PEI Vacation ~ Part 1

Cameron and I have been in PEI for 2 weeks now and we have been keeping pretty busy. We arrived in Charlottetown at just before midnight on June 2nd. Cameron was an excellent traveller as always...even with our 4 hour wait in Toronto. He was so funny when we finally got to my mom and dad's. He quickly found the bathroom and then went to the bedroom where he began stripping of his clothes. He then demanded his Hulk pj's, which I had to search for in his suitcase...luckily I pretty much knew where to locate the pj's. He put on his pj's and told us it was very late and that he had to go to bed. He climbed into bed and then told us to turn off the light and go...we found this whole thing very amusing of course. So, we said our good nights and Cameron very quickly said good night to Cory on the phone and he was out like a light!

I spent my first couple of days doing wedding related things. My first day here, I had to go and try on my bridesmaid dress. Fortunately it fit perfectly since the alterations were already completed. I also went with the bride-to-be for a meeting at the Rodd Royalty Inn to review some final details for the wedding reception, wedding dance and brunch the day after the wedding. I felt bad that I wasn't here for the majority of the planning so I wanted to help out in any way that I could.

My second day in Charlottetown was pretty exciting...although, I can only share part of my day with you. I went to get my hair hi-lited and cut and it felt so good. I didn't have my hair cut since before Christmas and I had been dying my own hair since last October. Part of my day had to do with Cory's surprise gift for our anniversary, that will have to remain a secret for a little while longer. Our anniversary is June 19th but Cory doesn't arrive in PEI until June 22nd. His gift isn't here yet and I'm hoping to have it back before he has to fly back to SK...I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

After only being here for 2 days, it was then time for Stephanie's Stagette...and it was a super fun day. We began the day with the entire wedding party going to Grandpa's Antique Photo Studio in Cavendish. It was really fun and the pics turned out great. Most of the girls then took Stephanie to The Pilot House for lunch and then it was time to get things ready for the evening events. I had done a lot of planning over the past few months and I think it was a success and everyone seemed to have lots of fun. We played lots of crazy games and there were lots of laughs.

I also planned a Bridal Shower for Stephanie and that was last Tuesday evening. It was just the girls in the wedding and a few of her friends that attended. It was a very relaxed evening and everyone had a great time. Stephanie got some very nice things and lets just say Matt is going to LOVE everything that she got...it was more along the lines of a personal shower.

The wedding rehearsal was last Thursday night in Kinkora. We spent about an hour at the church getting all of our instructions so we would be prepared for the big day. Matt's parents then had everyone back to their home for some snacks and visiting. I was pretty tired though so we didn't stay too long.

The day before the wedding was a pretty busy and hectic day but everything came together in the end. All of the girls in the wedding got together at Stephanie's for the night (I didn't spend the night though). We painted our nails and got everything organized for the kissing game during the reception. When I came home from Stephanie's at midnight, I then had to get mine and Cameron's stuff ready for the morning...ugh, why do I always leave things until the last minute?

Saturday morning, the wedding day, came very quickly. I got myself ready and made sure I had everything ready for Cameron. Cameron was spending the day and night with our great friend Bobbi Jo. I had to be at the hair salon by 7:45am...I was only a few minutes late but it didn't matter. All the ladies got their hair and make-up done and we all looked amazing! We then headed for Kinkora where we finished getting ready and dressed at Chez Shea. We made it to the church on time, the wedding was beautiful and everyone looked stunning. Stephanie was a beautiful bride and her dress was gorgeous! We got our pictures taken at Province House in Charlottetown and I can't wait to see the pics. The wedding reception went very smoothly and all of the speeches were great. I managed to work up the courage to get up and say something but I didn't manage to hold back the tears very well...apparently I made a few people cry ;-) We danced the night away and everyone had a great time. The next morning we went back to the hotel for brunch and the gift opening.

