Holiday by the Bay

We’re back at the farm now after a 10-day holiday in New Brunswick. Liam spent the first half hour of Sunday morning crying because he wanted to “go back to Fredericton.” I took this as an indication of how much he had enjoyed his holiday, and despite how annoying it was to listen to him whine, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied. We all had a fantastic time.

We left for New Brunswick on Thursday the 4^th, after Brendan got home from work. We drove as far as Rivière-du-Loup, where we stopped to have a terrible sleep at the Days Inn. The boys had been sleeping in the van, so when we stopped after midnight, they thought it was time to be awake. Liam and Callum were compliant with bedtime number 2, but James just wanted to jump on the bed. Which he did until 3am. We all got up again around 7:30, had breakfast at the hotel and got back on the road. The kids did pretty well in the van on both days. Callum let his discontent be heard a few times, but mostly he either slept or looked around happily.

We got to the Marshall family cottage on Friday afternoon and were greeted with hugs from Nana and Papa. The weather was gorgeous and the boys were eager to play outside. Thus began our week-long holiday at Bay du Vin, where we spent our days playing on the beach, eating, reading, and resting. Happily for us, the weather was beautiful the whole time we were there – much sunnier and warmer on this September vacation than when we were there last July.

After our week by the bay, we spent a few days at Nana and Papa’s house in Fredericton. We had a birthday party for the boys on Thursday night with all the Fredericton family. We had already celebrated Liam on his actual birthday (Sept 6^th), when he had turned 4. He thought that since he was having another party, he must now be turning 5, and that he’d be 6 at the party in Ottawa at the end of this week! Fortunately, he didn’t seem too disappointed when I explained that he got to enjoy being 4 for a little longer!

On Friday night Brendan and I went to see Blues Traveler at Fredericton’s Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. It was the first time in 10 years that Brendan had been home for the festival, so he was pumped. The morning came much too soon, as it does after such nights (especially with little ones who have no taste for sleeping in), but we managed to collect ourselves enough to make it to the market. Brendan grew up going to Boyce Farmer’s Market every Saturday morning, and we never miss it when we’re in Fredericton. We got the traditional donairs, samosas, and pastries, and chatted with the old friends Brendan ran into. I also purchased some soap nuts from one of the vendors, for which Brendan teased me relentlessly. “What kind of gimmick is that?! A nut made of soap?! A nut that washes clothes?!” etc., etc. I’m looking forward to using them, to prove the value of my investment. Apparently the bag I bought will clean our laundry for a whole year.

From the market we made our way to a free outdoor kids concert downtown. Liam, the consummate contrarian, refused to participate, but James danced and played the hand drums with some other kids. We left around noon to finish packing the van for the long trip home.

The drive back was much better than the drive out, simply because we spared ourselves the miserable hotel stop. We arrived home around midnight and the boys transferred to their beds without complaint. The crying in the car was also minimal, although Brendan will say he nearly lost his mind (his threshold for car-crying is about 3 seconds). Nothing that some snacks and one emergency pit-stop couldn’t remedy!

We don’t exactly feel rested (is that even possible at this stage of life?!), but we are refreshed. Our vacation this year was one of the best we’ve had as a family, and although it would be nice never to have to leave the ocean, I’m looking forward to what the fall will bring.