Vacation Time

We are into into day three of our holiday to Fairmont, B.C. It is so beautiful here. We got here late Friday night, so our first real day was on Saturday. It was a hot day so the 4 of us went and checked out the new outdoor swimming pool. We just sat around and relaxed. It was what I needed and it was a good reminder as to why we bought the time share in the first place. My parents came out and joined us that night. It didn't take mom and I very long to settle in and start playing cards! I must have been tired, cuz I think she won! ;) I did seem to redeem myself though playing games later with the four adults. hehe- I know they will read this and I had to throw that in!!

Sunday morning the six of us headed off to church. It seems strange to admit that I actually like visiting different wards when we are on vacation. Everytime we do we always seem to run into someone we know or some kind of a connection with someone. Even on our honeymoon in Mexico we still ran into people we knew. It has become quite a funny game for us. "Guess who's going to be at church?" We ended off the night over at the hotsprings. It was so relaxing. Babbling Brook spent most of the time over at the diving boards. It was quite fun to listen to all the people who had gathered around to watch her. Secretly she loves the attention. All the ooh's and ahh's! The reality check for me was when a few cute young boys starting talking to her. I probably should have been worried, but it was kind of cute to watch and see my baby girl growing up.

My brother Will showed up very late that night with his 4 kids. He got here around 11:30 which made things a little tough for me and my kids as they wanted to stay up to see them. Babbling Brook had even set up beds for his two girls to come over into our unit to sleep. They all brought up a load of clothes and the girls went into our unit to get ready for bed and the boys headed to grandma and grandpa's unit right beside ours. Will left to go talk to his fiance' get his shoes from the van and I put his girls to bed. Admittedly it was a rough night for me. I finally snapped at 1:00 am yelling at the girls to go to sleep after several attempts at being nice about it. J-Bear had already crawled into our room and fell asleep on the floor because they were so noisy. They girls continued until after 1:30 and wouldn't you know it they were awake at 7:00 am! You can imagine how fun they were today!! Babbling Brook and *Grace went to an archery class with grandpa today that was fun. Their tiredness didn't really hit until lunch time. Thankfully the two of them had a nap while grandma, *Em and I were at Yoga.

Who needs Yoga on vacation?? ME!! It was great. Maybe it was the fact of no kids around. Or maybe it was that grandma and Em were trying it for the first time. Or maybe it was the way the male instructor kept saying exhale. Em and I laughed about it afterwards while we relaxed in the pool. Ahhh... we felt like beautiful butterflies- so relaxed! LOL

The boys all are out golfing at the moment- although I am not sure how because there is quite the thunderstorm outside right now. Me and the girls all went to get a few groceries and when we came back I had a nap while grandma played cards with them. It was only for an hour, but I sure needed it after last night! The girls are now watching a girlie movie and grandma went to bed. (She says the yoga took alot out of her) So I get a moment to blog and reflect on our holiday. Yeah!

Torn

Well last night was one of those fun nights. As we were about to say family prayer my daughter asked who was going to watch them when Deb moves away. I explained I wasn't sure and that maybe they would be on their own in the mornings. That was met with a very sad reaction and led to more questions when I was tucking her in.

Mommy why do you have to work?
Why are my friends all moving away?
Why can't we move?
Why do we live in the city when you don't want to?
Are you happy living in the city?
Is there something wrong with me that I feel so sad that you have to work?
Can I get a job like you did as a kid, so you don't have to work?
Would you like me to take on more of your chores so you can have more time with us?

Tough questions. Some that really hurt every fibre of my being. I wish I didn't have to work. I wish I didn't live in the city. I wish I could be the one who is home to wake my babies in the morning and the one who meets them at the bus when they come home from school. I love being married, Regan is a wonderful husband and father, but he is not willing to even entertain the idea of moving. If we did move than I wouldn't have to work and I could be home with the kids before it is too late. I don't want to have feelings of resentment but they seem to be creepy up slowly.

How do you find the balance in all things?

Family Camping

Wow I can't believe how fast this last week has flown by. I guess time does go faster when you are on holidays! After not having any summer holidays last year I told my boss *EllyMay (haha- I really do call him that!) that I was going to take all of July off this year. I chickened out and agreed to work 8 days- still not bad.

