Trenton - July 5

Bella underwater in Nanny's Pool

Bella "playing" with Nanny at her concert

Dean with Aunt Ella

The girls playing the piano in Trenton

This morning we woke up, packed the car and Dianne met us at my parents house at 10am. We drove out together in our car to Trenton in Pictou County to visit Aunt Ella (Dean Sr.'s sister) and Uncle Brundage. We were treated by the fact that cousins Veronica and Karen were there also. We had a fabulous visit with everyone and then a lovely cold plate lunch filled with cold cuts, veggies and a delicious potato salad (an annual favourite of mine) made by 90 year old Aunt Ella. The girls gobbled up their lunch but opted for chocolate cookies for dessert instead of the yummy dessert made by Veronica - it was a layers of meringue in between layers of cool whip mixed with crushed pineapple and maraschino cherries - Yum!

We headed out by 1pm for the drive back (in time for Becca's nap) Both girls had a nice snooze. We stopped in Truro to drop off Dianne and let her pick up her car before heading the rest of the way into Halifax.

It was a quite a humid day so as soon as we arrived we got changed into swim suits and headed into the pool. It was very refreshing although Becca refused to even put her toes in and instead opted to spend some quality time with Nanny at poolside while Bella played with Mommy and Daddy.

The girls had a nice dinner of KD while the adults opted to wait until later for a dinner of big Nova Scotia Scallops. Dean, Bella and Dianne headed out to Melville Gardens where Dianne plays for seniors every month. Bella is her special guest and sings and "plays" along with her. Tonight Bella even got to sing "ABCs" as a solo (check out the video)

They got home around 8:30 and we got Bella settled in bed - although it's now past 10:30 and she's still awake in there. We had a fabulous scallop dinner over a nice bottle of wine however it took quite a while to be ready and had to go back in the oven when it wasn't completely cooked the first time. While we waited we got a call from Bobby Arvon (Happy Days Theme Song singer) who is also in Halifax for a visit. He and Dean had a nice chat and then dinner was finally ready. After a nice conversation we headed into bed.

Video of Bella playing with Nanny

Heather Beach - July 4

This morning we got up and ready to hit the road. We had researched a beach online that we thought MIGHT be acceptable. We have high beach expectations after having just been in Maui. This beach was listed to be sandy and warm (well, warm by Nova Scotia standards) so we decided to check it out. We stopped by Subway to grab a picnic lunch and then we hit the road by 10:30am. It was a pretty straight forward trip until we hit the toll highway. We didn't know it was coming, and since I didn't want my purse at the beach I had left it in Truro and we didn't have any cash. The toll ended up being $4 so we assumed they would take debit or credit or at least have a cash machine on site - but no such luck. Fortunately we are in good old friendly Nova Scotia where they just gave us an IOU and asked us to pay $8 on our way back. Gotta love Nova Scotia!

We got to the beach around 11:30 to find a nice, red, sparsely filled beach with an air temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a water temperature of 19 degrees Celsius! Of course it was freezing at first, but it certainly didn't make you go numb and it was quite pleasant once you got in. We played in the water for a bit, however Becca preferred to play nearby in the sand as usual. Mom and Dad joined us and then Dean and I got to go out deeper in the water - which was far out, but still not up to our waist - while they watched the girls on shore. Becca was quite fussy as it was past her nap time so our deep water adventure was called off prematurely and we all headed back to the cars. Bella was excited to drive back in the car with Grammie and Grampy and both Becca and Bella enjoyed naps on the way home (and in case you were wondering we DID pay our IOU on the way back)

We got back to the house around 2:30 and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with a few drinks, playing in the wading pool and just watching the girls enjoy each other. We had a nice barbeque dinner of burgers, bathed the girls and put them to bed. We spent the evening keeping each other company and watching Evan Almighty - a great movie - safe for everyone!

Tomorrow we will head to Trenton to visit family and then back to Halifax.

