Hello? Anyone home?
We pulled up to Jill's
cabana. We all fell out of the beast that had carried us to our
destination. We filed towards the cabana in our sleep drunken state.
It was an unusual feeling to arrive at a destination and know that no
one was inside. We knew that Bailey would be at work until that
afternoon. We knew that Jill was coming over later that morning from
Courtenay. We knew that Grandma was coming up from Victoria. We hadn't
located the men on the other side of the bridge, Doug and Dayton yet,
but we knew they'd be around if they felt like it.
It was tranquil just the way the island boasts of being. The welcoming
committee would soon arrive, meanwhile we would relax and make
ourselves comfortable.
*SIGH* ahhh
The kids somehow found an endless supply of energy
Five minutes later we began to unpack some things and worked towards the task of having a shower and feeding the vultures who had traveled with us! The welcoming committee did arrive. They trickled in their arrivals. The first to arrive was Doug. After catching up a bit and getting the how to's and do not's of the cabana, he left to fetch some more towels. (We were a larger crowd than usual)
The rain did begin to dampen our excitement as we remembered that with rain came mud. The rain actually stopped but it had already reeked havoc on the ground. The first casualty was Sarah's pants. She had slipped off of the tree swing and slid down the embankment. A tiny scratch, and a huge mud bath! She stripped down on the deck and headed for the outdoor shower. The pants I'm afraid didn't make it. No amount of spray n' wash and soaking could revive white capri's after that much mud. It had been a poor choice of travel attire from the beginning. I owe her a new pair of capri's.
The second casualty were the shoes. In an effort to pack light we had only brought the shoes on our feet. Once caked with mud, we couldn't step indoors without removing our shoes and requesting a cloth to clean our feet. Sarah and I lucked out on this one. Crocs rinse off easily and dry quickly. The boys however had squishy, wet shoes. All in the name of the adventure!
Dayton made his appearance and if I hadn't been forewarned that he'd grown up since I last saw him I might have fainted away! Who knew he'd be towering over us all at 17! He and Caleb headed off to places unknown and much more exciting and grown up than all the little kids and mothers that were currently in the cabana were offering. (Talk of a t.v., an xbox and not such healthy snacks and they were off!) (Their loss! It was a rip roaring game of fish!)
It wasn't long until Jill and Bailey arrived! I don't recall the order of their arrival. Bailey had been at work and Jill had come over from Courtney after picking up a few things for the week. Bailey brought with her the life of the party! She had such plans for our week. She kept hinting at a 'party island day'. We wouldn't have a chance to figure out what she was referring to until the fourth day of our visit. The kids were all so excited to see Bailey. Being the eldest cousin, she is known and loved by all. (Eventually she'll want to be grown up, settle down and have kids of her own, but she's not old enough for that yet... no matter what the silly teenagers at her work tell her!)
Jill brought with her another round of excitement and a bit of sunshine through the trees. We decided to venture out and head down to the Thatch by the ferry dock. From the cabana it's just a quick jaunt to the beach. Some were concerned that it might be too cold, or too wet still from the rain, but off we all went! Grandma's arrival was expected soon, but we could watch for her as each ferry docked and wave her over to where we were!
Some were concerned about wearing the correct attire at the beach. Fortunately they weren't concerned about the lack of changing facilities. After two days of travel and confined spaces,the beach was a very welcome adventure. The Thatch/ferry dock beach boasts both a rocky area and a sandy area. The water was a little chilly but it didn't deter the waders.
Some weren't concerned about the attire at all. They were concerned a bit about learning the beach rules. 'Can we get our feet wet?', 'Can I take my shoes off?', 'Can I just play anywhere at all?', 'Can I bring this shell, this rock, this crab home?'!! They acclimated to life on the beach rather quickly. They did prefer the sandy section and were impressed with seaweed discoveries.
Some were more interested in beach combing than beach play with the little boys. Although eventually they did join in with them. They found some really cool purple clam shells. (purple on the inside) The wind had picked up a bit and their hair blew this way and that. Our only girls... will someone please slow down time!
Some were simply there to be amused by every witty thing that comes out of my mouth!
Love the shades Bail! You are so Hollywood! (talk about slowing down time... she was just a little girl last time I blinked)
Some were too young to be left unattended, too recently a surgical patient to play in the sand or splash in the water and too tired to be kept in the confines of the stroller. Whittaker enjoyed trying out new laps and exploring the rocks.
Some take a moment every chance they can to reminisce and reconnect as sisters. It's strange how time can fly by but bonds of sisterhood simply pick back up and it's game on again. Laughing at each other, with each other and talking, talking, talking. Unlike the children who were having a blast without a care in the world on the beach... the ladies were feeling a chilly wind.
Regardless of the reason that one heads down to the beach, time slows down, rules fly away, and fun is had. Even by me the sand hating witch.
On the way home from the beach, Some have to stop and slay the driftwood dragons!
The kids all swung right into the next activities. Swings and hammocks were a big hit the whole week!
Not sure how I captured this photo. It has a strange out of this world look to it. I chose this vacation to try a different camera (I forgot mine!) and to test out some of the things I'd been learning about taking photos. One was not to use the flash if possible. This resulted in MANY of my over 4000 photographs being a little blurry until I understood the concept a little better. I often would forget what setting I was in and end up with some real doozies!
The old rope swing was still there. It immediately brought back memories and constant requests for a chance to go on the rope swing over the pond. Caleb sneaked down the first day just to try it again as a big kid. Yup, still just as fun!
After a long day of fun, Grandma arrived and the adventure continued into the night! What a crew we were... and to think it's only 1/3 of us!
Another shot was needed since we missed some folks in the first shot! Of course others had had enough with photos and left so two are needed to see everyone! Until I posted these those I didn't realize that Duncan wasn't in any, the little imp.
This toy was a lot of fun... for the first afternoon we were in the cabana. Then we banished it to the top of the fridge. It was fought over and in the way and pretty cool too.
After some dinner for a motley crew were some games, stories and lots of visiting.
Some lasted longer than others. They began to drop off and beds were quickly made up. Miles loved that he was sleeping under a map of Canada and he could study the map when he woke in the morning to understand where he was. (study away dude... the small dot that is Hornby Island on that map won't take long to memorize! Morning might need a different activity than cartography)
Some required snuggles and snacks and convincing to go to sleep! But when you're almost one and so cute you can get away with it... especially if cousin Bailey is around!
Here's where all the real action was taking place. The party was on next door. I heard (since I was in the sleeping house), that there were movies and yummy snacks! What a way to end the first official day of the Canada Vacation!
