July 2018

July proved to be action packed and funfilled.

Jack and I saw Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom in 3D and it scarred the poor kid.  He's way too empathetic to watch CGI dinosaurs die on the shore.

Lucy lost her 2nd tooth of the summer!

And pulled this one out herself as well.

Pretzel struggled with being comfortable as usual.

Jack got to walk in the Farragut Town parade with his TKD class.  We love Master Eun!!!

It was so freakin hot and I forgot to send Jack with a water bottle.  Mom Fail.

He got to walk with his buddy Ryder though so all was great!

We did some swimming.

And had Widdi and Rachel over for a cookout.

Mid-July I got to cross something off my bucket list.  I flew to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with my parents to experience Anne of Green Gables.  It was utterly amazing.

We wandered around some fun - and historic - sites in Nova Scotia.

We drank lots of beer.  and wine.  And what were my kids doing this whole time?  Being watched by their amazing father b/c he is willing to sacrifice things for me to have a fun experience without him.  I'm lucky for an Andy in my life.  Btw - how cute are my parents???

Day drinking y'all.

More than once.

Or twice.

Our Air BnB was two blocks away from the Halifax Public Gardens and we took one evening after dinner to wander around the gardens and enjoy the flowers and the non-mosquito ridden air.

Canada does many things right.

The next day we drove to Lunenburg which is a UNESCO historic site. It was a cool little fishing village with old world buildings and lots and lots of lobster.
My kind of place.

I got to sit. A lot.  I will never take things like this for granted.

AND Canada is very gay friendly.  Good job Canada!

I mean, it was gorgeous everywhere.  We did a day of wineries as well and bought lots of alcohol. None of which we brought back bc we drank it all.  Of course.

My reason for wanting to come here. And my original copy of my book.

My mother was my first book club.  She bought me stories like Anne to instill in me a love of reading but also, if you read these books carefully, there is so much appreciation of nature and flowers and just enjoying your surroundings.  I don't pretend to be eloquent and poetic - I don't have that gift.  But these books (and my mother) are why I can plant things in the ground, breathe in the earth, and find calm.  These experiences are why my husband will turn to me on a tense Saturday when the kids are making me crazy through no fault of their own or work sucks and he'll say, "Do you want to go buy some plants?  Will that calm you?"  If you read L. M. Montgomery's books, she describes carriage rides that pass under flowering trees with white petals that rain down on those passing underneath.  She speaks of wildflowers and ferns as if there were essential parts to the plot.  The surroundings are never lost on you.  Lucy Maud Montgomery is the key reason why I love the name Lucy and gave my daughter her name.  These books remind me to slow down.  To take a deep breath and remember that this earth has all I need on it. 

Here are a few pictures from our two days on Prince Edward Island.

This reminds me of the jellyfish forest in Finding Nemo.

Green Gables.

The house LM modeled her story after.

Path leading to the Haunted Woods.

Dad and I decided to walk along the beach for a bit and enjoy the PEI coast.

We also enjoyed many an oyster.  :)

All the flowers on the island were amazing.  I can see why LM Montgomery wrote about them often.

Best thing I ate.  A lobster roll at a pub down the street from our Air BnB in Charlottetown.  Heaven.

We drove over to Summerside at one point to take in the Lobster Carnival!  It was slightly underwhelming...until they served the full on lobster dinner. Then things got real.

Poor Mom tripped in downtown Charlottetown and hurt her wrist.  Luckily she's a tough cookie and handled it like a pro.

Here's a hodgepodge of all the other pictures from the trip from Mom's phone.  In no particular order.

 The Halifax Garden

 We took a picture of a crane just for Charlie.

 Haha - Dad :)

 More Charlie cranes

 We visited the Canadian immigration museum which was REALLY interesting.

 Andy was a really good sport with this trip.  Until of course I sent him food pictures.

 I was very obsessed with the flowers.

 L M Montgomery's resting place :)

 The entertainment at the Lobster Carnival - ha!

As much as I loved that trip and will seriously cherish every moment I got to selfishly spend with just my parents, I was happy to get home to my people.  I missed them :)

So we immediately went to the pool.

The zoo.

And Splash Country.  Because guilt is a real thing.

Later that month, Andy, Jack and I went to meet one of his childhood legends and heroes - Dale Murphy.

We got rained on for the game after but the meet and greet went perfectly.

I love seeing Andy grin this big.  He never asks for anything.  Really. Ever.  So when he asked to do this, I was so excited to share an experience with him.  And have Jack to share in it as well.

Meeting a hero in real life is pretty epic.  Pretty sure if he could, his 10 year old self would be high fiving him right about now.

As we were leaving Bristol, a huge thunderstorm passed over us and left this gigantic rainbow.

I love how much this kid loves to read.  Hope it lasts forever.

Also in news, Lucy woke up one morning and wanted to get her hair cut!  I jumped at the chance and texted my hair girl Ashley who squeezed her in immediately.

How does she look so grown up???? I'm not ok with this.  Of course though she looks beautiful.

She did love the pampering.