One week down…43ish to go…?

Weeks of school this year, that is - approximately.

Despite me having to restore the lunch making process, by all other accounts, it seems to have gone all right.  It was kicked off with a new principle at the kids school – someone we’ve met through hockey (Evan played with his son last year), and who acknowledged the boys when he visited each of their classrooms.  It made an impression…a good one J

Andrew’s in a class with most of his friends…most of who were in his class last year.  And he has the same teacher Evan had in grade 6 – so, all seems well there.  It’s a 6/7 split.  Evan has the same teacher he had last year and he’s with all the grade 8s who are in French, plus some grade 7s…so, yes, another split class.  While there were some rough spots, I’m hoping that this year is better after all have had a chance to get to know each other better.  One can hope, right?! 

Evan also started hockey evaluations.  He decided to try out for Tier 1 – for nothing else than to try, and take the opportunity to skate.  He held his own out there, but got the note that he’s been moved to Tier 2.  It was expected, and not altogether bad.  I’d certainly prefer that he play and be strong than to ride the bench for the next 6 months – we all would. 

Plus football has been continuing full speed ahead.  Andrew had his first downpour day last week…the same day as they had team pics and met with Chris Getzlaf before their game.  They got smoked that game – and the other team felt the need to ring their cowbells till the final seconds of the game…even when they stopped putting TDs on the score board.  Yeah…I’ll never understand that…

Of course Andrew turned the big 1-1 this week. So hard to believe.  It was on a Friday…and he was born on a Friday – so that was kinda neat.  He was showered with gifts that included:

-          The Amazing Spider-Man 2 PS3 game
-          Captain America PS3 game
-          A couple of Spider-Man graphic novels
-          And a shirt he picked out from Super Grom.

We enjoyed ice cream cake from DQ as well which also turned out to be kinda neat – as we were getting out of our car, some guy gave us a five dollar bill…and told me to go buy Andrew a banana split or something.  When I told him we were there for something else and that it was okay…he said, no...and to keep it and to pay it forward to someone else.  Huh.  So weird…so unexpected…and so nice.  I gave Andrew the cash...afterall, it was his birthday J

Other weekend highlights…

-          Andrew’s team also went to a Ram’s game, where I’m not sure a lot of football watching occurred – but they had fun J

-          Andrew started dance – he loved them all, especially musical theatre J

-          Evan had two hockey camps…basically skating and playing 3 on 3 with his friends.

-          Evan ran in the QCM mini-marathon…and found his friend Reece before hand and ran (and chatted!) with him through the race.  We also watched Lily and Tyson (and Q) zoom in across the finish line which is always fun!  My mom also finished her first half marathon…despite being sick…and Aaron did another full marathon.  Hats off to all those who give that a go. 

-          And low and behold, both boys had football games on Sunday when the weather was spectacular…and the only umbrellas in the stands were to protect bald heads from the sun.  OMG…what a fabulous day!  I think it got all the way up to 29…and I enjoyed every ray of sunshine.  Awesome!

Good thing…’cause looking at today, you’d never know how that it was so nice less than 12 hours before.  It’s cloudy and cold…and rain is imminent. I think the high is only supposed to be something like 10. Ugh.  But at least it’s snowing here like it is southern Alberta.

And That's a Wrap!

Summer vaycay is officially behind us.  The kids started school yesterday – and by all accounts, so far, it’s “okay”.

Andrew got some friends in his class and Evan’s one of the kings of the school in grade 8 with a bunch of his buds – all the grade 8s are together, so that was easy.

Our last few weeks of August before school was upon us looked a lil’ like this…

• I worked a couple of bingos for Evan’s hockey – I’m not a huge fan of being there, but I’m less of a fan of spending 2-grand+ if I don’t have to ;)  And I have to do it…so, why not, right?  It’s almost silly not to…heh.

 

• We sat in the rain…pouring…driving rain for Evan’s football.  I have never sat in that much rain…but thanks to the turf field, they don’t cancel games any more for weather…unless it’s lightning out.  So, there we were…mostly protected by oodles of rain gear…but at the end of the day, we got home cold and wet.  Not as wet as Evan however.  I’m pretty sure he…and then I, got sick as a result.  Sigh. Darn summer colds!  On the up-side, Evan played really well in the rain…though the other team ended up winning the game.  In one play, he was going after the QB…who then threw a pass…so, Evan was behind the play…and then he booted ‘er up the field and ended up catching up to the receiver and making a tackle before the goal line.  Nicely done.

