Thursday I got to see the first of the overseas visitors who’d come for our wedding. Lyndal, Phil and Dylan arrived the afternoon before but it wasn’t until lunchtime that we managed to meet up. I’d gone uptown to collect my repaired camera lens. Long story short, it hadn’t been fixed properly so they were going to repair it and courier it down to me. Despite not getting the lens back, I was glad for the little drive there and back as it was a stunning autumn day with clear skies and a subdued light. Not to mention the leaves along the sides of the freeway were in full colour bloom. Autumn in Canada is magical.

The three of them came up to our condo and arrived shortly before I got back. Their four-year-old son Dylan was so pleased to see me, which I was just stunned about because it had been more than a year since we’d since him. Also, the last time he’d been much more subdued and wary. This time he gave me the biggest hug without any prompting from his parents. Such a cutie.

We hung out in the apartment for a little while before heading down the road to see find some food, choosing a pub on Church St, and afterwards went for a walk through the Allan Gardens’ Conservatory and then Loblaws for some food for dinner. All the while catching up on what’s taken place in our lives on opposite sides of the planet. It was so good to see them again.

We parted ways at Loblaw’s for a bit of downtime. I went to the gym (something I’m not going to get much opportunity for over the next week or so), then came home to prepare for dinner. Sophia and Katelyn had also arrived the day before and we’d managed to get in touch with each other so I invited them to dinner too.

Glen got home about 6, not long after people arrived. I made pasta, we sat and ate and talked. The two kids bonded over Frozen, and then Katelyn (half asleep from tiredness) was glued to My Little Pony for a while. It was a bit surreal having these Aussie friends in our apartment, and it’s been the same with other people who’ve arrived since. Intellectually you know they’ve come all this way and that you haven’t seen them for ages, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. It just feels like being back home and they’ve popped in for a visit. It’s strange, but in a good way.

They left at about 9 or 10 and we made plans for catching up on Saturday to visit the Corn Maze.