Tenting at Mactaquac

Of all the campgrounds we have been at over the years the kids really enjoy Mactaquac Provincial Campground just outside of Fredericton. Now that we live in the south of the province it only takes 80 minutes or so to get there hopefully we will be able to go more often.

Friday was gorgeous and we were worried that the campground may be full, so after Rachel's camp was finished at noon we packed up the car and drove to Fredericton. We were there early enough that we were able to get our favorite campsite. We pitched the two tents, stopped for ice-cream which melted all over me, and then headed back to Saint John so that we could p/u Jacob and Erica at 4:30pm

By the time Nicole got home and we bought groceries etc etc we ended up the campsite at a little past nine so it was a good job Rachel and I had went early!





After breakfast we headed into the city as we needed a few supplies. That was a mistake as Saturday was the nicest day of the week-end and we only left the malls at 2:30pm (kids ended up needing summer clothes, we needed a new air mattress etc, $450 later etc!)


We finally made it to the beach just as the clouds rolled in...oh well, it was still nice to relax and the kids can always keep themselves with so much sand around.






After supper we made a fire and toasted some marsh mellows. Our new air mattress worked well but it took way too long to blow up.

Sunday was cool so we left earlier than planned and drove to the Miramichi. Mom and Lisa are entertaining the kids for a week; it will be pretty quiet in Saint John!

Summer Vacation Update

During the first week of summer vacation the kids did a fair bit of whining about how bored they were so we took care of that: summer camp at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre. Jacob is a Councellor in Training and I think was surprised to find "helping" out younger kids is a bit more challenging than he thought it would be. "They never listen" was the first words out of his mouth! The girls are in flip and dip - swimming lessons for an hour than 90 minutes of playing in the pool. The afternoon is filled with crafts, playing in the multi-purpose room and the occasional field trip. For $230 it is money well spent.

Jacob won the MVP for Councellor in Training


During the second week of July, Jacob and Erica went back to the Aquatic Centre while Rachel went to the school district's enhancement camp. This was a morning camp for "exceptional" students and Rachel chose Acting and Arts/Crafts as her two subjects. She enjoyed the week (probably more enjoyed that I picked her up and we ate out everyday!) and this picture shows her in her stage-makeup after her group presented the short skit they wrote.

SV # 4

A quiet day at the home front. I had a bunch of tasks to do so I was in and out all day (interview.buy cell phone, etc). Rachel came home at lunch time from her sleepover (great time!) at Meaghan's. The kids played outside, played on the computer, had a game of Payday etc etc.

This evening the kids stayed outside till 11pm. I built a small fire which they maintained inbetween their games of badmington. I think they finally hit the sack at 11:45pm.

SV# 3 ....Busy Day

Finally, a nice hot day. So what did we decide to do? Hey, lets put up an outdoor bug tent. Of what fun that turned out to be. It took 6 hours, three visits to Zeller's to see how they built theirs, and a nice little sunburn was the end result. Actually, I think the tent looks ok; the mosquito netting is for a different model but they were sold out of the one for this model so the the colours are a little off. Now we need furniture to go in it.

Rachel is gone to Meaghan's camp for a sleepover and it was way too hot to cook supper so went to Pizza Hut for supper followed by a walk uptown.

Summer Vacation - Day 2

We had a busy day today. Let's see, what went on. Chores were completed first thing in the am, then we out to Zeller's to look for a new bicylce for Jacob. He is at the ackward size of being too big for a 24 inch tire and too short for a 26 inch. We tried a few out but decided to shop around before making the purchase. We did buy a couple of kites which we should be able to use as it always seems windy in the west end of the city.

Then we went to the library and the kids picked up french and english books to read. The deal this summer is a penny a page, two cents for each french page. The kids need to work on their writing skills over the summer so I may figure out some way for them to write a small book report or something. It will be easy for Rachel but like pullimg teeth for Jacob and Erica.

After supper we actually managed to "fly" the kites, which I was never able to do when I was a child. Rachel's kite was too heavy and only took when we took it the beach and let the Bay of Fundy winds take it up to the sky.

First Day of Summer Vacation

Ahh, summer holidays, where the kids spent half of the day whining that they are bored! Nicole has developed a list of chores which should help them through their boredom issues.

I worked last night but was not able to sleep much this morning, I was up at 10am. But, I did do a lot of housework so at least my first day off was not a waste of time.

After supper we played a game of croquet and then went for a walk. Funny, somehow we always end up going for a walk in the direction of the local ice cream stand. Just as the Pumpkin Patch came into view Erica asked if I had any money - I should have said no and watched her expression!

Last Day of School

Schools out for Summer! They all had excellent report cards with no issues. Very well done!