His game that followed the week after was also plagued with rain – though not nearly as downpour-ish as the other one.  This time, though his team came out on top – and Evan walked away with a “Defensive Player Award”.  Though he’s shy about getting that sort of recognition, I’m pretty sure he was pretty happy on the inside about that.

 

• Andrew’s football team held their own and kept the game to a 0-0 tie.  The whole game was played between 40 yard lines, which made for easy and comfortable viewing.  Heh.

 

• Evan was at a hockey camp all week – it included ice time and then time in this hockey gym thing.  It basically went all morning, and he was home by lunch, basically.  The best thing about it was that he had other friends who were there as well…so, we could carpool – they took um, and I picked up Evan and Brendan.  Perfect!  The bad thing was that Evan wasn’t feeling great most of the week…but by the end, he pushed through and had a bit of a play date…ha!  I mean “hang out” one day/evening with his friends…so, that was good.

• We got to visit with some hockey friends one evening when outta the blue Mel and Bob invited us over for a fire.  It worked out perfect being on Labour Day weekend – we were around for football…both the boys and the Riders anyway.  And so was almost everyone else.  That was fab!

• We hung out for what is usually Rider-Bomber BBQ for an all Rider Potluck with Cheryl, Tein and their parents and Mike, Trinie and all the kids.  It was perfect and fun – and a great kick off to the Labour Day weekend.

• David and Evan headed to the Rider game while Andrew and I hosted Cheryl and Tein and a whole shwack of kids at our house. And what a game it was.  Even Tein was interested – and she wasn’t so sure about leaving early to go get big huge 6 foot sub J  With a Rider win with an exciting finish, we were all happy campers!

• We had a family night to end the summer filled with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and pizza.  All good.

Then…it was a final review of school supplies, and the summer holidays came to an end.  They will be remembered by many smiles and good memories.

Now, onto making new one’s…at school…and all the other activities that are set to begin!   Evan’s hockey tryouts started the same day as the first day of school, and Andrew starts dance on Saturday. 

Let the madness begin!  The calendar’s crazy…but I wouldn’t have it any other way…

And Some Other Summer Stuff

Despite the zoom zoom of July as a result of our extensive camping schedule – inspired by the fact that July is our only “free” month calendar/activity-wise, we were able to fit a few other things in…in addition to working at our real jobs intermittently ;)

-        Karen turned the big 4-0 – as did her pink blanket!  And so she had a party – for her and her blanket…though I actually don’t recall seeing her blanket at the party.  Huh.  Perhaps she was concerned about said blanket’s welfare…and that someone might try to do something “funny” with the blanket…so, showing it off wasn’t worth the risk; )   In any case, it was a fabulous time filled with food and friends and just good ol’ birthday fun!   We should celebrate more birthdays as exuberantly J  Shortly, thereafter, Karen’s house became the victim of another bra-ing incident ;)  Unfortunately I was outta the time at the time, and couldn’t participate fully, I was with the conspirators in spirit J

-        Abby Entered the Realm of the Double Digits!  We celebrated the Ab-ster’s 10^th birthday with ribs and a delicious drumstick cake – which reminds me I need to get that recipe from Mikey – so good!  August is the month when the “A-sters” of our family are the same age.

-        Here We go Riders!  I went to my annual once a year Rider game – this time with Cheryl and her dad.   It was one of the most interesting games this season – it was a WIN and there was actually scoring and excitement throughout.  Wish I could say the same for the other games I’ve persevered through on TV – OMG…even though the Riders came out on top during the last two games, those games were yawn-fests…until like the 4^th Quarter.  Oh well – guess a win’s a win.

-        Spruced up the Fence – After years of neglect, after our last camping trip, I spent theAugust long weekend painting the fence. It was a job that was long past due – it was getting embarrassing.  It was one of those things that was on the list every summer – but then summer seemed to slip away before the list could be completely checked off – and so the fence withered.  So, with a final free weekend on the calendar, I gave ‘er:  starting on the Friday and finishing up on the Tuesday for a total of about 19 hours, the task was complete. And thank goodness!  It’ll be a long time before I’ll feel like doing that again ;)  But in the meantime, if I do say so myself, it’s looking pretty good!

