July in Manhattan

In mid-July, Parker and I tagged along with Wendy on a trip to New York City for Wendy's work conference. We hit all of the major tourist destinations during a week that was likely a record breaker for heat! One day the humidity made it feel like 109 F! The huge crowds everywhere seemed to make the heat worse.

Below are a bunch of pictures that we took during the trip.

Carnegie Hall was about 2 blocks from our hotel

Times Square was an 8 minute walk from the hotel

On the subway heading downtown

One World Trade Center

Parker and Wendy at the North tower memorial beside the name of my father's friend (who was on flight 11)

"The Oculus" is an underground shopping mall at the base of the World Trade Center

Interesting architectural details inside the "Oculus"

One World Trade Center - great views and a mind-boggling 60 second elevator ride to the 102nd floor!

Wall mural in the Crocs Store (made with Crocs!)

Parker with a 4th of July milkshake!

The USS Intrepid Air, Sea, and Space Museum

Space Shuttle Enterprise

Parker on the Flag Bridge

Parker with a large slice of New York cheesecake

Wendy having "chicken and waffles" - apparently a thing in NYC

Manhattan as seen from Roosevelt Island

Parker on Roosevelt Island

Parker's 'favourite building' was the UN Headquarters

Getting ready to cross the Brooklyn Bridge

The Flatiron Building

Wendy looking at purses on 5th Avenue

Many people were taking pictures of the barricaded Trump Tower - and a few were giving it the finger!

The American Museum of Natural History

This selfie is just my way of proving to Parker that I am not that old!

Dum dum gimme gum gum.... (Night at the Museum)

Decorative railing in the Natural History Museum

Belvedere Castle in Central Park

Here is a time-lapse video of the craziness that is Grand Central Terminal. If the video doesn't work on this page, click here: https://goo.gl/photos/YEnwc2B1Nxi3iLDg7

Next stop this summer will be Portage la Prairie, Manitoba!

Many changes as our summer begins

May, June, and July has seen many changes for our family.

With the weather warming up in May, we decided that our old lawnmower was not going to be up to the task of tackling the heavy grass this season. We bought a new Honda lawnmower and it seems to work much better (although I can't tell, because I am not allowed to cut the lawn...).

We have been trying to get out to hike more than over the winter (which means anything greater than 0 hikes!) but have had difficulty arranging our schedules. We did get a chance to go out on a local hike with our friends Terry and Theresa.

Before Adam headed off to cadet camp for the summer, we had a BBQ with a bunch of his friends. Of course, Parker had to work this day, so he didn't get to eat with the crowd.

One of the many reasons that we didn't have much time to hike was because we were helping Wendy's mom move from her house to a senior's apartment in April/May. Sadly, Marion passed away June 30th after only 2 months in the apartment and after a long battle with cancer. She will be sadly missed by all.

Marion had wanted to live to see the fireworks on Canada Day (Canada 150!). In her honour, we went to the Canada Day fireworks in Lynden, Ontario. The blanket Wendy is wearing was made with love by her friend Carolyn so Marion would be able to keep warm at the fireworks.

As has happened many times around our place, a pair of mourning doves built a nest right next to our front door. This year we watched patiently as they prepared the nest and, eventually, sat on it for the long incubation. We were happy to see two new doves arrive in early July, representing a new beginning.

2 baby doves

One morning we went out to find the nest empty - it seems that the new dove family moved on to wherever they spend their summers. We expect to see the parents back in the spring next year!

Our empty nest

Our next post will likely be after one or two trips we have planned this summer. Hopefully I will also have an update for everyone relating to my academic job! 

Parker's first solo

Parker passed his driving test to now be able to drive independently!!!

Here is a 48 second video of his solo to get pizza.

https://youtu.be/p27ZKmH-WP4

I got the job!

If you recall the brief note in my previous post about the job interview, today I got an email that offered me the position. More details to come!

Eric

Sorry for the delay...

It has been some time since I posted on this blog (yes, since January 2nd). Our family has been crazy busy with things and just didn't have much time to document things very carefully.

I have been teaching part time at McMaster (Cell Biology in the Bachelor of Health Sciences program) and have been working on finding more, well, work. Here are a few photos of my class from the final presentation day (half presented in the morning, the other half presented in the afternoon).

That same day, I turned 53...

I recently did a panel interview for a faculty position at McMaster. Here is the new suit, shirt, and tie.

;-)

Wendy has been working a lot and has been helping her mother through some complex medical issues and the sale of her house/move to a seniors' apartment. That alone has taken a huge chunk of time this spring. She took a quick trip to Florida with her friend Melanie. Here she is in the ocean.

We took several trips to Toronto with her mom. Here is one stop we had to make for Parker.

Adam has been busy working. He just turned 21 and is still working on planning his future. He had 2 jobs for a while and has since gone down to one full time position. With his working and his continually tinkering with his motorcycle and computer, we don't see him much. Hence, so few photos...

Parker has been even more busy. He played hockey, took driving lessons, has recently started back working as a dishwasher at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club again (slowed down over the winter), and has been busy gaming in his room a lot. Just recently, he got his braces off (much to our bank account's relief~) and is happy to chew gum again.

Our garden is doing quite well, even with the deluge(s) of biblical proportions over the last two weeks.

Maddy is quite busy, although she has been having some problems with her teeth. She doesn't know it yet, but she will be going for some dental surgery in the beginning of June to fix the problem.

So, overall, not much to talk about.