Victoria Park - Truro - July 3

Today I had a hard time waking up, but Bella and Dean were off and playing tennis bright and early. We watched the Wimbledon Ladies final (Yay Serena!) and then headed off to Victoria Park. The girls had a blast on the swings, the slides and Bella even braved the spraying water.

We had a delicious lunch of fish and chips and then a nice afternoon in the garden. Dean got a lot of sun, while I set up the pool for Isabella. We all visited and chatted all afternoon. Around 4:30 we tried to go play tennis all together, but Becca would have none of it. Every time I picked up my racket she scream for me - we'll have to try again without Becca.

We gave the girls a light dinner and a bath and sent the to bed. Later, Dad barbequed a chicken on his rotisserie and we paired with some lovely fresh, local vegetables. It was delicious. We went for a stroll in the garden before the mosquitoes got the better of us and we decided to head in. We visited for a bit more before calling it tonight. Tomorrow we plan to head out and find a beach!

Truro - July 2

This morning we slept in and had a leisurely morning in Halifax with a light breakfast at Nanny's. We headed out just after 10:30am and picked up a Starbucks before heading to Truro (where they don't have Starbucks!). We arrived in Truro for lunch at home(Julie's parents') and then a nice afternoon in the garden. The girls played on the swings, hide and seek and in the pond. They drew with chalk, took their wagons for walks around the house and enjoyed an outing with Dean to check out the local tennis courts. We had a nice barbeque for dinner and a nice evening visiting.

Bella took some time to warm up to Frankie (the giant cat - 23 pounds!) but she liked that he wanted to sleep on her bed with her. Another day in Truro tomorrow.

Canada Day - July 1st

We had a difficult time waking up this morning at 8:30 and we had to wake both girls. We grabbed a quick breakfast before heading out to the Canada Day parade. The parade started at 10:30 and we were amazed at how much room was still available along the streets just minutes before it began. We got a great spot across from Starbuck's on Spring Garden Road (and a drink) and waited for the Nova Scotia Tattoo Parade to begin. It was filled with lots of marching bands, gymnasts, unicyclists, dancers and of course bagpipes! All from around the world (Canada, USA, Germany, Holland, France, Estonia etc)

After the parade we headed down to the waterfront to catch the Ferry to Alderny Landing in Dartmouth. They had cake and flags and we mostly went to meet up with an old friend Rose Cousins, who was doing a sound check getting ready to perform later that day. It's always great to meet up with old Dalhousie friends.

We grabbed a quick lunch at McDonalds on the way home and then Becca had a nap while the rest of us watched a short kids movie.

Dianne (Nanny) was having a Canada Day party at her condo's pool so we headed down. There were hotdogs and snacks and Bella and Dean even braved the water. Unfortunately it started to rain so we headed inside. We watched another movie, put the girls to bed and then had a nice visit with Dianne before turning in ourselves. Tomorrow we head to Truro!

Nova Scotia! June 30

Today we had a nice and easy flight to Nova Scotia departing Calgary a little late, just before 1pm Calgary time. Isabella loved the flight, especially the part where people kept bringing her free pop! She watched some TV, some movies, read a magazine and worked in a workbook - she is great on planes. Rebecca had a short nap on Dean's lap and watched a bit of TV, but mostly she wanted to get down - which she couldn't so she was a bit a frustrated, but we made it.

We arrived in Halifax just before 8:30pm Halifax time and were met by my parents: Brian and Carol (or Grammie and Grampy) We grabbed a quick dinner at Burger King while we visited with them at the airport. We grabbed our rental car (a Ford Escape) and drove the 30 minutes into Halifax. We got the girls all settled in bed by 10:30 and they were tired and went right to sleep. Dean's Mom, Dianne, got home from the Nova Scotia Tattoo around 11:30 and we had a short visit before going to bed.

Look Out Maui - here we come!

So we had a great time in Maui March 1-16, however I didn't have internet access so no posts to share, but you can check out photos at:http://photoshare.shaw.ca/messages/viewshow/226123535-1268786562-61410/gallery/page/