-        Andrew's Room – Since last year when I got Andrew a night table, he’s been doing his homework in his room – and not very comfortably, since the night table has drawers, so there’s nowhere for his legs to go.  So, he’s wanted a desk for the last lil’ bit…and so one weekend, we did some measuring and re-arranging, and fit the desk from our Games’ Room into Andrew’s room.  It’s perfectly perfect!  We had thought about getting him a new one for his birthday – but after a smidge of looking, we quickly realized that finding a desk that would fit in the spot we needed it to…and that had a drawer (which Andrew really wanted) would be a challenge.  So, when the one that we already had would fit – we jumped on it.  And he likes it.  So, we all win J  I was also thinking that he might be ready to switch his room from being Spider-Man inspired to something else – but with the release of The Amazing SpiderMan 2 this year, his love for Spidey has been rekindled – so, yeah…I dunno.  Maybe next year…?  Or, maybe he’ll just always be that kid with the spider web on his walls ;)

-        Camp! – Andrew went to church camp again this year with Anna.  He thought it was great – though I’m pretty sure Evan was bored outta his tree not having someone home with him.  Heh.  Oh well – we figured out a plan for him to take Andrew and pick him up, which he did really well at.  And my parents took him golfing one day (wore him out…heh) and he went to a friend’s for another.  This year they had water games, and crafts, and went to a movie (Rio2) and spent the afternoon of one of the most after the swelteringly hot days (there was a heat warning and everything) walking around the Park looking for bugs and such.  He loved it.  Funny – I figured this might be the last year for Andrew – that he might be outgrowing this camp.  But, he said that there was a kid that was going in to grade 7 at camp this year…so, he’s already planning ahead to do just that.   Whatever – it’s cheap, they feed them great, and it gets him outta the house do do ‘something’ – so, it’s all good.

-        Visiting the Fam – finally J - At long last we were able to find a time to connect with Donna and Stacy and the girls. Rylan was consumed by a gig the evening before, so he wasn’t able to make it…but we made up for it by playing songs and such that were recorded on phones.  Gotta love technology!  It was such a great visit – got caught up on lots of stuff.  So good!

-      Friends and Sleepovers - The boys haven't had as many sleepovers as summers in the past - we justn haven't been home.  But we have managed to fit in a few playdates.  At the beginning, I connected with Catherine on FB where we discovered we both had a free afternoon - so, we jumped on it and the boys and I headed over to enjoy their company for a few hours. It was awesome - totally doesn't happen as much as it used to, but when we do get togehter, it feels like we can just pick up from where we left off - love it!  And when I was painting, Justin and Brendan came over for a while - and I think the boys all had a lot of fun then too.  Plus, Andrew had a few sleepovers with Ethan and Evan had a few with mostly his hockey friends.  One night when Evan was gone, David, Andrew and I went to the Galaxy - something Evan's not too keen on, so it was perfect:  we watched Guardians of the Galaxy.  It was a thumb's up.  I'm hoping we get to the drive in before summer's out...but, we'll have to see...

The rest of the month looks pretty jam packed!  This weekend coming up is filled with football – though surprisingly, I think that Friday night is currently wide open!  We’d better do something J  Then for the last week of August, Evan’s in a hockey camp every morning…so that week will be filled with a  bit more bustle than we’re used to.   That’s probably good, ‘cause the weekend after that is Labour Day already…and then, it’s back to school!

Wow!  That seems really close…

Camping Finale 2014

Our final camping destination for the year was Duck Mountain. We hadn’t been there in a few years – but it’s always been a fave with its thick forest, pull through sites, and access to shisliki ;)

We left on the last Sunday of July to allow our attendance at the Rider Game the Saturday night  - I went with Cheryl, and it was fabulous!  Huge Rider win...so lots to cheer about!

The weather was some of the best we’d had in forever!  Seriously…blue skies and heat covered the forecast.  And it wasn’t even windy.  Sooo awesome!!!   

On top of that, the mosquito population even had settled…a bit.  Or, maybe we were more prepared…or tolerant. In any case, they weren’t as annoying as they had been the weeks before.

The only down side was that by this time, I think  we were all getting tired of being away from home.  The trailer is somewhat roomy, but certainly doesn’t give a lot of alone time…something I think we may take for granted a bit…and I think by now we were ready to have more of it.  That said, we sucked it up and had a good time:

Sunday – arrived and set up and then enjoyed the evening by a camp fire, playing ‘around the fire games’, including DS and guessing “who/what am I?”

