Day Four, Five, and Six: The New World

The past few days have been unbelievably busy, and unbelievably short. Friday was spent mostly with Aunt Barb and Uncle Mark. We went for a bit of a hike in a beautiful valley, and just enjoyed each other's company. Later that evening we ventured over to Uncle Tim and Aunt Sue's for tea and cookies on our way out to Aunt Peg's and Uncle Don's (where I stayed for the night). I got to visit with my cousin Heather for a bit, met my adorable little cousin Sarah (who is actually 5), and hung out with her older brothe Eric, who was maybe a year old last time I saw him (8 years ago!). People have gotten older!
Saturday morning came bright and early with a 6:30am wake-up call. That's the earliest I crawle out of bed since I got here! Aunt Peg and I then went to pick up my Aunt Kathy and the three of us girls booked 'er out to the Tomlinson cottage on Gull Lake. We stopped in Little Britain and got these amazing, unwholesome treats called "Chelsea Buns," on our way. They were fabulolus.
We met Mark, Tim and Eric at the lake and so began my very first weekend of "cottaging." I loved it! The lake was stunning. It was a wee bit nippy so I didn't go in, but there were plenty of boat rides and fireworks, games and photo ops. It was so much fun! Except for the huge spider I brought in with the wood. Oh, and the cottage had been broken into sometime before we got there (which is weird because the cottage is on an island). And the fact that the place smelled of moth balls. But other than that, I loved it!
Kathy taught me how to play Chinese checkers and, with joint effort, she and Mark showed me up at crockinole.
Sunday I was taken to Minden and given the Kawartha dairy experience (similar to the Foothills Creamery out West), which was fabulous. In the evening, much to little Eric's amusement, we set of some fireworks (Roman Candles) and lit some GIANT sparklers. I love Ontario!
We came back to civilization yesterday. I was sad to leave to cottage, and even more sad to realize that the end of my vacation was fastly approaching. Peg and I stopped by an apple market and I picked up some Apple Butter (some for Mom and Dad too) and real maple syrup. I can't wait to have some back home. I was able to have a longer visit with Heather and Don yesterday too. Heather and I went on a bike ride all 'round Streetsville, which was rather exerting.
I was back at Barb and Mark's for supper and a quick unpack and repack. We drove into Toronto for the fireworks last night, and stood right across from the Expo and on the shore of Lake Ontario. It was breath-taking! The vast expanse, the fireworks everywhere, the view; it was amazing.
So this whole trip has been busy as ever, but definatly eye-opening. I've really learned a lot about my parents and where I come from. It's weird because, despite the fact that I have basically been away from these people all my life, we have the same antics, the same strengths, the same trains of thought, senses of humor....It has been amazing to see myself being related to people. It's been fascinating learning more about my parents and seeing similarities (and oh, how many!) between my Dad and his younger siblings. Even more cool is seeing just how functional my family actually is. I was blown away by how Dad's family actually loves him and how some of his younger siblings deeply care about him. I was humored by the Grandma Mills and how she is so funny (she has such a witty humor). These are people I was either terrified of or unaware of growing up, but really, they are all amazing people!
All in all, to this point, I have decided that I am a Tomlinson/Mills from Alberta/Ontario (and a little BC). I was expecting to be more one than the other I guess. But as Aunty Barb said at the airport: "You're a perfect blend of your Mom and Dad." Makes sense, now that I can actually see it.