Aidan's 11th Birthday

First off, 

flying their new kites at the park.

His choice for dinner was Swiss Chalet... complete with dessert and serenation :)

Back home for 2nd dessert - DQ cookie dough ice cream cake.

So many candles to light.

Making a wish ;)

Family parties really are special!

♥ My SWEET birthday boy ♥

Little Brothers

♥♥♥ 

♥♥♥

Lupinus, Lupine, Lupin

 They come in a sea of colors.

Aidan quite enjoyed searching for and photographing the many different color combinations to be found near our house.

Chronicle Herald

 My "6 Boys" were ALL in the paper...

Twice in one week...

(Patrick and Asher on Monday and Sean, Drew, Aidan, and Luke - along with their friends - on Saturday)

must be a record or something ;)

Good Ol' Times - Final post

Random Collection

A great vacation with friends is made up of:

. kids who play well together

. down to earth activities (hikes, jaunts...)

. everyone feeling free to hang out or to enjoy some quiet time - no pressure either way

. being "likeminded" is certainly a bonus

All 10 kids played so well together.

The older ones could generally be found congregated with a deck or two of cards or outdoors playing/chatting.

The younger ones were usually found in the playroom or on the ipad.

Ice cream at Dee Dee's.

In my opinion, the best ice cream I have ever tasted :)

Fishing - an absolute must for this guy!

And he was the only one to catch a fish :)

Aidan had pleaded for months that we would celebrate his 11th birthday early with his friends (since they couldn't stay until his actual birthday). 

We were able to make it a COMPLETE SURPRISE!!!

Group shot - 4 adults and 10 kids... 

just before they headed back home...

forget trying to catch everyone looking pleasant and in the same direction ;)

Goodbye, sweet friends, until next time!

P.S. A special thanks to M&M for everything!!!
P.S.S. And a thank you to Sean for the "Good Ol' Times" title :)

Good Ol' Times - Part 5

Halifax Waterfront

3 beautiful girls - inside and out!

(not sure who the hooligan in the background is;)

While the little guys play inside, you can trust the big boy will scale the outside!

Who knew the springs were so "springy" that they flung one of the boys completely through the air and over the front end (involved one bleeding elbow, but thankfully no worse for wear).

Directly across from the "submarine playground" is the giant Wave sculpture.

♥♥♥

Even Asher tried to run up the wave and slide down (he only made it a few feet :)

After playing for awhile, we toured HMCS Sackville (flower-class corvette). 

In the above photograph, you can see it just off to the left in the background.

How is it that this little man can look so... like he knows exactly what he is doing...

and the moms... well, not so much.

LOL

Good Ol' Times - Part 4

It says:

"The trail to Cape Split is moderately difficult. Approximately 8 km (5 mi.) one way. Total return time is 4-5 hours.

Stay on established trails. Do not approach cliffs. They are actively eroding and unstable. 

(and the part we failed to read)

Shoreline exploration is not recommended. Weather conditions may change quickly and incoming tides are fast and unpredictable."

Ummmmmm, yeah!

All set! 

I think there were 5 backpacks among us to better distribute the water, snacks...

Trailhead

It was a well-maintained, scenic trail; and better yet, poison ivy does NOT thrive here.

Definitely photogenic!

We made it; and WOW! 

The tip of the cape was covered with seagulls (adults and chicks).

Resting before the long hike back!

Desperately searching for a way off the cliff, down to the beach! 

Unfortunately, we were not successful!

Maybe that is a good thing; because we were later informed that the incoming tide completely buries the beach, reaching the cliffs, and can be quite dangerous.

Incredible view - 

well worth the long hike and aching feet!