Bronwyn's Website

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Latest news: October 9th, 2006 - Holy smokes it's been a while since we gave you, our loyal audience, an update. We apologize for the lack of both photos and news but we've been quite enjoying ourselves. Here's a recap. (This turned out to be a really long update so I'll let you know right up front that there are new pictures posted and this blog entry is going up on Rilla's site too as there's no way I'm writing all of this twice!)

Once again, we survived June and exams. We even got in a camping trip with the Brissons. We spent the St. Jean Baptiste weekend in Robert Moses State Park. We had beautiful weather the whole weekend. It was even nice enough to go swimming on Saturday morning. Bronwyn didn't do too well sleeping in the tent the first night we were there (John finally knocked her out with a drive at about 11:30) but she settled a little better the next night. She and Carolane had fun playing at the swings (which were right behind our tent) and roasting marshmallows. She also learned that vodka is a grown-up drink as she couldn't understand why she couldn't have some of Mommy's lemonade. (She now makes me sound like I have a drinking problem as she often asks if I'm drinking vodka.) Rilla also celebrated the occasion of her first camping trip with her first real word. She'd been saying "mamamama" and "dadadada" for a little while but when "dadadada" tried to put her down for a nap, she made it perfectly clear who she wanted. After letting her cry for a few minutes to see if she would sleep, John went in to get her. As soon as she saw him - "DADA"! Oh well, Bronwyn said "mama" first!

July saw us heading east. We stopped in Cross Creek for a couple of days to see the Arseneaus. It was a pleasure as always and breaking up the 18 hour drive always makes for more pleasant travel. We made it to Cape Breton on the 3rd and stopped for a couple of days in Bras d'Or. We then embarked on our Newfoundland excursion. The ferry ride went fairly smoothly considering we were all up and on the go at 4:30am. A portable DVD player goes a long way to making any voyage with kids more enjoyable. Rilla napped in her stroller while John and I took turns pushing it through the hallways of the cabins (nice and quite with no bumps to drive over). Nanny took a couple of laps too if I recall correctly. The playroom wasn't very impressive but at least there was room for Bronwyn to run a little and Rilla to crawl. It helped get the kinks out for sure. We finally hit land sometime around 10:30pm. Auntie Shauna and Uncle Darrin met us at the top of the road to guide us to Cupids. So did a freakin' huge moose. Luckily, he had found something tasty by the side of the road because we'd have been toast if he'd been on the road. We got to spend 5 days in Newfoundland with Nanny, Auntie Shauna and Uncle Darrin (and of course Shadow and Chance). It wasn't nearly long enough but it was wonderful. We got to see Cupid's Haven (it's amazing) and we got to spend time with the Akermans. We also got to do some touristy things. We went whale watching in Bay Bulls which was awesome. Bronwyn was afraid to go anywhere near the rails on the boat until the first humpback spouted. Then we couldn't keep her away from them. I can't say whether the one that was right next to our boat was a big humpback whale or not but it was huge. We could see the lines on his pectoral fins through the water we were so close. We got to see lots of puffins and other birds along the cliffs. We were supposed to head right back to shore but there was a young humpback breaching so our captain took us over for another quick look. Bronwyn will probably still say the whale was waving at just her. Rilla slept through most of the cruise but did look awfully cute in her life jacket. Unfortunately due to a hard drive crash, we lost the pictures but I assure you, they were good. While in Newfoundland, we also got to visit Signal Hill and Salmon Cove Sands Beach. Who knew you could have grey sand? We left for Nova Scotia with a few tears on Monday night. We were on the waiting list for a cabin but we had no such luck. We had three berths though so off we went. Bronwyn got to meet everyone who had an upper bunk. Needless to say, if we ever tell her that she and Rilla need to share a room, she won't object to bunk beds. We made good time on the crossing and were home in New Waterford for lunch.

We took it pretty easy while in New Waterford. We celebrated Rilla's baptism while there. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate it with us. Rilla was quite happy to be christened. She barely made a sound and was pretty social through the whole thing. We all had quite a laugh when Fr. Lester was in the middle of his sermon and couldn't help but proclaim "Oh my God, you look like your mother!!". Well, she does! After a week in New Waterford, it was time to pack up and head to Bras d'Or. We spent more time relaxing there. I believe we ventured as far as Baddeck with Jamie but that was about it. It was really nice to have the luxury of having the time to relax. Bronwyn and Rilla enjoyed the shore with Granny and Grampy. Bronwyn also had great fun finding shells at Aunt Judy's beach. All in all, it was a wonderful 3 weeks. We eventually started for home, driving down through Bangor, Maine and North Conroy,New Hampshire to avoid the long, boring trip through Quebec again. Our route took us through the White Mountains. They are beautiful and we're pretty sure we're going to back there for a camping trip next year.

