Better pictures

Have I mentioned I love my film camera? :)

Summer is coming!

*I'm sorry for not writing lately. I've been busy, I promise!*

Last Saturday, mom and dad and I all the day off to do some spring cleaning.They brought me down my tote of summer clothes from the attic in our garage and I spent maybe an hour sorting through my summer and winter clothes and going through things to get rid of. My mom noticed my progress and said I did a good job with my haul.  

Also last weekend, Alyssa and Haig went to Saint John, N.B. to visit some friends who just got married. They came back on Sunday and asked if I wanted to hang out and make supper together. I went to their apartment and took all the things to make tuna melts and seven minute rice. They really appreciated it. Haig was doing some homework, so Alyssa and I watched a rather new church movie called "Once I Was A Beehive", and its about our church's young women's camp. It was my first time seeing it and I cried a lot. IT WAS SO CUTE. (And it's on Netflix if you're interested in watching it!) We also had some ice cream while watching it. 

Alyssa and I got ice cream on Thursday night as well, at a place called Jewel's Country Market. You can probably guess, its a garden type store and they have a big greenhouse full of beautiful flowers and herbs and plants. And there's an ice cream bar. Yum!

(We got this picture taken last year. It's a really cool place! Always reminds me of summer in there.)

I think Winnie is excited for summer, so she can lay out in the sun and go on beach trips and hopefully get to spend more time with me. 

Another sign of summer is fishing! Dad and I went fishing at Oyster Bed Bridge on Tuesday. We didn't catch anything, but it was still a nice time to spend with dad as we tested the waters. 

A wild Kevin in his natual habitat near the water

Still fabulous while fishing. #floralrainboots 

On Wednesday night, we had a bonfire at my friend Abby's house. We all love bonfires so much. It was funny to tell stories around the fire and be all cuddled up in blankets. I know all of us are probably going to have more bonfires this summer, as well as beach trips and drive in nights!!

So, I am hoping to take a couple trips in the next few months. Planning is still happening, so stay tuned to hear more adventures!! :)

Mother's Day

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all my motherly readers!

I'm hoping you've all had a lovely day with family or friends or pets or whoever you chose to spend the day with! God bless you all!

This morning when I got up, I gave my mom her presents. I got her a really nice card and a coil notebook that says "BE YOU" in gold letters from Indigo. She liked them! Dad went to Alberton to see my Grammy, so mom and I went to church together and sat with Alyssa and Haig. We had to leave early though since I had to work at 11;30. 

As most of you know, I work in a Rockport outlet store, which is located in a small strip mall with other cool Island shops, including Cows Ice Cream!! Today at the shop, 100% of proceeds from ice cream sales were going to the Red Cross for relief effort in Fort McMurray. I know I'm not supposed to shop on Sunday, but I think we can make an exception when there's a fundraiser involving ice cream. Mom drove down to the shops around 4:30 because the line up was crazy long! However, it was great to see so many people come support the cause. She stayed in line until I got off work around 5:10. I met her down there and paid for the ice cream as another part of her gift! (I also got chocolate covered potato chips and lobster gummy candy)

When we came home, I played with Winnie a little bit in the yard. 

I know it sounds corny or whatever, my pets are my children. They mean so much to me and it gives me a lot of responsibility. And I don't care if people think its weird that I call them my children. So it's kind of Mother's Day for me too ;)

-

Left photo: Me telling my best friend that I'll be late picking her up

Right photo: Meeko trying to think she can attack Winnie through the window and Winnie looking at her like she's crazy, (Also muddy window from Winnie jumping on it after digging, what a little rascal!!)

After playing with Winnie for a bit, it started to rain and even thunder a little. It didn't last long, maybe half and hour. Outside seemed so spring like, so I took my camera out.

I love our weathervane, reminds me of our old yellow lab, Nala.

Also, my hair looked really good yesterday for work, so I wanted to share. :)

xo

Last bit of Burger Love || Moncton adventures

Last two burgers I tried for PEI Burger Love, the Rising Star from Outriders Cookhouse and the Mediterranean Wonder from Big Burger. The website has closed the descriptions, and Outriders was good but I think I liked the one from Big Burger better. It had a little more spice and a really nice flavours that went together well!

Rising Star *

Mediterranean Wonder

||

For Christmas, we got tickets for my parents to see Alan Doyle live in concert at Casino New Brunswick. He's one of my parents favourites!

We left here on Friday night after I got home from work. When we arrived, we went to the Comfort Inn where Alyssa and I were staying with Aunt Helen. Mom and dad were staying at the casino hotel!