This last week I have been camping with most of my family and some of Regan's family out at Surveyor's Lake in BC. It's so beautiful there! It has been a family tradition for my family for several years now, and in the last 2 years Regan and I finally got on board and dragged Regan`s sister and family along with us. This year we were also joined by my new future sister-in-law to be, Deb and her 3 kids.

We got to the campground late on Wednesday, so all we did that day was set up camp, eat and have a fire. It was nice to play a few games and sing a few songs around the fire with everyone. It was especially nice to have one big family prayer at bedtime.

Thursday morning Regan and I woke up and went for a morning run. We ran through the campground and around the path of the lake. It was so calm and clear we could hardly wait to get back and get the kids and go swimming. We both have been struggling with our knees a bit and running outside on a trail was ALOT different than running a track in the gym. Needless to say we were both dying in pain a little sore. We spent the rest of the day on the beach just relaxing in the sun, swimming, swinging off the rope (that has now been cut down- tree and all), kayaking and playing in the sand. Regan and a few of the guys took the boat out that evening to the nearby Koocanusa lake for a quick tow or two. After that trip it has become official that there is NO FISHING in our boat again!! lol thanx dad!

Friday was HOT! It sure didn't take us long to get to the lake that morning! The kids had a great time playing in the water and it was alot of fun to watch them play together. The kids did really well to make everyone feel included. It can be tough to blend families together but the kids did great. Regan's back started hurting him today. Just over a year ago he had a pinched disc and was virtually immobile for a few days. Last time it took about 3 weeks for him to recover, so when it started doing it again we had to pull the plug on the boat usage. Much to Regan's dismay. My sister, *Leigh came out today with her youngest to join us. We had a nice family bike ride tonight and walked around the hidden lake at the campground. After we put the kids to bed a few of us went for a walk in the dark and laid down on the road and watched the stars. It was nice and peaceful. I hadn't seen a falling star before then in probably 15 years.

Saturday was even HOTTER!! Wow- over 30 degrees for sure! We started the morning off going to the farmer's market where we lucked out and found a massage therapist for Regan's back. So he got a 20 minute massage to help with his back. The rest of the morning was quite leisurely. Babbling Brook was sun burned from Friday so we stayed out of the sun for the morning as much as possible. By about 2:00 it was so hot we caved and went to the lake. The campground was holding some activities down by the lake so J-Bear and his cousins, *GG, *Evy and *Andy went and made a sand castle. They had tons of fun and it looked pretty good too! A few of us were walking around the lake again and sure enough the clumsy side of me came out. I ended up smacking my foot into a tree stump that was sticking up and broke one of my toes. Owwwww! Only me... The night ended with ice cream, hot chocolate and marshmellows. Yumm...

Sunday- time to pack for reality :( Check out time was 11:00 but apparently we were packing at turtle speed cuz none of us got out of there before 12:30! We must have been relaxed enough from the holiday. Unfortunately Leigh took her kids to the lake so she missed the group shot before we all left.

On our way home, we stopped at the newly renovated Frank Slide Interpretive Center
The kids actually had a lot of fun walking around and watching movies on the event. I couldn't believe how beautiful nature has blessed the tragedy. Many scenes like this:

We didn't end up home until late Sunday night. We had a great time. Got the relaxation we needed just in time to head off for our next holiday on Friday! Whoo Hoo! Fairmont here we come!!

Yay or Nay Weekend

Yay for having a busy weekend
Nay for being tired because of that

Yay for taking Babbling Brook horse back riding for her first time with DJo. Yay for how well she did!
Nay for the soreness from riding a horse for the first time in over 15 years and nay for DJo's dad who didn't have the same positive experience as he flew off his horse.

Yay for meeting up with my parents and going camping together Friday night. Nay for the campers partying beside us till after 2am

Yay for taking the boat out on Sat. It was such a beautiful day! Yay for Regan who did his best barefoot waterski ever!! AND Yay for the friends and family that came to join us.
Nay for the wind in the morning that slowed our start.
Nay for getting back so late with early church the next morning.

