May
2023

The May Two-Four Weekend Did Not Dissapoint!

I got to have a fun girls weekend at the trailer with my besties.

He said

This weekend, being the May Two-Four long weekend was our first full, planned weekend at the trailer. We all managed to have Saturday through Monday off work with the exception of Emelia who needed to be back in town for a shift today at time-and-a-half! But, other than that, by Friday at 6pm we were all working our way at getting up to the trailer. Earlier in the week (Wednesday) I made a quick run to the trailer to drop off Danielle’s eBike so that we could get some rides in together on the G2G this weekend, but also to get a load of wood from the local guy and get it unloaded and ready for the weekend. Being that I had the time, I also brought my bike and got in my daily ride too.

But the big reason I was getting stuff up to the trailer early was Emelia was having friends come up and spend the weekend with her at the trailer. Her childhood besties Anna & Grace (the twins) of course were part of the mix, but also added in was the other two friends was Sienna & Carys that they’ve all become close with this year. So with 4 girls in tow in addition to all of us and then our gear it was clear it was going to take both vehicles and ride geometry to get us all there. Emelia, Anna, Grace and I all left at 6pm when I was done work. Danielle would wait and bring Sienna and Carys when Carys was done her lifeguarding training at 9pm. By 11pm we were all united up at the trailer, albeit with the rain that is so typically a part of the Victoria Day long weekend.

Aside from having to set up their tent in the rain, the girls were in good spirits about it and not even the slightest bit phased about spending the night in the tent in the rain. Definitely, the girls were ready for fun and camping. Friday night after getting settled in, we were off to sleep—all with the hopes of the rain being less of a factor in the weekend. We woke on Saturday morning with the rain having stopped but the temperatures were definitely on the cooler side. Danielle and I went for a ride to Blyth & Back on the G2G and by the time that we got back the girls were having a movie night in the trailer while making bracelets having a grand old time. Saturday, was for the most part rain free until just after dinner when it started to sprinkle again and then turned into a fairly steady rain until about 8pm when it stopped for the rest of the weekend. We got the girls set up at our firepit and then we sauntered over to Stephanie and Justin’s to have drinks with them.

Sunday the twins needed to head to their cottage so the plan was to bring all the girls to Bayfield which was a halfway point for their Mom (Susan) to pick them up. The girls got to walk the strip and window shop together and check out the views of Lake Huron from the beach. As I was part of the taxi system to help them all get there, once they arrived I helped Danielle with some grocery restocking. (You can tell we’re parents of an only child and don’t know what to do when you suddenly have 4, 16 yr old girls to care for!) I got the groceries back to the trailer and then I got to work to setting up some of our string lights that we hadn’t yet put up. The weather was decidedly taking a turn for the better as we got a lot more sun and warmer weather. When Danielle’s carload returned, we were down the twins and at 3 kids we were carrying for. We spent the evening by the fire pit and then all reworked the sleeping arrangements in the trailer so everyone could try inside for the night. We all slept well.

While we didn’t want the weekend to end, we arrived at today and it was time to make our way back to London, deliver the girls to their homes and get Emelia to work. We didn’t pass on our bike ride though, as the time is good for Danielle & I to decompress and catch up together. We did the usual 20km loop to Blyth & back before we made a made dash pack and collect our belongings to get back into London for Emelia’s shift at 2:45pm. After all that was said and done, with the weather being so perfectly wonderful, I managed to convince Danielle to go for a second bike ride—a 30km loop out to Byron 7 back on the TVP.

It sure feels like the weekend flew by in the blink of an eye, but that is the case when you’re having a great time. It was awesome to see Emelia having a good time with all her friends and her being able to show them why we love it up there. But it was also just as awesome to see Emelia in her element, comfortable in her skin with the people that make her feel that way the most. There were a lot of memories made this weekend which I am sure will stick with the girls for a long time to come, as the kicked off what I am sure will be their summer to remember this weekend. And it didn’t hurt that Danielle & I had a great weekend ourselves too!

She said

This week was another busy one. Work has been very busy with longer hours and lots of projects on the go. For Emelia it was a really busy one. For the girl who wants to try everything athletic she had to big games in two different sports all in one week. On Tuesday she was off to her first softball game of the season. After a year that was filled with lots of great memories but no wins it was amazing to see Emelia’s team not only win their first game but mercy it. They won against Byron by a score of 18-3. Emelia got on base twice and scored two runs! She is learning more and more each game and practice and feel she will learn even more this year. She has an amazing coach this season who is very involved in their development. She came home on cloud nine, not only did she get her first win she got to see one of her close friends from last cheer season, Payton who was practicing on the diamond beside her game.

So that is game number one, the second one was her last rugby match of the season. Emelia has absolutely fallen in love with rugby. She has begged us to play again in a local girls league this summer but we had to tell her we just cannot take on anymore but we could consider it for next summer maybe if she still loves rugby as much as she does now. This game was an evening game in St. Thomas so this allowed me to finally see her play. One of her best friends Neeka wanted to come see her play so she came along and even one of her friends from cheer Keira made her way out to cheer her on as well. St. Thomas has an incredibly strong team so Lucas did not win but seeing all the girls leave the game smiling and bonding as a team shows that no matter the results they built a strong bond as a team.

Now that we were done rugby we could shift gears to start getting things more organized for the long weekend. Emelia and her most of her close friends from school were able to come out this past weekend to the trailer for the weekend. Once we had the weekend travel plans and times mapped out we were on our way. John started with Emelia and the twins and I followed a few hours later with Carys and Sienna. Emelia and the girls in the pouring rain got the tent set up and by the time we were all together they were all set up and ready for the weekend of memories to begin.

The rain did not stop the girls from having the best time. We could hear laughing into the wee hours every night. The girls never once complained about the crap weather for the first half of the weekend. They played games, made friendship bracelets and started checking off the memories for their ‘epic summer bucket list’. All of the girls kept saying they could not wait to check off all the boxes on this list they are creating. They have made a long list of amazing summer events including more camping trips, trips to each of the girls cottages or swimming pools, even today they were talking about a trip to Toronto to visit one of the girls aunts so they could explore Toronto together. After years of loosing so many things and having a really hard go of it John and I are so happy she found her tribe! The girls are amazing, supportive and truly there for each other. They speak openly to each other about their fears, wants and goals. I love seeing these girls together.

After a fun filled weekend we are happy to say the girls ticked another bucket list item off their summer to remember list!

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