Well we're finally home! Everyone is asking me if I'm glad to be home and yes, I am. It was a wonderful vacation but it's always nice to get back to what's familiar. Two great reasons for coming home now are getting back into a routine and the weather. I love the fall in Nova Scotia and this year isn't disappointing me at all. I was hoping to enjoy our new deck, at least for a couple of weeks and it looks like it's going to happen.

The rest of our time in Red Deer was pretty relaxed and quiet. I visited a friend of mine, Dawn Berg, who I knew from my DFO days in Halifax. It was great to see her again. We went to visit her on the Monday after Drumheller while I still had the van. I got hopelessly lost. Red Deer is a city of one way streets and almost everything has a number not a name. She lives on 50thA Street but there's also a 50th Avenue, who knew! I ended up driving around in circles, as informed by Hannah, convinced I could find it since I know can count to 50. I called Dawn from my cell but because she had walked out to the corner to watch for us she wasn't answering. Finally sweating, mad and frustrated I found an open pizza shop and went in to ask directions. The owner, a middle aged guy wearing a smirk and a wife beater seemed very amused that I was lost. "Where you from?" he asked me with his Lebanese accent. While he kept looking me up and down and smirking I tried to focus on the directions he gave but I was concentrating on being nice and remembering what he said. I tried the best I could to follow what his directions but it didn't work and I found myself back where I'd started on 49th. I stopped a guy on the street next but according to him there was no 50thA Street and he had been born and raised in Red Deer. It was fairly obvious when I got close enough to him that he was a drug addict who happened to look like he was jonesing, poor guy, so I got back in the van and headed for the RCMP station which I had driven by about 6 times already. I parked and dragged the kids out and into the foyer. It was the holiday so you had to pick up the phone on the wall and call in. The dispatcher answered and I explained my dilemma in great detail and she informed me that there probably wasn't anyone available to help me. Imagine that! Well that was pretty much the last straw so I told her she needed to find someone to help me as I was lost on her doorstep with 2 small children and pretty much had nowhere to go. A fine young police officer came along very quickly after that and gave me very succint directions. No problem. Poor Dawn was still on the street corner when we got there. I didn't even bother telling her what had happened.

After Chris and Reid had gotten Abbi and Ashton off to school on Friday morning, we loaded the car up with all of our belongings and then piled in and headed for the Greyhound Station. I had pre-bought the tickets when we had dropped the rental off on Tuesday morning so all we had to do was show up. Chris suggested I check with them at the desk about all of our luggage and it turned out I had to pay extra. I had 2 carseats, 3 suitcases, a duffel bag, and 3 back packs and they only allowed for 2 pieces each. In all the confusion of having to pay more money and then getting tags on everything I forgot to grab a snack for the drive. I cannot be without food for very long or things just start to get ugly so this was a problem. Chris and Reid helped me get the kids and our carryon bags onto the bus and unfortunately we had to say our goodbyes standing on a bus full of strangers. The young guy beside me made no move to get up so I sat Hannah across the aisle and up one. She didn't look too happy about this but all I could think of was that I had no food! As soon as I sat down, Josiah, who had not yet napped, wanted to nurse. I wanted him to fall asleep immediately which would make the trip, which is only 2 hours, much less stressful for me so we settled in. A few minutes later the driver made his rounds and promptly kicked the young guy out of the seat beside me so that Hannah could sit with me. I had to get up and let him out and then he had to move all of his stuff across the aisle which would usually be no big deal but I had a 20lb nursling in my lap who I knew would bring down the roof if I removed him so I just stood up cradling him in my arms. Lots of people just don't know what to do when you nurse in public and in those tight quarters I was faced with lots of blank looking faces staring outright but mostly looking at the floor. I've got to tell you people, it's O.K. to look, try a little eye contact with the mother though, you will usually get a smile back. Don't be uncomfortable, chances are if she's nursing in public she isn't the least bit uneasy and it's O.K. to be curious. Nursing a baby or a toddler is all about providing nourishment and comfort to our children, if you're weirded out by it then that's your own stuff coming up. If he wasn't nursing he would have been screaming like a banshee and it didn't look like a sympathetic crowd. I have always been grateful that I've nursed my children when I have had to travel with them and fellow passengers, you should be grateful too! The downside was--he