Good times with Aunt Rosalynn (and Grandpa and Grandma) a few weeks back before the lovely lady returned to England.
Felicity has since written her a very lengthy letter I hesitate to send as Rosalynn may expire before she finishes it.

And lo, the contemplative one.

Isn't she sweet?

The girls are sporting their new haircuts.

The day before yesterday, for family day we went to a mall teeming with shoppers with children. We waited in a  very long line so that the kids could jump in a bouncy castle for two minutes. We went to a rather silly puppet show version of the princess and the frog at the library and we had to wait for that as well. They call this day Family Day here in Edmonton, Alberta. It's a holiday which people have off to spend time with their families but it seems more about spending time with crowds unless you stay home, of course, which maybe we should do next year.
But I am grateful for my family. Powerfully grateful for them. In this world where machines frustrate me and life seems sometimes empty, they are to me a vivid reminder that this is not everything. That beneath the veil exists breath-taking supernatural beauty that I will one day truly know. Until then, I fight to not lose track of it or succumb to the desire to just be one of the masses, which, odd as it seems, is sometimes compelling. Yet I am truly truly grateful that there is more.