Freeze These Moments

My last weekend with Sergio until the end of August! I've caved and am getting internet set up this week. I need to be able to use Skype on a regular basis this month.
After work on Friday, I picked up Sergio, and we made the long drive out to Tatamagouche to stay with my family at the cottage. My aunt and uncle were down from Ottawa with their boys, so Sergio had to meet them before they went back. When we got there, my cousin Jake ran out to the car screaming, "They're here! They're here!" I got out of the car to hug him, but he ran around the car and jumped on Sergio yelling, "Surgery!" Gee, thanks.
My aunt cooked for the sixteen of us that were spending the night out there. I love my big family.

Best Buds

Sergio and I played volleyball on the beach with Abby and Jake that night, then soccer with the rest of the cousins later. They are all so big now. I'm the shortest one who was there above the age of ten.

Video Games with the Boys

We played a bit of musical beds that night. The kids had three tents pitched outside, but we also had 14 spots set up to sleep inside - enough for all the adults plus a few extras in case some kids got too scared. Sergio moved around a couple of times because he needed enough room to stretch out. He ended up sleeping on a mattress right beside the kitchen, and I slept on the pull out couch beside him. In the morning, we moved up to two twin beds that Mom and Grandma had slept in. I honestly can't tell you where all the kids ended up.
Sergio and I took the younger kids out to a big yard sale in River John on Saturday morning. It's a totally different experience doing yard sales with little kids to watch, but we had a lot of fun.

Lindsey, Abby and I

We spent the afternoon on the beach with the kids. We took out the two person kayak and loaded on the three youngest kids - Lauren (10), Lindsey (7), and Jake (5). Sergio and I paddled them out to deeper water then let them take turns jumping off the front of the kayak into the water. We all had a lot of fun, and we somehow managed not to tip the thing over.

Lindsey's Birthday Cake

Lindsey and Grandma

Cousins (minus 5, plus 1)

Sergio and I were the first to head out on Saturday afternoon because we wanted to get back to Wolfville for the Mud Creek Days celebrations. We stopped to visit Adrianna and Lydia on the way home and ended up going out to supper with them. They took us to Whistler's which is a very sketchy bar in Stewiacke. Not recommended. I had forgotten my make-up bag with my contacts and toothbrush and everything at the cottage, so we had to drive back to Truro to meet my mom with it. Needless to say, it was a long drive home.

Adrianna and Lydia

We made it back in time for the Mud Creek fireworks though. We sat on the rocks at Waterfront Park with just about every other person in town. Wolfville did pretty well too! They were honestly some of the best fireworks I've ever seen. They had heart shaped ones and smiley faced ones!

Wolfville Fireworks

Sergio and I went to church on Sunday morning, and the message was on evangelism which really spoke to both of us. And, for the first time since I've started going to NMBC, a woman who sat beside me introduced herself to me at the end of the service, and we talked for about five minutes. That was really nice, because I've always found that church very exclusive.

We went out for lunch at Cora's. LOVE strawberry crepes with chocolate hazelnut spread...

Cora's <3

We spent Sunday afternoon picking up random little things - Walmart, Staples, Frenchy's outlet in Coldbrook, Bargain Harley's. I got two really cute dresses from Frenchy's though.
My grandma took my sisters and me to Berwick Camp every year since I was six, and I stopped going consistently when I was seventeen. But my aunt still takes her kids down, and my grandma stays with them too. Yesterday, they were moving in, so Sergio and I stopped by, and I gave him a tour of the place that used to be my favourite place in the world. We helped them get their stuff set up in the cottage and ate supper with them. We also had a birthday present for Lindsey because she turned eight today! It was really nice to see them, and I'll probably be popping in and out of camp this week. It's too bad it wasn't until next week because then I would just stay with them for the week, but I don't want to not be with Sergio for his last week.

Berwick Camp

Work was good today. Sergio and I are going out with some friends tonight for nachos at Joe's. I'm dreading Friday.

Traveling Opera

So far this week has been fairly uneventful. I’m mainly posting early because yesterday was a very special day at work.

We had a special guest in to Adult Day Program named Sergio! He came in with me and did a presentation for my clients about Guatemala. They loved him. The men were thrilled to have him there because only women work there. One man sang in a quartet for thirty some years so he talked Sergio’s ear off about that. This same man always hits on me and tries to hug me or hold my hand, so he was giving Sergio a hard time about that. I think Sergio got a kick out of him.
Sergio stayed with me at work for the rest of the morning. He did exercises with us and played Uno with me and two clients. I’m glad he can know appreciate why they make me so happy. They are so sweet and funny. They melt your hearts. I don’t know what got in to the yesterday, but I was laughing so hard I was crying.