didn't fall asleep. He was way too curious and wanted to explore and peer out the window at every passing detail. That was great for awhile but then got boring fast and he wanted to nurse again and I had to weigh out my options. I had one box of raisins, 3 fruit rollup bars, a bottle of water and one sippy cup with Rice Dream in it. If I had to nurse him again, I would have had to consume all of it myself and I still would have been very hungry. So I started bargaining with my 13 month old and rationing out the food. I figured if I ate half a fruit rollup every 1/2 hour and drank lots of water and didn't nurse him I might make it without losing my mind. The only problem was that I had to share! I held off for as long as I could and then Josiah drank the contents of his cup in less than 4 minutes and Hannah began handing out raisins. Only an hour and a half to go! Somehow I managed to make those bars last until Edmonton. I'd never make it on Survivor! The bus had two stops to make in the city and ours was the second one. I was willing everyone to move as quickly as possible. When we reached our stop the task ahead of me made me forget about food for the time being. I had to somehow get our luggage out of the bus station and into a taxi. The days of porters are long gone but the bus driver found someone to help me. I had to somehow keep an eye on both children while dragging bags through the bus station so I put Hannah to work in carrying everything that she could while I carried Josiah like a football under one arm and a case in the other. I made multiple trips but got it done. The person enlisted to help just went for the taxi. The driver came in and graciously helped me load the cab with my bags and then came the task of getting carseats in and hooked up. Hannah's is just a booster seat and she can practically handle that on her own but Josiah's takes a little more work. It was hot in Edmonton and I was sweating pretty good after getting his seat in and then having to get him into it while he fought me screaming and arching his back. He's strong and I actually considered for a moment just giving up, we were only 3 blocks from the hotel. But I persevered and he was so tired at this point he actually gave up and seemed to sit back and enjoy the ride. It was only a $6.00 cab ride but I gave the cabbie a big tip knowing he would then not give up on me until every last bag was delivered inside the hotel. I got us checked in and the manager helped me get the dolly upstairs to the 4th floor and then into our room. I dumped everything in the entrance way and grabbed my wallet and the kids and headed downstairs for the restaurant. It was about 2:00 in the afternoon by that time and I was far past hungry. After a barely edible lunch, I grabbed the stroller and headed out in the direction indicated by the waitress to find a grocery store. We would be at the hotel until Sunday night and I needed Rice Dream for Josiah, snacks and diapers. Once out on the street I decided that it had been well worth it. Ahhhhh, Edmonton, I love that city. I was very happy walking around on a sunny and hot afternoon in the bustling downtown. I guess I just miss living in the city. Anyway, we found the grocery store and got what we needed then headed back to the hotel so that Josiah could have a nap when a miracle occurred. Josiah fell asleep in the stroller! It happens occasionally although I couldn't tell you when the last time was but I was thrilled. Instead of heading back to the hotel we decided to go for a walk. We found a nice park and I sat and did some people watching while Hannah played for a bit and then we went looking for a Starbucks. We found a Second Cup instead and went in for a smoothie. Josiah was still sleeping soundly and then one of the girls behind the counter dropped a huge container on the floor and that was the end of my relaxation. We went back out onto the street and walked for a bit longer but by then it was rush hour and getting busy so I decided to get us back to the hotel. I headed in what I thought was the right direction but soon realized my mistake and turned around only to realize a few minutes later that we were indeed lost. I looked for somone I could ask directions but everyone was in such a hurry and wouldn't make eye contact (ahhhh, life in the city) so I just went with the flow of traffic until we hit the next intersection. I asked a young woman waiting for the light for directions but she couldn't help me and then by that time the light had changed again and everyone was crossing the street. I had less than a moment of panic and then I decided to retrace my steps and take us back to the point where I had realized we were lost and then walk back a litte farther and start over. No problem, I figured it out and we were on our way again. I felt exhilerated by the whole experience, I just love the city!!! I got some things moved around in our room and by then it was time to get ready for dinner. I had seen a Boston Pizza on the corner and decided that it would be a better choice than the restaurant again. It was such a beautiful evening and as they had no tables inside we decided to sit on the patio which is great if you