…and I drop off the face of the planet for a few days… but in a GOOD way…

Friday was a bit of a slow start as Ken had to finish something for work before we could get out the door (which inevitably took longer than expected) BUT around noon we were packed up and out the door to go CAMPING! This is the first REAL camping trip for all 5 of our kids… and a REAL adventure. Destination Tolman Bridge campgrounds… but with a stop off to pick up the map with my Aunty Lorraine in Trochu. Did  you know that Trochu has a few claims to fame? The ones I do NOT have pictures of are – they are the Pinkest Little Town in the West (2010) for breastcancer… you can still see the remnants of their pink claim to fame all over the town and the world’s largest golf tee – Veronika took me, Echo and Trinity past it and I can verify – it is a massively large golf tee! 

After sending me in to get the map and added instructions we headed back to the highway and promptly turned back so KEN could go get better instructions… I tell him EACH TIME that I am horrible with handdrawn maps and verbal directions and each time he sends me in. Thankfully Aunty Lorraine was busy so he talked to a cashier in the bank (slightly less embarrassing for yours truly) and THEN we were finally off… The camp site was another 15 min out of Trochu in some lovely country! Lots of hills and trees and interesting landscape. 

We got into the camp late in the afternoon. Adam was already there with Holli and Combyne (the dogs) with two tents set up and the rv parked and ready to be used… and most importantly to the kids – a fire going!

We had been texting with Veronika before we got into the valley and the super spotty to NO cell phone signal area and knew she was on her way. So while we were waiting for her (she was coming from her orientation at her new job at Indigo!!) we walked kids and dogs to the river to play in the water. 

It was so hot out so the water was welcoming but FREEZING cold! We played there until Veronika met up with us in her Jeep. Then we headed back to the campsite to unload what she brought. Then Veronika and I took off with Echo to the store in Trochu to “fill in the gaps” on some food items… aka = pop tarts, pork chops and some sausages. It was a nice drive and Echo got in a nap. I was reminded as to how EXPENSIVE things are in small towns… a package of pull ups in Trochu at the grocery store is 25.00… way more than in the city!!! So we decided to deal with however many we had left.

Apparently while we were gone to the store the kids found a caterpillar which was a HUGE source of excitement… many pictures were taken and I am told the critter managed to make it off intact.

Then it was time to pack up and head back to the lake. It had cooled off a bit so the water was VERY cold, we persevered and managed to enjoy ourselves. This time we all wore bathing suits, well except Echo but she put a toe in and very quickly voiced her opinion that the water was NOT to her liking!

 Supper was cooked over the fire by our total pro Adam. It was beyond delicious and included some amazing potatoes. He really does cook EVERYTHING over the fire. And then of course there was the marshmallows… what is a camp out without them? And Veronika had the jumbo ones… they were deemed too big for the kids though… it took multiple cookings and layer after layer to get them fully eaten (you can be sure we complained loudly… well we would have except for our mouths were full and fingers too sticky!).

The kids got to choose their tent so of course chose the big one… so after dinner it was pj’s and bed… with very few interruptions once they realized we could see their shadows from the light in the tent! That left the adults (and Echo) free to stay up late chatting, drinking, eating more marshmallows and just relaxing. How marvelous! Though I have now been reminded how out of practice I am in drinking shots… drink something all at once? Seriously? 

Ken, Echo and I slept in the rv on a VERY comfy bed… not exactly SLEPT IN but got a nice sleep… then it was up and back to camping in the morning – the rather chilly morning! So it was a very good thing I brought jeans and sweaters for all the kids. Though they were quick to lend a hand and ask poor Adam a MILLION questions about the fire – if the poor man had any intention to quit smoking they most certainly were NOT helping him with it… all 4 kids peppering you with questions CAN be quite stressful! 

After breakfast (cooked on the fire again – YUM) it was time for some relaxing… well as relaxing as it gets with 5 active kids… but we managed… 

After relaxing and such it became clear to Veronika and I that Echo was NOT going to nap in the rv and Trinity needed a boy break. So we decided to tour Trochu and Three Hill and get some soft serve at the Trochu Dollar Store. First off to Three Hills where Adam and Veronika had rented a couple places (we drove by) and cousins from the other side of the family once lived (could not remember the way to their old place). We saw the pool with splash park, stopped in at the grocery store to NOT buy pull ups (ouch!) and generally toured. Good thing to know about Three Hills – if you need gas do NOT stop by the place on the highway but go further into the city – there was a like 9 cents difference! 

