Parksville, Coombs, Cowichan Bay, Mill Bay and Victoria Take 3!

Happiest of Birthdays to my sweet middle boy, Rylan (Aug 6).  We are so proud of you my sweet, kind, considerate, empathic, silly and very goofy (now) 7 year old!!

I had such great hopes of blogging my way throughout our whole trip so that those of you that wanted to could join us for the ride.  Alas, best laid plans and all that...

Mr.B decided that he simply needed to shake things up on Weds night (July 25th) as his Momma was feeling just a wee too relaxed.  B ended up with horrible, back-arching stomach cramps and was (for good reason) miserable.  He had a good day and then it all just went south within a short period of time (in B fashion). 

We were able to finish off our trip hospital-free but we did alter the trip more than once 'in case of emergency'.  It is certainly not as easy or as fun blogging backwards!  I wanted to still finish out the trip on here as there were so many important memories and stories that came from it (not to mention all the pictures!).

I thought the easiest way would be to break up the trip in to a few posts to make it a bit easier to read and follow.

This will be the rest of the Vancouver Island visit...


Thursday, July 25th:

We got the day started off right with a visit from the boys Great-Aunt Marion (Michael's aunt), her daughter Kathryn (cousin) and her grandson Mason!  They made the drive up to see us from Campbell River and Torin was so excited!  Torin loves his 'Auntie Mer' and the fact that she talks to his Grandma Jean every night (Torin loves phones and most of all regular phone conversations).

Reading books with Auntie Mer and Kathryn

Mason, who is a few months older then B, loved playing with B's toys and watching the 'baby'.  He's a cutie pie for sure and Kathryn's little wonder.

I was glad that B was happy enough to pose for a few shots for his Momma.

Auntie Keeta got the pleasure of taking the big boys out for a walk on the board walk and then grocery shopping since B was in a very clingy and 'off' mood.  (Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate how much my big sisters do for me and us??)  Apparently they think Auntie Keeta is a soft touch since they'd informed her that they needed to buy half the store!

We got to have a lovely dinner date with an old friend (since grade 2) Naomi who herself just spent the last three years sailing the south Pacific.  She would send me encouraging emails when they stopped somewhere with internet and even went so far as to post a note to B at the hospital when we were going through that first 7 and a half months of hospital living. 

Naomi and B chillin with the med supplies

Naomi brought with her the most perfect bottle of wine!  We didn't care how it tasted, we just knew it was great!

We were also joined that evening by my wonderful friend Kiran and her hubby Tyler and we were all sitting around chatting when I did a quick hand-over of Mr.B to Naomi so I could run to the washroom.  I knew B would be mad at me but I thought (as it generally does) that it would pass once I left the room.  So not the case!  I quickly came back into the room to an inconsolable B (poor Naomi!).  Braeden was simply beside himself and when I took him back I realized he was in pain.  He was jerking and then crunching with stomach pains.  I tried venting him with no real success and couldn't get him to really even calm down (so not B).

Auntie Kiran and Uncle Tyler awesomely offered to take the big boys down to the beach for their (promised beforehand) swim.  I sent my wonderful sister out to the store to buy some Pedialyte since B had spiked a fever and Naomi and I gave B a bath as a last ditch effort to calm him.

Thankfully the bath did calm him down and soothe him (and Naomi even got some smiles and giggles) but I knew I was in for a long night.

When Kiran and Tyler brought the boys up from the beach we got a wee bit more of a visit in but certainly was not the visit I'd envisioned!  I sadly said goodnight to all three of them and was very happy that they understood the unpredicableness of Mr.B.

I started running pedialyte for B that night with the hopes of giving his tummy a break (since this all kicked in after a feed) and he was very fitful through the night. 


Friday, July 26th (our last day in Paradise!):

Kennedy staged this shot for me and told Ry, "We need
to hold hands!"

The good part of Friday was that we had early morning visitors as Michelle  (one of my sister's oldest and best friends) and her Daughter Kennedy came by for a visit. 

Kennedy was a hoot with the boys and they all along great.  She was quite taken with meeting Mr.B, she loves babies!  Unfortunately B was still not feeling so hot and just wanted his Momma that morning.  I thought he was doing better (fever was gone) but then he started with the cramping again out of nowhere. 

My (thank goodness she was with us) sister and Michelle went on a suppository run to the drugstore for me with the hopes of giving B some relief on his tummy.  Braeden only needs a slight nudge for his whole GI tract to go out of wack.

Our Pediatrician (who was on holiday herself!) kept in contact with me and gave me her recommendations for treatment (which I can't even begin to express in words how very grateful and thankful I am for this woman and doctor!).  Her idea was that it could be a partial blockage (in the intestine).

We spent the rest of the morning and afternoon getting the house packed up and cleaned up for it's next inhabitants!  Katja, Greg and their girls arrived from Calgary to spend the weekend at the condo and were very kind since I'd not been completely packed up when they arrived.