have small children because they can't get bored. We have spent a lot of time in restaurants this summer and it gets old fast for toddlers (and adults). Hannah always asks for crayons and she spends her time coloring while Josiah spends all of his time taking the crayons out of the cup and then putting them back into the cup over and over until you think his head would be spinning. I know that for a lot of parents eating in restaurants with small children is a bit of a nightmare but it's never really bothered me that much. If we eat out I always take them to family restaurants so I figure if they're bothering anyone there isn't really anything to complain about. I sat back and enjoyed the few minutes before our meals came just watching the people passing on the street and picking up the odd crayon. Once back at the hotel I got the kids bathed and then tried to get them settled for the night thinking I might have a few minutes to read or watch television. I was apparently more tired than they were as I fell asleep seconds after they did. Staying in hotels as much as we have this summer has really screwed up everyone's schedule. Try as you might to get them settled, as long as you had the light on to read or do something for yourself they would not go to sleep. When we were in the motel in Drumheller, Chris' kids were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow but not my kids, they were up long enough to make sure I was exhausted from struggling with them to go to bed and stay in bed. Back in the hotel room in Edmonton, I was awakened from my slumber around 1:30 a.m. by a loud noise which I couldn't figure out if it was in the dream I was having or in my room. I listened thinking I would hear it again but I didn't. I checked the time and got up to go through the motions of getting ready for bed myself and then realized I needed to get some ice for the ice bucket which I was using to keep Josiah's Rice Dream cold. I didn't realize until we were all moved in that there was no fridge and I wasn't moving my stuff out of here until I had to go to the airport. I heard a noise outside my door and checked the peephole and saw a man across the hall. He seemed to be running his arms across the walls. I went back into the room and flicked on the television to wait for him to disappear. I wanted to check the weather station anyway as I had been keeping an eye on tropical storm Florence. Just what I needed was to go home to a hurricane. As I was sitting there I realized I could still hear the guy outside. I went back to the peephole and he was still running his arms over the wall although I took a longer look and it seemed that he was sanding the wall?! I was no longer dressed to be out roaming the halls infront of strange men so I went and checked the water in the ice bucket. It was still ice cold so I went back to the TV to wait a bit. The noise got louder and I couldn't place what it sounded like so I snuck back to the door. This was starting to get weird. Now he was ripping huge sheets of wallpaper off the wall! I watched for a few minutes and then he began ramming some object into the wall. Was he taking off the wainscotting? Was this guy vandalizing the place or redecorating? I was getting concerned he'd wake the kids so I headed for the phone and called the night manager. "Uh...I'm calling you from the fourth floor. It looks like there's a guy up here working outside of my room?!" "Oh yes," the night manager said, "he's taking down the wallpaper." "Uh...it's 1:30 in the morning!" I said. "Oh, is he disturbing you?" "YES! I have children sleeping in here and he woke me up!" "Sorry about that, I'll come up and talk to him." the night manager said. I got back to the television. Florence still hasn't become a hurricane yet and in fact she hasn't even reached Bermuda but they can't stop talking about the fact that it's heading for the east coast of Canada. No worries yet, I tell myself, it could still hit land in the US and then there won't be much left of her before she gets to us. Not that I want her to hit anyone but you know... A few minutes later I hear voices outside of my room. I sneak to the door and look out but I can't see anything and the voices are muffled. Damn, I should have told the night manager to pick me up some ice. I go back to bed and realize a few minutes later that he hasn't actually gone away, he's just trying to be quiet now. Unbelievable! I'm just about to turn off the light when I hear voices approaching on the street screaming obscene language at one another. Lovely. They are getting into a van parked across the street and stand out there screaming at each other for a bit. I go over to the window but hide because they sound like they wouldn't appreciate me peering out at them. They argue about the drug problem of one of the women who gets mad enough that she stomps off. The rest of them get into the van and drive away. I open the curtain wider and lean out when the van does a uturn and heads back my way. I quickly close the curtain and press myself back into the wall like I'm spying on them. They were a scary bunch and I didn't want to be the victim of a drive-by. My adrenaline was pumping now so the chances