Monday – lazy day!  We rode our bikes to the park, played some bocce, and read our books. Well, Andrew and I did J  Did I mention that he and I went to the library before we came?  Well, we did : 2 branches, and he gathered a total of 9 Spider-Man graphic novels…one with a 6 story compilation. So, yeah…he was set!  In the evening, before our traditional fire, I took the boys to the basketball court (such as it is ;)  A family was camping right beside it, and they had two boys…close to the boys’ ages, who asked if they could play too.  And so they all did, till it was too dark to play.  And then it was of course time for the fire...and DS ;)

Tuesday – beachin’ it!  So beautiful and hot…so, yeah…it was perfect.  We topped ‘er off with a trip to Kamsack to grab more supplies before stoking the fire a bit early so we could have bush pies for supper J

Wednesday – we headed to Good Spirit to hang out on the water with Aaron, Mikey and the girls.  The boys were so pumped - especially since last year they didn’t get to go tubing with them ‘cause the weather sucked, and then there were tube issues. And this year, again the weather was sucky…white caps and tubing don’t really mix.  But on this day…the water was like glass. And, the water on the lake had gone down since we were there last…so, there were dunes for us to beach on…away from the main beach.  Perfectly perfect!   Aaron’s friend and his family were at the lake too…and ended up boating over to hang out for last part of the day.  Funny how Jason, his friend, looks exactly the same to me as what he did when he was in school…perhaps we all do J

We were treated to supper to end the night and plopped into bed upon arrival back at our site - no issues going to sleep after so much outdoors’y time, that’s for sure.

Thursday – Our last full day of camping. Sigh.  David and Evan golfed while Andrew and I carted along with them – we just did 10 holes. Then we headed back to our site for lunch…and battened down the hatches, as a storm was brewed up from the heat J  It was actually really nice.  It wasn’t too crazy…just a lot of rain and some thunder and lightning – no hail.  It cooled everything down…and gave us all a bit of down time.  We polished off the day with a bike ride on the path while David tried to start a fire with our sog-ish wood.  And our final night of camping for the year was relaxing...and capped off with S’mores J

Friday – we were homeward bound.  Funny…it was right before the long weekend, so we thought it’d be a slow time to be leaving…but there was a huge line up at the dump station.  So, the boys and I hopped on our bikes and passed the time by biking around and around the different camping areas.  Like an  hour later, we were on our way…and the highway home was filled with tons of traffic going the opposite way – I started to wonder if there was anyone left in the city.  Ha!

So that was it!   All our camping trips, in a nut shell!  It was a whirlwind tour this year…but worth every moment. After all, when July’s the only available month for getting away without having to work around activity schedules, ya gotta make the most of it.  And this year – I think we did just that J

Take it from the Top - First Camping Trip this Year

...Cypress Hills!

The first weekend in July, we headed to Cypress Hills for our first camping trip. This time, we were kicking off the season on our own.  I think for the last number, we've always had our first camping trips with friends - there's security in that - if ya forget anything, usually someone else has it ;) 

It started off a lil' crazy - about halfway there, we realized our window of our trailer was pulling away from the trailer. The wind was sooo strong that day...and I guess the screws were just not feeling like holding it in any longer. So, in addition to having to stop more frequently for gas, we also had to stop to check on the window now and again - we eventually used duct tape to secure it...at least till we arrived at our site.

And at long last, we did just that. And it was beautiful! Besides being there in winter once a few years back, I hadn't been out this way since I was a lid - probably like 10 or 11-ish.  I love the tall lodgepole pines...and the rolling hills. And, this year in particular: the lack of mosquitoes!!!  They just don't live there...which makes me kinda want to (especially after the camping trips that followed where we nearly got eaten alive if you weren't bathed in Off) ;)

Our first full day there (Sunday), we went for a bike ride through the trails to check out the ziplines and beach.  Going there was easy - it was pretty much all down hill - which meant the way back would not be. But we tried not to think about that ;)

It was a beautiful day - so we hung out at the beach for a bit, before making the trek back. Poor Andrew's bike was a bit low for him...and besides that, his tires are smaller than the rest of our's...and he's not the most determined rider - so, he and I spent a lot of time walking up the hills.  Heh.

