life…

A couple days later they were all heading to Quebec City for a few nights and I thought it would be a great opportunity to see them again and be hang out together.

Simon was OK with it, and I knew that Willa would be OK for a night, so early Saturday morning I headed to Quebec City on my own to go meet up with them. I finally arrived around lunch time, parked the car where I could leave it over night as the place that they were staying was easily accessible and without parking. We had lunch and then walked around old Quebec city. It was a perfect day and not too hot which made things easier.

We had supper and then walked a bit more and waited for the Fireworks before heading on the Ferry over to the Levis, where the apartment they were renting was. It was such a beautiful night and the Chateau Frontenac looked absolutely beautiful all lit up. above old Quebec City.

We talked on the balcony until it was much later, looking at Old Quebec until all of the lights went out and then finally headed to bed.
The next morning we had a late start as we waited for Sylvain, my mom’s boyfriend, to come meet up with us for the day.

We all piled into my minivan as it had the most space (and air conditioning) and we headed to Ile D’Orleans, a historical residential and agricultural Island just off the shore of Quebec City. We had lunch… which for me was an amazing Steak Tartare and then headed back to the van to tour around the island.

It was another beautiful day and we rode and stopped for a drink (Virgin for me) and then rode some more and stopped at a beach to get our feet wet.

Sharon and Al got a bit more then their feet wet though.. 🙂

We then headed to the Montmorency falls which is right at the foot of the bridge coming off the Island. These falls might look small in the pictures, they were also were very dry as we have not had enough rain this year but they are 1 1/2 times the height of the Niagara Falls at 275 feet. Stairs going up the mountain next to it, show the height a bit more…

After walking around a bit and talking pictures and talking I brought everybody back to Sylvain’s truck and we said our goodbyes and I started to head back home.

It was strange not having kids around, but it felt really good to just relax and think of only myself. I can’t say that I am not tempted to do it again one day…

It was the long weekend here and we spent the day at the Cabin again…

My uncle has owned his property in Sainte-Emelie-de-L’Énergie for nearly 40 years and when I was a child I spent many summers there. It is a place where everyone knows each other and is a place that many come to hang out while camping. The beach in the town used to be run by the city but now it is up to the people to take care of it and watch out for their own.

The kids have a blast when we go there and are exploring more and more..

Colin and Xavier even crossed the river a few times… (can you see them?)  It might look scary but the water is shallow and though they swam they could have walked across 🙂

(here is Colin on the other side)

Khéna can swim even underwater now so he was having fun showing off his new skills in the River…

Wilhelmina kept Simon on his feet running back and forth to the playground and played happily on the edge of the water in the sand…

Since it was the long weekend and “La Fête Nationale” which is the provincial equivalent to Canada Day (or the 4th of July) and celebrated as intently, there was of course a big party, live music and fireworks…

 and the new moon disappeared as darkness set in leaving the sky aglow with stars…

The cabin at night…

 The Big Dipper

I could spend hours looking at the stars…

Last week we went out on the bikes with our new bike trailer (I still need to take pics) and headed to the park and caught the most beautiful sunset…

I have mentioned where I live before, a little city about an hour out of Montreal, situated where the Richelieu river flows into the Saint-Laurent river. So if I go 2 blocks to the south, I have the Richelieu River and then about 10 blocks to the North is the Saint-Laurent. Though I miss the mountains that I grew up in, Quebec is also beautiful, and I know that I will miss it when we are gone.

This park is right on the Saint-Laurent and because we also have a port here, and we are up river from Montreal, there are often ships stopped or passing through.

This ship was passing through, most likely heading back to sea from being loaded in Montreal.

The colour of the sunset was so strong that you can see the red reflections on the rocks…

The boys headed down right away to play on the water edge, catching the waves from the ship that had passed minutes before…

It was so calming…

Simon and I were getting married…

Happy Anniversary my Love…