After lunch (leftovers from supper), Sergio and I got my keyboard set up because we were the afternoon entertainment! We’d only got to practice a couple times before we performed, so I’d say we did pretty well. We opened with “Shout to the Lord” which I played on piano, and Sergio played guitar and sang. It was cool because he sang it through in English then we went through it again in Spanish. Then he played and song “Frozen”, a song he wrote. Then we did “Above All” with me on piano again. Then I had my piano solo – “Only Hope” from A Walk to Remember. Gosh, it’d been a long time since I performed that one. From there, Sergio sang “Nel Cor piu nom mi sento”, one of his Italian opera pieces. I’ve never heard him sing a whole opera piece through, but it was absolutely beautiful. If you can ever convince him to sing it for you, you’re in for a treat. The coordinator of the program was so blown away and asked him for another powerful piece like that. He sang “Stars” from Les Miserables. I teared up during that piece. Gosh, it was phenomenal. Usually about half the client sleep through afternoon entertainment, but they were all wide awake and on the edge of their seats for that. I wish I had thought to record some. After that, we did a duet with “Someone Like You”. I played it while he sang, but even I sang along with him while I played. He then sang a song in Spanish that one of his friends wrote. We ended with “Amazing Grace” because I was sure they would all know that one. The clients loved the whole afternoon. Most of them told him how wonderful of a singer he was before they left. It was just such a different experience for all of us. Now the coordinator is looking into booking us into her Adult Day Program in Wolfville as regular performers. We’re definitely open to that idea. We both had a lot of fun performing together.

Last night, Sergio and I went to Joe’s for nachos and went for a walk along the water. I’m definitely going to miss summer nights in Wolfville.

God has placed a very unique opportunity in my path this last week. I’m not going to explain it yet because I don’t really know what it entails. Sergio and I both have to pray a lot about this and make sure it’s what God wants us to be doing. But pray for us that we will be able to discern what God’s will is. As Sergio said, His will is my will.
And I honestly have no pictures.. 

If God is For Us, Who Can Stand Against Us?

This week was so random and full of last minute decisions.

Sergio and I decided to go for dinner at a sushi place in New Minas one night. I don't like sushi, but they had some other options. He ate 39 rolls. Gross.

Work was really good this week. The seniors have started this big joke where they tell me my fly is down all the time! They're just hilarious!

Lauren and Patty-Sue were going to come down and stay with me on Saturday night, but there was a last minute change of plans. So, on Saturday afternoon, I went with Sergio and two of his friends to Halifax where I was going to meet up with Patty-Sue for the evening. And dear Patty-Sue had better love me for this. Sergio's two friends were Arabic guys who stopped at their apartment before we left to do hooka. Apparently, that's really common, but I've never seen it. I felt really light headed and short of breath when we left, but that was probably all psychological.

In Halifax, I shopped on Spring Garden and at the Black Market before I met up with Patty-Sue. We walked on the waterfront because the tall ships were in the harbour this weekend. They were absolutely beautiful.

We walked up to Pizza Delight on Spring Garden and ate on the patio. We split a pizza, and Patty-Sue, being the sweet girl she is, treated me! She also brought me the beautiful tins she made for me! Check out her tin project! And she filled them with various little gifts. :)

After dinner, we walked down to the water and watched a performer for awhile. The waterfront was packed! There were fireworks that night, but we didn't stay. We went back to her family's friend's house in Bedford. Unfortunately, as soon as we got there, Sergio told me they were ready to come get me. Patty-Sue, Pamela, and I waited on the sidewalk for my ride. It was freezing, and they were lost! But they found me eventually.

It was so nice to get to see her again!

This morning, Sergio and I went to church and heard a very inspiring message by Pastor Mark at NMBC. Did you know that 97% of Christians never share their faith? Lindsay, when it gets posted, give it a listen. It touched us very much.

The plans for today are pretty simple. Sergio is skyping his family right now, but we're going to go downtown for a walk when he's done. We are going to be the musical entertainment for my senior group on Wednesday so we've got practice. He's going to sing and play guitar, and I'm bringing my keyboard. I'm really excited to take him to work with me so he can meet the people who have touched my heart so much.

And tonight is.... BACHELORETTE FINALE! So, any other plans tonight are just not an option!