of sleep were slim but I went back to bed. I listened for the guy outside and didn't hear him so I closed my eyes. Within minutes it sounded like someone fell out of bed above me and then there were pounding footsteps as they ran across the room. Seconds later I hear an awful moaning sound and realize that whoever is upstairs is getting violently ill. OMG! It went on and on until finally they stumbled back to bed and miraculously didn't repeat this every 20 minutes which is usually my pattern when I'm sick. I have no idea what time I finally fell asleep but I remember being conscious of seeing 4:00 a.m. on the clock. The next morning I stopped at the desk after breakfast to enquire about the redecorating project going on outside my room in the wee hours of the morning. The manager was aware of it and seemed to think it was fine. I explained that even wallpapering at 1:00 a.m. can seem fairly loud. We went back upstairs while Josiah napped for a bit and then went out and found a city bus to take us to the West Edmonton Mall. Art was off at noon and he was going to meet us there sometime in the late afternoon. My plan was to take them to see the dolphins but it's sea lions now. I don't know what happened to the dolphins and I didn't ask. I don't usually like these things, I don't like to lend my support to animals from the wild being kept in captivity performing silly tricks to amuse humans. We were 5 minutes into the show when they had to stop because the male sea lion would no longer perform. It turns out it was mating season and he had other things on his mind than performing tricks. They have a policy that they don't try to force the animals to do what they don't want to do so they postponed the show until later on. I felt better about that. We went and checked out the flamingos and then went to a new dinosaur exhibit they have set up in the mall. We've seen a lot of dinosaurs this summer but Hannah was not happy about this one. It was life size replicas with a soundtrack playing in the background. Just plain scary she said. It cost me over $20 and she wanted to leave after 5 minutes. I managed to drag it out but it was a big waste of money. They had a film you could watch on the age of the dinosaurs, pretty scary, and a fossil dig, computers, lots of great stuff but more for kids who aren't afraid of dinosaurs, or me. Art met us in time for dinner and then we headed back to the hotel for the night. When we got there the decorator was there again and this time he was putting up the new wallpaper. He looked at me sideways as I'm sure he knew it was me that had complained. The next day after I packed we went back to the West Edmonton Mall and spent a few hours at the Waterpark. We had a lot of fun playing in the waves and Hannah and Art enjoyed the slides. I actually made the mistake of getting conned into a waterslide myself by Hannah. I had sworn not to trust her again after Whistler but Art ensured me it was just like the one at the Ramada. Well it wasn't. The water was frigid and fast which meant we went fast with me screaming the whole way around twists and turns and through a pitch black tunnel and then finally dumped over my head into the pool scrambling to keep Hannah afloat. When we hit the tunnel I fell down on my back, which I swear made us go faster, and Hannah was smacking me and screaming 'sit up, sit up'! I don't know how she knew I was lying down to begin with, you couldn't see a thing. I think she was trying to get me up because she knew we were about to be dumped into the pool. With my heart racing and water up my nose I grabbed Josiah from a grinning Art and headed back to the 'beach'. We left the Waterpark while it was still early in order to beat the rush in the change room and then got back to the hotel to do last minute preparations before leaving for the airport. Everything went smoothly from there. Late night flying with children is actually easier. You don't have to worry about crowds or lineups and as long as your kids aren't too cranky it can be a pleasant experience! Hannah and Josiah were fine although they were pretty tired they managed to keep it together until shortly after takeoff when they both promptly fell off to sleep and slept the entire way home. Security is fairly tight now but things went very smoothly for us and I was even allowed to keep my lip balm. Due to my addiction to lip balms, I wasn't sure if I could make the flight without it so I was grateful! I didn't sleep a wink on the flight as I am unable to sleep sitting straight up so after attempting to doze off a few times I resorted to watching television without the volume. We arrived in Halifax right on schedule at 6:30 a.m., where mom and dad were waiting to greet us. Josiah quickly fell back into his obsession with Grampy. The weather here is beautiful everyday and Dad has been coming to get Josiah in the mornings for a daily walk. It's going to be tough when the weather changes because he looks forward to being outside. We are still adjusting to the time change, both of the kids are up late every night. I could actually go to bed and sleep by 9:30 but not them. It will take a while longer I guess until we're back on schedule.

