Nova Scotia 2014

That's right...there may have been a fire but that didn't stop us from going!  We weren't crazy enough to stay in our little yellow cabin without any running water, electricity, or bathroom facilities.  Instead, we stayed at a "resort" (more about the quotes later) about 20 minutes away.

About a month before our departure (before the fire even), Duncan asked me how I felt about flying up with all the kids by myself.  We were supposed to fly up on Thursday, 7/31 but it turned out that he had a critical meeting in Kansas City on the same day.  He would go to KC and then fly to Providence to meet us there. The thought of flying with four kids alone, especially with one who is a moody infant, is enough to scare the bejeebies out of the most seasoned of mothers, I would think.  I was no exception.  Thank goodness we were flying up on Southwest.  After a little manuevering, I was able to change out tickets to Wednesday so that we could all fly up together to Providence.  Duncan would stay at the airport and catch a flight a few hours later to KC via Baltimore.  The next afternoon he would fly out via La Guardia and meet us in Bangor at 11:30 pm.  From there, we would travel over night to our final destination, West Bay, Nova Scotia. Fortunately, it all went off without a hitch.  The flights all went great (Colby slept a good portion of our flight) and we literally pulled up to the curb in Bangor just as Duncan walked out the door.  Not bad considering we had left four hours earlier to pick him up!  The only small kink in our travelling was that we had to squeeze seven people and tons of stuff into my mom's minivan. (My dad meets us there because every year he spends the week in Pugwash - - campmeeting in Nova Scotia - - with his siblings).  It's pretty tight in the backseat with a car seat and a booster. Not an ideal set up for travelling overnight but we would not be deterred.

A lady a few rows ahead kept her purse/bag over her neck (may be hard to see the straps around her neck).  I guess so no one would steal it if she fell asleep?

We had a day with no car to kill at Papa and Gigi's.  A walk to the farm was in order.

We really weren't sure what we were going to do this year.  We had thought about renting a house near our cabins but that would obviously only hold our immediate family and the big thing about being in Nova Scotia is being with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins.  There is a golf resort, Dundee Resort and Golf Club, not far away that some folk visit every year to golf.  It's a gorgeous location along the Bras dOr Lakes and we discovered that we could get a pretty good deal on cottages they have there (they also have a hotel).  Sure, we would be in our separate building but they would be pretty close together and really, it was about the only option we had.  Personally, I was pretty excited because they had an outdoor and indoor pool (we would be set if it rained) and also a beach within close walking distance.  Not only that, but they had free Wifi which means I wouldn't have to go to the Internet Cafe to get online like I did every other year. Well....it was all a farce.  The outdoor pool was under construction (rumor had it that it had been out of commission for years), the indoor pool was FREEZING because it had a leak and they were filling it every day using a hose, the beach was rocky with hardly any sand, and the Wifi was impossible to get in the cabins and most of the time, even in the hotel. A lessor person might have taken this as an opportunity to *itch and moan about things but you know what? We still had a great time despite not getting what we paid for!

Our cottage.  It was the one on the right.  The one on the left was a one-bedroom and was empty most of the time.

Our view.

Down on the beach.

Our room.

Kids' room.  We had to push the beds together to fit a pack and play in there.

We had a two-bedroom cabin to ourselves which worked out splendidly because they were pretty small but we knew that going in.  We had a bathroom, living room, a kitchen, and a big deck with a great view. My parents stayed with Shawn and Camille and a lot of other families doubled up since we had obviously all planned on having a mostly free vacation at our own cabins.  Calaubra stayed together in one room and Colby bunked with us.  However, he did not sleep well at all and I think six out of the nine nights, he and I ended up on the pull out in the living room.  I was very thankful for having that option.  Part of the reason for his sleeping problems, I believe, was that he was running a fever for about three days.  He didn't have any new teeth coming in and then on about day four or five, he got a rash and I self diagnosed him with Roseola. The rash didn't last long and it all ended well.  We did have a little snafu with accidentally over medicating him though - - a story I won't mention on here to protect the guilty.  But it was all fine.      