On the way back to Trochu we stopped and checked out the large windmills that are generating power out in the fields. They are intensely huge and rather awe inspiring. Trinity checked them out (with Cousin Veronika’s sunglasses on as the sun was too sunny) and was rather impressed.

Of course we had to drive through Trochu also, see our grandparents’ old house (fenced and for sale), the splash park (we HAVE TO go there next year), the arboretum that we took pictures at with our grandparents ages ago… downtown… where we ended up at the Dollar Store for soft serve… Echo shared some of mine (cheesecake flavoured) and Trinity had a baby (baby??? big!) banana. 

We picked up a treat for the boys – shaped elastics, and a sheet of purple glitter paper (only 1.50!) and headed BACK to the campsite. 

The guys were all at the river so we went over there to meet up and wade in the rather chilly water. After that it was back to the campsite and more hanging out before supper… cooked over the fire of course! 

Trinity was so worn out we forced a nap on her. She woke up while everyone was eating supper and was beyond ready to go home so we figured it was time to pack up and head out. The flies and other bugs were way worse Saturday afternoon anyway and we had to be home and in bed to be awake and ready Sunday morning. So we helped pack up and said good-bye to Adam and Veronika. 

I am happy to report that the complaining van and the cell phone on low battery BOTH saw us home safely… of course as when we came to the campsite I texted people to let them know we were on the road and went from there. I just felt safer that way, and it IS entertaining to chat while on the road. The kids were exhausted when we got home but it was definitely a BATHS FIRST sort of night, as well as the start on the mountain of laundry that had come home with us. I love campfires, do NOT love the smell of smoke on everything later. 

Sunday marked the beginning of Sunday School at our new church and the boys and Ken were the ones who went. I kept the girls home to give Echo nap time and myself the time for prep work for the afternoon crafting event. I have yet to discuss 9/11 with the kids and will probably talk to the boys about it in the future years… but what I remember the most is being in a panic with Ken as we tried to find his parents who were supposed to be flying home from vacation back to Minnesota on some unknown flight. It was a full 2 days before we were contacted and told they had been grounded in Florida and stayed with my brother in law. In the panic no one had thought to call us up here in Alberta (though keep in mind they are the same people who were in the eye of Katrina on vacation too! And drove TO work on the bridge in Mn that later collapsed that evening but not home on it!!). 

We had a lovely turn out for my crafting afternoon! Supplies were brought, ideas shared, glitter and more used in abundance. Crafting messes are some of the BEST messes. And boy did we make a mess! Ken had to bring up the second table and I added both spare leaves to the kitchen table. We had Karyn’s Cricut, Kristen’s texturing machine and my embossing powder and heat gun as well as tons of other bits and bobs. 

There was a variety of crafts going on – Victoria made stationary, most people cards and Karyn and I worked on some scrapbook pages. What we learned is that we need to pick ONE topic or theme to cut down on the large quantity of supplies we needed and that every event will most likely include at least ONE trip to Michaels with some group of people!! (we did towards the end go in with coupons and the like).

Karyn brought her finished cards for people to look through and there were snacks and drinks, in fact KEN made us raspberry cake and a VERY chocolaty banana bread! All were thoroughly approved. 

After some crafting was done and Echo woke up Kathy and Victoria took charge of keeping her entertained, although apparently Echo has decided she wants to learn how to knit and made it nearly impossible for Victoria to work on her blue giraffe! 

All in all tons of interesting things were made and much fun had! We are already discussing an October gathering with maybe a Halloween theme! YAY!!!

I got a Currclick freebie of the week that some parents with younger children may be interested in as well! (if you have made it all the way through my weekend babble that is!)… it is called My Learning Desk Mat. I plan on making one as place mats for at least Trinity and Emanuel. 

Today’s homeschooling for the twins was mainly focused on COMPLETION. We worked hard on one of the math grade 1 workbooks they had found in their drawers and they BOTH completed it! They were so excited… it covered a variety of things but what I loved the most is that it focused on fractions in a VERY basic way so that helped them get a better idea of what they are… something I want to focus on in a big way this year. 

Emanuel worked VERY hard on his letters and numbers today. He is absolutely determined to get in as much learning as he can!

We even made time for Stuart Little… we learned all about what he does first thing in the morning. Trinity had Daddy draw him brushing his teeth. 