Yay for the announcement that we got the next morning! I am getting a new sister in law. Yeppers, my brother Will has asked Deb to marry him. YEAH!
Nay for having to lose 10 pounds before the wedding.

Happy Birthday to You

Ok, so I had a terrible sleep last night. I woke up at 1:45am to the sound of the song Happy birthday to you. I sat up in bed and questioned the noise, but it stopped right away. I figured I must have dreamt it and went back to sleep. 5 minutes later I woke again hearing the same noise, I got out of bed and opened my bedroom door and again the noise had stopped. What the ? I again went back to bed and again I heard the noise a few minutes later. So I got up and was sure it was coming from Babbling Brook's room. I opened her door and loudly asked if that was her, but nope she was sound asleep, she didn't even budge from me being so loud. Now I am confused. So as the typical worry wort mom that I am I quickly jump to conclusions that there is someone in the house trying to lure my kids away with the happy birthday song. (I laugh about that now, but at 2 am it seemed real) So after waiting at the top of my stairs listening for any sounds that would confirm my fears, I hear nothing. ARGGG what is that sound and why does it keep going away??

Again I go back to bed. It's now 2:15 am, I am distracted, tired and Regan is now snoring (which in all fairness he normally never does). I lay in bed awake for another 15 minutes when I hear the song again. This time I was going to find it. I ran out of bed, swung open the door, turned the hallway lights on and just listened. It's coming from the bathroom??? Ok I go in the kids bathroom and wait for the noise again. After tearing about the medicine cabinet and the shelf above the toilet I FINALLY find the noise coming from the garbage can. Right on top was this silly straw from the dollar store that this kids got from a birthday party over a year ago that when you drink from it, it plays the happy birthday song. Seriously it starts to go crazy in the middle of the night?

After realizing you can't take out the battery, I threw the silly thing out the door took the toy to the kitchen garbage and completely burried it so I couldn't hear it again! So again I go back to bed trying to relax from the annoying toy and finally at almost 3am....zzzzzzzz.

Monitored

I have been looking forward and dreading this day for months. Today is the day I get to wear a Holter Monitor for 24 hours. So I have the fears of what if they find something wrong and the fears of what if they don't find something, then what? Despite the knee injury, today is the day I have to stress my heart so the doctors can find the problem.

The appointment started off a little rough. Literally! The tech wipes your skin with rubbing alcohol and then takes sandpaper to your skin where she then sticks the electrode thingys on. Most of that was not too bad except for the last one. She really dug into my skin with the sandpaper. When I naturally jumped a bit, she mocked me! What the? Let me take that to your skin and see how you like it! After she hooked up the electrodes she gave me a piece of paper and said bye. Ok? As I was leaving I was holding my side where she burned me with the sandpaper. Babbling Brook quickly asked in the hallway if it hurts. I said one of them really does, its actually burning and the lady was quite rude borderline mean. Wouldn't you know it a gentleman in the hallway over heard me and questioned my reaction. Seems he is the doctor of the clinic and was not happy to hear I had a negative experience. He quickly brought me back in to the clinic to have someone else take a look at the one that was burning. She readjusted the tape and all was MUCH better. Note to future techs if the sandpaper draws blood you're pushing too hard maybe !

Since then I have been at the gym, running around, doing anything I can to set off my heart. I know the chances of catching my problem are slim, but I think I may have had a few close calls. Now I am utterly exhausted and my knee is killing me, but if I don't have to do this again then it will all be worth it right?

Babbling Brook and J-Bear had some pretty funny moments today. Regan and I have been doing the exercise class "Ripped" and the kids wanted to try it. We bought a couple DVDs of the class, so the kids put one in today to try it out. Hehehe. I wish I could have recorded the whole time. BB finished the whole hour (no surprise there) and J-Bear made it almost 40 minutes. They had weights, used step stools as steps and blankets as mats. It was great listening to them do the class and even funnier that they are both sore from it too!

Dedicated

What a great day to be dedicated. Today was our first Sunday in our new church. What a joy it is to be able to walk to church again. It was fun to see so many of our congregation walking in excitement to the new building. There were 3 wards in attendance today and I am greatful for a wonderful hubby who went early and reserved spots for us and for Deb and *Will.

