Pioneer Day!

These pics are all out of order, so bear with me as I go backwards....
On Friday, Jer took the day off and we went to the mountains for a little hike. We tried a new place, Hidden Falls--and it was so nice! The falls really were hidden and you had to step on stones (so your feet wouldn't get wet) going up the creek to get to the fall, since the banks were a little steep on each side. The hike was really short--perfect for Brider--even though I had to carry him during the river excursion (talk about trying to balance on slippery rocks...)


The water was ice cold, but it felt so good since it was 101 degrees outside! We saw lots of little purple butterflies and Kennedy loved watching the water fall.
We didn't really cross over on this log, but Bridger really wanted to!


We just love love love the mountains! They are so fun to explore--and I am glad that Bridger and Kennedy are learning to enjoy it just as much!


It was all downhill once we took our shoes off--mud, dirt, sand and water everywhere!


On Wednesday, when I got home, my driveway had been decorated (Bridger and his cousins) to welcome Kennedy and I home! It was so cute--I loved all the pictures and notes from everybody. I also had a cute banner and balloon, but I was too slow with getting the camera out....
Jeremy was the ultimate flower gardner while I was gone--he made my flowers twice their original size --thanks Jer! :)
And on Pioneer Day we had fun with some friends from the neighborhood--The Wilkinsons. They brought sparklers for Bridger and their little boy Tommy. I thought Bridger was going to be nervous, but as soon as he saw Tommy waving his all over the place, he immediately wanted one of his own.
We lit a few fireworks and had some dutch oven dessert--it was a lot of fun! Poor Kennedy, still suffering from jet lag, she was asleep in her room. I hate that she had to miss out on everything, but it was for the best...

Bridger's buddy: Tommy, Naoma and "little Faithy"(as Bridger calls her) and Neil.

Funny story: We've been having a hard time explaining the concept of faith to Bridger--since he thinks faith is a name for a girl and not a principle. A week ago, Jer was telling Bridger (who was asking a lot of questions about Heavenly Father and Jesus) that even though we can't see Heavenly Father, he is still there and we have to have faith in him. He said: "Bridger, do you have faith?" To which Bridger replied: "no, dad--I just have Kennedy. But Tommy has Faith!"

Hmmm..going to have to work hard on that one. Then on Sunday, it was said that we needed to be "faithful"--Bridger, who was doing a puzzle at the time, looked up at me and said; "like old faithful, mommy?" I think I know what our next FHE should be about! :)

Kennedy's Party!

I cannot believe that my little Kennedy is already 1! That has gone by way too fast--she is becoming such a cute girl and she really loves her mommy (which is always nice!) She is getting close to walking now (unfortunately), she loves to wave and say "hi" to everyone and

loves to "talk" on the phone (or remote). She is getting expert at giving kisses--often, out of the blue, she'll plant a big wet one on me--and if I don't pull away, she'll keep her lips there for almost a minute! She loves to be wrapped up in soft blankets, loves to tease Bridger (she'll take his drink right out of his hands and start drinking from it--this drives him crazy...) She loves it when I blow bubbles with my gum (tries to eat them mostly) and she loves it when Bridger reads to her--about the only time I have ever seen the two of them sit still... We are so lucky to have little Kennedy Grace--she is such a blessing and such a sweetheart, can't imagine our family without her!
On Saturday, we had a cupcake party for her--just with some family.
I made this cupcake dress for her--it's hard to see, but it looks so cute on her!
Jer brought the flowers to the airport when I came home--they are so pretty! And the went really cute with the party decorations too!

I got kind of carried away with the cupcakes, but it really is kinda fun for me. I I would love to be a professional party planner sometime!

We had buttermilk chocolate, keylime (with filling, they were sooo good!) and red velvet (with cream cheese frosting), everything turned out so great, I had to have one of each and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too.

I made these cupcake placemats and borrowed a few pink dishes from my mom--it's so fun to have a girl, I love doing pink things!!!

Our Last Day!

Today is our last day on beautiful Prince Edward Island, but I have to admit--I am really quite anxious to see Bridger and Jeremy again (and Scout of course...) I have missed them like crazy! I told Bridger that I was going to give him a hundred kisses all over at the airport--he said that was okay...I don't think I've ever gotten a green light from him before! :)
This is Grammy putting the finishing touches on a sculpture she made for Bridger. I know he will love it--it's a cow sleeping in a little red bed--so cute!

