The boys loved seeing Daddy all day everyday and were attached to him like glue, which in turn helped facilitate Mommy's shopping outings, so everyone was happy. Daddy and Gung Gung took advantage of the handful of hot sunny days and brought the boys in a wagon to the awesome waterpark in St.Albert. The water was still pretty "fresh" but Sam had good time stomping around. Jasper, not so much. Does not like swimming pools, does not like baths, will not like waterpark. Mommy was persistent though and did get his feet wet on one visit. Jasper however, loved the wagon rides. Sometimes he would climb into the wagon himself and wait for Gung Gung to start pulling him for a ride around the block. As soon as Gung Gung would pull up the driveway, Jasper would let out protesting cries until Gung Gung pulled him out for another round. Lots of good exercise for Gung Gung when Jasper is around.
A must-do on Sam's list is a trip to Galaxyland at WEM. Sam went on the same rides he is used to but insisted that he wanted to try the airplane one this time. He did not figure out how to maneuver the plane to go up and down and was still in a bit of shock that he was on this ride all by himself so he just had his sweet brown eyes wide open and switched back from looking at me and to the floor of the plane. Jasper enjoyed the train ride and the transportation themed ride as well but the big thing for Jasper was waving for the first time ever while Sam and I were on the horse carousel. He was being held by Grandma and surprised us with his newfound talent as Sam and I passed by.
Sam also became the proud new owner of an iPad. June-yee decided to upgrade so she sold her old one to Gung Gung and Po Po, who then decided to spoil their grandson. Up until this point Sammy only wanted to use the small plastic potty when he did his poops so it was a wonderful opportunity to use the iPad as an incentive to use of the big potty...and it worked! We also created some new creepy family pics with June-yee's new iPad that made June-yee and Mommy laughing so hard they cried.
Unfortunately all of us got sick with the stomach flu during the second week of our visit and I am not exaggerating by saying all...Mommy, Daddy, Sammy, Jasper, Po Po, Gung Gung, Uncle John and even June-yee who came from Calgary to see us. It was not a fun week but we knew the boys were feeling better when oreos were being devoured by the dozen.
Time got cut short because of illness so we didn't get to see everyone that we wanted to see but it was great to see those who we did manage to squeeze in. Sam and Jasp not only enjoyed people company but also got to enjoy animal company as well - they loved having a dog around the house with good ol' Fonzie, but had fun with Grandpa Ken's cat Babalouie and the dogs at Grandma Paulette's work place too.
I don't mean to play favorites here but I have to give a special shout out to Uncle John. He's a young single working guy who always makes a special effort to come by and visit us at Gung Gung and Po Po's when we are visiting. Honestly, Sam behaves as if he has had 10 cans of Pepsi when Uncle John is around. The energy that bursts out of him when he sees Uncle John is unbelievable and luckily it is for Uncle John because he is the only one young enough to handle all that excitability. Of course, Jasper follows his brother's lead so they both manage to get in a couple of wrestling matches when Uncle John is over, plus after the boys go to bed, Will and John have their traditional poker showdowns so John is most definitely ready to hit the hay when he gets home.
When it was time to return to Bermuda, I think Sam was again the most excited to board the airplane. Daddy and Mommy were certainly not looking forward to a red-eye flight with Jasp. As a bonus on the way home, there were all the moving sidewalks at the Toronto airport Sam was happy to traverse. As there are very few escalators in Bermuda (hmmmm...only one that comes to mind right now), this was a very special treat for Sam. It is good to be young and enjoy the simple things in life, isn't it?