So with that much accomplished we let it go and the kids went down and watched the OLD My Little Pony dvds that Kathy had given them ages ago (something I can’t stand to watch so I stayed upstairs and sorted craft stuff). I feel that we ended the day work wise at a good point and they are ALL excited about tomorrow… more Stuart Little, some special pictures to draw… oh did I mention we did one last picture from each boy for their Summer Adventure File? Emanuel and Zander drew Prickie Pie who came for a visit yesterday and Gavin the tent they slept in while camping.

Now I have a corner set up even better in the basement thanks to bookcases Kathy gave us (thank you so much!) and I am hoping to have made great inroads on the rest of the mess screaming at me for cleaning. We still need to figure out curtains… and find pictures… THEN we will truly be home!

The week is coming to an end and the weekend is shaping up to be busy. It is a long weekend here in Alberta but VBS starts on the Monday all the same. With trips to the old house to finish cleaning, running to get Jimmie and Ken needing to get work done that was not completed during the week we have not yet made a service at the new place. The plan is to go the one free Sunday in August – the 21st… Sunday School starts after the long weekend in September which has the boys absolutely bouncing in excitement. A whole new adventure for us all.

THIS weekend has me mainly focused on the August wedding… Saturday afternoon is the bridal make-up trial with my lovely cousin Veronika doing the make-up. Combined with the need to purchase a massive amount of the theme coloured ribbon to finish the centrepieces, the planning of the seating plan/tables positioning and all other general odds and ends to finalize and I am hoping this is our last big push to completion (I know I know I AM a wee bit delusional). Can you tell I am LOVING the closeness  to cousins? I am pretty sure I have made that nearly ANNOYINGLY apparent… but I am! This weekend cousin Elizabeth is moving to a different place so we couldn’t get more family together but she HAS promised to come back often. 

What I did manage last night was to finish all bows I had the ribbon for (lost or miscounted three knots somewhere downstairs though which is a bit upsetting) AND do all the tulle knotting for Echo’s birthday costume. I need to sit down and fuss with the ribbon tie as I cannot see how you can do it with the double layer of tulle, but I may be misreading the instructions (would NOT surprise me!). I used 4 colours – black, grey, light purple and a shimmery brown to make something with a Friday the 13th feel! After the weekend I plan on trying to make a single matching tulle poof to put in her hair… 

I have to brag a little on my kids and their yearning to learn… today all 3 boys WILLINGLY did school work, even though I was not planning on pushing it today with the amount of tidying and such that has to be done for the weekend. Pictures were coloured, ABC’s drawn, math done… even songs sung. All while butterfly princess Trinity ran around and little Echo added her voice to the chorus. In fact, she has started directing her baby babbles in a more conversational manner recently. It is so exciting to see and hear her progress. 

In reflecting back to the beginning of the week and the altercation with beloved people in our lives regarding our choice to homeschool I have to admit there has been some good come of this. I have written/typed up a letter that explains as best I can the why and how of us making this choice. This has forced me to think long and hard really as to the fundamental reasons behind out wish to take this VERY hands on role in our children’s schooling. It has also helped push me forward into meeting more families (granted online only for now) that are local to us and reinforce that there ARE people who think we are doing a good job. That has not decreased the hurt of the naysayers but what it HAS done is remind me how little those people interact with us on a daily or even weekly basis. This is not out of lack of trying REALLY but more so due to distance… so how CAN they know exactly what we are accomplishing here? (beyond what I write here in the blog, but I AM aware that NOT everyone reads it) I have passed through the anger of Monday’s entry and have moved into hope… I HOPE that I can help them to see the benefits to what we are doing but it is not the main focus of our schooling. What IS the main focus will always be the children and their future. And it is a bright and hopeful future indeed! 

Ken and I have made a pact and he is going to readjust his sleep schedule back to “normal people” time or at least an approximation. I know there ARE nights when he needs to work late but he has gotten into the habit of ALWAYS working late… which has left me a little bereft in snuggling time. Now that Echo is almost consistently sleeping through the night (major score) we are able to start moving back from the midnight feeds and start enjoying the morning again.

Oh, the decoration idea – well EACH of the boys has their own 8X10 photo frame that I have put up on the wall. They are allowed to, at any time, do up a NEW picture and we will replace it! And now I have 3 VERY happy boys who are involved in decorating their room WITHOUT damaging walls! 