Now that we're home I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the blog. I've enjoyed it so much and I've gotten lots of positive feedback so I'm thinking about continuing. I'm going to give it some thought and if anyone has any suggestions or comments I'm open to hearing them. I do plan on doing at least one more entry as I'd like to do some kind of closure to the whole summer experience...so stay tuned!

Brave Ashton holding Brittany, that's his sister Abbi on the right

The Hoodoos

Chris, Josiah and I at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller

Hannah and Brittany at Reptile World in Drumheller

We are having a great time in Red Deer. The kids are on a permanent vacation I think. They're up too late at night and playing non-stop together all day but they are having so much fun that it's hard to interfere. Josiah spends his day mostly chasing cats, there are two, Cindy and Pedro. He loves them and is always trying to either hug them or sit on them so I'm constantly on the look out. There is also a Labrador Retriever named Phoebe, who is gentle and very lovely, a gecko named Daphne and a Vietnamese fighting fish named Angel. It's a very active place with four children and the animals but everyone is getting along well. Abbi and Ashton started school on Aug. 31 which was a bit of an adjustment for Hannah. They were only in school for 2 days though and then they were off for the long weekend. It's hot here! I don't know what the rest of Canada is like but it isn't much like September where we are. The past couple of days it's been about 30 degrees and although it cooled off nicely last night, tonight is still pretty uncomfortable. I'm not complaining though because it will all be over soon enough. Before school started back for Abbi and Ashton, Chris and I were just hanging out around her place having some pretty low key days. She doesn't drive so if we need anything we walk to the grocery store. Abbi would ride her bike and Ashton and Hannah would ride scooters. It's a bit of a walk, probably an hour to and from, and I'm definitely feeling it. It's been a busy summer but I haven't done much in the way of exercise! A little yoga here and there but I really need to get back to a routine.

We rented a van on the weekend and went on a short road trip to Drumheller. What a great time! The kids had so much fun and Chris and I enjoyed ourselves too. There is just so much to do with kids there which made it pretty easy for Chris and I to have a good time. We got off to a late start on Saturday as I ended up having to wait in line for an hour at Rent a Wreck for the van. One guy working on a Saturday, the last Saturday of the month and a long weekend to boot. He also has a U-Haul business too which is why it was so busy. We had a couple of stops to make before heading out of town and everywhere we went there were line ups. By the time we got going it was lunch time and then everyone was hungry and needed to eat. We made a quick trip to Tim's which turned out to be a very long stop because it was so busy. Five sandwiches is no easy feat for a trainee. It seems like someone is always training at Tim Horton's. They screwed up the order and forgot the bagel for Josiah so we had to turn around and go back. Josiah had not yet napped and was getting pretty cranky so we actually ate on the run. Chris fed herself and handed back little tiny pieces of bagel to Josiah which Ashton kept telling him to 'chew'. Josiah had been choking on us all week and scaring me to death. He has two new teeth coming in and the only thing I can figure is that it hurt to chew because he had taken to just swallowing everything you gave him whole. So everyone was on alert when Josiah was eating. Drumheller is located in what is known as the Badlands of Alberta. It's desert country. It's a two hour drive south east of Red Deer through miles and miles of farm country. When you reach the town you drive down into a valley and the landscape changes drastically from fields as far as the eye can see to rolling hills which are compacted layers of sandstone and mudstone formed by the erosion of the glaciers millions of years ago. The rock layers are supposed to date back to the Cretaceous Period and you feel like you are steppping back in time as you drive into the valley. As you drive through town you notice there is a dinosaur on every corner and the kids were calling out the names of what they thought they