Monday, July 18, 2016

The return of Sunny!

I must admit, I was a bit concerned about pulling Sunny out of storage this summer. Was she going to start? Was she going to pass inspection? Was she going to make the trip 1.5 hour trip back home?  Well, it turns out I should never have doubted the old girl. She started right up, passed inspection with flying colors (the mechanic event commented on what great shape she is in - no rust!!) and has already provided us with tons of great times and memories this summer. Ahhh- it sure feels good to have her back!


This weekend we hit the road to the Kempt Shore Acoustic Music Festival -for our third year in a row. The first year I was incredibly pregnant and mostly remember having a really long night attempting to sleep on a mat in a hot tent, the second year I was on maternity leave and we had a blast, but this year was by far the best yet. Music festivals are what we do best as a family. The kids absolutely loved it - the music, dancing, new friends to meet and play with, glow sticks, bubbles, late nights, camping treats...what more could two little boys ask for?! Even though we all came home yesterday very tired and in need of a long bath, it was such fun  that we can't wait to get back out for another night in Sunny again as soon as we can.


Sunny all set up and ready to rock - folk festival style! We were camping close to the stage this year, so Caleb had a great vantage point from in his upper bunk bed where he could watch the people and listen to the music before falling asleep (after 11 pm all 3 nights).



This guy - making himself right at home in the 'Big Truck'!

Dance Solo!
Caleb wanted to see his first 'late night jam' because he always hears about how much fun his dad has staying up late and playing music with his friends. I took him over to a neighbouring trailer to see Alan, Ryan Dillman and JP Cormier rocking out. He was very impressed with the late night scene - at 10 pm!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Summer celebrations

Summer 2016 has gotten off to a great start. We've been surrounded by family for much of the last month and we've had plenty to celebrate. Two weeks ago, my sister in law Sarah got married in Truro. It was a beautiful wedding and an especially fun reception. The cousins had a blast together literally tearing up the dance floor. There were times when I was in tears watching Odin shaking his little booty to the live band. Between songs, he would run to the front of the dance floor demanding another song by saying and signing 'more'! Caleb was determined to stay up until midnight, but at 11 pm after hours of dancing and eating cake, he was looking a little worse for wear. We stepped in saying it was time for bed, but we agreed to let him cuddle in bed and watch a show until midnight. Sure enough, he made it and when I showed him the clock at 12:01, he immediately fell asleep. The next morning he ran to see Greg and said guess how late I stayed up? I was awake until Sunday!

The boys and the stunning bride
I love this hilarious photo of the kids - Tanya was a little put out that she didn't get to hold Odin!
My boys all dressed up and looking very handsome. Two year olds in suits just kill me!
Old Hollywood themed selfie station! This was Cale's favourite part of the wedding (besides the dancing and cake)
Grammie Maureen getting into character!!
Grandparent love
Following the wedding, we had a wonderful visit from our 'American' cousins, Malcolm and Lauren who live in New Hampshire. They came to stay in our new house for  a few days and tour around Annapolis Royal. We don't get to see them enough, so the quality time was great. Unfortunately both Alan and Caleb were away during the visit (Alan recording a record in Halifax and Caleb spent a week in Fredericton), but Odin and I sure enjoyed the visit.

Hike to DeLap's Cove. Malcolm looks super pumped in this photo. He was proud when he saw it!
Odin and I then headed to Fredericton to celebrate Canada Day. We hopped off the ferry in Saint John just in time to catch the last few songs of a David Myles concert on the boardwalk. Odie loved seeing his dad on stage and cheered 'Yay, dada!' throughout the show! We headed to Freddy to meet up with all of my mom's family. I don't know the last time we were all together, so it was great to catch up and get to know each other again.  On Canada Day evening everyone from the Jeffries/Sprague/Urquhart crew headed to Officer's Square for a huge outdoor David Myles concert.

Watching dada play in Saint John!
Having a blast at the Fredericton Canada Day concert
Urquhart family reunion
Phew! We had so much action-packed fun that I had to take this week off on vacation just to recover. It has been wonderful to regroup and spend a week with just the 4 of us. We've been staying close to home beachcombing, strawberry picking, and crossing tons of 'homeowner things' off our our to-do list. It's been wonderful and I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer brings.