Best friends

After a summer apart, Bean finally got a playdate with his very best friend S today.  They spent the majority of this summer across the pond in France, enjoying the European life in a home owned by my friend C's parents.  They were definitely missed and the boys picked up right where they left off at the beginning of July.  One of the joys of their family is the fact that their two oldest children are the same ages as Schmoo and Bean, so when we're together they both have a playmate.  Unfortunately for their youngest E, who is now 16 months, he's the odd man out and today he spent his time moving from one sandcastle to another trying to make his contribution, much to the frustration of the older kids.

It was a glorious afternoon.  Hot temparture, warm winds and a quiet beach.  It was great to hear Bean's deep chortle as S pulled him around on the boogie board in the water.  The girls were thick as thieves, whispering together about who knows what and holding hand to walk to the park.  I picked the kids up at 2pm to let C finish her work day, but she joined us shortly afterwards with baby E and we too had a relaxing couple of hours just catching up after a summer apart.  These moments are to be savoured as they are on the doorstep of packing up and moving to Victoria.....but we're not going to talk about it.

The relaxed pace of today was a perfect affirmation of our decision to cancel our Tofino trip to stay home to accommodate Papa's work schedule and the kids' need for some quiet home based activity.  With little planned for the weekend, we will slide into the last week of summer holidays with a much less harried family.