Holiday highlights

This experience was probably the highlight of Dominic's summer holiday this year. Here he is (bottom left sitting on top of Chris) riding in a "tube" (I had to ask what going "tubing" was) about thirty seconds before they capsized. Unfortunately I had put away the camera to attend to Maddie who was whinging about getting wet. Fortunately the sight of her brother and father disappearing into the drink cut her whinging off completely. We were at Lake Muskoka, staying with colleagues of Chris, and enjoying their double winged six bedroom "cottage". See - English Jim but not as we know it. On that point I heard someone on the radio the other day bemoaning the loss of words from the English language - words such as nifty and fortnight. I wish I was kidding.

Anyway, this is a post about Dominic not about living abroad and I want to do his 8 year report card for our good friend Posterity. Here goes:

Looks
Dominic is tall, slim and currently beautifully tanned. He almost has his two proper front teeth all the way in (God they take their time) and he really looks like a typical Canadian youff in his crocs and his vest tops and his cool new bike helmet. He can do funny bends with his elbows and touch his nose with his tongue. He is also alarmingly good at going cross eyed. Ahh, my beautiful baby. Little did I know what talents lurked inside that little skinned rabbit with bug eyes exterior! (Eek. Can't wait till he reads this)

Personality
Ask me one day and I will tell you that Dominic is a gentleman and a scholar. That he is a kind, interesting and talkative little chap. Ask me another day and I will have to admit that really he is a teenager in an eight year old's body with enough opinions to stock a supermarket and absolutely no idea of when to keep his trap shut. Aah. Bless. Maybe I shall ask him.

Skills and experience
Dominic is a master of many skills now. He can read brilliantly and although he appears to have learnt nothing in Canada while being comfortably top of his class, we are fairly sure that even if put back in the academic trenches (comparatively) of an English state primary school, he would catch up fast and do himself justice. He has great general knowledge (after all, he was the only kid on a school trip to be able to name a great lake, which, given that we live within spitting distance of Lake Ontario, is pretty tragic). He has learnt to dive this summer and achieved a tolerable level of ice skating ability - although was have agreed that he is considerably better at soccer and that skating might not be his thing. He is showing some promise at golf and hoping to start doing some acting classes in the Fall (see - going native now). This year he took part in the school talent show singing along to Monster by the Automatic and he is showing real skill at Singstar.

Likes
Harry Potter, soccer (see, see!), all things electrical, getting his own way, jacket potatoes, Jack Asters, movies, milk, jacket potatoes, eating Frosties without milk, reading in bed, Cluedo, endangered animals, a good laugh, the TV show Merlin.

Dislikes
Not getting the last word, being bugged by his siblings, queueing.

What we love about Dominic
Sense of adventure and bravery (see tubing and Canada's Wonderland outings), sense of humour, reading, excellence at school.

What still drives us potty
Teenage moodiness and shouting, brother thumping, having an answer for everything. Change those three things and he's perfect.