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. 

Almost 10 Years Old

Gaëlle will be in Haiti for her 10th birthday and so I threw her party early. I surprised her with a spa party complete with pedicures and manicures. 

The party was for 10 people and Gaëlle knew she wanted her big sisters there. She was also able to invite a couple of other special older girls. 

All of the girls get white robes. 

Except the birthday girl who gets a pink one. 

The girls enjoyed looking at magazines during their down times. 

The girls were split in 2 groups. While one group was getting manicures, the other group was having pedicures. 

These 3 were always full of smiles. 

Choosing the nail color. 

Looking to see what the other group was doing. 

Pretty toes. 

Drying toes. 

Finished fingernails. 

A group shot. 

Another group shot. 

Happy Birthday Gaëlle. 

She asked for a mint design on her cake but not a mint flavour. Gaëlle and I made the cake and Robin decorated. 10 lovely candles. 

A post a month

Well, it looks like I am down to a post a month. I hope to get at least that much in because this blog is a good place for me to put more family photos up for my family and friends. So, away we go. Kaylin will start her final year of nursing school this September. She has already ordered her study book for her RN exam after she graduates. No rest for the weary.

You can take the man out of the mounties but you can't take the blackberry phone away from the man. For the past 12 years or so, Robin has used a blackberry phone at work. It has a unique keypad that he has gotten used to. Once he retired the blackberry phone went, and he started using a cell phone that a friend loaned him. After a bit, it became obvious that he needs that BB keyboard. So, he bought his Haiti phone and it is a Blackberry Classic. He loves it.

We had a great weekend in Prince Edward Island in July. We spoke at Island Wesleyan Church which was fantastic and we loved it. We also enjoyed a bit of sightseeing. 

We went for an evening stroll at a local beach with our hosts, Joel & Vicky, and the kids absolutely loved the red sand. Great memories. 

One day Robin had to run an errand by the Dartmouth waterfront so we all went along. The kids and I discovered a pavillion  commemorating peace around the world. There were rocks and pieces of walls and building from different famous places around the world. There was even a piece of rock from a famous prison in Haiti.

August began with one of our favourite family activities; Caton's Island Family Camp. 

There are always group games where the families are put on different teams. In the above picture 2 of the team members had to get doused with a bucket of water while we took their photo. Gaëlle volunteered for that. 

There was also the pie making afternoon. Gaëlle and I made 2 lemon meringue pies and one vanilla pudding pie which she decorated with candy bars. 

Getting ready to bid on the pies. 

The pie Gaëlle made and decorated. 

The kids always enjoy the campfire songs. On our final morning I could hear some singing and looked over to see some kids singing campfire songs by themselves. No campfire. Just some kids singing at the top of their lungs. 

After family camp we came home and immediately went to work moving out of our house. Robin and the brilliant idea to rent a storage space for one month. Emily may take some of our furniture so until she comes and decides, it is out of the way. 

Kaylin was a huge help. She not only packed, and moved, and cleaned, she also amused Gaëlle and the dog. We couldn't have done it without her. 

As I would empty the bedding, Snickers would take it over as her bed. Any soft material on the floor became a temporary bed for her. 

There were some items that we knew we didn't want to part with. But there were some decisions that surprised us both. Tim gave the older kids these clay creatures on rocks many years ago. They are works of art. Robin didn't want to part with them. So they were gently packed away. 

By the end of it, we had an empty clean house and many years of great memories. 

We are in Val's house in the interim and now Snickers has a friend. For the most part they get along, but they do not play together. I guess they tolerate each other. 

Last weekend we headed back to Caton's Island to pick up Peter, clean his clothes, and send him off for a week of teen camp. Gaëlle and Robin were trying to find the perfect skipping rocks. 

Robin helped Dick put the roof on a new porch. 

On Sunday we went to Jonesport, Maine to speak at the Wesleyan church there. We arrived a little early and spent some time admiring the beauty of the fishing community. What a great day. 

During our time living in St. Andrews and Grand Manan, we discovered how much we loved blueberries from McKay outside of Blacks Harbour. Robin took some time to stop and get a blueberry pie and some rhubarb jam. He's a happy camper.