An Afternoon in Cavendish

After we had our fill of Confederation bridge we crossed over and stopped at the Gateway Village. It was loaded with souvenir shops and tourists. There was lots of fun Anne of Green Gables stuff around and Camilla and I even got to pretend to be Anne. I saw these darling Anne dolls and fell in love, but didn't end up getting one. After we left the shop Mr. Stannix said he would be right back. He emerged with an Anne doll, and she's beautiful. We plan on giving her to Camilla for Christmas. Her and I watched the whole series together. Before leaving we stopped at Cows for some of their famous ice cream and then Skyped Gramma and Grampa to show them Camilla's face covered in chocolate ice cream.

As I mentioned yesterday we wanted to hit up the beach in Cavendish for the afternoon. The drive across the island was quick and scenic. It's such a neat little place and I'd love to go back and check it all out one day! The beach at Cavendish was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't have asked for nicer weather! I may or may not have taken way too many pictures. The kids loved the water, but Camilla never went in too far.

They loved hanging out with Daddy and going in the water with him. When I saw the three of them walking towards me I couldn't help but snap a picture. It was adorable.

Hyrum loved filling his bucket with water and dumping it out again. He's such a cute little beach baby. I loved the red rocks and red cliffs off in the distance. The colors were fascinating!

Camilla found an abandoned pool and made it her own while the tide slowly crept up. Mr. Stannix and I giggled at the fact that she would rather swim and play in this little hole over the entire ocean! The kids were pretty cute playing together.

And just because I was in love with the red cliffs in the distance, I had to get a family picture of us hanging out in front of them. The beach itself was great. The area that we decided to swim in had sand all the way out and was shallow for a long time which allowed the kids to go out farther and explore more.

This picture of Hyrum cracks me up! I don't even remember what he was laughing at, maybe Camilla jumping waves. I love those cheeks.

Hyrum was totally his Daddy's boy at the beach. He constantly wanted to be in the water with him and swim with him. The two of them were pretty cute together. 

My favorite part was when Hyrum walked over and sat on his Daddy's lap at lunch. Nana and Auntie Sue packed us the most delicious egg salad sandwiches on home made bread. Talk about spoiled! Hyrum snuggled with his Daddy until we had all finished our lunch.

The late afternoon brought sandcastle making. Mr. Stannix always makes a castle with the kids and didn't fail to dissapoint with those "sand fortresses" of his. 

I sure do love my Mr. Stannix. It's been fun to vacation with him. He does a great job at making sure we're all taken care of, and it was so sweet of him to secretly buy that Anne doll. 

Camilla was really good about taking care of her brother. Whenever he would head to the water without an adult she gently guided him back to the towels. I love that he followed even though he was utterly disappointed.

It was starting to get late and the beach was starting to clear out. We didn't mind at all though because it was still plus a zillion degrees. Camilla finished off the afternoon by jumping into her "pool". She would ask me or random passers-by to watch her and then she would take a running jump and splash into the water. I think it was her favorite part of the entire day!

When we had finally had our fill at the beach we headed across to Summerside and checked into our hotel. The square stop lights amused me and I had to grab a picture of them. The yellow lights are diamond shaped, but it was impossible to get a picture of them.

After checking in to the hotel we drove around to find a place for dinner. All Camilla requested was somewhere that had milkshakes. The last time we had eaten out in Halifax she was sick and couldn't have a milkshake. We found a place that just said "Diner" on the side. We checked out the rest of the town but didn't see anything else that interested us, so we went to the no-name diner. When we actually pulled to the front of the building it had an actual name (I wish I could remember it). Lucky for us they were famous for their milkshakes. They were huge and delicious. Hyrum and Camilla split one, and I've never seen such a happy girl. 

This dinner absolutely cracked me up. I haven't laughed so hard in a long long time. While we were waiting for our meal I heard a "look at me Mum!". I looked over to find Camilla doing a head stand in the booth with her feet against the wall. Hyrum's faces were priceless as he sipped away at his milkshake. He grunted in approval and enjoyed every last drop of it! After our dinner came out our waitress brought out a diner style ketchup bottle for the fries. Without even thinking Camilla grabbed it off the table and tried to suck the ketchup out like it was a bottle. At first I wasn't sure what to think and then at the same time Mr. Stannix and I burst into a fit of laughter. It was the funniest thing she could have done. That crazy girl brings so much joy to this family I tell ya!

Prince Edward Island

 Today we took a road trip to Prince Edward Island. We booked a hotel for the night so that we could spend an extra day, see some of the sights, and spend time together. Some of the main things on the agenda were to get a good look at Confederation Bridge, check out some souvenir shops and hit up the beach at Cavendish. All were accomplished, including a very humorous dinner, but I'm going to split it up to save the picture overload. The car that we rented this time had a sun roof. It made traveling a lot of fun, and a lot cooler. It was an awesome little red car and I adored sitting next to Mr. Stannix in the front seat! Sometimes as we were driving along he would reach over and grab my hand in his for a little while. Other times he would lift up my hand and kiss it. I love when he does that, it makes me feel like we're dating again.

