We were actually away in Toronto all last week, and there’s so much to catch up on. We were there to visit family and also because Captain Jelly Belly went to his first sleepaway camp about an hour north of Toronto – he’s been to Scout camp for a weekend but this was four whole days of him taking care of himself. We wanted to be close by in case he had a food-allergy related emergency or broke an arm or something, so we stayed the week at my youngest sister’s house in Scarborough.

I thought I’d have more to say on the camp subject but actually, it was fine. I was a bit of a wreck beforehand, worried about what he was going to eat (although the camp was great – they have a full time nurse on staff, make all their own food in house, and had a whole separate station just for preparing his food and he was always served first). I also thought he was likely to not shower the whole time, possibly get lice, and definitely lose every single thing he brought because I forgot to label it all with his first and last name. But everything worked out well, he had a GREAT time and came home with a thousand you-had-to-be-there stories and email addresses of new friends. Plus, we had a very nice time with the two girls – it is AMAZING to me how much easier two kids is than three, now that we’re used to the trio. He learned and grew, and we learned and grew, and I’m sure Lifetime will be calling any moment to turn our story in to a Very Special After School Movie Of The Week.

Down in Toronto we took the girls to the new Ripley Aquarium (bananas busy and pretty pricey, but just monumentally gorgeous and eye-popping, so recommended), and to my favourite place in the world, Casa Loma (referred to as “Casa LAME-a” by my older daughter, but at least Little Miss Sunshine liked it, and they both enjoyed the subway ride to get there).

After we picked up the Captain we all spent a day at Canada’s Wonderland, which was heart-stoppingly expensive, to the point where we question if it was worth it, even though all three kids had an amazing time. No outside food is allowed so after having leftover pizza for breakfast, I ended up having fries and a coke for lunch, then mini donuts and a funnel cake for dinner. The next day I had a nice big salad for lunch and I could hear my arteries weeping with relief. Speaking of health, small tragedy: my FitBit got all messed up while we were away, so I missed out on steps for both Casa Loma day and Canada’s Wonderland day, which may have resulted in a weekly record. SNIFF.

Now we’re back and of course, the first thing I did was race to watch Dance Show. More on that in a moment but first, two important pieces of news:

First, I have a guest post up at OttawaStart – really just a reposting of my statues tour post. This was a big honour for me, because I love OttawaStart, and I often say that if you only read one blog in Ottawa, it should be this one. Glen Gower, who runs it, is a municipal treasure in my opinion, and OttawaStart is a great resource for what’s happening in the city – everything from road closures to local events to historical explorations of local sites to where to get a good lunch. Go now and subscribe!

Second – and I hope you are sitting down for this – DANCE SHOW IS COMING TO OTTAWA. Last week they announced a bunch of new dates and I didn’t even check because I was so depressed about the tour, and then I got an email from my friend Miker with this link in it that takes you directly to a place where you can get your very own tickets to see Jaja IN PERSON. It’s at the NAC this time, instead of the Canadian Tire Centre, which of course means the tickets are stupidly expensive (theme of the week!), but it’s cheaper than flying to New York to see the tour, which I was actually considering, so yeah, I’ll be there.

Speaking of Dance Show, who’s left in the top six?

Jaja. Putting her back at number one this week because a) everyone I talk to loves her as much as I do, and b) she was brilliant this week in her Broadway number with (SQUEE) Ricky. Plus, her solo KICKED IT. Is there nothing she cannot do? No, no there is not.

Gaby. First of all, I’m only putting Gaby this high because it seems they are going to narrow down the field to a single street and a single stage dancer for the final two, so someone from team stage has to be in the second slot here. Is Gaby the best on team stage? I personally think it’s Hailee, but with Hailee showing up in the bottom two this week, and Gaby being just gorgeous all over in her Mandy Moore number (Mandy Moore is THE QUEEN), plus rocking her solo…I think she’ll be the one to end up in the final two.

Virgil. Virgil is just cool. He is like, cool embodied. He’s got the moves, he’s got the personality, and he’s got the skills. In any other season I think he could win – actually, he could still win this one, too. We’ll see what happens this week.

Jim. I think Jim has a lot of personal support and OMG, did you see his solo? BEAUTIFUL. I thought the judges were too hard on him this week – I see what they were saying last week about his lack of personal connection, and how this week’s number with Comfort didn’t help him with that, but on the plus side I thought he kept up with her fairly well and showed some measure of groove. He’s not my favourite on team stage but I do think he deserves to be in the top 4.

Megz. Gal Smiley is going to be broken-hearted when Megz goes home but I’ll be really surprised if she lasts over Virgil or Jaja, who are a powerhouse duo who cannot be beat. I do think her time is up – I love her personality and smooth groove and I think she’s been shafted the past two weeks with bad styles, but her solo as well was fun but not nearly as dazzling as the other two.

Hailee. I’ll be broken-hearted when Hailee goes home but it seems to me that she just doesn’t have the voter support that Gaby and Jim do, plus her number this week with Fikshun was solid, but not as good as her very similar dance with Virgil a few weeks’ back.

Are you going to the live show? Who do you think will win?