We Are Family

Ok,Ok, I know I haven't been blogging much lately. We all can't be Kellie, now can we?

To be honest, I'm still playing catch-up from last week. Doing laundry, cleaning the house, sleeping,.....you get the idea. And now, I've started preparing for this weekend.

We were all supposed to go to Fundy together, Mom, Kellie, Sherry & her family and me with mine. But Jason and I decided that we shouldn't go. We really couldn't afford it. I mean we had the money to pay for the rooms and the gas, but that's it. No eating at Alma's take-out, no souvenir shopping, and we could barely pay the entrance fee to get into the park. We'd get to go to Fundy this year, but come home without a dime to our name. Then we thought maybe we would still go to Fundy, but just camp inside the park instead. But the kids are starting school in the Fall, and aside from Samuel's Star Wars backpack, I have yet to buy anything. So now we are going camping in Moncton and taking the kids on a back-to-school shopping spree. We're booked at Stonehurst, the same place we stayed at last time. It's very nice, very big, with clean washrooms. And you cannot beat it's location- just 1km from Lyons Store. So, I'm still going to come home without a dime to my name,.......but hopefully with all the kids school supplies.

Sherry seemed quite disappointed that we were not going, as did Kellie and Mom. When I think about Alma with the breeze blowing and the tide washing in, I can get quite saddened that we're not going along with them. But honestly, I haven't really had a chance to think of Alma much at all. My thoughts were always on the next camping trip or going to PEI. I was just starting Fundy mode when we decided not to go. I think it would have been harder had we not gone anywhere or done anything this summer. And obviously, that has not been the case. This summer we haven't been home much at all. Jason says the house and the yard are going to pot. He wants to paint the trailer, fix the deck, shingle the baby barn, etc... But I just tell him that's what Fall is for.

We left for PEI last Wednesday morning. The weather was horrible the whole drive. It was very windy and rainy. I think Mom was even more nervous going across the bridge this time. I have to say, even I was a little. For a minute I thought Jason and I might finally see a twister or a water spout. But funny enough, as soon as we got to Millstream,(literally) the sun came out. I'd like to say it stayed out the whole trip, but alas it didn't. In fact the weather wasn't all that great. Actually it was alot like the weather here this week. A complete mix of sun and white clouds, then grey sky - like mother nature just can't make up her mind.

Abby was not on her best behavior. I think, no I know, that she was acting up because Mom was there. The morning of the second day, I was ready to pack up and come home. She was not acting herself at all. And to confess.......I spanked her. I don't believe in spanking, and haven't in I can't remember when. And to slip up and be spanking her while on vacation, just seemed so much more horrible.

That day we went into Cavendish to go to Avonlea Village. I love it there. It's the one tourist attraction we had planned on visiting. But even it didn't do it for me. The store there sells these big all day suckers, and every time we're there the kids each get one. This year Jules opted for a chocolate bar, saying that the suckers were just too big. Smart girl. Samuel and Abby did not agree. Mom took a bite out of Abby's and then she took a fit and didn't want it anymore. She wanted a new one. Grammie, of course, bought her a new one which only lasted another 10 minutes. Abby tripped and her second sucker shattered into a million pieces. So, after buying her a third sucker, we told her that no matter what happened to it, it was the LAST one. This was our third time in a row visiting Avonlea, and I think it was just too many times. We've decided to take a break from it for a few years.

That night, Jason and I went to the Brackley Drive-In Theatre which is just 10 seconds down the road from Millstream. Jules and Samuel opted to stay with Mom, while Abby came with us.(Mom thought she got the better deal) Two movies were playing - "The Bad News Bears" and "War of the Worlds". The drive-in is done in a 50's/60's style. They play all the oldies on their station while you wait for the movie to start. There was even this stage area under the big screen, which I'm not sure if it was allowed or not, had little kids up dancing to the music. Unlike the drive-in in Neguac, this one had outdoor speakers too. There were bleachers and a lot of people bundled up in camp chairs watching the movie. I guess you could go to the drive-in even if you didn't have a car.