Wine, Waterslides, and Wendy's

What a jam packed weekend!

On Thursday night, Sergio and I went for a walk. We were planning on going through the KCIC gardens, but they close at dusk. So we walked across Acadia instead. He took me to Cutten. Now for those not as familiar with Acadia, Cutten is the residence that was closed down years ago because of espestice, and it is, in my opinion at least, the creepiest of all the buildings at Acadia. Cutten is being reopened in September, but I had never seen inside so Sergio swiped us in to check it out. Not only is it creepy, it's way creepier at dusk when there's not a soul besides us in the building. Honestly, it smells like playdoh, and besides some features like automatic lights in the bathroom, it still is a gross residence. Huge, but gross. From there we walked through Wolfville to Tims, got some lemonades, and drank them on the dykes. You have to appreciate summer night walks in Wolfville.

Work on Friday was so eventful! I am not superstitious at all, but Friday the 13th was definitely in the works there. SO many near accidents. I was on the edge of my seat all day. And to top that off, the sweetest client who I loved so much was admitted to a nursing home. She was very confused and needed a lot of assistance and attention, but she had a dear spot in my heart. I'll miss her a lot. Luckily, the nursing home she's going to isn't far so I'll be able to visit her once she gets settled in. It's hard to say if she will be able to remember who I am, but those people need all the love they can get.

When I got home from work, Sergio and I did a whirlwind vineyard tour. We didn't do any tours, but we did stop in to five different vineyards in an hour and a half. We tasted many wines (probably not a good idea to be driving from vineyard to vineyard..), and Sergio bought two bottles. I'm too cheap to actually buy the wine. It was fun though. We went to Gaspereau, Luckett, Le' Acadie, Muir Murray, and Grand Pre. My favourite was Grand Pre. The atmosphere was surreal.

We went shopping at Zeller's that night too. They were having a big sale, so we bought pillows and towels and a cooler and a bunch of random stuff.

We got up bright and early on Saturday morning, packed a picnic lunch in our new cooler, and headed down to Annapolis Royal. I absolutely love Annapolis County. You think you're in the valley when you're in Kings County, but it's stunning in Annapolis County. It took us about an hour and a half, but we drove down to Upper Clements Park. We had so much fun riding the roller coaster and the log flume. It was super hot out so we did the waterslide too. Surprisingly, it wasn't too busy, or at least the lines weren't too long when we were there. We ate our picnic lunch there - saved us so much money! We left the park mid afternoon to see what else there was to explore in Annapolis.

Little People, Big World

We stopped at Fort Anne which is Canada's oldest national historic site. I didn't know much about it, but we walked around the grounds, read the history, and took in the beautiful views of the Annapolis Basin. We did a bit of shopping in downtown Annapolis Royal. Such a cute little town.

On the way back to Wolfville, we stopped in to a couple of yard sales, then my favourite bargain shop in Berwick - Bargain Harley's. Anything random you need for cheap, go to Bargain Harley's. Sergio had never been so it was fun for him because it's just like a huge yard sale.

We stopped at Wendy's in Coldbrook for supper. We love Wendy's, and it's such a treat to be in that direction together.

After a much needed rest from the day in the sun and water, we went to the Valley Drive In Theatre. That was so much fun! Unfortunately, the movies were both ones I would never pick, but the experience was great! They showed Ted - stupid and inappropriate for anyone - and Savages - the most intense movie I've ever seen. I didn't actually watch most of the second one. It was way too much for me to handle.

Today, we celebrated National Ice Cream Day by getting Coldstone ice creams and eating them on the dykes (very similar to our first date except add snow and hot chocolate instead of sun and ice cream). We went to Lumsden again for another swim. It's been brutally hot here. Then tonight, we topped off the weekend with dinner at Paddy's. Neither of us felt like cooking.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I'm tired and cranky beyond belief though. I desperately need sleep. This is the last weekend Sergio has off before he goes home for a few weeks. That's the main reason we crammed in so much. I'm going to miss him like crazy, but I'm sure I'll find things to do in the meantime... right?

Chilling with Snooki

Blogging before the weekend? This is new.

Glass Accident

Just had to share a couple funny stories from work this week. On Wednesday, a woman came in to the day program with a doll she had got at a yard sale. This doll could cry and crawl. I asked her what she had named her. Snooki. She named her doll Snooki. Like from Jersey Shore. Snooki...