Since the wedding has come and gone, I have finally been able to do a little relaxing. The past few days have pretty uneventful and it has been great. I figure I better rest up before Cory gets here because I'm sure that once he arrives, we'll be run off our feet seeing people and going places until he leaves. Cameron and I are both missing Cory and our own home but we're doing great just the same. We have both said we're ready to go home a few times already but we've still got 5 weeks a couple of days before we go back to SK. We still don't actually have our return flights booked but we should be going back on July 23rd.

Until next time...

Bedtime routine with Cameron

Cameron has become accustom to quite a routine at bedtime lately. Every now and the the routine will change slightly but only at Cameron's request.

Every night, Cameron puts on his own pj's...very rarely will he let us help him. Once he is in his pj's it is time to read books...I always tell him just one book but we usually ending up ready two or more! After we read books, the light gets turned out and I have to lay in his bed and sing to him. The song list is as follows...Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells, ABC's, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, I'm a Little Teapot, and You Are My Sunshine. Yes, we sing Jingle Bells every night even though the Christmas season was months ago! After I sing these songs, I then have to turn the light back on and scare the monsters away...from behind the door, behind the bed, under the bed, in the corner by his dress, then end of his bed, behind the curtain, and in the closet! I then say my good nights.

Now, if Cory is working, we then have to call so that Cameron can say good night. However, if Cory is at home, Cory must then sing 5 Little Monkeys to Cameron before he gets to say good night!

It has become quite a process but we do manage to get through it pretty quickly...we're masters now!

Photography

I have always had an interest in photography but recently the interest has grown. Last fall, Cory bought me a new camera...it's a Canon Rebel EOS T1i and I absolutely love it. I still need/want to get another lens for the camera but I'm crossing my fingers that Cory may have actually already purchased one and is saving it to give to me on our anniversary. Thankfully, I have less than a month to wait to receive the anniversary gift and finally find out what it is!

Anyhow, lately I find myself searching through various photography websites...reading about photography and looking at pictures taken by other photographers. I've also been reading the manual for my own camera and I've started to play around with the various settings and trying some different things. Cameron is a great subject but sometimes he's not always willing to sit still long enough!

I'm hoping that during my extended stay in PEI, I will have the opportunity to take lots and lots of pictures and hopefully get better at the art of photography. I have a great friend who just had a baby and I'm hoping that I may be able to take some pictures of her new little bundle.

I may be new to this whole photography thing but I am really excited to give it a try. Perhaps I may one day be able to turn this hobby into something a little more and maybe even make some money doing it. It would be the perfect job for a stay at home mom and mounties wife. Being a mounties wife really doesn't allow for a career due to the fact that moving from place to place is part of the job!

I'll keep you posted on how I'm getting along. Here are a few pictures that I've take this past week.

Cameron is funny!

Cameron is always full of energy and often says some pretty funny things. I've been trying to remember to write these funny things down regularly so that I can share them. He is so busy and says and does so many funny things each week, that I often forget before I get the chance to share.

Lately, Cameron's been talking a lot about how he wants to be like Daddy. For example, he wants to be big like Daddy. When he says he wants to be big, he throws his hands up in the air and jumps, so I'm guessing he wants to be taller. A few weeks ago, he came up to me with excitement in his eyes, he pulled up his pant leg and proceeded to point at his leg. With lots of enthusiasm in his voice he exclaims, "Look Mommy, I have hair on my legs, just like Daddy!" I thought I would fall over laughing because of course the hair on Cameron's legs is not much more than peach fuzz but that's close enough to Daddy's hairy legs in Cameron's mind!

Just the other day, Cameron was once again telling us that he can't wait to be big like Daddy. He then referenced the hair on his legs and then tells us that he wants a map on his back just like Daddy has! He told us the map will have a fish, footprints and pictures on it. For those of you who may not understand this, Cameron was describing the quite large tattoo on Cory's bad...oh dear, I think we're going to have our hands full ;)

We just never really know what Cameron is going to come out with next. This is entertaining at home but I'll admit it sometimes makes me nervous outside of the house...not knowing what nonsense he may share with others! A couple of days ago, I informed Cameron that I was going to have a shower. He responded with, "Okay Mommy, but remember...don't forget to take your clothes off!" He then smiled and went back to playing with his toys in the living room. I just laughed and shook my head...he made it sound like that I occasionally forget to undress before getting into the shower! However, Cameron often gets so excited about bath or shower time that he sometimes forgets to take all of his clothes off before starting to jump right in!

