Everyone Loves Marine Land...Except Sissy :-(

We had a lovely trip to TO to visit Paul, Lauren, and Owen last week. Mom and Dad came too, so it was an official Barker Family Vacation! First stop - Marine Land. Since it was sunny and hot the entire time we were there, we had to put lots of sunscreen on the kids...which Sissy got in her eyes as soon as we arrived to the dolphin show. She spent the better part of the day with red eyes and was pretty grumpy - poor little thing didn't really get to enjoy the day. Matthew on the other hand loved it all - here are he and Nana watching the dolphin show.

Next stop rides...

...and more rides...

...Owen wasn't so sure about the rides :-)

My boys :-)

A highlight was watching Matthew feed and pat Sierra - the beluga whale - he is such a natural with animals! He also got to throw food to bears and feed lots of fish.

The deer practically mobbed Matthew, but he held his own!

Aylesford Zoo - May 8

Early in May while Chad and I were at the Alumni Tournament, Nana and Grampy took the kids for their first trip of the 2010 season to the Aylesford Zoo. They enjoyed feeling the goats and the chickens and Matthew had lots of pony rides. Sissy wasn't ready for the pony ride just yet...maybe next time :-)

Bluenose Marathon - May 23

On Saturday we all went to Halifax to watch Chad in his first race since we've moved back to NS - the Bluenose Marathon. Chad was running in the 10km along with Kelley, Chuck and Carmen - here he is pre-race. While he and Kelley went to warm up, Hector and I took the kids to Citadel Hill to meet Jay and Trish and find a good cheering spot!

Go Daddy Go!! Here comes Chad approaching the finish line!

Finish time - 46 min 41 sec - pretty good, especially for such a hilly course!

Keji Seaside Adjunct - March 6

We were lucky enough to spend a weekend at White Point with great friends back in March. We rented a really nice cottage, enjoyed some down time and good laughs, ate awesome food, and ventured on a hike to the Keji Seaside Adjunct Park. The park is just beautiful!

The men featuring their best studdly poses ;-) Lookin good fellas!

In this picture, Adam is trying to pay Chad to jump in the water....no deal.

The four lovely ladies by the shore :-) Good times!

Beaver Bank Sledding - February 19

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not big on being outside when it's cold...and I haven't been sledding for probably 10 years! But on a kind of warmish February day we decided to trek out to the golf course for some sledding on the GT snow racer! I have to admit, it was pretty fun and the kids had a ball!!!

Anna didn't want to miss anything so she climbed on with Dad. Matthew gave them a big push!

The walk up the hill was tough :-)

For the last trip down the hill, Matthew and Anna piled on with Chad. Here they are at the bottom.

Easter Sunday - April 4

This year we spent Easter in Middleton with Nana and Grampy. The easter bunny made a special stop in Nana's garden Sunday morning...

The first thing that Matthew did when he woke up was look out his bedroom window to see if the easter bunny had left any eggs in the garden...boy did he ever!

It didn't take long for little Sissy to catch onto the Easter egg hunt!

My little supermodel in her easter dress from Grammie and Grampy S.

Cottage Cove Provincial Park - April 3

Well, I've been a little slack with the blog this year to say the least. With two growing and busy kids, quiet moments are hard to come by :-) We got some nice weather in early April though and took the kids to the shore. Grampy B got the tide times mixed up, so there were no crabs to be found, but the kids still had a blast running around and looking at the puddles. Of coarse, wherever Matthew went, Anna was sure to follow - a big change from their first trip to the shore in 2009 when Anna was still in the infant car seat!

Anna checking things out with Grampy.

Matthew loved climbing over all the big rocks!