Another :)

Then later in the same day, the music therapist came in to work with the clients (she comes in once a week). She's a young woman who moved here from Japan. Anyway, Snooki's mom said to this woman, "You know who look like? That girl who works at the Chinese restaurant in Bridgetown." I had to keep myself from laughing. It's one of those moments when you're like, "Kids say the darnest things" except this kid is eighty something years old.
Finished my challenging puzzle! And then another one in the same day, but the next one was a lot easier. Unfortunately, the people who sold it in the yard sale had lost three pieces... biggest pet peeve.
This week, Sergio and I had a chance to check out Fox Hill Cheese House in Port Williams. We both love experimenting with cheeses, so we thought it would be something we could do together that we would both enjoy. What a waste of gas! The property was beautiful, but they weren't making any cheese at the moment and a seniors tour bus was there at the same time as us. We stayed for about ten minutes. Nice try though.

I made the salad...

We finally got out swimming this week too! We drove out to Lumsden in Gasperau Valley one afternoon. It was absolutely gorgeous. I love driving out there because it's all wine country. It's breath taking. We're planning a wine tour for an upcoming weekend, and I'm really looking forward to that. You can't live in the valley and never check out the vineyards! But Lumsden was good too. The water was warm, and it wasn't too busy.

I was sick at work today so I left the office around 11 and had a quiet day at home. I'll need to be rested up for this weekend!

Teenage Dream

What a week! Work just flew by this week since it was only four days. I planned a world wonders week, so I got to show lots of videos and pictures about the seven natural world wonders. I'm telling you, once I'm done this job, I'm going to have an impressive supply of random useless facts. I could go on Jeopardy or something.
Sergio and I got our sponsor child in the mail this week! Well, not the kid himself, but his pictures and information package. His name is Jairo, and he is a fourteen year old boy from Guatemala. He loves math. We wrote him a letter the night we got the package. Sergio insisted we write it in Spanish, but we did this one in English because I'm a little nervous about the translation from English to Spanish and then possibly into a native language. I'm really hoping that it will be possible for us to meet him when we go to Guatemala in December.
On Friday, I took off for Truro to meet up with Angela and spend the weekend with her! I got there a couple of hours before she did which was great because I got to have time with my family. Their house is coming together so quickly now! They got in their 3D projector screen TV and their intense house sound system that plays music throughout the house using the iPad (which is also eventually going to have all the heat, light, and alarm settings for the house too). They've got the gravel in the driveway and the grass on the yard. They put in a touch screen oven and all the cupboards and drawers in the house are impossible to slam. When you shut them, they will slow down before closing so that you don't hear anything. It's a pretty sweet house, but they've got a bit more work to do yet.
Angela and I had planned to go out to the cottage for the weekend, but it was cloudy and rainy. We decided to just stay with my family instead. On Friday night, we sat out on the back patio overlooking the golf course and talked. We had a lot of catching up to do.
On Saturday morning, we went to Smitty's for breakfast then shopped around downtown Truro. We dropped in to see Aunt Karen at her shop as well. I love looking at the prom dresses.

That night after dinner, my dad pulled out a file box filled with journals and pictures and cards that my sisters and I had made as kids. My whole family (well, besides Kelsey and Zach) went through the box. It was absolutely precious. My particular favourite was a booklet I had made in grade one titled "All Abote Me". Here are some of my favourite quotes:

"I like: to play with my little sister
I used to like: playing with my big sister"

"If I could be anyone in the world I would be: Courtney"

"I worry about: Daddy wene he is away on vacsin" (I don't remember my dad ever leaving, but my mom travelled for up to three weeks at a time)

"One thing I know a lot about is: bats"


"I wonder: Abtot cows" (I grew up on a dairy farm)

"When someone is nice to me I: play with them"

"The best thing I ever did for myself was: love myself"

"The biggest mistake I ever made was: obaning the rabbit's cage and they ran away" (still remember this...)

"If I was a teacher, I would: teach" (smart kid, I was)

"If I could change one thing about my room it would be: the wall"

And here is a picture of the best dream I ever had.... yes, those are the teletubbies.

One year for Christmas, Mom got pictures done of us to give to Dad. Needless to say, she got him something else...

I definitely get my sentimentality from my dad.

Later that night, Angela and I went to see Katy Perry: Part of Me in 3D. BEST MOVIE EVER! I totally recommend it if you slightly like Katy Perry. The picture was amazing. I was laughing; I was crying. It was worth every penny. I'm hoping I can convince Sergio to go again with me. I think he'd like the whole music industry side of it. Plus, even if you don't like it, you get awesome pink 3D glasses!
As a result of that movie, I've been on a bit of a Katy Perry music craze.