were everytime they saw a new one. There is a lot to see and do and we only barely touched the tip of the iceberg so to speak. We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into The Badlands Motel where we planned out the rest of our day. We decided on dinner first at a local restaurant and had our worst meal of the trip. We were more careful the next day. After dinner we went out to the Royal Tyrrell Museum which is home to the largest dinosaur find in the world. It's pretty overwhelming, a whole lot to see in one visit and we went through it all pretty quickly. Another time I will go back, when the children are older and can appreciate it more, because I really didn't get to spend much time looking at each exhibit. The kids were oohhing and ahhhing a lot though, they were pretty impressed with the dinosaurs and the big talk was a tarantula we saw. We got back to the motel and got everyone settled for the night. Josiah woke everyone at least three times during the night with his screaming, poor little guy. We had breakfast in the restaurant at the motel which turned out to be terrible meal #2. We went with the breakfast buffet but it was all overcooked and/or tasteless. So much for being more careful. Our first stop of the day was the Hoodoos, tall rock pillars that sort of resemble mushrooms and were formed by erosion over thousands of years. The pillars are protected by what's called a capstone made of rock and once this falls off the pillars will erode completely and disappear which I guess will eventually happen to all of them. The kids had fun climbing and exploring caves in the rock and climbing the path through the Hoodoos but it was so hot we couldn't stand it out there for long. On our drive back into town we passed a rattlesnake slithering across the road which much to the dismay of the children, got run over by a couple of cars. Chris and I were just amazed that we had actually seen a rattlesnake in the wild. Our next stop was ReptileWorld which is Canada's largest reptile exhibit. It's not a big place but I saw more reptiles than I've ever seen before. In fact I saw reptiles that I have never seen before. There was a 600 lb alligator named Fred. He just happened to be hanging out at the end of his aquarium which was closest to us so we were about 2 feet away staring him directly in the eyes. It was more than a bit scary and Hannah couldn't even bring herself to look in. Josiah on the other hand was fascinated by him and every other thing in there. We saw gila monsters, a reticulated python, crocodiles, every kind of snake imagineable as well as the Black Mamba, one of the most poisonous snakes in the world. Ashton got to hold Brittany, a six foot boa constrictor, which he bravely had wrapped around his neck. Hannah was pretty fascinated by this but was too afraid she said to hold her. I looked over a little while later though and she was with the handler and holding Brittany in her hands. I got some great pics of this but can't get them off my camera until I have access to Art's laptop again. It was a pretty exciting place for everybody actually and we stayed until we had seen everything a few times. We left there and did a little shopping and then found a lovely little Italian cafe where we had lunch. Excellent find! We had quesadillas and lattes and freshly baked pastries and were very full when we left. Next stop the water park. There are a great many waterparks all over this fine province but I'm always surprised whenever I see another one. I'm just never expecting it. In fact, we had not even packed bathing suits for the kids so we had to make a quick stop at the local Saan and Fields stores to grab some suits and towels. This one was downtown next to the 26 metre high replica of T-rex which is a big tourist attraction in Drumheller. The kids played in the water for a bit, it was a scorching day so it was a bit of a relief but too hot to stay too long as there is no shade. We grabbed a bag of cotton candy and some bottles of ice cold water from a vendor and Chris took Abbi, Ashton and Hannah on the long trek up to the mouth of T-rex while I waited below with Josiah. A long hike up in the heat but they'd been waiting to do this since we got into town. It was our last activity of the day and then we were finally on the road again heading back to Red Deer. Josiah was asleep within minutes and slept the entire way while the other kids played barbies and dinosaurs!