After several false starts and multiple Covid-19 tests we have finally made it off Cayman. Two years is a very long time to be away from Ontario; separated from family and friends. The obstacles faced in orchestrating a gathering of three families from Cayman, Calgary and Ohio, in London, seemed insurmountable. We are so grateful for our son and daughter and their families who made it happen.

 The restrictions of the day meant that we could not ship any of our belongings to Canada, so in May we mailed ten boxes to our son’s place in Ohio. Since direct flights to Canada where prohibitively expense, we flew to Ohio first where we reorganized our belongings and packed up Jon’s spare car to drive across the border into Canada. Thankfully, quarantine for fully vaccinated Canadians returning to Canada had been dropped two weeks earlier so we were free to move around.

We rented a house in London where we stayed with Liz and her kids while Jon and Nic stayed out in Aylmer with Nicole’s parents. Pat and Wendy have created a mini adventure land for kids at their home with a beautiful heated pool, tree house, zip line and multiple motorized vehicles for the kids to ride. They even got to experiment with an underwater camera. We spent two full days just hanging out together there. It was such a joy to see the five grandkids just enjoying each other and having fun together. We even got to celebrate both Jon and Nic’s birthdays which is a rare treat in our family. And that was just the first two days!

Riding the track through the bush and around the pond on the golf cart.
Boys and their Toys
A at 13
E at 10
Hours and hours spent in the Pool
With the encouragement of her older cousins, L’s swimming skills improved greatly.