SIX

So old, he now needs two hands to demonstrate his age

This past weekend was noteworthy for two reasons: the first was that my brother Michael and his husband Steve were visiting Fredericton, and the second was that Linden was celebrating his 6th birthday.  The decision to combine the two events was, of course, a no-brainer.  So on Friday, Clark took the day off of work, the kids skipped school, and off we went for a whirlwind Fredericton adventure. We were only there for one full day (Saturday, which was Linden's actual birthday), but we packed it full to bursting.

Event #1: Birthday Brunch

Hosted at my parent's house, this brunch included anyone who was available from our combined families. It included lots of food, TWO birthday cakes, a scavenger hunt, and presents. In other words, it was a roaring success.

Pretty classy spread for a 6-year old's birthday

Aunt Elizabeth made some beautiful cupcakes that were almost too lovely to eat.  Almost.

Juniper was in charge of packing her own fancy clothes and accessories. She was dressed to the nines.

The cousins begin the big scavenger hunt!

Reading the second clue amongst the highbush blueberries

Resting in the sunroom after the big finalé

Pretty ladies

Inexplicably, Juniper felt the need to quiz everyone about their preferred choice of cake as they arrived, and then enter their name (and choice) in a draw to see who would get the second piece of cake.  Just as inexplicably, my mother had the perfect box just hanging around

Cake #1 (my mom's creation - a bird, after Linden's request)...

... and Cake #2

Group shot with the beautiful fall background!  

With aunt Liz and uncle Pat

Juniper and Chelsea (Juniper is going through a real "bunny ears" phase)

Juniper and Michael trade glasses, with hilarious results

Michael pulls the kids around in Bob's heavy duty wheel barrow

Look who showed up! (Scott, Theresa, and, much to the kids' delight, Sam)

Couple of goofballs

Michael, Steve and the kids

 Event #2: Walk in the woods through gorgeous O'dell Park
In order to work off all the brunch food (and, more to the point, to enjoy the incomparable fall day), Clark and the kids and I joined Theresa, Scott and Bill for a romp around O'dell park.  This Fredericton gem is always a magical destination.

Juniper proudly shows off her new "adventure bag", which Mike and Steve brought for her, complete with notebook, pencil, pen, and eraser.  She was ALL OVER it.

The kids (term used loosely) scale and then navigate an irresistible fallen tree

Scott and Juniper

The hiking crew!

Linden, having brought his new light sabre along, was quick to protect us all from trolls every time we needed to cross one of the many O'dell bridges 

Three generations of plaid

The hiking ladies!

Adding to a cool make-shift shelter we found along the way

Big boy, fall leaves, mossy rock

Linden found a huge hollow tree trunk, and quickly made his way inside...

... followed closely by Juniper...

... and GRANDPA!

They even managed to get four in there in the end, though I think they were all very happy to get out after I shot the photo.

Heading back

Event #3: A visit with great-aunt Evie

After O'dell, Clark and the kids and I headed to Evie's house, as she had a present waiting for Linden: an absolutely gorgeous hand-knit sweater:

The only photo I got where everyone was stationary all at the same time

Linden models his new sweater.  Isn't it lovely?

Event #4: Dinner at Deb and Yvon's:
As if one meal wasn't enough, the evening found a large contingent of us back at the dinner table - this time at Deb and Yvon's.  The menu included both roast beef and salmon, and was a huge treat. I was clearly photo-ed out at this point, so I have very little to document it, but here is one final shot of Mary and Linden:

pre-dinner snuggles

And that about sums it up!  We spent Sunday morning packing and trying to fit everything in the car - not an easy feat when adding a tonne of additional stuff in.  Not only were there all of Linden's presents, but I also had bunch of boxes full of new pottery supplies, freshly bisqued pieces, AND my first load of completed glaze ware!!  It was like my birthday and Christmas combined.  Though it is a bit of a ridiculous solution to my lack of kiln, having Deborah fire all of my stuff for me is a tremendous treat.  It also promotes any and all visiting between Fredericton and Halifax that we can encourage (to courier my stuff back and forth), which is certainly an added bonus! 

After successfully squeezing the car to capacity, we visited with Mike and Steve (and Kelli and crew) one last time, then headed back to Halifax. Though no one dreamed of sleeping in on the weekend, the kids woke up late enough this morning that there was no hope of catching the bus.  Clark grumbled heartily at this irony, let me assure you, but in the end we managed to get everyone to school and work on time.  So... all's well that ends well.

See you next week!