So, you'd have thought we were pretty sick of travelling by August. However, after picking up the mail, interviewing some caregivers and mowing the lawn, we hopped back into the car and headed to Boston - or at least just outside of it. We camped for a week in Harold Parker State Forest. It's about 30 minutes north of Boston but a beautifully wooded and pretty darn quiet park. Rilla celebrated the trip by standing up on her own for the first time. She was pretty excited by it. The Brissons met up with us there for a few days so we hopped on the subway and took the kiddies to the New England Aquarium. Bronwyn was pretty excited to see the penguins, the jellyfish and the seals but she flipped when she saw the sea turtle. "Daddy, is that Dude?!" (Anyone who's watched "Finding Nemo" will get the reference.) She even got to talk to the diver who was going into to clean the big round tank and watch him feed the turtle lettuce. She also told him to watch out for the barracudas. She's a smart one alright! On Friday, the Brissons left and we went into the city again to visit Fenway Park. Now to be fair, Bronwyn did not enjoy this as much as John and I did but the whole summer couldn't be all about her. Rilla did love the feel of the wind going through her hair when we were on the highest walkway. We spend Sunday morning walking around Harvard, getting the girls used to where they're going to go to school. We had a somewhat disastrous trip to the Museum of Science (really should have gone back to camp and napped) and finished the day off with a dip in the ocean. We will definitely visit there again.

So we spent the rest of August getting our caregiver set up, tidying up the house and just enjoying each other's company. John and I have never in our lives spent 9 weeks together with nothing we had to do so this summer was a great experiment. I think we could do it again every year so I guess I've got to go get my B.Ed. sometime soon. September came pretty quick and that meant John went back to work and I followed shortly thereafter. The girls have settled in nicely at Sara's. Bronwyn really likes them as she has told us she'd like to have a little sister named Sara and a little brother named Ed (Sara's husband). We're not planning on obliging her just yet but maybe next year. Rilla celebrated September by popping her first tooth on the 1st followed by another on the 14th. She hasn't spiked any fevers recently so the third is not likely to pop soon.

We ended September at Scott and Eric's wedding. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. We don't think Bronwyn understands what getting married means as she kept asking when were they going to dance. She thinks first you dance and then you're married. She'll figure out the in between stuff later (probably when she's about 12 or so). Rilla didn't get to go to the wedding but she made her own excitement this week. She's been cruising the furniture more and more and finally, she let go and took a couple of steps. Then she got brave and took four steps over to John. Since then, she's been only crawling but we think it's because she can keep up with big sister that way. You can just see it in her eyes that once she starts running, she won't stop. Hmmm, who does that remind you of?

So it's Thanksgiving Monday and we are resting after an active weekend. We went hiking in Gatineau Park yesterday and today we had fun at Saunders Farm. Tomorrow, it's back to work and daycare. Before we know it, it will be Halloween, then Rilla's first birthday and then Christmas. With everything that's coming up, I'll try not to get so behind in the updates. Until then, Happy Turkey Day!

June 10th, 2006 - It's been a while since Bronwyn's blog had an update. The Spring has come and is basically gone since we've hit 40 with the humidex already. Since the last update, Bronwyn has done lots of cool stuff. She started big girl swimming lessons where she goes into the pool without Mommy and Daddy. That's a work in progress although she definitely loves the water. Bronwyn and Daddy went to see "Dora's Pirate Adventure" at the beginning of May. That was a big hit. They had second row seats and Bronwyn just about crawled out of her skin when Diego came on stage. She likes him WAY more than Dora now! Since Lindsey, our babysitter (YIPPEE), brought "Cinderella" to watch while Mommy and Daddy went to see INXS (what an awesome band!), Bronwyn is on a princess kick. She likes to be Cinderella and doles out the other roles as she sees fit. Daddy is usually the Prince, as he should be. We spent the last Sunday of May at the Gloucester Fair. Bronwyn and her friend Carolane quite enjoyed the rides together. Bronwyn speaks English and Carolane speaks French but they seem to be able to get along (most of the time) anyway. If you see Bronwyn, ask her to speak French to you - it's a lot like how Joey from "Friends" does it. To try and give Daddy some time to mark, the Serroul girls went to Fitzroy Provincial Park for the day last weekend to meet up with Carolane and her family. The two of them got quite filthy digging in the sand on the beach. There are no pictures of that as it never stopped raining. We are planning on going camping in a couple of weeks. Our previously scheduled trip was cancelled due to crappy whether so we're hoping Mother Nature cooperates. We'll keep you updated. In an effort to cut down the time it takes to post pictures and get them up quicker, Bronwyn and Rilla's picture pages are now consolidated into one page. While there are always more pictures to post, we hope you enjoy the latest bunch.

March 28th, 2006 - Bronwyn's third birthday has come and gone. She greatly enjoyed eating both of her cakes. We celebrated as a family on the 15th by going out for breakfast in the morning (she loves her bacon) followed by swimming at the wave pool. After nap, it was time to open up presents, eat our birthday pizza and have cake. Bronwyn wasn't too interested in the presents but the cake was a totally different matter. She plowed into it after eating a ton of pizza. Needless to say, it took a little longer than usual to get her to sleep. We celebrated her birthday with her playgroup friends on Saturday morning with a fiesta à la Dora. We had a pinata and everything. Bronwyn and Carolane enjoyed taking a whack at it while Kaelen and Isabel preferred to watch. We had fajitas for lunch and sang "Happy Birthday" again with another cake. (For those of you in Ottawa, we highly recommend Artistic Cake Design. Holy crow, they make good cake!)

So, our big girl is three years old now. Where does the time fly? To commemorate the event, we had some pictures done. Bronwyn's three year picture is below. Our family picture is now up on the main Serroul family page and you can check out Rilla's picture and one of the two girls together on Rilla's site.

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