One thing I love about the maritime provinces is how quickly you can get from one to the other.  It didn't take us very long to get to Confederation bridge at all! We pulled off at the rest stop and walked with the kids to the lookout to grab a few pictures. We were lucky to have a clear day and a good view! Camilla hid behind Mike in the first pictures to stay away from the "Mozzie's". She is deathly afraid of mosquitoes as of late and needed to sit on the railing. The kiddos weren't entirely cooperative, but what can ya do? I'm looking forward to bringing them back someday when they are older and more interested in the bridge.

 

It's such a neat bridge. It took forever to drive across it. It was built in 1997 and is almost 13km long! I've heard that before the bridge there was a three hour ferry ride across to the island. I for one am glad for the 5 minute car ride. When we actually crossed I was slightly disappointed by the high edges on the bridge. If I sat up super tall in the car I could just see over them. It was cool when we got to the middle and all you could see on both sides was never ending blue ocean. It even twisted and had a bit of a hill as we drove along.

 

Just on the other side is the Gateway Village. We stopped there to check it out and grab some souvenirs before meeting up with everyone at the beach. I must say that I love Prince Edward Island so far! The way of life, the farm land, the red dirt, and the back roads. More to come from the red sand beaches!

Centennial Park

Today we decided to hit up Centennial Park. As we came outside to get into the car this morning Camilla said to me, "Watch out for the Mozzie's mum!" Auntie Sue calls Mosquitoes 'Mozzies' and Camilla picked up on it super fast. Cutest thing ever. The park is located in the center of the city of Moncton and consists of 230 acres to enjoy. We only hit up Centennial Beach to cool off. There wasn't too many people there and the water was really nice!  We picked up some Oreos and fruit to snack on for the afternoon. Hyrum has never had an Oreo cookie before, so I giggled when he ate his first one the right way! He took it apart and licked the icing, then ate the cookie. That's my boy. 

When we finally got changed into our swim gear we found a nice spot on the sand to park. Hyrum played in the sand for a while and Camilla splashed her toes in the water.

 

The kids were so excited to swim. Hyrum has become such a water baby. He would hardly let me hold onto him while he waded in, even if he was about to fall over. I'm sure if I left him he would keep walking in until the water was well over his head. He enjoyed going to the shore and plowing into the water as fast as he could and falling into his Daddy's arms. His little giggles are so contagious! I love how confident he's become and how his love for water is growing.

Camilla was miss independent and played mostly on her own. Sometimes she would piggy back out into the water with one of us to cool off and swim. She made a few little friends along the way. It's so fun watching her socialize. It was nice and relaxing and the water was perfect to cool off on such a hot day!

 Hyrum started shivering from the cool water and with a little convincing came in for a quick snack. This kid could eat a whole carton of blueberries on his own I'm sure! He stuffed his cheeks with them for a good five minutes.

Camilla had a lot of fun playing with her Daddy while Hyrum munched away. She thought it was pretty fun to be covered up in sand. Every time she giggled the sand would slide down and Daddy would have to dump another bucket on. 

Dinner time came too soon! We could have stayed and played all day long. The beach started to clear out pretty quickly once 6:00pm hit. We decided it was time to get the kiddos some dinner and headed out for Chinese! 

Bed Time Moments

Bed time can sometimes be tricky business when you're away from home. Our kiddos have such an awesome routine at home and go to sleep in a snap! Because we are all sharing a room, we have to make sure each kid is asleep before we leave the room. Usually we start with Hyrum because he is the most tired, and then Camilla comes up a little while later. The other night when I was putting Camilla to sleep she asked if we could cuddle in our big bed instead of her cozy floor bed. I scooted Hyrum over and layed with my girl until she fell asleep. I rubbed her back, scratched her arms (seriously feels good, try it), ran my fingers through her hair and drew all over her face with my fingers until her eyes got heavy and then rolled over to let her fall asleep. After I rolled over I felt a tiny hand on my arm. Camilla scratched my arm and rubbed my back for a few moments. Soon my eyes started feeling heavy. She finished off by running her tiny fingers through the stray strands of hair that had fallen from my pony tail. I got a little squeeze and then she fell asleep a few minutes later.

The second sweet moment was a couple nights later with Hyrum. The room was dark and it was later than usual. He tossed and turned on the big bed rubbing his face with his favorite fuzzy blanket from his Great Gramma Hudkins. He rolled over into me and his cold little cheeks pressed against my arm. Those long eye lashes of his tickled my arm as he slowly blinked. It wasn't long before they were still and his eyes shut. His breathing became heavy and his body sank into mine as he fell into a deep sleep. Not long after the baby in my belly started to kick at it's big brother. A moment I never want to forget.

With my babies getting so big, these moments are few. I was grateful that I was able to take a few minutes out of my day to snuggle them to sleep!

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!