We got up Saturday, had breakfast and made our game plan. All of us went to the mall together for a bit. Alyssa and I mainly stayed together for a lot of the stores. Mom texted us and told us to meet her at Sears to give her some advice on a dress she picked out for the event. We approved because it was awesome! We also helped her pick out some jewellery at Ardene.  

Dad went to Bass Pro Fish Shop, so us ladies had lunch together at Ruby Thai. Since we took two cars to the mall, when dad came back, he and mom and Aunt Helen went to the nursing home to see grandma. Alyssa and I decided to shop around some other places. And we went to Cabela's! 

I got a hoodie because I'm cool, okay?

We also went to Party City, which is a REALLY cool store. Alyssa may have been freaking out slightly. 

Mom texted us and said they were going back to the hotel/casino for supper and told us to come. The restaurant in the casino is all you can eat buffet... and it took us about 30 minutes to wait for a table! Oh well. It was a surf and turf buffet, which meant crab legs and roast beef! Everything was so good and dessert was also great!

After we ate, Aunt Helen left to take my Uncle Doug to get some things at the store. Alyssa and I watched a movie on TV while mom and dad got ready for the event. 

We took some picture with the good looking couple. We also walked with them down to the Molson Canadian Centre (which is in between the hotel and the casino). Everyone looked so lovely! Alyssa and I stood up on a balcony sort of thing and looked at everyone for a few minutes. 

So, even though we weren't technically guests at the hotel, we kind of swam in the pool. Oops. But our parents were actual guests, so that counts right?!

After swimming, we wanted to go to Superstore and see if we could find anything cute at Joe Fresh. We didn't, so we got vitamin waters and chocolate bars instead.

We took moms car back to the hotel and Aunt Helen came and picked us up there. 

We all watched a bit of Star Trek on TV, then went to sleep. It was a long day, haha.

(The sun set before we went to Superstore)

Also....

MOM AND DAD MET ALAN DOYLE, BY THE WAY!

It made me so happy!!!

Sunday morning, Alyssa and I packed our stuff and we all went to the restaurant in the casino for brunch. It was kind of odd.

"Its Sunday morning and we're eating brunch in a casino..." - Me

I felt bad, but the food was so good!! Oops, again.

After brunch, we all went to the cemetery where my grandfather is buried. He passed away five years ago and this was my first time visiting the grave. (On the day of his funeral, I didn't go the burial, I was too sad).

The stone has a vase that can be put back into it, so we brought some flowers. It was a gorgeous day out, at least plus 16! After we walked a bit, we went to grandmas nursing home in Riverview. Aunt Helen helped her eat lunch and then we sat in her room for a while. We were waiting for the great aunt and great uncle to come visit from Sackville, but they got a little delayed. Helen went to pick up Uncle Doug, so Alyssa and dad and I made a quick trip to Superstore to get road trip snacks. We came back and sat together in a lounge area. 

Now, it was going on 2 p.m. and I was getting cranky. Mom and dad decided we would leave at 3. Just as we were about to leave, my great aunt and great uncle showed up. Dad already made the plan to leave so we chatted with them for a few minutes before leaving. 

We drove back home where I got to see Winnie and Meeko when we got there! Seeing my "children" made me happy.

I relaxed for a bit and unpacked. Then I went to the church to watch the Worldwide devotional broadcast. It was pretty interesting!

All in all, great weekend with family! :) <3

Something didn't feel right.

Yesterday (April 27), a fire occurred in my neighbourhood. 

Actually, in a field right behind my house. 

I was at work, which is in the Trans Canada Highway, connecting Charlottetown to Cornwall. The North River Fire Department is right up the road. We saw two fire trucks drive by with sirens blaring and lights flashing. We saw two more only a few minutes later. We were all wondering what was going on. 

For some reason, something didn't feel right in my gut. Almost as if I should ask my mom what was going on. 

It was around 4:45 p.m., so I figured my mom would be home from work, but I wasn't sure. I called home and she answered. I was just about to ask if she knew anything about a fire somewhere, and she cut me off to tell me it was in the field and the fire-fighters and police were on the scene. I hung up the phone, and told my co workers it was in my neighbourhood. I started to cry a little bit. I was so worried about my childhood home. My mom and brother were home with Winnie and Meeko. And anyone who knows me, knows that my pets are my children. My manager tried to reassure me to calm down and tell me they were going to get it. 

Thankfully, my mom called back a few minutes later and told me they got the fire under control and they were trying to get the remainder of it. The scariest part is when she told me the fire was right up to the hedge of trees that surrounds our yard, which is maybe 20-30 feet from our house. 

When I got home from work, half the field had turned black, I could still smell burning and some ashes were flying around. I talked to our neighbours, Cyndi and Lauren, who told me a cigarette caused the fire. 

