Our week away

Okay, I'll be honest, I didn't want to come back ;) Here's a rundown of our week.

Saturday:
Left Saturday morning, picked up Dad and Brenden and headed out. Stopped at Magnetic Hill McD's for lunch (huge line ups) and stopped at Gateway Village before proceeding to the cottage.

The cottage was everything we were hoping for and more. Gary was quite concerned, as I just happened across this place on the net, but it was great. It was 3 bedrooms. One bedroom had two twin beds (with a unicorn picture over each, an antique-style child's desk (perfect size for the girls) with lots of children's books and a dresser and closet. The other bedroom on the top floor had a double-bed, dresser and closet (this was our room). Also on the top floor was a games room/sitting area with a balcony. In the sitting area was a futon and two arm-chairs. There was also an air hockey table, a 4-in-1 style games table, more books and puzzles. The futon was where Brenden slept. On the main floor, there was a bedroom with queen size bed (dad's room), a living room, full bathroom, dining room, kitchen and wrap around deck. The house was equipped with satellite tv, sega game system, and all the appliances, including washer and dryer. Outside there was a BBQ, lounge chairs, patio table set, playset with slide and swings, sandbox and firepit. In the shed they had 5 bikes including one tricyle. The yard was so big that Brenden and dad played golf around the perimeter.

The owner of the cottage was really friendly. She stopped by Sunday night as we were getting our bonfire going. She invited us to visit her place with the girls. They have two horses and she offered to let the girls sit on them. She also told us of some great places to go that are free ;)

Sunday:
Sunday morning we headed to the beach. There was a local swimming place just down the road from us. Bre had a blast making a sand castle and Darrelyn loved picking through the pretty rocks. Dad and Brenden went down the beach collecting driftwood for our fire pit.

We went back to the cottage for lunch and read most of the afternoon while the girls played.

Monday:
Monday morning we drove up to North Cape. They have an experimental wind energy farm that was cool to see. The other cool thing about North Cape is that at low tide you can walk out on a sand bar and you have the ocean on both sides of you. At the end of the sand bar, you can see seals sunbathing. Gary got some great pictures!

Tuesday:
Tuesday afternoon we went to Mill River Fun Park. Breanna had fallen asleep so Gary stayed home with her. Darrelyn loved the park. She played in the balls and the little house. She tried the waterslide but refused to try again when her face got wet. We stayed there until around 5:00.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was my turn to stay home while the others went to one of the provincial parks on the southern part of the island. They said the beach was nice and warm and they had a great time. I think the girls brought half the beach home in their bathing suits :) My day consisted of reading, sleeping, reading. Oh how nice to have a mom's day off!!!

Thursday:
Thursday Gary and I had to get up early and drive to Halifax for his appointment with the Hematology Clinic. Dad stayed at the cottage with the kids (thanks Dad). It turns out that Gary has what he thought he had, sorry I can't even try to spell it, only he has a rarer form that affects one person in two million. They are sending him for a bone scan, two CAT scans (he already had one done of his head) and he had bloodwork done while we were still there. He is getting these tests done here in SJ and he returns back to Halifax in mid Sept for his next appointment. At that point, hopefully we'll know more about where the tumors are and what they can do to get rid of them. The Dr already stated that they probably wouldn't be able to do Chemo as it doesn't penetrate bones well. We will have to wait and see. Prayers would be appreciated :)

We arrived back at the cottage around 8:30 that night.

Friday:
Friday we decided to make a return trip to the Mill River Fun Park. Breanna and Gary joined us this time. Everybody had a great time. Breanna liked the water slide, but only if we caught her at the bottom, and she also loved the balls and the house. Her and Darrelyn has a great time with imaginative play!

Saturday:
This morning we woke up, packed up and headed home. We only made two quick stops. One for lunch at the Gateway Village and the second at Cosco for pullups and allergy meds.

The week was really great. Gary and I could sit back and read while the girls played on the swingset or ran around the yard. We could just let them scream and holler without worrying about neighbours, it was great! Oh and did I mention that I got through 3 books this week :)

If you've last this long, thanks for reading!