The wonderful thing about little kids is that they don't get bothered by any of the things that adults do.  We may have thought the resort had fallen a bit short but it didn't phase them at all.  They had their cousins to run around with and that's all that really mattered.  As Brady as gotten a little older, he's gotten more attached to Camden and has played with him more and more although really, all five of them spent much of the time doing stuff together.  It was incredibly sad when we parted ways with the Braces..we said our goodbyes at a nearby park and they left for home while we went back to the resort for one more night.  A few minutes after we got back, Brady showed a Lego car that he had made and declared "I'm going to go over to Camden's house to give him this."  We told him the Camden was gone, he went back to Maine but Brady just couldn't get it.  A few minutes later he said again that he was going to see Camden, even going out the door, as if we hadn't told him all that.  It was really quite pathetic.  But I am so glad the cousins love each other even though we only see them 3 - 4 times a year.

We were there for ten days.  We arrived on a Friday and stayed for nine nights, leaving on a Sunday morning.  Some people stayed longer than others but in total, there were 38 of us plus four dogs.  The only ones missing were Ricky & Ana, and Jonathan, Marcela and the girls.  Here are some of the things we did while there:

• Went to Little Anse on the first Sabbath for a beautiful walk.  One of my favorite places in Nova Scotia!
• Played Volleyball (well, not me).  They played some four on four and then the guys also played a lot of two on two.  This was one of the highlights for Duncan.  We definitely need to rebuild our volleyball court at the cabins.
• Had a Bean Bag toss tournament.  I played with Kelly and we stunk, probably because we never played before.  Rad and Camille were the winners, I think.
• Spent a lot of time down at the beach although the kids didn't really swim much because there are jelly fish (it's a saltwater lake).  BUT, they did have a great time trying to catch said jellyfish in their buckets so a great time was still had by all.
• Went to Pondville Beach.  It was a windy day and the water was a bit chilly but still fun.
• A couple of afternoons were spent at our lake at the cabins.  The cabin may be gone but it's still our property and the beach is the same as it always was.  We didn't put the raft out but just swam off the shore.  The water was really warm which made us feel pretty bad that we didn't get to be down there every day.  
• Made our annual trip to Baddeck.  This was the one day where the weather wasn't the greatest but I love that place.  
• Played many, many hands of Dutch Blitz with Alison and Kelly.  We played four nights and modesty does not prevent me from saying I won each night.  Glad I can still keep up with those young pups on something.  But seriously, one of the biggest things I missed about missing last year was playing games with the girls.  That's what Nova Scotia is all about!  
• Had a surprise baby shower for Jen one evening.  Terry and Toni stayed in the hotel and they had a nice big living room that we could all gather in.  Rad and Jen are having a boy in October. At one point, a gentleman in a maintenance uniform knocked on the door and passed through the room into the bedroom.  Alison, Shannon, and Aunt Sherrie, sitting together on one couch, were dying of laughter apparently because Aunt Sherrie had inquired if he was our entertainment for the evening. But alas, he was just there to fix the a/c. I'm also pretty sure there is no entertainment of such a nature at a baby shower!

We went to our property soon after we got there and this was what was left.  The tears came.

View from the lake.

All that was left standing.

Kids seemed to handle it fine!

Our little cabin is doing fairly well...having some foundation issues that need to be repaired.

Little Anse.  Two men and their babies.

Brady and Camden

Kelly and Caleb

Aunt Sherrie and Brady with a fake smile.

The parents are looking at one camera and the kids at another.

Brady was really excited for a quick ride he went on with Aunt Lori and Uncle Charlie.  For some reason he called this a "shark."

Canoeing

Kayaking

Eating on the deck.

We picked up a table at Walmart for $17 which made it a lot easier.

Brady and Acadia played on these two things for like an hour at the playground.

Trying to teach Calleigh.

Griffin and Colby trying to entertain themselves.

Jen opening her present from my mom and me.

