New Jersey 2015

This past week we have been in NJ visiting my parents. It turns out we need a US bank account for convenience and what bank do you suppose we chose? TD Bank. They are everywhere. It was super easy to do, too. "The most convenient bank in America". So far, we agree. 

The puzzles came out during the week. Peter worked pretty much alone on his puzzle.

Gaëlle was also working on a puzzle. She had a bit of help. I think Grampy did more than half of it. 

Gaëlle and I went into NY one day. Waiting for the bus.

Gaëlle was on the lookout for photo ops. This statue is in the bus terminal in NYC. 

Outside a knick knack store. 

A pretty cool fountain.

This was a display in a store window. 

Rockefeller Center. See, I was there too. 

A turtle statue. 

Finally, inside American Girl Place. Gaëlle used her money to get her doll's ears pierced. 

Mom didn't have to hold the doll in the bathroom. There were doll hooks on the walls. 

We had a reservation for lunch. It was packed and so the excitement was high. 

Don't worry if you don't have your doll; you can have a loaner doll for your meal. 

We loved the lights decorated with pink flowers. 

Our appetizer. The cheese dip was devoured by both of us. 

Gaëlle ordered the Bitty Bites Meal. Little samples of everything. 

Our dessert. Isn't that cute? 

There is a new historical American Girl. Maryellen lives in the 50's. Her outfits were super cute. 

After hours in American Girl Place, we walked up 5th Avenue. We stopped in St. Pat's Cathedral. Gaëlle was pretty confused by all of the people there and the candles. 

So, we went to the Apple Store.  

We loved the round glass elevator. 

Instead of going up to the store, the elevator takes you down below the ground to the store. Very fun. 

We walked to the Plaza Hotel where the Eloise books take place. We went in the lobby and had another picture taken.

Not quite sure what this is but we took a picture. We had a great day together and I'm glad it worked out that we could go to NJ and go into the city. 

Farewell Tour

We have had lots of good-byes and parties over the past few weeks. I'll just highlight some of what I like to call our "Farewell Tour".

Gaëlle loves to cook and for this gathering she was making fruit salad with a little helper. 

This little helper was sleeping upstairs, supposedly, but somehow managed to get into Gaëlle's make-up. So cute and somber.

A great friend and a huge help over the past year and during this move.

The 3 of us have been Bible Study buddies over the past years. We have laughed and cried over many things. I'm so thankful for their love and support and I will miss them so much.

We have kids who have been in 4 different universities to date. We are now a University of Alberta dad and mom.

We have wanted to visit everybody that we can during this time leading up to our departure for Haiti, but that just isn't possible. We have tried not to make too many plans so we don't stress ourselves. We did take a day to travel to Yarmouth and we just popped in on whoever was around. 

We found Aunt Floris and had a nice lunch together. 

We made it to Aunt Carrie's house and the kids had fun with the chickens and with Aiden.

Over the years, we haven't always been to see Robin's sister as much as we would like, but whenever we do, we get a big smile and lots of love. 

We stopped in Digby for supper. We have been so spoiled in the Maritimes with all of the beauty. Love it.

Aunt Floris sent us home with a bottle of pickles. That didn't last too long. I think Robin put them on everything in sight. They were so good.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, Gaëlle went to the Children's Hospital for a check-up, a needle, blood-work, and an x-ray. That was part of her farewell tour.

We are saying good-bye to Kaylin and the black car. She is now the owner of the black car. She will get to know the money pit that a car can be. 

It was great to have Emily and Gable around while they were on vacation. One night they made us supper. It was a big hit. 

I don't know what was happening here, but there are moments when Gaëlle just makes us all laugh. 

Our farewell tour included some re-arranging of our luggage. 

Each bag must weigh just under 50 pounds to be safe. 

Peter had a big party with his friends and somehow I didn't get a single picture of it. The very next day he had his wisdom teeth out. If you look closely, you can see the swelling and the tub of ice-cream he is suffering through. 

We said good-bye to Emily once more. I'm so thankful she was able to make the trip back east. 

We have been in the car a lot this summer. Gaëlle has been such a trooper. Snickers loves to come with us and has managed to join us several times for short visits. 

It was a treat to have my Uncle Burgess and Aunt June come to Norton Wesleyan last Sunday when we spoke. We all went out for lunch. A great send-off.