That night, David and the boys went to watch a guy who was singing in the amphitheatre - I stayed back to read my book...and bask in the silence. When they returned, they said that while they were there, some Park staff person also announced that there was an astronomy session that night - the talk started at 10pm, then tours to check out the telescopes in the observatory.  Sounded kinda neat - and different from what we normally do...so, we headed over!

It was cool - 'cause it was so dark - and it wasn't even really night yet, being early July - the sky's pretty bright till 11pm.  But this park had committed to becoming a Dark Sky Campground...to support the astronomy program. So, it was pretty dark even when we arrived at like 1030pm or whatever.

We stayed for a bit and checked out Mars through the telescope before listening to one of the staff chat about stars for a bit in the lil' mini classroom.  As she was talking, the sky clouded over - so, that ended astronomy for that night.  Oh well - it was late anyway.

Monday was a cool-ish day in the park - after the rain which resulted from the clouding over the night before.  The kids and I spent the day at the Eco-Adventures Ziplining place - rock climbing!  Well, the boys did while I watched.  David headed to Maple Creek while we were there, in search of a window for the trailer. 

The boys had a blast - there were 4 different rock climbs to do. I think Evan finished 3 of the 4...all but the elusive green one, I think.  By the time we were finished, their fingers were sore - and they felt primed for ziplining, which we were scheduled to do the next day!

We enjoyed a stroll back to the campsite - easier than biking (heh).  David and Evan emptied the grey and black water from the trailer - thinking it was full (according to the sensors it was...but it wasn't really...so...?) and Andrew and I made a trek down to the store to grab a few things - by bike. Again...there...downhill was all good - the way back, was a lil' tougher, especially when Andrew saw the sign that there was a "Dangerous Hawk" in the area (with a Road Closed sign on one end of the trail - though there wasn't one at the beginning of it...so, I suspect someone just forgot to take it away. 

Anyway...we got our goods...but not before he spied a cap gun he "had" to have. We left it for that day...to take some time to think about whether he "really" needed it.  Of course - it was all he could think about for the next day. Heh.

That night, we headed back to the Amphitheater to check out a talk about Cougars. It was pretty cool - apparently that park is a key place for university students to study cougars as it's one of the only breeding grounds on the prairies. So, cougars roam there regularly - but they're so quiet and enjoy staying hidden so much, most people, even those who have lived there their whole lives, have never seen one.

While we were there, we saw Tricia and her daughter...or, rather, she spied us.  Shawn and her son had already biked back - so we chatted for a bit and realized that their site was just a few down from our's. Huh - what are the chances?!  What was even funnier was that the people beside our site also knew David - the "husband" went to school with David (the guy's wife stopped David on the road one day and told him that her husband thought he recognized him but was too shy to say hello to find out...haha).  And that same guy...or maybe it was the wife, worked with Shawn.  So, apparently everyone's connected in Cypress ;)

Tuesday was ziplining day - and it was gorgeous out!  Heights are of course not David's thing - so he remained a ground dweller while the boys and I took on the ziplines. The boys were so excited!  And it was a tonne of fun!  And the people that took us on the tour were so good - there were six lines in total, and for each one, there was a lil' something different to try. The 2nd to last was long enough that you could hang upside down...which we all did!  And the last you ran off a platform before coming to the finale at the end other end.  It was all good!

While we did that, after watching us for a bit, David made another trek - this time to Medicine Hat. Again, in search of a window (it made me tired - it was seriously fine...but he was determined). 

We strolled back to our site again...this time in search of ice cream!  Nice way to end ziplining, non...?  And by then, Andrew could wait no more for his cap gun.  So...the three of us walked down to the store again.  And while we were there, Evan happened across a ball he couldn't live without (we forgot his basketball at home). And as it turned out, that ball was the best $4.25 I've spent in a long time - it kept Evan occupied, and out of Andrew's hair for the rest of the trip ;)

While the boys enjoyed their new items, I visited with Tricia and Shawn for a while.  Apparently they come to Cypress every year - and every year: no mosquitoes!  Hmmm...something to think about for sure!!!

That night, we tried our luck at the observatory again - this time, success!!!  The main astronomer was there - well, he's actually a geology student who's minoring in astronomy. He said most astronauts are not scientists...so, sending them into space to get stuff often ends up in them not getting the right stuff. Ha!  That made me chuckle considering how expensive it is to send people to space - then they come back without the stuff you've sent them to get. Ca man!