All the ladies at the shower.

Kids dressed up for pictures hiding from Gigi.

It's really HARD to get good pictures.

With Rad and Jen in Baddeck

My boys!

On the pier in Baddeck.  He has pictures of boats taken from this pier hanging up in his room.

Eating at Shirley's Spud Wagon.

Berries were scarce this year but we found a few.

Having a watermelon on Sabbath afternoon before the younger Braces left.

On the second Friday we were there, we had gone over to the cabins to swim in the lake with my parents and Shawn, Camille, and kids.  As we were just sitting there, Shawn casually mentioned something about a baby dedication.  Holy cow!  I had completely forgotten!  All of my parent's grandchildren have been dedicated down at the lake and that was obviously our intent with the newbies...Colby and Winslow.  But the fire threw everything off.  We didn't think we would be back before we left so we had the shower right then and there with my dad reading the scripture off an iPhone and with half the group in their bathing suits. Ah well!

One thing I thought was funny...we had great weather pretty much the whole time.  It only rained a time or two and only for a short time.  But every day when you would look at the weather forecast for the days ahead, it would show rain.  It was nuts.  Then, the day we left, we had the radio on listening to the local news and they announced that they were doing an investigation because somehow the wind turbines were causing problems with how they were able to predict weather.  I don't really understand the connection but it made sense because I can't believe the weatherman was THAT bad.

We left on Sunday morning but not for home.  Duncan had never been to Prince Edward Island and I hadn't been in decades.  It seemed like this was the perfect year to pay a visit.  So we decided to spend a couple of days there before heading home.  PEI is a dear place to me for the mere fact that it is the home of Anne of Green Gables one of my favorite, if not THE favorite, book and movie of all time.  We had a showing of the first part of it when we were in Dundee so Calleigh and Aubree could see what we were talking about and they loved it (particularly Calleigh).  We went over on the ferry at 11:15 am with my parents (Shawn and Camille had to get home for work.  Boo!). We were quickly reminded of  how stunningly beautiful the island is.  I highly recommend it to anyone.

On the ferry

The island is so small, license plates only go up to three digits.  Just kidding...I think.

PEI is known for it's beautiful red sand beaches.

The ferry ride is about 75 minutes so it was 12:30 when we got off and it was time to look for a place to eat. Both boys fell asleep almost immediately when we got back into the car so we held off for a bit until we got to Charlottetown which a 45-minute drive.  Once we got into town, it was a matter of just driving around trying to find a place to eat.  It is such a different life when you aren't able to use the Internet on your phone. You can't just go to Yelp and find a place nearby.  Instead, you just go aimlessly up and down the streets.  I really wanted a breakfast joint but we settled for something else, partly because someone had to go potty. Right after we had ordered, we get a text from Aunt Lori...turns out she was at an all day breakfast joint about five minutes down the street and it was wonderful.  Shucks!

We stayed in a 3-bedroom A-frame in Cavendish at a place called Parkview Farms.  We felt like we were in a beautiful mansion compared to what we had in Dundee.  It was really quite nice.  My parents took the upstairs bedroom and we stayed in one downstairs with Colby while Aunt Toni and Uncle Terry took the other downstairs one.  The girls slept in a pullout and Brady slept with my parents the first night and in the living room the second night.

The kids were allowed to hang out at the barn and see the cats, kittens, and watch the cows get milked.

Asleep in Mom and Dad's bed.  Remember how I said he gets attached to random objects?

Before we went to the farm on Sunday, we made a stop at Cows Creamery which proclaims to have the best ice cream in all of Canada.  You can do a tour to see how they make the ice cream and also the t-shirts they are famous for.  The downside is that they don't work on the weekends so the tour is of...the equipment.  How nice!  But it was still fun and we got several samples.  I'm not a huge ice cream person (it would be low on my list if you told me I could have any sweet treat I wanted) but I will admit that it was VERY good.  There were about 35 persons on the tour and as we all ate our sample at the end, they said that one lucky person had a sticker on the bottom of their cup and that person would win a prize.  And the winner was...Brady!!   He spun this wheel and it landed on Mystery Prize which turned out to be a pair of ginormous Cows socks.  After a little washing, they shrunk and I will say he's pretty darn cute wearing them. But maybe that's because he doesn't wear any pants or shorts with them and they go up practically to his knees.

