New River Beach (GECA Part 8)

So it's actually been very very hot in New Brunswick.  In an effort to both escape the heat and meet up with friends on the south shore, we orchestrated a beach date on the ocean at New River Beach.  Similar to both Hopewell Rocks and Kepploch beach, you have to pay attention to the tide schedule, because when the tide is low, the beach stretches out a very, very long way, shallow and calm.  But when the tides come in, it is quick and can make the beach much more hazardous.  We witnessed this when we arrived as the tides were changing and coming back in.  We were astonished at how quickly the water rose while we had to pull up our beach gear.  It seemed like we literally had to run back and forth with our arms full to avoid having our belongings swept away.  And when it was up as high as it would go, the waves were high, the water was deep and we really had to keep our littles ones near and in hand for fear of the strong undertow.

It ended up being a chilly ten degrees cooler down there by the water, which was a nice reprieve from the heat.  And the fog rolled in just as we arrived, but it was still quite beautiful and we stayed as long as we could visiting some friends from my childhood--Danielle and Megan and their brood of children.  

Gabriel is just the perfect age right now for making and playing with little friends.  Everywhere we go, he meets someone and off they go, running and splashing and laughing in the waves.  So it's always a delight to see him making besties with the little people belonging to my own friends.  I don't know if it's seeing pictures from facebook and the blog that helps him to remember or not feel like they are strangers or what.  Or maybe it's just the age, but I am loving how both my littles make connections with other little people so easily. 

And while we were there, we ran into another friend from many years ago when she saw my son playing on the beach, recognized him from all the pictures (even though she has never met him) and traced him back to us!  Oh Gabriel, did you know you are famous?? Haha!

Favorite Spaces: Playtown!!

Ok, so I know wayyyy back in November, we put on our brave faces and embraced the cold.  We made a rink and were excited when it dipped down below -10 at night.  Buuuuuutttt...  Now it's February and it's been so cold out that at school the kids haven't been outside to play in over a month.  So we've really been counting on the indoor play spaces to get us through the winter.  I'll share with you two of our favorite educations play places we've been spending time with our mamas groups this winter.  One of them is Playtown.

Where do I even begin with how amazing this place is.  You walk in the doors and into the big common area which is filled with little houses and store fronts and shops filled with all sorts of hands-on things to do.  A grocery store, a fire hall, a construction site, a house, a hair salon, a diner...  cars to drive and gas stations to fill up at, flower pots, street lamps. 

Not only is a toddler paradise where they never get bored, it's also a parent paradise too.  So many times I go to places and stand chatting with other mamas, which is great of course, but here I actually was inspired to get involved and play along too--putting on a vet costume to check the heartbeat of a puppy, curl hair in the hair salon, check out groceries at the play store.  On top of that, it's also new (aka clean).

We got there nearly when it opened and stayed past lunch into the early afternoon.  If it wasn't for naptime, I'm sure we would have stayed until supper.  (You can pack a lunch and eat lunch in their lunch room). 

Needless to say, it kept us all happy for hours and we will definitely be going back!

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