We'd had plans that day to meet up with my Dad but he'd not been feeling well either so we took a side trip (in the fully loaded van) to a little place called Coombs.

A new generation of goofy goats!

Coombs is a small place (I think it qualifies as a town?) on Vancouver Island but it is world renowned for it's "Goats on the Roof".  When I was a kid (and living on the Island) a trip to Coombs was always fun because it entailed the biggest ice cream cones and a visit to the small market place with a fully grassed over roof that housed goats.  Yup, goats that live on the roof!  It is now considerably larger and many many more buildings since then but those goats (well new ones I'm sure) are still up there. 

It was a hot day so the kids only got to glimpse at the goats as we pulled in (they were trying to be in the shade in the heat).  They got to enjoy the main market place however especially since Auntie Keeta promised that she'd buy them a toy.  (Of course she also bought them each a shirt too!)

After many dollars spent (hers, not mine!) we headed down Island to Cowichan Bay to meet my sister, her partner Aaron and their daughter for dinner.  My niece Acadia simply brings me joy, she is a spitfire of energy and gives the greatest of hugs with her teeny tiny 2 and a half year old body!  She is like my favourite redheaded sister in so many ways and I take great pleasure in that!  My sister Reece (Marisa) is only 15 mths older than me so we grew up close together sharing many friends along the way.  We could not be more different from each other in so many ways (the joke is she is the country mouse as I am the city mouse from a favourite childhood book) but she is so full of love, energy and grace.

We had to say a sad good-bye to Auntie Keeta (my favourite oldest sister) as she had to head back to Victoria to return to work and we got to spend the night at Casa Gunner (Reece and Aaron's house).  It was another very late night (Acadia's latest night and I'm proud to say I'm a horrible influence) and B spent most of the night in night terrors.


Saturday, July 27th

After a painfully long night, B woke up with a completely dry diaper.  Completely.  I had been running straight Pedialyte into him so there was no chance he could be dehydrated.  The next panic was "oh no, maybe it's actually the kidneys!".  I texted the Dr. to let her know and she actually wasn't as worried about the dry diaper due to his age.  She again coached me through her course of action and after much back and forth we made a plan. 

Two peas in a pod!  Acadia and B (my sister is not keen on
having my niece on the blog but this is a pic that I don't
think that she could contest, too much)

Our original plan for the day had been to meet up with my Dad and then take an afternoon ferry over to the mainland and spend the night in North Vancouver.  After much discussion and phone calls to the local hospitals to find out the Dr's on call, Dr.Cassie thought it would be better for us to stay close to Victoria General as she knew the Pediatrician on call there for the weekend.  She even went so far as to call the Ped herself and fill her in on the 'basics' of Braeden and tell her that I may be calling her or asking for her if I took him into Emerge.  (Amazing)

A whole lotta Lavender!

Since the decision was made that we wouldn't leave the Island, we decided to spend some more time with my good friend (and Marisa's best friend) Jenny and her daughter Mimi (Amelia).  We went to the local Lavender Festival where I acquired some goodies and then the boys and I packed up and said our good-byes to my sister and her Mill Bay family.

Jenny and Moi

hangin with Grandpa

The next stop was (finally) a visit to see my Dad who Braeden had yet to meet (and vice versa).  It was great for all three boys to get a chance to see my Dad as he's had some continuing health issues over the past few years and is unable to travel our way.  Torin was happy he got to see all of Grandpa's phones in person (not just via Skype) and Rylan thought it was 'cool' to see where Grandpa lived.  Mr.B was still feeling pretty crummy to the point that he didn't let anyone else hold him but myself but he was content to lay on the floor and play next to Grandpa. 

We left my Dad's place (after an emotional good-bye) to carry on to Victoria and to spend the night at Auntie Keeta's house (funny how we'd just said our good-byes to her since we didn't think we'd see her again this trip).  The nice thing is that Uncle Mike got to meet Mr.B and see the big boys to catch up that otherwise wouldn't have happened.  A fantastic dinner and yet another late night for the boys and Sunday morning came far too quickly.

Ferret kisses at Auntie Keeta's

Sunday, July 28th:



Auntie Rain

We got a surprise visitor at Keeta's house in the morning, my Aunt Lorraine (our Auntie Rain to the kids).  I was happy to see her and that she'd get a chance to meet B as well.  She even managed to pry him away from me and get him outside in the sunshine so that I could pack and get organized without a baby clinging to me.

three, two, one, funny face Cristi!

Keeta made a fabulous breakfast (as usual) and we got ready to hit the road once again.  We did manage to squeak in a short visit with Cristi (Christa's boss lady and awesome friend) so that she could meet B and T could see what colour her (fabulously long) nails were.

Auntie Keeta and Uncle Mike's funny faces...:)

My Mom met up with us at my sister's house and we were off to the ferry en route to Vancouver (more or less).  We made one final stop on the side of the highway to give my Uncle Frank a quick hello and hug so as we wouldn't miss seeing him this trip and onto the boat, Mission bound!

From Our Home (Where Ever We Might Be) To Yours...