VACATION

Towards the end of February, Justin had a break from school. A lot of our friends were either going to Utah, or making plans to go to Maine. We knew those two options would not be happening for us, so we decided to make family plans of our own.

We talked with people in the community, and tried to get a feel for what there is to do up here in the winter. We haven`t left the city since last August, and we wanted to see the country side, but didn`t know where to go. Justin mentioned to one of his patients that we were looking for a spot to visit, and they suggested a place in Moncton, New Brunswick called Crystal Palace.
Just came home that night and we looked up pictures online. The hotel offered all that Miley and Scotlin could ever dream of with their indoor pool and amusement park. They took one look at the carosel, and they were sold!

New Brunswick is about 2 and a half hours away, so we decided to make the most of our getaway by staying for 2 nights. A vacation! The real deal! We scheduled our time there a few weeks in advance... the hardest part was telling the kids day after day that it was time to go yet, and we have to wait! :) They asked 100 times a day, everyday, until that much anticipated time arrived!

We packed our things the night before we left. Miley packed herself... she was so happy to finally be going she could hardly stand it. She flew from her room to ours throwing her favorite things in the suit case, along with a few things she thought she might need. :) We could have bottled her energy! She was floating on a cloud - out of this world - excited!

The morning we left it was raining, and about 25 minutes out of town we were caught in a huge snow storm, inching along. Luckily the kids fell asleep for most of the ride, but the trip that should have taken about 2 and a half hours ended up taking closer to 4.

Canadian countryside is thick forest for as far as your eyes can see.

We passed the exact point where we stand half way between the North Pole and the Equater, payed the toll roads with our Loonies and Toonies, ( Canadian 1 and 2 dollar coins ) and white knuckled it all the way to the next Canadian Province over.

Moncton was a nice town. The first thing we noticed was how much stronger the French influence was  in New Brunswick. Miley and Scotlin had been on broken record asking, `are we there yet...` from the backseat, so when we pulled up to the hotel they were over joyed! Dad pulled up to the front and went inside to check in. When he came back out Miley was exploding with questions about the inside of the hotel. She wanted to know everything about the pool, rides, and fish tank... but most importantly:  `is it quiet in there... or are there other  kids pushing their way through...`

She wanted to make sure she was free to stay and play without any trouble, and had this amazing place all to herself! :)

Miley would prefer to play where it is quiet than in a crowd of kids any day, and as it turned out, Crystal Palace was the PERFECT spot to make that happen. Since our stay landed in the middle of the week, we nearly had the hotel, pool, and amusement park all to ourselves. There were no crowds, no lines, and no noise. It was the perfect quiet retreat!

As soon as we were settled in our room the kids were headed for the pool. The last time we took the kids swimming Miley slipped under the water without anyone watching. I think my heart is still at the bottom of that pool, where it sunk the instant I saw her helpless little body. Needless to say, this time we came prepared with life jackets!

I think the added safety measure made everyone feel a little more confident.

(Although, I still had my moments when Scotlin would jump off the edge--- even though Justin was right there!)

The day was spent chasing the two of them back and forth a thousand times from the hot tub to the pool over and over. They were having a blast.

I mainly looked after Miley while Justin held onto Scotlin ( who was completely fearless).

Little Scotlin showed us a whole new side to himself that day at the pool. He was a fish! he was jumping in like crazy, tearing around, and having a blast!

Miley liked to stay close to the stairs, and her `jumping` to me, looked more like I never let go. ;)

My favorite part about swimming with her was taking her hand, lifting her off the steps, and pulling her through the water like a mermaid, and hearing her sing soflty to herslef:

`I can show you the world...` From Disney`s Aladdin... :)

The rest of our evening, and into the next day were spent dinning out, dinning in, relaxing, playing, and enjoying being together.

On our second day at Crystal Palace we spent our time at the amusement park!

Where rides were ridden over and over and over again.

Justin and I weren`t sure how the kids were going to respond the all the action, noise, high rides, and rollercoasters, but we were the ones who were suprised.

 Miley and Scotlin found their paradise!

Once again we seemed to have the place all to ourselevs. The only waiting we had to do, was for someone to come opperate our rides! :) The plan was to wear the kids out, but they wore us out instead! As soon as one ride came to a stop, they ran to another, and so it went all day long. We were so pleased to see how much they were enjoying thereselves, and our vacation location! ;)
Just and I had to start taking turns going on rides with the kids, (with us as the only passangers, the workers didn`t ignore Miley and Scotlin`s requests for More! Longer! Higher! Faster!) and before we knew it, us oldies were getting a bit sick to our stomachs. At one point we went on the rollercoaster 9 times in a row! it would have been more if we would have allowed it...

The kids favorites were:

The rollarcoaster! The Submarine! The Choo-ChooTrain! The Airplanes! The Carosel! The Monster Trucks! Mini golf, and the Pirate Ship!

We enjoyed all the fun Crystal Palace had to offer, and feel our money was well spent! Miley has already planned her next birthday party here this summer, and has told me so everyday since we left that we (according to her) will be heading back! :)

True to what they say, time travels too fast when your having fun!

-Until next time Crystal Palace...  

The day we traveled home was crystal clear. The ride was half as long but just a beautiful!

This time we stopped a few times along the way to remember the scenery of New Brunswick.

For my girl who loves windmills.

We always talk about stopping as we enter Nova Scotia for a family picture. And today, even though it was fridgid outside we thought, `well, here`s our chance!...` So we went for it. We didn`t have a photographer, or even a plan. It looks simple right... until we had to navigate our way to the front through the snow (which was knee deep) trying to jump from boulder to boulder (Which were HUGE), with the kids in our arms, and the freezing wind in our faces.

So worth the photos we captured.

The kids were not happy with us. :-)

This is how happy Miley was to be home. :-)

She was seriously mad that we were home. We pulled into the driveway and she bawled.

I`d say that`s a sign that she had a really great time while we were away.

Since we`ve been home talk of Crystal Palace happens on a daily basis.

If Miley has any part of it, we will be back.

It was so nice to `get away from it all` for a short time. Our responsibilities are rarely on hold for more than a minute at a time, so this time it was nice to put all our cares aside other than that of having a great time, and enjoying our children.

Now we know we have a place to go when it`s cold outside, that will always leave us smiling.