Saturday, May 10th, 2008 - That's just not cool

Yesterday was another day of Newfoundland sunshine - rain, drizzle, and fog. And frigidly cold to boot. So we didn't stray too far - back to the Hall to run around, lots and lots of boob tube. The boys mostly got into trouble. Josh "tidied up" Granda's newspapers.



Jacob tried his hand at hot-wiring the truck.



And Maggie just polished her halo.



Today, on the other hand, turned out to be quite nice. Along with some visiting, we spent most of the day at the playground. When we got home, Grandma hung some laundry out as a special treat.





A bittersweet ending to the day, though. As Maggie was snugly tucked into bed we were talking about the plans for tomorrow, heading to the airport then back to Orangedale to our own beds. She tried her best, but just couldn't hold back her tears. "I'm sad to leave, Mom." Aren't we all, honey.

Thursday, May 8th, 2008 - The old man is snoring

Low key day yesterday, not so today! Off to St. John's in the driving rain to go swimming, MacDonald's Playland, and Costco. Something for everyone! We stopped at Waterford Bridge first for a quick visit with Aunt Marjie and to change into our swimming clothes. Everyone had something to keep them occupied during the visit. For the boys it was (big surprise) traffic.



Maggie was channeling her creative energies into writing a song about swimming.



The MacDonald's trip illuminated a developmental milestone that Josh has sailed past. He can now climb all the way through the Playland tunnels! This is exciting, albeit a bit inconvenient, as he is not inclined to respond so positively to Mom when I encourage him to come down. He just sat up there, waving and blowing kisses at me, saying "A-bye, a-bye!" Thanks to Maggie and a charming little boy named Matthew who escorted him down, thus saving me the humiliation of squeezing my generous behind through the less-then-generous plastic tunnels!

Wednesday, May 7th , 2008 - We had a ball!

Every vacation needs low-key days where not too much happens. Try convincing a five year old of that fact! The Newfoundland weather was on us with a vengeance, so going outdoors was out of the question. And with the energy level of the boys at an all-time high, staying inside at Grandma and Granda's wasn't exactly the ideal choice either. So we grabbed the key to Calvert Hall (it pays to have connections) and went over to run around indoors. The stability balls used by the middle aged ladies to ward off flabby bellies came in very handy.

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 - Cruisin'

Today we hit the road for the big city, for Mom to get a new hairdo (holy red hair, Batman) and the kids to go to Bowring Park with Grandma and Marilyn. The park was a hit, partcularly for Jacob, who's hit was right on the forehead as he tumbled off the swing. Oops!



We visited Sr. Patrice at Presentation Convent, where Maggie was an absolute doll, singing and dancing for all the Sisters. And there were a lot of Sisters! Then Patrice took us to the Health Care Unit, the nursing home wing of the convent. Long corridors and good echos were just too much for the boys to resist. They went barreling up and down the halls, laughing their little shaved heads off. Then they upped the ante - barging in and out of the nun's bedrooms, greeting the bent, greying old ladies with enthusiastic "Hello!"s and testing their beds for bounce. I was imagining broken hips and atrial fibrillation all round, but the nurses (and the nuns) were delighted. "That's what we need here, a bit of excitement, some stimulation." Your wish is our command.

We fininshed the day with Chinese food at Uncle Rob and Aunt Julie's. The food was delicious, but it was hard to pull the boys away from the front lawn where there is a great view of the traffic!

Monday, May 5th, 2008 - There's no place like home!

The kids and I parted with Dad at the Halifax Airport yesterday, Silas on his way to Montreal to convert the pagans, and the kids and I happily soaring over the Gulf to Calvert to get our fix. Waking up this morning at Grandma and Granda's was such a treat - sun shining brightly, warm air pulling us outside, icebergs floating in Ferryland Harbour, big screen TV beckoning us with images of Dora and the like.

We spent the day outdoors, playing in the yard, going to see Peter Hynes' lambs (although we forgot to bring them any treats) and playing with cousin Emily. Josh was a little mixed up - when he went out the door onto the deck, he promptly took off running, across the lawn, up the lane, and plopped himself down outside the front door of Josephine's. Just like the good old days...



All hands went to bed early to recover from the jet lag and get ready for tomorrow.