When church was over we decided to go look at some new show homes over in Mohagany and in Auburn Bay. We found several different floor plans that we liked, if only we liked the price tag that came with them!

My brother Will came over later to hang out and talk about a few things. It is exciting to watch his own "dedication" of sorts start to play out. (more info to follow on that at a later date)

When Will left, Regan and I made rootbeer floats for the kids and watched the movie Barnyard.


It's one of those movies for us that every time we watch it we still crack up laughing. I feel blessed to be able to have these moments with my family.

A Time for Firsts

It was a beautiful warm Friday afternoon and you betcha we were out with the boat. We headed out to our usual spot just outside the city and met up with some of Regan's family. We had a great time boating and just relaxing on the beach. I got to spend some one on one time with my new little niece Breezy (*name changed). It's nice to be able to hold a little one and even nicer to give them back.

Yeah its taken years but J-Bear finally went knee boarding behind the boat! For those who know Regan you can only imagine his excitement! We have tried many times over the years to get him to do anything behind the boat. Even tubing was a struggle most days. We tried to bribe him in the past and finally out of no where and with no pressure he just decided he would go for it. He did great! He stayed up the whole time :) I think he was convinced to go when his cousin *GG, who is younger than him, went for her first time and had no problems either. Yeah for both J-Bear and GG!!

Babbling Brook did really well behind the boat too. She is improving more and more each year. She did a couple of knee board rides and got in a couple of slaloms as well. I look forward to seeing how well she does by the end of the summer.

Today started off with a stampede breakfast in our community over at our new church building that is being dedicated tomorrow. Because the sod was still new, no one was allowed on the grass so it made it a quiet breakfast (no bouncers, no games, etc.). But it was still exciting to see all the people that showed up. We got there at the beginning and it took almost an hour to get our food. I felt bad for the people who were lined up through the parking lot and almost to the street. But hey, its free food!

We were hoping to take the boat out again today but the weather didn't cooperate. So instead we stayed home and got some chores done. Regan and J-Bear worked really hard on the outside of the house today. They finished the fence, mowed the lawn, laid more sod, finished the gate, and trimmed up the flower gardens. It looks really great! Regan does a wonderful job of keeping the yard looking nice. He is known among my family and friends for how good our grass looks!

Babbling Brook and I got to do the grocery shopping. It may not sound as hard as what the boys did, but we faced Costco on a Saturday afternoon and survived!! That's an accomplishment all in itself. Lol

It's nice when you get to have some time to unwind and actually enjoy the weekend.

Canada Day

Happy Birthday Canada!

Today was a quiet day for me. Regan had to work and because I was not moving much (knee) he called his dad and asked if he would take the kids to the Raymond parade. So I stayed home and relaxed and worked on a blanket that I am crochetting. Basically I kept my knee up all day. I have to admit I missed having the kids around but knew they would be having a much better time with the grandparents than being stuck at home with me.

The kids woke up early to be ready to go when Grandma and Grandpa S. came to pick them up. They were very excited to go despite the early hour during their summer holidays. They had a great time down in Southern Alberta. They met up with other family members and watched the parade together and gathered WAY too much candy! When the kids got home Regan and I asked them about their day. Which lead to the following conversation:
(you have to imagine Babbling Brook talking a mile a minute)

Dad: "What was the best part?"
J-Bear: "The whole day was the best part dad!"
BB: "Yeah dad, we got to go to Subway for breakfast, we got candy during the parade and then we went to Aunt June's house for lunch and dad did you know they have Dr.Pepper freezies, and then we got to have more candy and then we went to more families houses and had more treats and then when we left we went to McDonalds for supper and then we ate the candy on the way home."
Dad: "So I take it you had some sugar today. Did you try the freezies?"
BB: "Yep, I had 6 and they were jumbo size"
Dad: " 6 Jumbo freezies??"
BB: " Well 10 if you count the smaller ones"
J-Bear: "and I got to have root beer at McDonalds too!"

LOL I have to laugh cuz no matter how you look at their sugar intake today, they were still in the truck with Grandma and Grandpa for a 2.5 hour drive home afterwards.

Needless to say they had a great time and were still hyper when they got home. Which lead to Regan trying to wear them out by playing "steam roller".

Ah... good times!