I'll try to remember to keep note of the funny little things that he does so that I can continue to share!

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

It seems that much of my down time consists of watching TV. I find myself watching the Food Network quite regularly and I must say I quite enjoy it. I definitely have a love of food and I love to watch as these chefs on the Food Network create such a wide variety of tasty and beautiful items.

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is by far one of my most favorite shows on the Food Network. Guy Fieri is the host of the show and he travels to all kinds of diners, drive-ins and dives all over the United States. He goes to the craziest little places and finds the most amazing food ever! I find myself practically drooling while watching this show...even when it's food that I would probably never let pass my lips.

Whether the places Guy visits specialize in breakfast, lunch or supper and it could be Cuban, Italian or Mexican...the food is always incredible! Even if I've just finished eating, this show makes me hungry...it's crazy. Cory laughs at me because I love the show so much but he likes it just as much ;)

If you haven't watched Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, I highly recommend it. It's amazing what type of food can be found in some of these little places!

Last Day of Nursery School

Today marked the last day of nursery school for Cameron. It was not officially the last day for all of the kids but it was Cameron's last day because we will be leaving for PEI next Wednesday!

Cameron has enjoyed going to nursery school very much this year and I hope that he will enjoy it just as much when he starts again in September. Nursery school was an excellent opportunity for Cameron to have social time with other kids his age, to learn some structure, learn to follow rules and to learn many other things. Since last September, Cameron has changed so much. He can count, sing his ABC's, he actually enjoys coloring, he loves making crafts, and he even follows the rules at school (we're still working on the rules at home).

I honestly wasn't sure how much Cameron would benefit from going to nursery school at the age of 3 but it has definitely proven to be a great thing for him. I'm sure he will miss his friends from school but we may get to see a few of them over the summer. I loved seeing how excited Cameron was to go to school every Wednesday morning and to see how proud he was of the crafts he made each week to take home. It was truly a fun experience for him.

Next year, nursery school will involve a little more work and a little less play to prepare the 4 year olds for kindergarten. I'm sure Cameron will love it just as much as he did this year!

Thank You Mother Nature :)

In my last post, I was whining a little about the terrible weather. Well, the weather has been much nicer this past week...finally! We were able to enjoy the outdoors every day this week. It wasn't just warm but it was sunny and HOT! Cameron was able to play in his whale sprinkler a couple of days and he absolutely loved it. It was so much fun to see him running through the water, having a blast and laughing. I was even able to get a little color this week as well, so I don't have that pasty winter look anymore :)

A few weeks ago we got Cameron a new bike helmet. He refused to wear his old one and informed us it was for babies! In all fairness, the old helmet was starting to get a little small. He now has a super flashy Hot Wheels bike helmet that he is more than happy to wear. So, one evening this past week I decided it would be fun for Cameron and I to go to the post office to pick up the mail and that he should ride his bike. Well, lets just say it took forever to get there and then we both walked back with the bike between us. The bike was passed onto Cameron from his cousin, so it is more than a few years old so I'm not sure if maybe the bike doesn't work as well as it used to or if Cameron was just being lazy. He seemed to have great difficulty keeping up the rhythm of pedaling and it turned out be a little bit stressful for mommy. I'm not going to worry too much about it though because we'll be leaving for PEI soon, so maybe we'll have better luck with him riding his bike when we return in July.

It is the beginning of the long weekend, even though long weekends don't mean so much to me anymore now that I'm a SAHM. It is Cory's weekend off (even though he's going into work tonight for 4 hours) so we are hoping for the nice weather to continue although the weather forecast doesn't look too promising. Regardless of the what the weather decides to do, I'm sure we'll have a great weekend. We're having friends over tomorrow night and we're looking forward to that. Since Cameron and I will be leaving for our extended vacation to PEI in less than 2 weeks, I wanted to see everyone before we left because we'll be gone for almost 2 months.