The kids cam home at lunch and we met Nicole at Pizza Delight. Rachel and Erica have been driving up nuts about getting a pet, so we compromised and I bought them SIMS with Pets for the Wii. They were not too excited then, but they seem to be enjoying their new game. Jacob received Wario Ware which looks like a lot of fun.

And now Michael's turn...

Nuff said...

Mother's Day

Following in the Landy tradition, we celebrated Mother's Day/Nicole's birhtday with a lobster feast! We drove up to the Miramichi Friday night and stayed till Sunday. Lenny, Giselle and Mylin were also there.




Erica finally gave papiere his Xmas gift which was left home on the 25th.


On Sunday, we went to mom's for lunch before hitting back to Saint John. Erica loves mom's cat, Annie.




Then we headed back to Saint John. I tried a new route which of course was significantly longer.

Nicole receiving her Mother's Day gifts, I think a couple pairs of earrings are in there somewhere....

Nicole turns 42

May is a busy month in our household and Nicole started the celebrations with her 42nd birthday. I worked till 7:30pm and met the gang at Boston Pizza. Food was great actually, a little pricey, but better than Mickey D's!

Afterwards, cake and ice-cream and presents. Nicole is a bit of a firebug so we bought her a firepit for the backyard. Now that we live in a city we can no longer have massive fires in the backyard...sorry dear.

Rachel Taylor Turns 11 (Part two)

Another attempt to make the pictures a little more interesting...although this site does not allow much creativity with its slideshows and the way it crops the images is a little too tight. Jacob is actually in some of these pictures! But at least the slide show works all the time as compared to the one beneath it whcih is sort of hit and miss. I think I will leave both slide shows and take a vote on whcih one is better.



Rachel’s Birhtday

Rachel Taylor Turns 11

Today was Rachel's 11 birthday and I am trying something new: a slideshow.

End of March Break

March break 2007 was certainly not as exciting as last year's cruise and visit to Disneyland, but, well, I suppose shopping in Maine is better than nothing!

The clocks moved forward an hour last night as daylight saving time began three weeks early. This meant the kids slept in till 10am and it was a mad dash to get some pool time in before check-out.




We finished up our shopping in Bangor and headed back to Canada around 5pm. We stopped at the border and intended on having Chinese food for supper but they drench their food in MSG so we ate at Pizza Delight on the Canadian side instead. The girls made a big mess in the washroom with the hand soap (the waitress informed us)so it was a very quiet meal.We had no trouble crossing the border and we were just shy of our $1000 limit.

It was a busy week-end...

Day 2 in Maine - Shopping and Eating

I guess a week off from school has played the kids out as they were up rather late this morning. We only had time for a quick dip in the pool and then we headed out for breakfast/lunch at Denny's. After stuffing ourselves(I think mine and Jacob's breakfast was at least 3500 calories)we spent 6 hours in Bangor looking for bedroom comforter/sheet sets for each of the kids as well as clothes and some kind of bathroom closet. I never realized how expensive bedroom linen was until today. We did manage to find some nice sets though.

Next it was eating time and we waited 90 minutes before getting a table at the

Even though Jacob had a great big breakfast/lunch, that didn't slow him down at supper. He went for the Tour of Italy...




We made the mistake of ordering off the Children's Menu for Rachel - not a very big portion! She ended up eating some of Nicole's chicken and all of my pasta as well as numerous breadsticks.



We left the Olive Garden at 9:05pm and noticed that the stores were still open so we shopped till 10pm and then drove back to Bar Harbour.

Taylor's off to Bangor, Maine

A first, well, maybe not the first, but close. We are going away for the week-end and we actually booked a hotel in advance. I know, it is not as much fun as driving around at midnight looking for a place and trying not to get mugged (Miami last spring) but I guess I am getting older and not up for as much adventure.

I found our hotel online using and it turned out to be a nice hotel and a pretty good price. Mind you, Bar Harbour is something of a ghost town in the winter and the majority of the hotels were closed till spring.



We are 100 km away from the border and it was another 180 km to the hotel. It was 7:30pm by the time we arrived in our room. The pool closed at 9pm so we dashed down to the pool for a quick swim before heading out to supper.




Even though it was a Friday, the restaurants that were open in Bar Harbor stopped serving food at 9pm. We ended driving till to Ellesmere and eating at Friendly's and then back and off to bed. We all need to be rested for a big shopping day tomorrow.

Rachel is down and out

I am not sure if it is the flu, probably just a bad cold, but Rachel is down and out. She threw up a few times on Saturday and has a nasty cough which is not getting much better. Rachel stayed home from school yesterday and was still asleep this morning at 8:30 so I guess she will need another day at home to get get better. Fortunatley daddy is off till Friday so no babysitter issues!

Here is Erica reading to Rachel last evening. No, Jacob is not ready for bed, it was pajama day at his school.