This morning we said goodbye to some of our family members and then we went out to lunch--it was in this beautiful historic mansion in downtown Charlottetown, but unfortunately, the service was awful--I won't even go into it...in fact, I think I'll change the subject...

Grammy lives so far away that it is hard to feel connected with my family members and especially my ancestors. So, I was extremely excited to come across an ancient photo album filled with pictures of my dearly departed. I took pictures of every single one of them--I'm hoping to turn them into a geneaology book sometime...
This picture (below) is of my great great grandmother--Grace Jane Hudson Boyce--she is where the Grace part of Kennedy came from (plus, I just really like the name!) The picture above right is of Grammy and Grampy (Elizabeth and John)--aren't they glamourous? and the other is of Grammy as a child with her friend, Herbie. There are tons more too--I'm so excited!!!

Here is a picture of Grammy's house--don't you love how green it is???
Today was also my mom's birthday (she's 39) :) we were suprised with a lobster dinner and it was so yummy! I love all seafood, but lobster is such a rarity--it was delicious!
Kennedy--meet Mr. Lobster---she didn't look too impressed. In fact, she looked a little disturbed...
Grammy and my mom kept making thiers dance, but I was fine with it just sitting on my plate. Regardless of how delicious they are, they are not the cutest things to look at...
Happy Birthday Mom! Her name is Cynthia by the way, I don't think I have ever mentioned her real name--well, unless you want to call her Red Rose...

We had a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake for dessert--with a skor bar sprinkled on top. It was divine!
After dinner, we said goodbye to some more family. Above is Grammy's sister-in-law, Joyce and here are Dianne, Steve, Olivia, and Connor. They were so fun to be with at the beach! Hopefully I'll be able to come back again (soon) and we can do it all over again!

Tomorrow we leave bright and early--if everything goes well and we are allowed back into our native country...I will be kissing Bridger (and Jeremy...) in 20 hours!

Day Nine

Yesterday was Kennedy's first birthday! I can't believe how fast it has gone--it was fun to celebrate her birthday here, but a little sad that Bridger couldn't be here to help her blow out her candle. She was all decked out in her birthday dress and was super excited to see that little cake sitting in front of her. She's never eaten anything like that before, but she knew it was going to be good.
She started out slow--but after her first taste she really got into it and went full speed ahead! It was so funny to watch her, she tried to lick every speck of frosting off of each of her fingers! Here she is in her birthday glasses--Grammy even bought her mini bananas (she LOVES bananas!)--she was so excited!

What a mess! Later that evening, we went to dinner with my Great Uncle Wilf and his wife Veronica (my Grampy's brother...) we ate at the Charlottetown Hotel--it was so pretty inside and the food was great! They make great company (and it was funny that Uncle Wilf kept his napkin on his chest through dinner)--Kennedy kept us entertained with her little tricks said "hi!" to anyone who glanced her way!


After dinner, we went to the race track--I have never been to a horse race before so it was fun to see everything in action.



Kennedy enjoyed watching the horses but she was getting so tired!
Tonight we had the opportunity to go with grammy to a party with her friends and some of PEI's most elite. :) Even George was there! (George is one of Grammy's admirers--I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times he asked her out in one night. Unfortunately for him, Grammy doesn't share the same feelings and had to politely decline or change the subject each time...:) )--Oh, Grammy--"you're so beautiful but you're so cold!" (at least that's what George says...) There was a ton of great food and strawberry shortcake for dessert--Sean was great to babysit again--what a great brother!

We also visited my Grampy's grave site--he died when I was only 2 years old, but I still
remember playing with his glasses and pipe and the smell of the flavored tobacco he used.
Here is a picture of us with Grammy's brother--John MacDonald and his wife Mary and their son Leslie. We went to church with them today--to the Mermaid Church (Presbyterian)--it's this cute little white chapel and little cemetary with an ocean front view. All of Grammy's relatives are buried there--it was so great to see all of my ancestors (or at least their stones...) and in such beautiful scenery!

Scott's Falls

Bridger, Aunt Kim, Uncle Jordan and me went hiking up to Scott's Falls today (back side of Timp). It was hot and the fall's were hard to get to, but was still a lot of fun. Bridger was his typical curious self. He pet a fuzzy caterpillar and saw lots of ants and was scared of the stinging nettle and flys.


There were wild flowers everywhere, but we were a little late for the blossoms (they were wilting).
The hike down was slow going. Bridger needed time to draw in the dirt.

After the hike we saw Uncle Jordan's new motorcycle. It is very cool.