The last supper

I didn't have much on my "to-do" list while I was on the island, but having a lobster supper was at the top. My favorite thing in the whole world is fresh, good seafood. Nothing compares to it. If I had a "last supper" this would be it. Amazing. And the company wasn't so bad either ;) definitely a highlight of my trip. 

Getting unpacked

Helping my parents get unpacked was actually a lot more fun than it sounds. Te kids had so much fun with all the boxes! They colored them and trend them into rocket ships, and the really big ones were used as forts and play houses. There was Tonnes of bubble wrap that just HAD to be popped, and endless big sheets of paper to draw and color on. Also, there were a ton of little projects grandpa had to finish, and graham was tilled to be his little companion/helper. Anytime he saw that red tool box come out, he would sprint to grandpa and stick by his side. It was so cute. 

Haunted House

Ok, so the haunted house....just the grown ups were supposed to go. Grandpa stayed with the sleeping babies, and I was prepared with things to keep Eve occupied while the grownups went inside. Well she wasn't having any of that. She wanted to go in, and that was final. After discussing the scary things inside, she still wanted to go in, and she was Insistent. So rather than fight with her, I figured I would shield her as best I could, and worst case scenario, she learns a lesson from it. 

It wasn't too bad, I kept her eyes busy when they would flash scary things, distract her when scary music was played. Scott took her through the "bottomless pit" and I've never heard her scream so loud, poor girl. So when you exit the house, you can enter the nice gardens. However, as one last are they have a (fake) rabid dog comes out barking at you. Eve is hysterical at this point. So we all band together and tell her how it is all fake and there is nothing to be scared of. So peter, being the kind uncle that he is, goes over to the robotic dog to show her that it's fake. Or so we thought. He goes over there, and when the dog come bursting out, he acts like it's gnawing his arm off!! Poor Eve is probably scared for life. But, she calmed down, we took a nice walk through gardens, and even went on a few carnival rides. 

Long story short, she learned her lesson. And they were smart in their layout. Because nothing makes you forget a scary house like beautiful gardens, a small stream, and a small petting zoo with new kittens. They nailed it. Eve only talks about the good things at the end, so maybe it wasn't so bad after all. She's a trooper, and very brave. Oh, and we may have gone for ice cream as well. You know, to make us feel a little less guilty about letting a 4 year old go through the haunted house.

Cavendish Beach

Of all their visitors, Peter was the one that wanted to go to the beach the most. And we only got one day of sunshine, the day he left. He didn't fly out until early afternoon so we grabbed a quick trip to the beach before we had to take him to the airport. We soaked up what sun we could, and no better way than Cavendish beach, one of the best on the island. 

Graham couldn't wait to get into the water, couldn't even wait to get off his clothes. Eve on the other hand, needed a little help from Peter to get into the water. She wasn't amused. She huffed, shook it off, and went back to building a sand castle with grandpa. Greta wasn't so sure about the sand, but she went along with it anyway. Peter buried her feet in the sand, that seemed to help a little. 

Uncles, uncles and more uncles!

Uncles! Uncle joe, Scott, and peter came to town! It was so fun, even though the weather was less than ideal. They arrived in rain, and it rained almost the whole time. But we had a lot of fun enjoying each other indoors. Lots of stories, games, and laughter. 

Dad watched the kids so we could go see Anne of Green Gables. It's an absolute must when on the island. The Anne was so darling, you just fall in love with her. She is actually a member of the church, and a few weeks previously she sang during our Church meetings along with another member of the cast. Poor sham got sick one day, he had a fever, and was just miserable. It was such a blessing to have extra hands to snuggle the little guy. The uncles were more than Happy to take the job, especially Scott. He was just loving all the snuggles with Graham, it's the only time he got to see him still/quiet. 

Lots of late nights playing cards and board games, that's how we watson a bond. And it's perfect.

Potty training fail...the Dino museum

So, the uncles were visiting, so I slipped out one afternoon with the kids. Figured I'd give them a quiet afternoon, and just have a great time with the kids at the dinosaur museum. Graham was pretty good about going potty, and he had done a number 2 before we left, so I figured we were in the clear. I left him commando in his shorts, it helped him recognize when he needed to pee In the early stages of potty training. Well, shortly after we got there, kids loaded into the stroller, he had to go potty. 

No big deal, everybody goes. So we carry on, Eve and Graham walk ahead looking at the different dinosaurs, and glass cases with fossils etc. so, from a distance, I found it odd that Graham was just looking at his feet and sliding one of them from side to side. "Weird," I thought, "so much cool stuff and he's watching his feet". Didn't think much of it, he had just gone potty, so I was guaranteed a few mins of sanity. Wrong! 

I went over there, only to find that he had dropped a log! He had pooped, and since he had no undies on, it just slipped down his shorts leg and landed on the floor. And he was sliding in it and smearing it all over!!! I mean, really?!!!

So I'm horrified, but have to remain calm. I don't want to upset the kids, and or draw attention to ourselves. Luckily, it was a slow day to the small Dino museum, so there weren't too many people to check out the Edwards Circus. So I pick up Graham and run him to the bathroom, and wheeled Greta beside the bathrooms. Eve was kind enough to entertain her while I dealt with the mess. Well, there wasn't too much damage to the shorts, not sure how, but they were minimally affected. The shoes, well....they were sick, so I scrubbed them in the sink after cleaning Graham. 

