Monday, October 14, 2013

Giving Thanks

Thinking this morning of the many blessings in my life and giving thanks to my God for them. So very thankful for the faithful and true people that have been and continue to be an integral part of my life and have influenced me in my decisions and shaped me to be the woman I am today. Also missing my Australian family and wanting to snuggle and read to sweet Eden and Katie.

 Charlotte and Lila and their tall sunflowers.

Sweet, snuggly Audrey. 

 Great hiking day at Odell Park in Fredericton.

Thanksgiving weekend 2013 - love these girls.

Heather and Ryan Pye and baby 'Ablard'. Beautiful family.

Sarah and her boyfriend, Tanner.

Anna and her boyfriend, Liam. 

Ending our weekend in Mt. Uniacke - great day for another hike. 

Mt. Uniacke, Nova Scotia - fantastic fall weather.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail

We have been experiencing beautiful fall weather lately, so we decided to hike Delaps Cove Wilderness Trail in Annapolis County. Another one for Andrew to check off in his Nova Scotia trail book. We invited our good friends Kim and Judy Thomson along for the adventure and it turned out to be a great day. Enjoy the photos from our day.

A map of the trail. Note that there are 2 trails marked in red. I thought we were going to do the Bohaker Trail (fairly easy, along the coast, waterfalls), but as we got to the end of this, Andrew tells us that he would like to do Charlies Trail as well. I know you can't read the small print, but he neglected to inform us that this would add another hour and a half to our 'walk'. 

At the beginning of our hike. Beautiful coastline.

Andrew doesn't do too bad with the 'selfie' photo. Still on the first trail.....

These jet skis reminded us of a James Bond adventure. They were really moving.

Lovely waterfall - still on the Bohaker Trail. The fog was beginning to settle in.

The men decided to explore the beach.

And the ladies just relaxed.

Still smiling - now on Charlies Trail.

And waiting for the stragglers to catch up. This was not such an exciting part of the trail.

After the journey. A great day with great friends.

After our hike, we drove to Annapolis Royal and had a late lunch at Leo's Cafe. Now I wonder where our next hike will be. It is such a lovely time of year to get out and enjoy the beauty of Nova Scotia.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Summer Fun 2013

As September approaches so very quickly, I want to recap some of our summer. We had been contemplating the renovation of our upstairs bathroom for awhile and due to some moisture issues, we decided that it was time. I have lived with the 70's look of grey tiles for almost 25 years and the time had come for their demise. Oh, how happy I was not to look at them anymore. I will post some after pictures once the job is complete - we are still waiting on the cabinets to arrive. 

Not a very current look.... 

No turning back now - it was exciting at this point. Not so much now - the wait is getting too long. 

Welcome home Anna - after 2 weeks of touring and singing in Europe, it was good to have our girl home. I will try and get her to write a guest post about her trip soon.

Now on to summer vacation on Harvey Lake, NB. For the first time in over 30 years, Andrew and I set out for New Brunswick, alone, minus children with the car packed with an extra bookcase for the camp. I wasn't sure how this was all going to work out, but after we unpacked and settled in, it was really lovely. No shopping trips to Fredericton for school supplies and back to school clothes. No schedule, just lots of down time, reading and relaxing. It was a taste of retirement and spending time with a great husband and friend. I must say, retirement might not be too bad. These pictures capture our time at the lake. Enjoy!! 

A family of merganser ducks havin' a look at the lake. Looks like mom wants to head one way and the rest want to go the other. 

Almost every night we were amazed at the intense colour of the sunsets on the lake. 

 We enjoyed the company of our NS friends one day and Andrew got the kayaks out once again.

 Andrew also spent time kayaking with his brother - that was a very calm day.

 Andrew and I walked almost every morning and he picked some plants he wanted to identify. He is such a plant guy.

 I spent a good chunk of my time knitting - finished the back of Anna's sweater and I haven't had a chance to get back at it since I've been home.

 I also spent precious time snuggling with the newest member of our family, little Audrey Ruth. 

 Lila fishing - she is such a delight.

 Good morning, sun. 

 And yet, another spectacular sunset.

 Sweet baby girl. What a treasure she is.

 A very wavy day at the lake, but Anna and Liam wanted to get a ride in the boat. Needless to say they all came back rather wet but smiles all around.

 Celebrating a soon to be 3 year old and 5 year old. Love, love, love these girls.

And last but not least, Andrew captured this moon one evening. Incredible.

So, even though the weather did not co-operate very well for our vacation, the company was great and we both found our happy places. Now we are into the busyness that fall brings and looking forward to seeing the Cross family in March. I can't wait to read stories to these two girls and get to know them better. 

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Welcome Audrey Ruth!!

Time for catch up. On June 13, we welcomed baby Audrey Ruth Naugler with open arms. She was unexpectedly born at home, weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. and she is so very sweet. Andrew and I went to NB for a quick trip to get some baby snuggles in and to help some with Audrey's sisters. We spent a couple of nights at our cottage on Harvey Lake. We are so very blessed to have 5 beautiful healthy granddaughters. 

 Our home on Klondyke Street in Kentville with the rhododendrons in full bloom. So pretty.

 A beautiful stroll along the St. John River in Fredericton. They have a lovely walking/running/biking system in this city.

 The costumes at the annual St. Mary's Pow Wow  were very elaborate and beautiful.

 What a great little family - now 5, well 6 if you count puppy!!

 Proud Grammie and Grampie - love these sweet girls.

 Entertaining the girls with 'catch the bubbles'. So much fun.



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Investing

Okay, so it's 2 posts in less than a month. Not that life has gotten any less busy, but wanting to write blogs about events that happen and record some thoughts. Andrew and I just celebrated 33 years of marriage, which really seems like a long time when I write that out. But, actually, the years we've spent together have been rich and full and as we approach the empty nest years, we are looking forward to hikes together, travelling and making time for each other.
On April 27, we went to Timberlea and set out on the Bluff Wilderness Trail. Andrew has a book with Nova Scotia trails that he would like to attempt over the next few years and hopefully we will get to do some of these together. This trail was fairly difficult, but after 3 hours of up and down walking, we did the first loop. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, perfect for hiking and we both felt a good sense of accomplishment. Here are a few pictures of our day together.

 A glimpse of the type of terrain we were hiking on.


 The happy hikers - this was near the beginning.


Watch out for bear and moose - yikes! (we only saw a hare)

 Near the middle of the trail - it was a very windy day!!

 Again, a peek at the terrain - beautiful woods, though.

 Very picturesque.

 Interesting rock formation - Nova Scotia's Stonehenge?

 The master hiker with his hand carved hiking stick.

This was a very enjoyable weekend, spending time with a guy I love so very much. Looking forward to more times like this - having fun together and creating memories.