Wearing our hats for the tour.

Sporting his socks at home.

On Monday we went to a toy shop called The Toy Factory which makes a lot of their own toys and the kids were able to make a wooden toy car for themselves.  Great fun.  They got to pick a number that would be wood burned on to the side.  Calleigh and Aubree picked 17 and 19 since those are their birthdays and Brady picked 2...just because.

We wanted to watch the next part of Anne of Green Gables since it was only fitting to do so while we were there.  Uncle Terry went to a store to try and buy it but it was $105!.  Poor Aubree was devastated and started crying.  We got the idea to call the proprietors of where we were staying and they said they had it on VHS and if we could figure out how to use it, they would bring it over the next morning.  Luckily we had Duncan who set it all up and we watched it old school.  The kids had no idea what this thing is that we call VHS.  Their kids won't know what a DVD is, no doubt.  Anyway, we watched part one again that morning and then stayed up until almost 11 pm Monday night watching the next part.  Aubs only made it about half way thought but my night owl, Calleigh, made it to the end.

Sporting an Anne hat and wig.

Tuesday morning we toured Green Gables which was the inspiration for the book and looks very similar to the house in the movie.  I'm still not completely clear that the girls realized it was a made up story especially when they walked through the house and said things like "Oh, there is Anne's dress" and "There's the slate she broke over Gilbert's head."  There was even a lady dressed up like Anne which prompted Brady to say "Let's go into the house and see if there are any more characters."  It was almost like we were at Disney or something.

Sipping a raspberry cordial.  In the book, Anne accidentally gave Diana cognac instead of raspberry cordial.

We left PEI at 12:30 pm and headed for my parents.  Yes, travelling during the day.  Can you believe it?!  We did indeed turn Colby's car seat around for the trip up so I didn't feel as bad travelling with him awake if he could at least see us and see the DVD player.  He was still a pill for some of it but we made it.  Oh, how exciting it was when we crossed that border and got back into the US and I could have use of my phone again.  Duncan and I did not have the Canada plan for our phones which rendered them basically useless (other than for taking pictures).  We have had unlimited data on our phones for years but if we added Canada to it (meaning we could call and text in Canada for basically free), we would lose our unlimited data. The WiFi in our house is so slow that I don't use WiFi when we're home and just this last month, I used 9.8 GB's of data.  So unlimited data is VERY important to me.  But boy, it was really a pain not being able to call or text for almost two weeks.  And to have the Internet at the your fingertips.  I don't know how many times I would grab my phone to quickly look something up and then have to say "Oh, yeah.  Can't."

We stopped at Shawn and Camille's on the way through for a few hours so the cousins could have a little more time together.  They made us some great pasta we were on our way about 9:00 pm.  We got to my parents about 1:30 and Calaubra settled right back to sleep in their respective beds. I was with Colby and Brady in my Mom's room with the a/c.  Well, Colby had no interest in going back to sleep.  He was wailing and wailing in the pack and play so I brought him in the bed with me.  But you can't go sleep and leave a baby awake in a situation where he could just crawl off the bed.  So I forced myself to stay awake and that kid didn't go to sleep until 3:00 am.  I was really ticked.  And mostly just really tired.

Last hurrah with the cousins.

But wait, he didn't stop there with his shenanigans.  We were THOSE people on the plane.  You know what I'm talking about.  The people that have the screaming kid that you just want to throttle.  About every 15 minutes, Colby would screech a few times as loud as can be and nothing would shut him up.  It was very frustrating.  Duncan and I would keep passing him back and forth looking for some solution.  Finally, when we were about two thirds of the way through the flight and I was at my wit's end, I started singing to him. And he was out.  Honestly, he could have been playing dead just to shut me up or maybe he figured the only way to escape my singing was to fall asleep.  Either way, I was very grateful. Did I mention I had been up until 3:00 am the night before?  I could barely keep my eyes open on the flight.  My bed never felt so good.

