Hopewell Rocks

Today we took a drive to The Bay of Fundy. We went to a place called Hopewell Rocks where the tides are the fastest changing in the world. There's a bit of a hike to get down to the ocean floor and since we knew there was a few stairs we left the stroller in the car and let the kids burn some energy. By this time they were so sick of the stroller anyways that walking and exploring was fun for them. Camilla collected a whole bunch of rocks and carried them almost the whole way down. Hyrum would stop every couple of steps to poke at a tree or pick up a rock. I'm sure it took us twice the time it should have to walk all the way there.

We finally made it to the lookout and the stairs. Just before you go down there's a sign that says "To avoid being trapped by the rising tide YOU MUST return to the stairs by the time shown here". I thought it was pretty funny. I think the tide changes every 6 hours or so and it comes in quick! My scared face didn't turn out so hot, so just check out the sign!

I wasn't really sure what to expect, so the red clay and water was a bit of a shock. It was messy stuff and Hyrum just wanted to go swimming the whole time we were there. It was hard to keep him away from the mud and the waters edge. He had a nice little melt down that was eventually calmed with a granola bar and juice box. It was a long walk along the shore and so neat to see all of the rock formations.

 In order to get a family picture where Hyrum wasn't crying or complaining, we had to let him keep playing with his juice box. He's such a funny kid when he gets an idea into his mind.

  

It was pretty neat seeing the seaweed everywhere and knowing that the tide actually reaches that high. It blows my mind that the water levels can change that much in the ocean. Camilla had fun poking at stuff, slipping on the muddy ocean floor and collecting rocks. Hyrum had fun poking the straw in and out of his juice box.

It was hard to get super awesome pictures because the place was loaded with tourists such as ourselves. It really is a beautiful place to see though!

 When it was time to go back Hyrum was super tired and done with walking so Mr. Stannix carried him back and up the stairs while I walked with Camilla. She's such a funny girl and the things she says totally crack me up!

We then climbed the bazillion stairs to the top and rinsed our feet at the little hose station. Since neither us or the kids were looking forward to the hike back to the top, we opted to pay the $2.00 and take the shuttle. Quick and easy. At the top we played at the park for a while, hit up the bathrooms and roamed the gift shop before taking off. Camilla thought she'd be funny like Daddy was this morning and wear her hat sideways. She requested a picture and gave me the cutest grins ever. I love that girl.

Parlee Beach

 This afternoon we packed up a cooler of water, drinks and snacks and took off to the beach for the afternoon. Parlee beach is pretty well known and it didn't fail to impress! I love the beach and was thrilled to be spending the afternoon at the Ocean. Mike's Aunt and cousins joined us for some fun on the beach, it was great to have everyone together for the afternoon.

We had picked up some sand buckets from Dollarama and the kids had a blast with them! Hyrum was so stinkin' cute with his little hat and suit. As he posed for me on the beach a few girls walked by and said, "Look at the little model". I giggled pretty hard. I love that kid. The water was great and the kids had a blast swimming around. Hyrum loved going out deep and swimming with Daddy. Camilla even went under the water, but mostly enjoyed sitting near the shore with the little waves rushing over her legs.

Eventually everyone got a little tired. Hyrum hung out on the towels with Daddy for a bit and soon it was time for an afternoon bottle. The sand that was stuck to his face showed the fun time he had swimming and playing all afternoon.

He was pretty tuckered but didn't want to sleep. Instead he just layed on the towels watching the waves and the people until it was time to go. He was so cute with his little hat and bum in the air.

An afternoon well spent I'd say!

 

Time with Nana

A big reason for our trip to the East coast was to see Mike's Nana. She is 89 years old and so so sweet. I had talked to her on the phone a lot before actually meeting her and already felt like I knew her well, but it has been so great to finally meet her in person! The kids didn't take long to warm up and Nana gets cute little Hyrum smooches every night before I take him up to bed. He's so sweet about it. We've had fun visiting, reading books and hearing stories. She has so many fun stories about Mr. Stannix and it's been great to listen to that great story-telling voice of hers! Looking forward to the rest of our visit with everyone!

The Parade of Sails

On Sunday at church somebody let us know about The Parade of Sails that was going to happen Monday afternoon. In all of our research and prep for this trip we somehow missed this event! I was so glad to find out about it, it was AMAZING! It's one thing to see the ships docked in the harbour but it's quite another to see them actually sail and fire their canons. We walked downtown and checked out some little shops and then headed to the harbour nice and early for some good seats. We couldn't have asked for a better view! We occupied Camilla with a lollipop (which she calls a "loo-dee-pop") and Hyrum fell asleep in my arms walking the dock.

