A really fast wonderful Vacation

The kids finished school and we headed out for NJ. Our first stop on the way was Massachusetts where I got to hold sweet little Ruth for the first time. Oh yeah, we also spent the day with my brother and his family at Six Flags New England and Ruth was pretty much like she is in this picture. Just an angel.

It was such a treat to have Treena with us. And a real bonus for me because it was nice to have another adult in the car to help me stay awake. We all spent a bit of time peeking in at little Ruthie.

And we would often see her sleeping soundly.

Ruthie with her precious mom. 

Here's the gang ready to go on the rides. I didn't know how Peter and Gaëlle would handle these big rides. They love the rides they have been on but the roller coaster at Crystal Palace can't even compare to anything at 6 Flags. Tim wanted to take us on the biggest rides in the park right off the bat. I asked that we start with something that David could go on. So we went on a kids ride called "Catwoman". We made it. 

The he took us on a ride called Bizzaro. It scared Gaëlle but the rest of us made it. Ironically, whenever Tim would ask Peter if he wanted to go on bigger ride, he turned him down. It was an experience. 

David's favorite ride is called "Pandemonium". My body just can't handle all of the twists and turns of the rides and after the first 2, I sat this one out or I was afraid I would embarrass myself. But Tim is always ready for an adventure so he went with them.

This was the newest ride in the park; swings that go way up in the air. The kids wanted to go on this but the line was too long. Maybe another year.

We had our lunch in the parking lot which was perfect and a nice break.

During the afternoon we spent time in the water park where I was too busy playing in the water to get many photos. This is also a favourite of David's and I can see why. I personally loved the Lazy River. 

We went up and down these stairs a few times. Love the colours.

The tram took us back to our cars which was a nice break. Are they just 2 of the cutest kids ever? We had a great day and are thankful we were able to visit Masachusetts. It was way too short and I wish we could do it more often.

My mom gave all the girls aprons and so here are the lovely models. 

Gaëlle said over and over how excited she was for the BIRTHDAY Party. My mom is so creative and always hosts a giant birthday party for everybody. This year's theme was the Circus. We all had cotton candy, peanuts, and cracker jack popcorn for our pre-dinner treats. 

Some big smiles for some excited girls.

My mom usually chooses one person to be the Birthday girl/boy. This time it was Treena. Surprise. And you thought your birthday was in the fall.

After a great meal of hot dogs, corn on the cob, salad, and of course cake, we started with the games. Joseph was the keeper of the scores. We had to guess how many peanuts in the jar. Then we had to toss the peanuts in the jar. We think the fix was in and one corner was the lucky corner. 

My mom always finds some fun way to hand out the presents. This time, there were numbers in the boxes. We would take the wrapped package that matched the number. Then we would open it and guess who the present was for. Usually my mom spends all kinds of time gathering presents from yard sales and thrift stores and other places. This time she was completely different and took us to Barnes & Nobles where we were instructed to choose 2 items from the store. That was fun. 

For the most part it was easy to guess the person who chose the book or item. But there were a few surprises. It was such a fun night and I know Gaëlle was not disappointed. The birthday party of 2014 was a huge success.

Pictures, Pizza, and Pride

We're so thankful our older girls are such hard workers and have great employment this summer. Altho at times, it means a little juggling of activities, cars, and other resources. Father's Day was one of those juggling times. The kids gave Robin his gifts on Saturday night. Kaylin even threw in some Pinterest inspiration and put together a collage in a frame. Really sweet.

On Sunday Robin asked for pizza for his lunch so Peter and Gaëlle worked with me to put the meal together.

And Robin lounged around. 

On Sunday there was a 3 Km Run for 3 Fathers. It was hosted in Moncton for the 3 RCMP officers who were killed. However, anybody could sign up and do a virtual run. So, 5 of us signed up and we met Emily and Penny in Halifax and ran together. 

The run was an incredible success. They literally planned it in just a few days and Moncton had a couple of thousand runners. The final numbers aren't in but they are saying that they raised around $120,000. Amazing. All of the money will go to the 3 families. We are still hurting from the events of the past few weeks, but so proud to be able to help out in some small way. 

Today, God is speaking my language.

I have been thinking about the ministry that my parents have been involved in throughout the years. Both of my parents love the word of God and love sharing scripture with others. My mom has shared exciting Bible stories with lots of children in every community we have lived in. My dad has discipled men over the years and has always studied scripture. The Seed Company is an organization committed to spreading God's word around the world.   They train translators and send them to people around the world who do not have the Bible in their language. For Mother's Day I donated to a project training women to share Bible stories with women. For Father's Day I donated money to The Seed Company to train translators. It's a gift from my parents that I can read God's word. It's time for all people to hear and know about God's love.

