The Three Things Head East - Part 2

We spent the second part of our trip on the south shore of Nova Scotia. We stayed in the cutest little cottage, right across from the beach I grew up on. We regrettably didn't have the best weather that week, but it didn't really phase the boys. They were resilient and welcomed the cool ocean waves with open arms.

Sand. And salt water. It doesn't get any better than this for a four year old.

Even their cousin R dipped her feet in.

Mommy helped the boys cope with some of the bigger waves. Although they acted scared, they loved every minute of it. It must be the faint bit of Maritime in their blood. Mommy later dove in and went for a swim . . . in order to earn herself five dollars.

The babies braved the beaches in their Becos. We actually had sun this day, although you can't really see it in this picture. We found a little pocket of sunshine that afternoon, in the midst of a sea of fog.
We went hiking through a provincial park, following a trail that led right along the ocean's shore. It was rocky terrain, but we all made it. The scenery was breath-taking. Well worth carrying around a nearly-20-pound baby on my back to see.

Of course, the best part of the trip was spending time with family.

Nana with four of her grandkids (little H was sleeping).

We went out for dinner with my parents one night, to the resort where we were married eight years ago. The food was amazing. The boys loved it because they could play on the beach or at the playground right after supper.

Thing 3 and Grandad, bonding over a glass of wine.

And here is Granny, who came down to spend a few days with us in Nova Scotia, relaxing at our cottage with Thing 1 and Thing 3. Thing 2 was eating breakfast at this point. He is very serious about his meals, and was not to be disturbed, even for a photo opp.

Due to the fact that we were so crammed into our little van, we didn't bring our stroller (we did throw in an umbrella stroller but didn't end up using it once - what a waste of precious space!) and Paul or I carried Leah in the Beco all the time. It worked out incredibly well.

And really, the true sign of a successful day out. We were fortunate enough to turn around and see this in the back of our van a number of times after long afternoons out having fun.

See you next year Eastern Canada!!!!!