The whole parade started out with the U.S. Coast Guard and everyone else followed. At first they just circled around the little island and went over to the toll bridges on the other side of the harbour and then made their way back with their sails out. I took a million pictures of each ship and had to pick and choose some of the best for this post. 



Our favortie ship was The Bounty. It was just so old and piratey looking. I loved the green color and the dirty sails. It moved pretty good!

 Eventually Camilla decided to go back in the stroller for some shade. Hyrum was still fast asleep in his own seat, so Mr. Stannix and I got a chance to snuggle and watch the ships sail by. It was a beautiful day to be at the harbour (I even have the sunburnt knees to prove it)!

 Mr. Stannix got some awesome video and even caught a canon being loaded, lit, and fired. He was the only one aware of it and let me know so that I could get a picture. Everyone around us jumped at the loud noise (and I prayed it wouldn't wake my tired baby in the stroller). It was so cool to watch and listen to. The ships that had canons would shoot them off as they passed by, and the crowd would "ooh" and "ahhh" and cheer. The newer ships would sound their horns and cheer as they sailed by.

Each ship was so different and unique looking. It was fun to see. Camilla was more fascinated with the "ducklings" just off the dock that kept diving under the water for food and grubs. Her little voice made everyone giggle and the sweet lady beside us told me that she "could listen to her voice all day".

Soon all of the ships had come through the harbour and lined up way out in the ocean to get ready to go. I was able to zoom in with my telephoto and grab a shot of a few of them waiting. Hyrum woke up just at the end on the last canon blast, but fell asleep again as soon as we started walking.

The whole thing was such a fun experience and we were there for the perfect amount of time. Any longer than just a couple of days would have been too long. It was fun to see everything and super fun to catch the end and see the parade of sails. I have a whole new appreciation for ships and how amazing they are. I think before this I had only ever seen something like this in movies, and it was neat to see it in real life!  I think we may come again when the kids are all older just so they can see it and enjoy it. Now we are visiting Mike's Nana and family the rest of the week and checking out some awesome beaches!



Peggy's Cove

One of the places that we wanted to go while we were in Nova Scotia was Peggy's Cove. Camilla was finally feeling a little bit better by Sunday Afternoon so we decided to take the evening and check it out. The drive was long and the road had lots of curves and turns. Luckily the kids slept majority of the drive out, they both needed it. When we were getting close we rolled the windows down and enjoyed the fresh ocean air. We walked the kids out on the rocks and sat and watched the waves come in. It was beautiful! There's something about the coast line, the waves crashing in, and the wind blowing through my hair. I was in love.

We thought this would be a cool place for our family pictures this year, so we set up the tripod and took a few self takes. Considering Camilla was wrapped in her Daddy's sweater half the time and wasn't feeling well, I think they turned out pretty good. It's been a fun tradition to take family pictures in different places or with different themes each year. I hope it's something we will continue to do forever. It's so fun looking back and watching our family grow and change.

We lucked out with our background because most people were checking out the otherside of the lighthouse and the coast line over there. We were able to get some pretty awesome shots. Mr. Stannix and his little man were looking mighty handsome. I love when Mr. Stannix wears white, so handsome.

When we were checking out the coast, Hyrum snuggled in with me. The wind made it so snuggly and nice. Camilla wrapped up in her Daddy's sweater and snuggled next to him as we watched the waves crash into the rocks below. I could have sat there all evening long and watched the sun set.

Finally, it was time to make it back to the car. Hyrum walked slowly with me and we climbed up and slid down the rocks on the way back. It was a lot of fun.

After a quick peek at the gift shop and a bathroom break we drove the curvy road back to Halifax and said good-bye to Peggy's Cove just before Sunset.

The Tall Ships

 When we were thinking of taking a vacation out East a few months ago somebody told us about the Tall Ships that were going to be in Nova Scotia in July. That pretty much settled it, and we decided we had to check them out on our way to visit Mike's family. It has been so worth it! Ships really are amazing things!

Mr. Stannix and I each got a bracelet for the day so that we could board the ships and check them out. We took turns and brought one of the children on board with us when we went. It was pretty neat to check out the inside of the ships and go below deck and see the dining areas. The first ship we boarded was The Bounty. It was our favorite ship! I loved the old sails and old look that it had.

The second ship we boarded was The Peacemaker. It was built the same year I was born and takes about 20 people to crew. Hyrum had fun walking around and peeking out at the ocean.

When we finished looking around we got someone to snap a quick family picture of us infront of it. I just can't believe how cool the lines and sails are and how intricate everything is.

When we finished at the harbour we walked up the big hill back to the hotel. The stroller gets pretty heavy after a block or so of straight up, and Camilla wanted to walk anyways. It gave Daddy 25 less pounds to push up the steep hill, but it took us a while to catch up to him. It's so funny that downtown Halifax is built on such a steep hill.