After triple-checking on Mom and the kids(Are you sure?) I decided to relax and have a good time. Abby was in her glory being the only child, and she was surprisingly well-behaved given the events earlier in the day. The Bad News Bears was ok, at best. I was very thankful that Jules and Samuel had not come with us. The language those little kids were using! Abby was barely paying attention. Finally it was time for War of the Worlds. Abby had fallen asleep long ago, and since we were so close to the cottages, we decided to put her to bed and then come back. It was late and as we stepped out of the cottage to get into the car, you could actually hear the audio of the movie(no radio!). That's how close we were. We had missed just the opening credits. It was good......or what we seen of it. Three quarters of the way, just at a climatic scene..........the movie breaks!! I couldn't believe it. They had us wait for a little while but finally announced that the movie was destroyed(It was the last night of it playing). We still don't know how it ends. Frustrating!

The next morning when we told Mom, she laughed and laughed. I don't know what it was about Thursday, but it had seemed like everything had gone wrong. So on Friday, I decided that I had been putting way too much pressure on this vacation. I had been looking forward to PEI all year long. I love it there. And to be having a bad time in PEI was breaking my heart. So I decided to stop worrying whether or not Mom was having a good time(which I tend to do) and just relax and enjoy the time I had left there. We ran into Charlottetown for a little shopping and then went swimming. Twice! That night we had a campfire. The kids had made friends with two little girls from Ottawa, who were also leaving the next day. So they had a great time playing with each other outside.

The next morning we were on the road shortly after 8am. Usually I am so sad when it is time to leave, and I was, but this time I had a reason to go home. The Coughlan Family Reunion 2005 was underway in the Rapids, so we had to hurry home.

Just before we got to the bridge, Jules threw up in the car. Chocolate milk and doughnuts - yum! Mom and Jason got out and cleaned her and her seat off. I was stuck on the hump, in the middle. Abby, who had been asleep, woke up only to see Jules's vomit beside her. "UGHHHH! YUCK!", she said. I laughed so hard. It sounded so funny.

When we were back in good ole NB, Abby said she had to pee. We told her to just wait a second, while we exited and found a gas station. The only problem is that there were no exits for quite a while. Abby started sobbing, crying "I'm! Going! To! Pee! Myself!". Finally an exit, and then a gas station. I had to rush Abby in, no time to put on her sandals or anything. But of course there was only one uni-sex washroom.......and it was taken. Then the sound of flushing and a lady immediately opens the door. (Hygiene! Hello!) And the smell.....OH MY GOD!!! But what was worse was that she had left a little bit of herself floating in the flush! AND, Abby had to go soooo bad that I had to let her pee with it staring up at us. UGH! AND she was in her bare feet! AND it still didn't go down when we flushed the flush, AND I had to pee too! The horror of it all! The whole time I was saying "Gross! Gross! Abby don't touch ANYTHING!" When we opened the door there was a man waiting with his child. Plus Mom had brought Jules and Samuel in because they said they had to pee too. Mom later told me that she could hear me saying "Gross! Gross!". And that poor man waiting in line, was probably scared to death.

But at 1pm, we made it home safe and sound. We were only home for approx. 4 hours before we had to leave to go over to Preston and Karen's. I was surprised by how much fun I had. Jason and I played washers with Dad a lot. I could have played it all day. We even participated in a potato sack race. Jason won, of course. Twice. The food was great, as pot lucks always are. That night was fireworks, which was surprisingly good. And a campfire/sing-along. The kids went to bed easily, as they tend to when we go camping. We stayed up til 2am laughing and singing and dancing. I now have great blackmail footage. I was lucky enough to be behind the camera most of the time. The next morning, most of us seemed to feel fine. Except Sherry, who had drank almost a quart of vodka, if I'm not mistaken. She said she could not remember feeling so bad. She had to lay in the trailer for two hours before she could even sit up. There was a huge breakfast with all the fixings which was delicious! Then later that afternoon, for supper, they had a big turkey dinner. Three turkeys. One baked. Two deep-fried. Scrum! The kids were utterly exhausted. They had such a great time! Jules asked if we could live there forever.

Before leaving I finally went into the now empty house. Sad. I took Jason all through it, upstairs and all. I was overwhelmed with memories and disbelief. I still cannot believe they are gone. Saturday night, as I watched the fireworks, I felt like it was them. That they were there shining over their massive family. Mom said she could barely watch them without crying.

All in all, a great and eventful vacation! Now I'm getting primed for Moncton. I'm trying to get as much as I can, out of what is left of the summer.

Well that will have to tide you over, until next time. I've ignored my kids long enough........