Should have checked him.

Thanks to Ron and Elaine who came and picked us up.  Elaine and I took the kids to the car while the guys got all the luggage.  Elaine was pushing Brady in the stroller and as we got off the elevator, it was a little tight getting off and the stroller started tipping over.  Brady tipped over with it but it was more of a scare than any real harm.  He cracked me up though.  A little later he said to me, very seriously, "Thank you for saving me." And then he says "Grandma needs to be in timeout for tipping me over!"

Back to regular life.  I'm pretty glad actually.  Many people that have jobs probably hate to go back to work after vacation but I'm always working so vacation or home is no different...actually it's probably more work being on vacation.  It's nice to be settled back in and now we have the excitement and craziness of school starting soon.  We will be starting next Monday, the 25th.

The girls started gymnastics today and were very excited.  The class they are doing on Monday mornings is a homeschool class so it's sort of a cross between PE and gymnastics while their class on Thursday nights will be purely gymnastics.  I found a gym, Gymnastics USA, that just opened and is only about 10 minutes away so it's perfect.  They have a play area for the boys to play in while the girls are in class so I was happy to see that (although the Goodwill is right next door which I like even better!).  There were only three other girls in the class so it's nice they are in a small group.

Playground for the boys.

Pushups

This baby had knocked over the sign behind Brady so when the baby started over that way again, Brady took it upon himself to stand in front of the sign to block him.

Friday we were back on the yard sale circuit (hooray!) and I had this little thing happen at one particular sale:
Me: (Nothing lots of British stuff at sale): "Oh, are you from England?
Lady: "Yes, I am."
Me: "How long have you been here."
Lady: "Twenty years."
Me: "My mother-in-law is from Bristol, England.  She's been here fifty years. She says she would never go back though.
Lady: Silence.
Another shopper: "You're from England?"
Lady: "Yes."
Shopper: "Wow, you have a lot of stuff here.  Are you moving?
Lady: "Yes, back to England."
Me: **standing over to side in embarrassment**

Then there was the lady at church who should have been embarrassed.  She did the story for Colby's class. The one about Elijah escaping from King Ahab and hiding at the brook.

Teacher: "Elijah went and told King Ahab that it would rain for three days and the king was very mad."

So yeah, the story actually is that it WASN'T going to rain for three YEARS.  Just a wee bit off.

We went to Costco on Friday (it started raining so we had to abort the yard sales) and had this exchange with Brady.

Me: "Here's a smoothie sample if anyone wants to try these."
Brady: "I'll have the green one."
Aubree: "I'll have the red one."  She takes a sip and then makes a face and says she doesn't like it.
Me: "That's fine, Aubs.  You don't have to drink it.  It's not everyone's cup of tea."
Brady: "Well, I love MY cup of tea." Takes a big sip and lets out an "Ahhhhh" as if he was a gentleman having a perfectly proper cup of tea.

Still on the tea theme, the kids were begging me to have a sip of my tea this afternoon.  I don't like coffee or iced tea but I do love my hot tea (but only PLAIN old black tea. No fancy stuff).  It was cooled off so I let them have a sip and they apparently enjoyed it because they all begged for more.  I told them I would make some more later and they could have their own little cup.  They ran and got the teacups and saucers that we got from my mom out of the side table in the dining room and cleaned them all up.  And then this happened.

Calleigh: "Mom, did you used to drink tea out of these when you were a little girl?"
Me: "No, I don't think so.  I might have used them for milk or juice though."
Aubree: "So these tea cups are really old then."

Nice.

A few closing pictures.

Having a proper cup of tea.

Tiffany, Anthony, and Greyson stopped by tonight.  Greyson came home last week.

Someone keyed my car while we were gone.

Nice.

Have a great week!