Busy Busy Busy

Three Generations of MacMillans

O my goodness one plans and plans for things and then all of a sudden all these plans have been experienced and become part of the past! All last week we got to enjoy having Grandma and Grandpa MacMillan with us. It was such a treat to have them here as they live all the way over in Nova Scotia. Good ol' Cape Bretoners! : D You could tell they enjoyed themselves and so did we. Grandma Polly couldn't get enough of Alistair and he definitley enjoyed her attention. Lots of chatting, smiles, and even the odd giggle!

Grandma MacMillan & Alistair

The last night they were here we decided to have a good ol' weiner roast. It was a nice mellow way to spend our last evening and I found out the the baby monitor will pick up all the way over at the fire pit. Its got to be a good 500 feet away from the house! We're hoping that we can make our way out East next year prior to Alistair turning two so he can still ride the jet as a freebee!
Anyhow, Friday morning we said our goodbyes to Grandma & Grandpa MacMillan and then I ran around with my head cut off getting organized to assist with our Adventure Camp weekend out at Ness Lake Bible Camp. This is the second year that the PG Deaf Children's Society has had this particular camp for the kids and what a success it was! We had a total of 37 individuals of which 16 were kids, 4 were profoundly deaf adults, and 2 adults with severe hearing loss. We had gorgoues sunny weather for most of it. Saturday was jam packed with canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing, archery, ultimate frisbee, a scavenger hunt, sign language games, tons of crafts, and lots of time around the camp fire watching sign language campfire stories by Greg Warren who had us all roaring with laughter! One of our meals was out at the campfire. I had never done this before but you roast bannock on a stick. Once its cooked you pull this cylindrical bun off the stick, fill it with condiments, and then shove your weiner in it and voila you have dinner! It was definitely a fun and yummy process. But you did have to be patient cooking that bun.I had full intentions of bringing Alistair out with me but at the last minute Jason and I decided he was better off staying home with daddy for the first night. Well they ended up coming out the next day and once again we decided he should stay with dad for another night. It was actually a really good thing as it gave me the opportunity to really get to know the deaf and hard of hearing community up here in the north. So kuddos to dad as it was the first time it was just Alistair and Jason home alone together and you know at the end of the weekend Jason said "you know that was the best weekend of my whole summer!" Now thats one incredible dad! As my mom says "he's definitely a keeper!" I on the other hand had a bit of a hard time the first night going to sleep with out my little guy. Not that I was worried as I knew he was in good hands but I just didn't feel complete. I lay there thinking I should be in my glory at the moment enjoying the solitude and uninterupted sleep but alas that was not the case. I probably woke up more that first night then I do with Alistair. Anyhow to keep my mind busy I repeated all the words I learned in sign language that day. By the end of the weekend I had learnt over 50 words. There is definitely a lot of incentive to learn when there are people present who solely communicate in this language. I just love learning it! I find it amazing that even though I have a limited amount of signed words, all the people at the camp who primarily sign can still get their point across. You know I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this but its a lot like charades....and I've always loved charades! Anyhow most signs make sense to why you use your hands that particular way to interpret that word. Actually, if you want to check out a few signs go to Signing Savvy. Anyhow it really was a fantastic weekend and this camp solidified for me the reason why we have the society and the positive impact we can make.

One last bit of news before I head off to bed is that one of Alistair's little chiclets FINALLY broke through! Yep at 14 months his bottom left incisor came in. Actually it was while I was gone for the weekend....Sept 11th. Another milestone. You know I laugh as you think is he ever going to get a tooth? With everything you just wait for your kid to reach these milestones and if i'm not careful he'll be 18 and i'll have forgotten to really enjoy these days!

K time for bed...hope the fall is as gorgeous where you are as it is here! Cheers Julie