(photo courtesy of Brent Gamble)
So, I had contemplated trying to do a nice, full post about all our Fredericton adventures, but then came to the conclusion that realistically, a synopsis is all I'm going to manage. So here you go: the quick and dirty recap of the last few weeks.
1. Fredericton.
So, as I mentioned, we made a surprise visit home before Christmas, to go to Clark's grandfather's funeral. It was a ridiculously quick turnaround time - somehow on a Monday morning, we managed to pack ourselves, Juniper, and all the necessary gear, and then get on the road by 1pm. This also meant, however, that we ended coming home to a bit of a disaster (read: moldy dishes in the kitchen sink. Gross). Anyway, we made it in one piece, and Juniper was an angel until the last 15 or 20 minutes of the drive, so we couldn't have asked for much better.
I was a bit nervous for the funeral itself - it was over an hour drive to get there from Fredericton, and the church was very small - small enough that if Juniper got fussy mid-funeral (or was upset from the drive), there was literally no place for me to take her. She was, however, a complete angel - she had smiles for everyone, and then just happily settled on my shoulder and sucked her thumb for the whole service. It was as if she sensed the mood - as though she knew how important it was to be a happy, shining light for everyone there.
The above photo is from the reception after the funeral; the bottom is also post funeral, at the farm with Juniper's great-grandmother Betty and her Aunt Theresa.
The rest of the Fredericton visit was actually quite nice - it was a different trip, because we weren't really there to do anything except go to the funeral. That meant that after the funeral was over, we were able to take the next few days to just relax and visit with some family that we wouldn't have been able to see if we had just stayed in Halifax as planned, and Juniper even got to meet some new people, like her step-cousin Ciaran, her great uncle Gerry, and Patrick's mother Brigitta (who made Juniper a lovely quilt). I'll post a bunch of pictures in a new Picasa album very soon. In the meantime, here is a nice shot of the Richards siblings with Juniper (except for poor Elizabeth. She is actually sitting next to Theresa, but refused to be in any photos due to her post-wisdom teeth surgery face).
A fun first for Juniper while we were in Fredericton was a quick cross-country ski that Clark, Theresa, Juniper and I went on. Clark strapped her to his back, and off we went... Juniper mostly slept for the ride, but she seemed very content and cozy! Here is a video from our little adventure:
2. Christmas in Halifax
After being delayed a bit longer than we had originally anticipated due to stormy weather, we finally made it back to Halifax on the 21st. We proceeded to have the very, very quiet Christmas that we had originally conceived of - we didn't even leave the house for three days straight. Here we all are on Christmas morning... our first family Christmas. We even had a tree! Here we are first thing in the morning in our PJs...
And here is a picture of Juniper in her Christmas outfit later on in the morning once we got dressed. Seriously, have you ever seen a cuter little elf girl?
On boxing day, my parents and my sister Andrea (who had made a surprise trip home from Vancouver) all came for a visit, which was lovely. And then there was New Years Eve, which Clark and I celebrated by going to bed shortly after 10 :) And here we are, in 2010 already. Happy New Year!
Now that I've caught up on the synopsis, I'll move into all the new and wonderful things Juniper has been up to recently. Stay tuned! I'll leave you with a fun picture of Juniper helping me with the chores. (yes - to all you skeptics, I DO know how to vacuum)
No comments:
Post a Comment