I went into my house to hug my pets and cried a little more. I said a silent prayer thanking Heavenly Father for keeping everyone safe. 

I hope whoever was smoking in the back field has learned their lesson and will be responsible for their actions. (Don't smoke, kids.)

On the other hand, I'm very grateful the fire department made it in time and I'm super grateful for the fire hydrant in my front yard.

(Stole these pictures from my brother)

(These are my pictures)

I'm actually good with the snow that fell today. It will cool everything down.

More Burger Love || Mom's graduation!

Since my last post, I've tried two more burgers for Burger Love. 

Swiss-a-licious (Swiss Chalet)

7oz Island Beef Patty stuffed with Creamed Goat Cheese Filling, House-made Pulled Pork, Cheddar, Grilled Bacon, Spring Mix, Fresh Roma Tomatoes, Garlic Mayo, Swiss Chalet Rib Sauce, and Hand-cut Red Onion Rings with Swiss Chalet Sauce and Parmesan Cheese Batter on a Toasted Kaiser Bun, garnished with a Deep-fried House-made Poutine Ball stuffed with Cheese Curds, Creamy Mashed Potato, and Swiss Chalet Gravy

The Brick-inator (The Brickhouse Kitchen and Bar)

7oz Island Beef Patty, 4 Strips of Candied Bacon, Gouda Blend Cheese, Butterleaf Lettuce, Onion Rings tossed in Frank’s Hot Powder, and House-made 'The Brick' Sauce on a Toasted Herb Cheesy Bun, garnished with Onion Rings and Dill Pickle

So far, The Brickhouse is my favourite. I'm pretty sure I gave it a 10. 

Swiss Chalet was good too! I didn't think I would like the pulled pork, but it was all right!!

||

For the past few years, my mom has been quite busy. She found out about a program through Holland College to get her Early Childhood Education while still being able to work. 

This is what life was like for a while. She would take a lot of different courses on weekends and some evenings, all while trying to balance work, family, church callings and everything inbetween. 

But today, we were able to celebrate all her efforts at her graduation!!

Mom has come so far, and I'm happy to see her continuing her learning in the field of work she loves.

P.S. my mom is a baby whisperer.

Accepting her diploma 

All graduated!

Dad, mom, Alyssa and me.

After the grad, I went to Alyssa and Haig's. We had tacos together for supper, then Alyssa and I watched three episodes of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt", which is an awesome show on Netflix and we love it!

<3

Pet moments || P.E.I. Burger Love || General Conference!

Last week, I had two days off work. So I basically just stayed home and watched movies with my pets. (Also from my last post, "The Good Dinosaur" was good but I thought it had some sketchy parts. The animation is beautiful. And "Sisters" was good too I suppose, it wasn't as funny as I thought it would be.)

while Winnie was outside enjoying the sun, I got some rare kitty cuddles

We went to the Victoria Park boardwalk. She came home and plopped right down in my bed and I laid there with her.

||

In 2011, a campaign called "P.E.I. Burger Love" was born (http://peiburgerlove.ca/). It's basically a lot of Island restaurants in competition to see who can make the best burger. People try the burgers and vote for them online throughout the month of April. At the end, the most loved burger wins.

This year is 73 burgers, and me being the small person I am, I've tried two so far. 

Foxy Dill (BOOMburger)

2 – 3.5oz Island Beef Patties, Bb Fry Dill Dip, Lettuce, Dill Pickles, Tomatoes, COWS Extra Old Cheddar, Lucky Fox Snack Co. White Cheddar Dill Chips, Ketchup, and Mustard on a Bun grilled with COWS Creamery Butter

Desperado (Pizza Delight 1911 Jail)

6oz Island Beef Patty, Homemade Beef Chilli, Iceburg Lettuce, Onion, Corn Chips, Traditional Mustard, and Queso Cheese Sauce on a Fresh Herb and Cheese Bun

Both were very good. On the Foxy Dill, I wasn't a huge fan of the chips on there, mainly because I couldn't taste them very well. 

I'm hoping to try a few more!

||

Also, general conference was held over the weekend. General Conference is a broadcast church meeting held in Salt Lake City and is shown to members worldwide. I had to work during the Saturday sessions, but I watched them on Tuesday night. And I was able to watch the sessions on Sunday at the church. 

I have to say my favourite talk was by Jeffrey R. Holland. He's always so real and knows what he's talking about. 

Here is the link if you would like to read it! (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/tomorrow-the-lord-will-do-wonders-among-you?lang=eng)

I also liked a lot of the talks about Temples and families. We have a Temple in Halifax, but its still hard to get to sometimes since we all work and have other activities to do. Last time I went was on Thanksgiving weekend in October. I hope I can go sometime this summer with my parents. :)