Let it Begin!

The past few days have been a busy blur.  My sister and her kiddos arrived on Wednesday...I think it was Wednesday.  Maybe it was Thursday.  The kids and I drove to Ottawa to pick them up from the airport, where I got lost no more than 2 times.  Once on the way, once on the way back.  No biggie.  Fortunately, on the way there, I was sitting at a light in Ottawa yelling at my iPhone because it was telling me I was somewhere I wasn't and therefore was giving me the wrong directions.  A kind gentleman knocked on my window and said, "Where are you trying to go?"  When I told him the airport, he said, I'm going that way, follow me.  And I did.  Thank you anonymous gentleman.

Then, on the way home, I missed the turn off that would have led me right out of Ottawa and on my way home, and instead had to proceed to go all the way back through Ottawa to get out in 3:00pm traffic.  An extra 30 minutes on a 4 hour drive is no big deal, right?  Right.  At least my kids were entertained by the presence of my sister's kids...and Iron Giant.

Since then, we have beached it up and stayed up really late too many times.  It is now Saturday night and my parents flew in to Ottawa today as well.

This time, Tyler made the trip to Ottawa to pick them up and we (mom's and kids) hung out at home.  Super excited to see Grandma and Bumpa.  Even though Tyler was exhausted from a round trip to Ottawa I insisted that we would all really love to go to Fort Henry tonight and see the Fort Henry Tattoo...which was a one time only affair.  By we, I meant most specifically my dad.  But I knew it would be great for all of us.

What is the Fort Henry Tattoo?   

It’s a music lover’s dream - the marriage of finely tuned pipes, big brass and booming bass drums, unified for a grand performance on the parade square of Ontario’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site! The Fort Henry 2012 Tattoo on Saturday, July 28 is a one of a kind show that celebrates military traditions dating back to the 1600’s. "Tattoo" is a derivation of “doe den tap toe”, which is Dutch for "turn off the taps", a call which is said to have followed the drum beats in many a pub, letting English soldiers know it was time to turn in for the night. 

Fort Henry is proud to welcome this year, Ottawa’s Ceremonial Guard Band, Lorne Scots Pipes and Drums, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, 8 Wing RCAF Pipe Band, Cadets of HMCS Ontario, Toronto Signals Band, National Band of the Naval Reserve, and the Band of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry to join the Fort Henry Guard Drums as guest performers.

Don’t miss the massed pipes and drums performance featuring over 75 highland performers, and marvel at the spectacular finale as 250 musicians take to the square to perform underneath an electrifying, exploding sky of fireworks!

So, now you know.  As predicted, it was awesome.  And everyone loved it.  And the exploding sky of fireworks was outstanding.  It only lasted 10 minutes, but since we sat on the outer wall of the fort, the fireworks were almost literally in our faces.  Too awesome.  

(The people in the back row of this picture are not with us.)

It was right at sunset and we were, of course, facing the sun.  Made taking pictures tough.  

At the end of the show, we headed for the parking lot to go home (the parking lot consisting of hundreds of cars parked on the side of the hill).  My dad managed to come across an old man who was in tears because he couldn't find his wife.  He said she only walked with a cane and he had told her to wait here in this spot while he went and got the car.  When he got back, she wasn't there.  So in the dark, at 10pm, we looked.  She was found and their reuniting was picturesque.  He shed many tears of joy and she was embarrassed with his display.  Kind of heart-warming.  

Now my family is here for 2 weeks and I have lots of things planned for us to do.  Because I'm a planner.  It's gonna be awesome and exhausting.