Farmer's Markets, Lost Children, Driving Ranges, and The Candy Shop

This day was bursting with activities. Unfortunately, there wasn't as much opportunity to take quality photos during a few of these key events, so my descriptive play-by-play will have to suffice.

Early Morning Activities

The morning began at 6:00am, at which time Jesse woke up Janna, and the day was on! This has been the case for every day of our vacation. 

(Admittedly, I didn't reach consciousness until a little past 7, so I'm going from Chrissy's memories and pictures here.)

Janna entertained herself by opening and slamming loudly the cupboard doors.

Ever the foil to Janna, Jesse entertained himself by reading calmly.

Janna, not to be outdone, quickly found her own book!

The Farmer's Market, and How We Lost Jesse in A Mall

Eager to make up for my absence during the early-morning activities, I took the kids out to the Fredericton North farmer's market with Mom.

Have you ever tried to take a picture of young children in a farmer's market? There were so many people there that I quickly abandoned that activity and switched to "Keep the Kids Alive" mode. Although this was a little tricky in such a busy place, we had a great time.

Then we travelled to Zellers to get a new puzzle for Jesse. We figured it was time to amp up the experience for him - we got him a 48 piecer. The Vances are all about living life on the wild side!

During our little shopping excursion, Mom stepped into the bank to get some change for the dollar rides (which continue to be Jesse's greatest obsession), and I was watching Janna. What can I say? One minute Jesse was sitting on the dollar ride, the next minute he was gone.

It's kind of scary to lose your kid, and this is actually the second time this week that Jesse has taken off like that on me in a mall. Anyhow, for a good minute we couldn't find him anywhere. I went to check the bank and Mom checked down the hall, and a moment later she found him.... at a dollar ride down the hall! It's crazy how these things can stress you out. Needless to say, Jesse and I exchanged some words on the matter.

Golf Rehab

I had casually mentioned to my parents my complete inability to play golf. Today, my Dad suggested that we head down to the driving range to work on my shot. I thought this was a great idea, so off we went!

Turns out, it will take more than the eighty-five balls Dad purchased for me to make a dent in my deficit of golfing aptitude. Swing like a disc, Dad advised. Don't swing your arms, rotate your upper body. Don't bob when you swing. Swing the club, not your hips. These are all really good tips, but I can't imagine how I must have looked if I was doing the opposite of all of these!

At any rate, of the 85 balls, I probably shot 30 of them directly in the woods on my right. Any and every time I got the ball into the air, it went into the woods. Not one ball went down the driving range. I probably clipped 50 balls into the little area directly in front of the range - I was actually pretty excellent at driving a ball 15-20 feet. 5 balls I sent directly sideways at Dad, which would have made things a lot more exciting had there not been wooden walls protecting him from me. 

I appreciated the experience, however! Next time I go golfing, there's a very strong chance that I'll both hit the ball and send it into the closest group of trees.

Visit to the Candy Fam

Some people that Chrissy and I were particularly glad to see were Lucas and Melissa Candy, who were friends first from ABU in Moncton, and later in Ottawa, before they moved back to the Maritimes. 

I hadn't actually met their one-year old, Gideon, yet, so it was really great to see the little guy! In our visit, he was definitely the more mellow of the three children.

Here they are! Note the calm expression on Gideon's face.

Group picture! Jesse was trying to be a pretty sweet guy here, but Janna was having none of it.

Our visit with the Candys was a little shorter than usual due to the intensity of the Vance kiddies, but it was definitely great to see them. Hard to believe that next time we see them we'll have a third Vance baby to add to the mix.... piece of cake!! (hahahaha)

Until next time!