Tuck Shop Shift

Both boys were asked if they would like a shift in the tuck shop this week.  I was so pleased to see Lynne taking an interest in my boys.  Both jumped at the chance and said yes when she came to ask.  She said "Arrive at 3:20 for training and customers will start arriving at 3:30".  Isaac took a Wednesday shift while Elliot took a Friday shift.

Isaac completed his shift while I was working in Nanaimo.  He arrived on time, and Lynne told Chris that he was the best helper she has ever had in his age group ... he would listen and be on his way to complete the order without being asked.  They had a lot of fun on Wednesday.

When Elliots shift came around on Friday, without having to remind him (even I forgot, and when I asked where Elliot was on Friday afternoon, I was told that he was working ;-)

Here is Elliot and Lynne hard at work ....

And this was a little note I received from Lynne that evening .....

Visit to the Wild Side!

This girls and I have such conflicting schedules, that it came down to me swimming across the lake to get to her one day last week when I knew she was free for an hour or so!!  The boys came along in their kayaks and played in the water while we had a little visit .....

Back at camp, while everyone is pulling their trailers, filling up ferries and traveling long distances in the heat, the boys and I enjoyed our own piece of paradise for a little while.  Campers went and had cabin time, leaving us alone on the beach for abit. 

Later that afternoon, I offered to help Aimee prep dinner at Wild Side for their campers ... they are all doing such a great job with this program.  So laid back yet structured .. kids seemed to know what was expected of them and seem very happy. 

My job was to bbq chicken ... after it was cooked, Aimee put homemade tzaziki and feta on top to melt .... greek salad and fresh naan bread .. these kids eat like kings over here!!!!

 

Dinner was ready, here is one of their campers ringing the COW BELL for mealtime!!  Everyone camp, stood in a circle and sang the most hilarious meal prayer I had ever heard .... so great.

Line up .... Isaac will be old enough for this camp next year .... I think he will actually really love it!

Q doesn't know how good she has it living here (kind of like our boys!  They know nothing else!!) ...

It was great to watch these two at work .... they are a great team.

Boats, planes and other exciting things!

Home from a great day at work ... No angela and a confirming meeting with Veronica, our new Director of regional operations. I like her, she's fiesty.... Home to my spotting shift where Isaac joined me in the boat. 

He's learning the skills early ... Throwing ropes, watching signs and faces, it was fun. 

While Isaac is happiest hanging with me, Elliot is happiest off on his own. Started getting worried after 2 hours of not seeing him after dinner!  Ended up finding him in the lava forest with these two kids!!  And yes, you see that right, that is a girl, and he is looking at her without morphing into golum!!

Isaac helped in the game - special talents!!! Girls at this teen camp lined up to show him their talents...for some reason he asks for this station every week!! :-)

Quality time with Mark.... He was a great boss and we miss him very much!!

The evening was filled with Chris and his binoculars!! He was watching the fire over at Skutz Falls.... The mars water bomber made its appearance later in the evening it was very exciting! Even more exciting now that they have everything under control I think....

Still my favorite pictures ...

Sometimes I stand in my hallway and just stare at these pictures of my parents.

These pictures are still two of my favorites because it just shows such happiness on their faces.  

We've hit an upswing at work!!!

Today was a turning point in my career at CLBC. The executive director of a local agency that I support was fired (effective immediately) this morning! I didn't get the details until this afternoon but I promptly had to tell my two closest workmates the news because they know, first hand, what the struggle has been for so long!!!  Their reactions were appropriate and perfect!!

It really is such great news for so many people!  But mainly the agency staff and the people with disabilities who are cared for by those staff!!  They haven't been heard or supported for so long. The working environment within those agency walls has often been described as so toxic to work in. 

Even my management has been pushing me to continue trying to build bridges with this woman, and though we've been civil, I am told she yells about CLBC the minute we hang up off the phone!  I am lying here at 2am, almost giddy, that she won't be part of my work landscape anymore!  I have been making the best of it, but she really was just terrible.  I got a kick out of the community nurse last week, after one of our round table meetings at the hospital, we were leaving but she ran into the said director on the way out and after being jabbed with a rude statement by her, actually retorted to her face "if I had a child with a disability, I would choose to move communities rather than place them in your agency"

What a spitfire hey? Everyone feels this way but to hear someone be vocal to her face was really something else. I am excited to be in meetings where the temperature in the room doesn't drop the moment she walks in! Things are looking up!!

Mexican Patio Party ....

He had just come from being the one to crack open the candy pin at at the teen girls camp (not sure if he should have been the one to do that but oh well! Lol)....I am sure that he was having a great time, despite his look in this picture!!

