Quick Vacay Update

Wow, I don't even know how to begin to share all we've done so far on our NB vacation! I guess I'll have to resort to the list method:

• Quick visit in Montreal with Kate, Pierre, Madeleine and Remi. They fed us beer-can chicken and home made ice cream. Scrumptious! And great company too!
• Arrived July 17th in Fredericton. I nearly burst with excitement as we drove into the city that I love so much, that just oozes "home" to me. Had dinner with Grampie and Grammie Haines and a great sleep after a LONG drive.
• Church in the morning, where we reconnected with sooooo many great friends. A drive down Crocket Street. An afternoon visit with Nana and Doug.
• Visit with dear friends, the Clarks, the Inmans, the Nyes. Janelle got a sleepover with Taylor D!
• The kids were thrilled to find out that our church in F'ton was having VBS that week! They got to participate with all their old friends!
• Janelle got a new PURPLE cast, and an appointment with the most awesome orthopedic surgeon. We were surely cared for!
• Family dinners with all sides of the family.
• A girls night at Liane's house! Yay! (But I need another one of those before I go back!)
• The annual birthday party for my Mom, Janelle and Charlie, this time held at Tracy and Blair's new cottage in Cambridge Narrows.
• A rainy day at the cottage, filled with movies and games.
• Mom's actual birthday dinner, provided by Nurnie, at Mom and Dad's in Rothesay. It felt so good to walk into my old home after 4 months away!
• Took Chris to the airport to head back to London for a couple of weeks. We're missing him, but appreciate that he was able to save his vacation time to spend with us in Ontario at the end of the summer.
• A visit at the cottage with the Vincent family, old friends of mine and neighbours of my sister's. Their oldest son, Aiden, is Connor's kindred spirit, I think!
• A pedicure from Tracy's friend, Holly, who has a true gift for pampering! Mom, Tracy and I spent an afternoon in the lap of luxury!
• Today, Tracy and I went to "Despicable Me" with Connor and Charlie (the birthday boy), while the girls enjoyed Mom's birthday gift to Janelle, a "Little Lady's Spa Day" with Holly. I met my new baby cousin, Nathaniel, and said a quick hello to his parents. Then back to Grandma and Papa's for dinner. I got a chance to bond with my niece, Hailey. She finally loves her Aunt Nan!

And now I'm at Mom and Dad's with the four kids, while Tracy and Blair celebrate their anniversary in Fredericton and spend the night at the cottage on their own. We'll all join them tomorrow, hopefully with cousins joining us for a some fun on the lake.

The time is flying by way too fast. There just isn't time to have a meaningful visit with everyone, even though we're here for a month! All I can do is try. I am fitting in as much as I possibly can! I'm definitely going to need a vacation after this vacation!