I am trying a new recipe tonight for some of the raspberries I have in the freezer… I will have to share the results in the next entry. OH! That reminds me – Ken had some sad news to report at the old house… apparently the owners chopped those lovely raspberry bushes TO THE GROUND! Wounding I tell you, they were amazing bushes and provided a TON of berries… so sad!

 There is the beginnings of a Kitty buddy on the stocking… I am not going to spill who it is until it is done but I CAN tell you it is NOT Chococat! 

With a potential house full of computers and gaming and friends it is going to be an interesting weekend. 

The wonderful result of solving ONE major issue – a serenity in the moment that is coupled with feelings of thanks and minor peace (well as peaceful as a house full of active kids can be!). That does not mean (by any means) that our issues are 100% resolved… BUT we are working on it and I am personally working hard to not only spread the word about Ken’s programming skills (seriously he is GOOD at what he does! so if you need a website set up please send me an email or message here and I will pass your information along to Ken) but to get my own patterns and commission work noticed. Ken is going to get more of my patterns up for purchase in the following weeks which is exciting after the dry spell we have had due to excessive time spent on the phone.

Beyond that I spent the weekend in a constant state of motion. Friday found the whole family at my mom’s for the first time in 3 weeks!! The kids were in HEAVEN. We visited the store she works at, then went to my doctor’s appointment where everything checked out fine, though my blood pressure is a little low. The baby’s heartbeat was in the slower “boy” (according to wives tales) range this time. I have to check back on Trinity and Emanuel’s pregnancy books to see what I recorded there! Since I have my OBGYN appointment here in the city it will be my last time seeing this doctor for my pregnancy.

After the appointment we drove by Christine’s (she was out) and then headed to mom’s where Christine called me back and we had her come over to introduce Bella to Harley. Surprisingly enough BELLA was the naughty one. We didn’t get to the point of having her on the floor with Harley but we did get them using their “dog manners” to some extent!

We stayed the night, had HOMEMADE waffles for breakfast and stayed long enough for Ken to help Mike move in the new bedroom pieces that he and mom had saved up for. We made sure to leave BEFORE Harley got home from the vet – she was fixed on Saturday. The kids had a blast – including a playdate with a little boy right around Emanuel’s age. (a co-worker of mom’s child). And we are back again on Tuesday – taxes to be done and then another overnighter at mom’s so that Ken can help Mike move in the last piece of furniture oh and the boys get their hair cut by their favourite hairdresser – GRANDMA!

Sunday was spent with company as well – Chris and Chris came over after Ken left with the twins for Sunday School (Palm Sunday practice which the boys are learning a new song for and having a BLAST). They brought some of their cooking supplies and tools and a sweet gift – a hand blender! We had our very first baking party. It was great fun – we made a bunch of different treats and then they took half home. Let’s see… brownies, applesauce muffins, ginger snaps, sugar cookies and a raspberry cake we have yet to try.

OH here is the new raspberry recipe!

BC Raspberry Cake
1/3 cup	margarine
1 cup	sugar
1	egg
1 tsp	vanilla
2 cups	flour
3 tsp	baking powder
1/4 tsp	salt
1 cup	milk
2 cups	raspberries ( fresh or IQF)
Cream margarine and sugar, add well beaten egg and vanilla, add dry ingredients with milk, beat just enough to keep batter smooth. Pour into a greased floured pan. Sprinkle raspberries on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Frost with vanilla icing while still warm (we left off the icing)

Of course I made up our slowcooker full of brown beans and Chris and Chris brought over bratwurst and we had a delicious supper! Then Ken and I took our movie passes that expire today and went off to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. A little predictable but some good jokes and funny moments.

What a weekend, then today we started the argument with BANK over the fees that should never have occurred. This time Ken REFUSES to sit on hold, leave a message and if they ignore us we demand to talk to someone further up! So keep a positive thought for us. He spent a couple hours in the bank today making it clear that any investigation the bank plans on doing had better NOT take too long.

We did our painting of coffee filters in preparation for making butterflies to go with our Hungry Caterpillar story. All part of our spring focus. Painting is a favourite in this house – up there with Play doh in fact.

So for a Monday it has not been half bad… we have a battle plan for BANK and for life in general, we are sticking to a meal plan and trying to think in advance about what we are going to need for ourselves and the kids – no impulse shopping! Oh and faith in Ken!