Now, I had to remove any evidence that my child just decided to deficate on the floor. So I run out and start, running back and forth from the bathroom to the scene of the crime. And then, we run out of paper towels! Ahh! So I grab the wet wipes case from my purse, and there's only one left! At his point it's comical as to how terribly this is turning out. But I couldn't just leave it there, I has to clean it up. So I had to wipe, rinse, and reuse that one single wet wipe....many times. It didn't help that the floors were just painted sub floor,  lots of crevasses. Anyways, crisis managed. Messy, but managed. And, well because the shorts weren't too bad, we spent another few hours there. Fed some farm animals, finished the rest of the museum, and rode around on the bikes/plasma cars they had out back on a small cement rink. (This place was called a Dino museum, but was really a small petting zoo/Dino museum/play place out back type place. It rocked) 

Anyways, the uncles were fairly horrified at the events that transpired, but didn't miss an opportunity to laugh about it. Which was good, I could laugh about it then, but not a few hours earlier. 

If you're going to take a little ride, why by do it with an amazing view? 

Uncle Scotty visits

Scott came to visit a few days before Joe and Peter joined us. It was such a blast having him come, he truly loves and enjoys the kids, and really is just a big kid himself. He did better ponytails than mom, and built better sand castles, and read stories better. Which is fine by me, I loved just sitting back and watching him have a good time with them. He even convinced Eve to try a different flavor of ice cream! We take her for ice cream, to the best creamery around, and what does she get every single time? Vanilla. But when uncle Scotty gets a chance, he convinced her to try "blue vanilla" or cotton candy. She loved it.

Getting promoted to big boy status....potty training

So this happened. He was showing a few signs of interest, so I jumped on it. Ran out, got a potty seat, and some big boy undies. It seemed like the right time, we were at my parents house, his toys aren't around to distract him, I am not at home wih any obligations or distractions. It also helped that my parents have no carpet in their house, so easy clean up. He was a champ. It took a few weeks to really get it, but he really did well. I just let him be naked, that way he was able to watch it happen, and eventually something clicked. He started self initiating after a few days. It was definitely not something i set out to do, or planned on doing when we started our Canadian adventure this summer, but it happened, and I couldn't be more happy. I figured it would have taken him another year or so, but with my moms help, and Eve being a great big sister and example, and some of my visiting siblings willingness to overlook some graham nudity, I now only have one baby in diapers. Hallelujah!!! He is still having a bit of trouble with his number twos, but we will work on that. For now, we celebrate Graham graduating to being a big boy! Also, I'm not sure there is anything cuter than little boy undies. Seriously.

A few things we did this summer

Rainy days meant Eve could weta her favorite boots and play with her umbrella. 

Thanks to grandma and grandpa, Eve and I got to have lots of girl time. We ran errands, went for lunches, and shopped while the babies had heir naps in the afternoons. It was so nice to have some one on one with my special little lady. 

There was an afternoon dedicated to kids. They had water stations set up in town, games, and lots of food. I love that they had an islander BBQ, mussels, cod, potatoes, and haddock. It was bliss. Graham stayed he entire afternoon at a water table. Where, Eve did a few different things, pictures, bubbles, water slide, etc. 

We helped grandma rearrange her spices drawer, and place her spices In uniform bottles. Eve had such a blast, she just talked grandma's ear off, and loved every second of it. 

These babies just had the time of their life exploring the empty furniture and boxes. They are becoming such buddies, I love it.

I told the kids that they get a Freezie for every bucket of weeds they picked out of the backyard. Kept them busy for hours, and they didn't seem to mind the chore, as long as their freezies were delivered. I love them, and their willingness to help. 

Cows Tour

Prince Edward Island is proud of their "cows" ice cream. It started here, and is now al over the country. They are said to have the best ice cream in the nation. So we took a tour to see just how they do it. We learned about how they make all their t-shirts, ice cream, butter and cheese. It was so interesting! The kids thought it was ok, but were more concerned with finishing the tour so we could go get some ice cream. It was so cute, after the tour was over, the guide asked "does anyone have any questions?" And to my surprise, a cute little hand to my left raised right up. So Eve asks "um, do we get ice cream now?" Everyone laughed, poor girl was so embarrassed, but she was simply asking what we were all thinking. Worked out well, after the tour, we got a sample if ice cream, and the guide said "ok everyone look under your cups, for a winning sticker" and guess who got it? Eve! I've never seen her so excited!!! She beamed right up and said "it's me! It's me!" So she got to spin the wheel of prizes and won herself a chocolate lollipop from Anne of Green Gable's chocolate shop. 

Butterfly House

The butterfly house was so cool! They have all different species of butterflies, and they also have all different stages. You can see cocoons, and larvae, and we were lucky enough to see one actually coming outside of its cocoon! Eve was in heaven! The butterflies really liked Graham, a few of them landed on his head. Greta just kept trying to reach for them I'm assuming she wanted to eat the orange slice they are on. Eve just thought it was magical. 

They have many species from Brazil, and the donations you make as admission all go to supporting the foundation they have down there. 

Simple Life on PEI

I love the simplicity of island living. I love that you can drive 5 mins, to the local harbor shops, and get fresh seafood that just came in off the boat. The people are so friendly, and happy to make small talk. Coming from Connecticut, this was a big change for us, but a welcome one at that. 

I went on a run shortly after we got here, and only 4 cars passed by me. And out of those, 2 offered me a ride/directions. It was so sweet, and really affirms that there are nice people out there. It was a real mood booster.