We went to church in the morning, had dinner with my family after church (Grandma Jones too!), then I headed back to the valley. I was really really happy to see Sergio when I got home. :) It was a really good weekend, but that's my last weekend away from Sergio until he leaves for Guatemala. I'm not too excited for that, but I've got some plans made to keep me busy.

The Eh Team

Skyping PSue!

Washer Toss 

Work was really good all last week. I'm loving getting to know all the clients. Of course, I have a couple of favourites, and I wish I could splurge on the deets...
Sergio and I had to wait to start our weekend on Saturday afternoon because he was working, but I got to Skype Patricia Susan and Angela on Friday night! So good to have the girl talk!
When Sergio got off work on Saturday, we packed up the car and took off to Halifax. We went to my sister and her husband's house first. We had some drinks with them then played a couple rounds of washer toss - girls take boys! Boys won...

Tattoo Parade

Sergio left to spend the night with his friend, Ryan, but Kelsey and I got to have a sisters night out! I honestly don't remember the last time I got to spend one on one time with her, so it was really nice. We went for dinner at Swiss Chalet then went shopping around Bayer's Lake (looking at everything from cooking utensils to baby clothes to wedding planners). We caught the late show of Magic Mike. For those who don't know, Magic Mike is a movie about a male stripper finding meaning for his life.... I think. It was hard to catch much of a storyline because 95% of the movie was watching stripper routines and listening to the F bomb being dropped. Totally not recommended.
Sergio and Ryan  picked me up in the morning, and we drove into downtown Halifax to watch the parade. Sergio's first Canada Day!! I'd never seen the Halifax parade so I was pretty excited too. It was the Royal International Tattoo Parade, and it was phenomenal!
Afterwards we went for lunch at a little pub on Spring Garden Road called the Fickle Frog. Go there! The prices were super cheap, and the food was good! From there we walked around downtown, and we stopped at the Black Market - my new favourite little shop! The jewellery there was so unique! I got three pairs of earrings, and I probably would've got more if I wasn't shopping with two guys.

Black Market

We walked down to the waterfront and booked our seats on the firework cruise! Our original plan was to go to Peggy's Cove that afternoon then see the fireworks in Windsor instead of Halifax, but we couldn't pass up the chance to see the fireworks from the water.
So, we had a lot of time to burn and no plans! Spur of the moment kind of day! As you probably know, Canada Day was extremely hot! My car was reading the temperature as 33 degrees!! We had to stop for sunscreen and aloe vera gel (I was burnt already), but, after dropping in to visit our friend, Kaylyn, we headed out to Lake Banook in Dartmouth for an afternoon at the beach! I hadn't been swimming all summer. The water was perfect! Ryan doesn't swim though, so it was just Sergio and me, but who am I to complain about that? ;)
We burned some more time at Mic Mac Mall where I got some great deals on Aerie underwear - love that store! We headed back over to the waterfront, got cheap parking, and searched for a place to eat dinner.

Now, we were drawn into this restaurant - Fife and Drum Pub - because they had a live music going. We each ordered a drink, but one of the tables on the patio with us had obviously had a lot more to drink. There was about 12 of them between the ages of 40-60, and they were just wasted! They screamed at every single person that walked by the patio, and they danced in the middle of the boardwalk and, my goodness, it was amusing. So, we got the entertainment of the musician and of the drunk middle aged crowd!

After dinner, we ran to get on our boat - Silva. She is part of the Halifax Tall Ships. I've never been on any boat in the harbour besides the ferry, and this one had a live band and a bar on board! We set out at 8:30 and cruised around the harbour drinking and dancing (Maritime music!) and just enjoying the beautiful view of the sun setting. We got to watch the Halifax fireworks from the ship, and I definitely recommend that everyone does this at least once! It was so beautiful!

Sergio and I spent the night at my sister's again, and, in the morning, we headed out to Peggy's Cove since our plans got altered before. I hadn't been there since I was like 7 or 8, and Sergio's never been at all. It was so Maritime-y! We stopped in every shop and art gallery and sea shanty! Such tourists! We sat on the rocks overlooking the ocean and just talked until we heard the thunder coming! Thunderstorms at Peggy's Cove! We got out of there before the lightening hit though.

We stopped at a seafood restaurant on the way home. Awful service. Just awful.

And now we're back in Wolfville. Another week of work for me, but there is one special day this week... seven months tomorrow with my best friend :)