Playing Catch Up

Food really speaks to the kids. One night Robin was gone and so I took the 3 of us out to eat and then to the library for a quick visit. One of the kids said later, "This was a fun night." It was a simple evening, but we had been having a few days where one child was not very happy. For some reason, the outing of food seemed to soften hearts and helped us move past the anger. Anyway, a great night.

Our puppet group ended the year with a full service in Junior Church. We had a few hiccups along the way trying to put this together, but by the end of it, we had a GREAT time and it all went smoothly.

Robin loves his sound system.

We had a nice group of kids show up which always helps the puppeteers.

One of the moms came out and joined us for the last few practices. She was a HUGE help and we are so thankful she jumped on board.

We also pulled a ringer in from olden days. Kaylin was home and agreed to help us as well. Needless to say, she jumped right in and was a BIG help. 

We ended our time with some backlight fun. We had the kids make their own backlight props and then we just let them go. Emily did this with her group a couple of months ago at The Club. She said that it was a hit there so we borrowed her idea and it definitely was a hit with these kids as well. They loved it. 

Our final group. A really great bunch which we enjoyed so much. They pulled together so well and our show was a lot of fun.

Robin and I have gotten out a few times together over the past few weeks. On this night, we hired a babysitter for Gaëlle while Peter was at youth group and we went for a long walk on a trail near the church. What a blast.

Gaëlle had her first shot for Precocious Puberty in June. It was quite an experience. It was a large shot and she definitely felt it. And she knows that she'll be getting this monthly. So it called for a treat afterwards. She asked for a Starbucks Treat. Once we got there, she went for a fancy drink while I got coffee.

Emily is passionate about rights for people living with disabilities. One of her beliefs is that we  need to provide more options for adults living with disabilities so that they can have more freedom and a better quality of life. So she participated in a demonstration in front of a local group home. I went along because I also believe that we can do more. 

Robin had a birthday this week. Wahoo. Emily made him potato salad. It is definitely one of his favourites and I think this was Emily's first time making a traditional potato salad but you would never know it. It was great.

Kaylin made him one of his favourite cakes for his birthday; Lemon Meringue Cake. It was also delicious. 

I'm so blessed to be a part of Robin's life. I can't imagine a better partner to be sharing this journey with. Happy Birthday.

I'm just sharing this because... what a fun little bottle of ketchup. Last night Kaylin stayed home with the kids while Robin and I went out again, by ourselves. Wow. Robin had a burger and fries and they came with this little jar of personal ketchup. 

There's a grad in the house

Last Thursday Emily graduated from Dalhousie University with a degree in Neuroscience. It was a great day of celebration.

She has worked so hard and accomplished so much in her 4 years of university. And now this chapter is over.

When we were outside taking pictures, a professor insisted we get the eagle in the building behind us. She got on the ground to take the picture. 

Our own flying eagle.

Loving and hugging.

The happy graduate.

We couldn't be happier for her as she takes off on new adventures and challenges.

From one end of the province to the other

This week we had a lot going on. Peter has been playing volleyball and has been enjoying it. This week teams from his school went to Sydney (the northern tip of NS) for Jeux de l’Acadie. Robin went as a chaperone and from all accounts is having a blast. Not really. 

When he went to the parent information session he was surprised by how many parents were driving there (not going on the bus), renting a hotel room (not sleeping on the floor of a school), and not chaperoning (not responsible for junior high kids who are not your own). 

Let's just say, the next time Peter is going on a school trip, Robin will be driving, staying in a hotel room and not chaperoning. Junior High kids are known for their immaturity and obnoxious behaviour but unfortunately, it seems to be taken up a notch. Anyway, Peter is having a great time. And that's all that counts, right?

My parents came up this week because my cousin passed away. Gaëlle hauled out the cards and convinced her Grampy to play non stop with her.

Kaylin gave Grammy a computer lesson on printing her photos and resizing them. 

Kaylin has been in clinical for the month of May but she also was home for the long weekend. Snickers was super happy to cuddle with her. we are always happy to see her, but Snickers truly shows it.

Gaëlle's school had a multicultural day on Thursday. So here she is in her costume representing Haiti. It was a little difficult to come up with a costume because to my knowledge Haiti doesn't have a national dress or costume. But I figured if we went for colourful skirt, we couldn't go wrong.

It was nice to have a full table for breakfast. 

The burial was in Sandford which would be the other end of NS from Sydney. We stopped for lunch and saw a photo op. 

It was a gorgeous day and I'm so glad we were able to go.

Gaëlle has a cousin who is her age. They don't see each other often but when they do, they get along great. So they had a chance to play together after the burial. I'm really sorry for the circumstance of my parents trip and our trip to Sandford, but I was glad that we could visit with family. Gaëlle always seems to love the connections and trying to figure out who is who. And what does that mean for her?