We got back to the hotel and changed and then crossed the toll bridge for afternoon church in Dartmouth. We had planned on going to the 9:00am Ward, but when we woke up it would have been just starting. I think we all needed the rest. We checked out temple grounds for a few minutes after church and then went back to the Hotel for the afternoon. The Halifax temple is just like ours in Edmonton. It was fun for Camilla to notice that. After naps we took off to catch Sunset at Peggy's Cove.

To Be Continued

Jet Lag

When we booked our flights a few months ago we thought it would be smart to book a Red-Eye flight so that the children would be able to sleep through it. It worked out great for them, but we didn't get nearly the sleep we needed. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 12:50am Saturday morning from the Edmonton Airport and was delayed until almost 2:00am because the airport was on Red Alert. We had to wait for the lightning and rain to let up before we could board our plane for take off. By the time we got on board the children were pretty tired. Camilla snuggled up in her seat with her little pillow and watched the lights out the window. Hyrum cuddled into me during take-off which was perfect. They dimmed the lights just as we started heading out to the runway. As soon as the Boeing 737 picked up speed Camilla exclaimed, "We're flying Mum!". She was thrilled. Everyone around us got a cute chuckle at her little voice as she chattered away during lift off.



Hyrum was awake for the first hour of the flight and sat on my lap pointing at the mini TV screen in front of him. He was in pretty good spirits considering how tired he was. After the seatbelt sign went off we made him up a bottle in hopes that he would fall asleep. I bounced him in the bathroom during some turbulance and then got stuck between the drink carts and couldn't make it back to my seat. Mr. Stannix and I nodded in and out for the rest of the flight with our children sleeping around and on top of us. At one point I apologized to Mr. Stannix for hogging the arm rest and he just smiled and looked to his right where his other arm rest was completely covered with a sleepy little girl. We both giggled quietly.  

Soon the sun started to come up. I was really jealous of the passangers on the other side of the plane because the orange glow was just out their windows. I love sunrise and sunset on the plan, so gorgeous! Camilla woke up for a few minutes and checked out the puffy clouds, then nodded off again. Both kids slept through the landing. Because of the late take-off, they were holding our next plane for a few of us. Mr. Stannix grabbed our carry on bags, I carried Hyrum and a sleepy Camilla followed close behind. Her legs were so tired, but her mouth was moving a million miles an hour. She hurried to keep up to Daddy, swaying and adjusting her tired legs as she went. It was super cute. Hyrum slept through the next take off and most of the next flight from Toronto to Halifax. Camilla was still super tired and fell asleep sitting up. We finally landed and got our rental car and took off to find some lunch. It was a busy morning and we were all pretty beat.



We found a place to stop for lunch in Dartmouth. Just as we parked Camilla barfed up goldfish crackers all over herself and her seat (none on the car thankfully). I think all of the commotion and lack of sleep had finally caught up to her. Luckily I had packed a change of clothes in the carry on for each of the kids. She spent the rest of the afternoon carrying around a plastic bag for security and feeling motion sick. Hyrum had enough of sitting and protested his carseat like nobodies business. Finally we got everyone in the car and settled and we took off to find our Hotel for an afternoon nap. We got to cross one of the two toll bridges from Dartmouth to Halifax. It's neat because you roll down the window and throw a loonie into a basket and then the gate opens and you're allowed to cross. It was such a long, neat looking bridge.



We got to our hotel and they let us check in early. We unloaded everything and went up to the room for naps. Mr. Stannix turned on the TV for our sick girl and she eventually zonked out amongst the fluffy pillows on our big bed. Hyrum sat on the couch and watched and then eventually crashed. When we all finally awoke it was dinner time. We thought we would check out Peggy's Cove and headed in that direction. We stopped for dinner at Jack Astors Grill. I had a classic burger and a miklshake and Mr. Stannix ordered the Salmon (it was delicious). Sadly the children didn't touch their dinner, and Camilla still felt like barfing. Hyrum, however, really enjoyed my milkshake.



When dinner was finished we decided it was too late and dark to head out to Peggy's Cove, so we just went back into Halifax for the evening. The kids were pretty tuckered, so we put them both in the stroller in hopes that they would fall asleep and headed down to the harbour for our first look at the tall ships. Everything was lit up and people were everywhere. The ships looked so cool! We spent the evening cruising around the harbour and looking at each ship. Some of them even had pirates dressed up on board. At the end of the night we made the long trek up hill and back to our hotel room. The children tucked into their beds no problem, and Mr. Stannix and I weren't far behind!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Today we are taking off on a big plane to Canada's East Coast.
I have packed our bags and cleaned the house top to bottom.
I bathed the children and then we still had a few hours to wait until it was time to leave.
Mr. Stannix put a movie on for the kiddos and they chilled in the livingroom for a while.
Worked like a charm!