 I love how involved in camp he is this year - maybe he's starting to come out of his shell? He still won't look girls in the eyes, and often skulks away if certain adults ask him a direct question ... But we are all works in progress, aren't we?

Monkey on his back!

Purging and Cleaning!!

It started with a, new to me, comforter (king size Ralph Lauren brand that reminds me of holidays at a 5 star-thank you thrift store for putting on the tag that it was just dry cleaned!!), and a blue shelf snag from Nicole's landlords as they were purging stuff ! 5 bags for thrift, a bag of garbage and I have an organized room that now feels really really nice!!!

Next is the boys room!! But another day!! Elliot lite a fire on this chilly day and it's time to curl up and watch a movie together. 

Emily gets her yearly quad ride ...

Emily has been a camper and a staff kid since she was like 6!  And she loves our quad!  Each year at the end of her week, whether she's been a camper or a weekly helper, I've taken her for a quad ride. 

This year felt a little more special because yesturday she fell off the big slide (off the back!), and landed wrong!  Spinal removal from the water, ambulance ride, CT scan ... All scary stuff. She was back at camp last night after it all came back clear. But initially she couldn't feel toes or legs and it was really scary. 

So thankful she is ok. 

Campers are putting in orders ...

Campers see chris at breakfast everyday at the lineup to go in for breakfast with his iced capp.

Yesturday, Chris was given an order from a camper:

So ... He brought her one this morning. 

Teachable moment: no harm in asking, right?

Week snapshot of Intermediate #1!

The cook this week was awesome .... He added such a great atmosphere to the kitchen. I mean, check out what we arrived to at breakfast! So fun!

Just a moment of hanging out with Marla .... Today is the last day of her couple weeks here at camp.  It's been so nice having her here ... I realized this week that when people come here, we see them as they are, as they arrive.  We don't know about the size of their house, the jobs they hold, or their social status. And I really appreciate that ... 

One of the highlights from the week was heading to town to meet these guys from Sun FM to reminice about our good 'ol radio days!!  These were the people I went to, to be sounding boards, when I was offered the job at the radio station and CLBC on the same day!!  I really respect their opinions ... Man, we laughed a lot. 

Here is Elliot is hanging out with the mcaw that was here this week!  She belonged to Bruce, the ER doctor who came with Darlene, who was the nurse this week,  She started coming after coming to WOA!!  They have offered chris and I their cabin on the water down in Sooke to celebrate our anniversary this fall!

Chris leading a game with Marla and Colin - Russian Egg Roulette!! 12 eggs, 3 are raw, 9 are hard boiled... Colin lost.  

I was pretty proud of Isaac working the soundboard and music for chris throughout the whole show ... He did great. 

Colin and Marla ..... 

Despicable Me cast .... Gru had already gotten changed and didn't make the picture!

Vikings and Mona Lisa...

My neck has been so sore this week!!  I needed a Viking, obviously.  Her fingers were painfully strong ... It was great. 

She had trouble keeping a straight face ....Mona Lisa does a great job answering the kids questions about the night game. 

This is Darlenes husband, his name escapes me, but he's an ER doctor and has come out to help this week. Here he is being a super good sport while the Dispicable Me song plays on repeat for the night game. He radioed and said he'd like to be able to puke to be put in quarantine if it gets him away from listening to this song.  

Couple fun snapshots...

Isaac showing me some moves ....

Chris at work ....

What do you think I find funny in this screen shot from work?

Blog Books ...

And this is why I love blogging. 

Monday night ...

So it was a super hard day at work ... I miss Mark alot (my old boss).... I'm not getting any answers or attention from my manager anymore which is pretty important to have when you are covering a satellite office .... So we are struggling. But whatever ... I got up early and I got to work at 7:30 and left at 12:30 ..... Major upside but those 5 hours were intense. Happy to leave!!

Home for free time ....

Walked to the mail with the family and then watched the boys swim til dinner.

After dinner, Jen Rosang came over for a hottub. She's Marlas friend who started coming to WOA a couple years ago and I always really liked her .... So while my boys played the safari game with campers at camp, she and I hottubbed and talked about life .... It's 9:30 now and I'm totally spent. Kitchen is a mess (that's going to suck to wake up to tommorow)....so Isaac and I are crawling into bed ... When I text chris to see where Elliot is, this is what I got!!

Apparently he's been playing chess as well as checkers with this girl for over an hour!

Early morning ....

Thanks you Carrie for being such a fearless creator!!! I love my early morning spot!!