Day 4; Sand and Salt

I don't remember exactly what time I woke up.....or rather was woken up. Tui rises with the sun no matter how late we put him to bed. I got him out of his bed and took him downstairs where he made enough noise that my mom and dad couldn't help but wake up too. Mom made breakfast and then we took a walk down to the look-out point so the kids could see the morning sun glistening off the waves. Plus our cell phones didn't work at the house, we had to walk up or down the hill to get a good signal.

We were not out for long when mom got a call from my sister saying that they were almost at the house. So we all went to the road to welcome the rest of our family to the cottage. In all we had 13 people staying at the cottage. The whole family together again. That doesn't happen often. Not since Kendra and Doug's wedding 1 year ago.

The newest member of our family ( or soon to be newest on Aug 30th) was there as well. Renee is going to marry my brother, Kasson, and we could not afford to make 2 trips this summer, so she came to Nova Scotia to meet us and spend some family time with us. I am so glad that she did. She is wonderful! So kind and patient to my kids and just a sweet gal! Kasson is super lucky!

After a brief family hug session and unpacking of suitcases, we all jumped into our swim suits and headed for the beach.

Crescent Beach is a long, obviously crescent shaped, beach that you can drive your cars on at low tide. It is the traditional beach we always go to, but Nova Scotia is filled with magnificent beaches. Some of our cousins joined us there and jumped right in the water. Now keep in mind, these cousins are Nova Scotia natives. I barely stuck my toes in the water before I got goosebumps all over my body. That water is so cold! Only the bravest souls take the plunge. Sydney and Haylie didn't have a problem with the water and even Anthony got about knee deep. Tui was absolutely refusing to go in. He clung to me or Anthony the whole time. I however got up the nerves to go in. Once in it wasn't so bad. I am the kind of person who does not like the feel of slimy rocks or seaweed on the bottom of oceans or lakes, but the ocean floor was so soft and smooth. we would just dig our toes into the sand and let the waves bury them. Each wave washing more and more sad up around our ankles. That is actually Tuis favorite part of the beach....letting his feet sink in the sand and then wiggling his toes until he could escape.

The tide started coming in and we knew we had to go home before our cars got trapped on the beach. It was then a race for the ONE bathroom in the cottage. All of us anxious to rinse the sand out of ALL of the cracks( literally) and creases we didn't know existed.