Anyway...he was fun to listen to...mainly 'cause he was so super keen on stars and such - but you could tell he was also cognizant of his audience and tried to keep things as simple as possible.  He showed us a bunch of stuff inside the classroom thing using a projector and computer...and then we headed out to see it through the telescope in the observatory.  There were a tonne of people when we arrived...so, it took a long time for everyone to see.  So, in between, we watched space videos that were actually relatively entertaining.  We saw Mars and Saturn...and a number of different clusters, including one configuration that kinda looked like ET.  It was very cool.

Then we spent a good chunk of time finding constellations on the deck - just looking out in the sky.  I rediscovered that I'm terrible at that sort of thing.  My eyes don't easily find them.  Sure, when someone points out the dippers, I can find them...but to just look out:  not a chance. Guess ya can't be good at everything ;)

There was some stuff we couldn't see 'cause the moon was nearly full, and it was soo bright....that it kinda made it difficult to find some things. But for the most part, I think we did pretty well.

We called 'er a night after 1am that night. Sheeesh! Not only am I not good at seeing stars and stuff...but I couldn't keep the hours required of an astronomer - ha!  Up all night...?  Yeah...I'd be so bad at that...I'd probably fall asleep and miss the exciting entrance of some comet or something the way I miss the endings to movies...haha.

Anyway - we had a good time there and it was worth going back the 2nd time, for sure.

Wednesday, our last full day there we spent some time just hanging around our site - I went for a run and Evan played some more basketball with his new found ball and basket (my trailer garbage!)...

 ...and Andrew enjoyed his toy...

But then we had enough of just hanging around and headed out for some go-carting followed by kayaking for the boys, and paddle boating for David and I.  We had attempted to go to the pool - but it was packed!  We couldn't even get in 'cause it was at capacity. C'est la vie.

A funny moment go-carting was when Andrew pulled into the pitstop after one go around the track - he didn't realize he had five (or whatever # it was) minutes to do as many laps as he could. So, the guy had to pull him out, and put him back on the track...haha.

Evan got a lil' braver than he has been in the past - I don't think he touched the brakes much. As his mom - I think I preferred him being more timid...

On the lake, the boys did pretty well at Kayaking...they booted along pretty darn fast considering this isn't a normal past time for them - David and I on the paddle boat...? Not so much...haha.

We topped off our night around the fire...with our DSs - a common activity as we play MarioKart or Mario vs Luiggi.  We never play with these devices except when on vacation, it seems...which is probably what keeps it fun :)

We only have 3, which means I'm usually left out - to read!  So, we all win!

And then to the previous camping trip: Good Spirit 2014

The 2^nd weekend in July, we headed to Good Spirit to Aaron’s cabin for another annual event:  camping with my family.  It’s become tradition…and has evolved over time, but I can’t fathom it ever ending :)  It’s so good!

This year was a bit touch and go though…due to severe flooding.  Yeesh!  There was a lot of water while we were there…but nothing in comparison to what it was like the week previous.  Roads were covered…and the back yard of the cabin was pretty much underwater.  By the time we got there, roads were pretty much clear, as was the backyard…minus in the fire pit…ha!  But my dad found some patio stones to raise it up a bit and allow for a fire.  Where there’s a will there’s a way, right? (though we had an alternate plan: campfire by citronella candle on the deck, if need be..haha)

Needlesstosay, with all the flooding, and standing water…everywhere!  Mosquitoes were ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous, really. They attacked as soon as we exited our vehicle. It took us 43 seconds, I think to retreat and find some spray.  I slapped on jeans soon after.  Yeesh!  Craziness!

However, somehow we managed to brave the outdoors for the majority of the trip.  Off does work…not for 8 hours like it claims on the bottle, of course…but it’s certainly makes things tolerable. I’m not a huge fan of putting it on, but there was no choice, in this case.  It’s better than being eaten alive…and one would hope that one doesn’t have to douse oneself in it year after year after year…

Unfortunately the weather kinda sucked...windy both days we were there.  So, tubing was a no-go, which disappointed the chil'en...but, what can ya do?!  We ate a lot of seeds (of course!), went for a bike ride, played mini-golf, ate ice cream, checked out the beach, and played around the campsite...which included an adventure to play hide and seek!  I didn't go...but suspect a lot of Off was sprayed during that game.  I enjoyed the comforts of the deck...under a blanket. Ha!  Yes...it was July. 

At night, the kids occupied them with various, mainly indoor activities - occupied with skits and re-enacting commercials (like the Trivago one...with the guy who looks like he rolled outta bed...has a rumpled shirt and no belt....we saw it a million times...ha!) and tried and true Sponge Bob episodes.  The adults hung around the fire...not getting eaten by mosquitoes, for the most part.  When you're surrounded by lanterns and coils, it's a good thing.

However, they did not keep the moths away.  Holy crappoli...a HUGE monster of a moth landed on David's leg at one point. Yeech!  Thank god it didn't land on mine...'cause I'm pretty sure the entire subdivision may have heard my screams.

 

We were up late..chatting about whatever, playing the odd game here and there.  I'm pretty sure the birds were getting up when we went to bed both nights.  Ha!  Only trips with my family...and Phillie C (aka Phil Collins).

Last Trip First – Camping 2014

July has been a whirlwind!  It was kicked off with Karen's big 40th bday party...and has since been consumed by bits of sporadic work days but mostly focused on packing and unpacking for various camping trips.   

And, we’re not quite done our wilderness adventuring, but I thought I should take this opportunity between trips to recap…or I’m going to forget it all. I’m no spring chicken any more and my memory is certainly not what it used to be ;)

So, I’ll start with the most recent:  Earlier this week, we returned from our annual camping trip with our friends: Susan, Karen, Cheryl, Kristina, and their fams.  

The only way to summarize it is: SO MUCH FUN!  Seriously: one of the best!

Everything about it was awesome:

      -          Weather?  Check!
      -          Food?  Double check!
      -          People?  Triple check!

I have to comment specifically about the kids – they were beyond awesome.  They all played together so well – and save for the two times when one didn’t come back with the group (Ack! Poor Megan!), all was very very good. They are all getting old enough to be mostly independent…and trustworthy.  And the result was: they embraced it!  Awesome!

We beached a lot as we always do.  Susan and Trevor heaved their brand spanking new island out there…and it was a complete hit!  I did experience some wimpiness in the “entering the cold water to get to said island” department…but, it was well used by others.  I think Andrew and Ethan in particular found their joy on that thing the most!

We also went for ice cream – of course we did (the one night that it actually was cloudy, windy and cold…ha!), went for a hike, ate cinnamon buns, and sprayed a lot (!!!) of Off. 

The mosquitoes were the only downside, really.  But with enough spray and lanterns, we warded them off pretty well. They certainly didn’t keep us from having fun. 

The crows and squirrels were other pests – the crows and their incessant squawking from 4-10am was beyond irritating as were the chipmunks and squirrels that decided that eating (yes, eating!) my PEVA-free picnic table cloth was a good idea.  Seriously…when confronted (i.e. I exited my trailer, catching them in the act!), the one just looked at me…staring me down, and then proceeded to grab one more bite of tablecloth fluff before scampering to the trees.  The nerve, eh?!  I had a water bottle poised to give him a shower the next time he came by…but, he somehow knew to stay away. Hmmm…! 

A major highlight of the weekend was also the bocci ball tourney – teams of one adult and one kid. Given our #s, Evan was in the “adult” category, which he was pretty pleased about...especially when Ethan was drawn as his partner J  David and Andrew were partners (luck of the draw), while I got the bocci-ball wiz kid: Sarah!  And as a result, “Team Karah” kicked some bocci-butt, coming in 1^st in the first ever Clear Lake Bocci Ball Open.  Woot! 

Megan also turned the corner on another year – she’s now the big 8!  She’s not into cake, so, Susan planned a whole brunch potluck thingy…with a big huge stack of pancakes with this super awesome strawberry sauce and cool whip as the “cake”.  And the event was a hit!  Everyone likes breakfast, right?  Two bags of pancake mix were consumed, as we were three packs of bacon, a bowl of sausage, potatoes, some veggie bread and a big huge bowl of fruit.  We hammered through almost it all!  I was still barely hungry by the time supper came around J

We also spent every night around the fire…chatting, eating, and responding to Karen’s collection of MacLean’s trivia questions – which I’m utterly brutal at.  I mostly just sat there being amazed that anyone knew the answers…and some of our crew did.  Heh.

Anyway…it was all time well spent…and I, for one, am already looking forward to next years coordinated camping adventure – with Karen at the helm to book our sites.  Woot J