Right in our own Backyard....

It felt like we were in hawaii today...and we only had to drive a few hours!We were heading to the Sooke Potholes because we had never been and heard it was a beautiful spot.....but we stopped at China Beach and stayed. I have learned something about myself here at this beach today.....outside, watching my boys and my favorite man play, is where i am happiest...with my toes in warm sand..there is no better place on all the earth.
I have also learned that life is full of moments...amazing moments, hard moments, trying moments (the last 2 often seem to be fighting the amazing moments for the lead role in my life!) But for me its all about the ups and downs....i have never been consistently happy or consistently sad....its all about balancing the 2. I wish i was a more patient, happy, carefree woman....but in all honesty-i am on a road that goes up and down, and i am the woman on the wobbly bike, trying to balance my way through without damaging the scenery around me too much!

but i watch them....and am always amazed and humbled that this is my road.

Home School? NO WAY!

I could never be a homeschooler.....seriously--though i love the idea behind it --the flexible schedules, spending more time with your child, watching them grow and learn under your guidance....ah--does that not sound like domestic bliss? hmm...not to me. I buy puzzles and many other 'learning' tools...but i have to force myself to take them off the shelf, turn off treehouse and sit down with him to do it...all the while thinking 'lets be a good mom this morning and do something constructive with his growing little mind' and it ends with me being like 'why can't you SEE that is an A not an i????' or 'we have sung the alphabet song over and over.....how can you not know it when i ask you to do it on your own??' sigh.......know your constraints and work within them, right?

I will encourage him in his preschool and whatever else we choose to put him into, but i could never homeschool either of them --i want them to be smart! ;-)

This is a second segment to this blog, but this afternoon, Isaac and i sat on the couch and he worked through almost 20 pages of this 3-5 year old Caihou book that involves some mind work and he did so well! Who cares if he can't recite the alphabet on his own or spell his name or even recognize letters yet---he is smart......and i have to remember to encourage him and cheer him on! He's a good boy who definatly marches to the beat of his own drum!

The Treadmill....

....that i call my life!! here it is....a little grip blog that i need to get off my chest and get a little sympathy (or whatever i can get--even a pep talk would be good right now): I grew up in a clean house--ARG! There it is....the demise of my life...the un-attainable goal...the top you reach and fall right down again after enjoying it for 5 minutes while 'they' are awake, or 12 hours while 'they' are asleep!!

Why can't i just be happy in a messy, cluttery house? Why can't i find a hobby? Why am i often looking into the distant future and longing for it? In my head, i know that this time is precious, fleeting, the envy of many women who can't have precious little babies. And here i am waking up every grey morning lately like groundhog day, wondering how i will fill the hours before they go back to bed again??

So now, its after dinner (as opposed to 1 hr prior to dinner when the last 2 paragraphs were written or the witching hour, as i like to call it) and i feel much better--the finish line is in view and i will have the whole night to enjoy in a totally clean house!! (chris took the boys for 20 minutes at dinner while i blitzed the house and floors--my parents are coming out for a visit, hence the 'lets let people think i can live like this all the time, no problem'!!) But yup--20 MINUTES of un-interupted toddler-free space, and i can clean this place!!

Ok--so......life is seriously so fine, but i get so bummed sometimes that i don't want to be here, but i also don't want to be anywhere else....its such a weird space to be in. Weather plays a big role.....but also a 2 year old who has a mind of his own and a whole summer of camp widow is coming to an end....and i am tired and wish for peace and quiet--oh well---maybe one day----and then i will long for these days!! Life cycles are totally Weird!!

Well, I am off to enjoy my 12 hours of cleanliness and order......good night!

Bed Time Stories....

Sometimes i fall asleep while reading a good book too.......

Conversations at bedtime with a 4 year old....

Daddy: "Ok Isaac, its time to be quiet and go to sleep"

Isaac: (insert sweet, but whiney voice) "But daddy, i'm so full of questions....."

3am.....

Elliot has a burn on his arm from a kitchen incident the other day and he hasn't really been eating during the day--so i am not too sure what his main reason is for being up at 3am, but hunger and pain both seemed like plausible reasons to me to be up....so here is my question:

Chris is up at 3:30AM for the olympic field hockey game--he gets elliot up for awhile with him, feeds him, chills out with him, puts him back to bed all taken care of.....but Elliot totally screams for a long time (my guess at this point is that he started to watch the olympics and he's ticked he can't continue)...long enough for me to come charging out of my room saying (uncharacteristically btw:) "what the HELL?!?!" (don't wake mama bear, and if you do, don't keep her up for that long screaming in the middle of the night!!!) .. its at that time, that i hear him quickly get up and meet me at the door i am about to crash through and say 'i'll take him'....and i'm thinking '20 minutes ago would have been good'....so, 4:37am, and i am awake (brownies for mugup at camp last night didn't help)...but the question is 'men tend to ignore screaming kids when something of interest is going on for them....why can't i do that?'

my crazy friend tanya....

Ok--so i laughed and laughed when i saw this picture....does she not look like a total wild woman!?! Look at isaac holding on for dear life!!
Disclosure here: we just puttered around the camp property, no crazy moves (though the above picture looks a little sketch)......we are going to make a new group though: M.O.Q's (moms on quads....want to join!??)

An amazing day off together.....

We play outside---we explore together--and that is when this family is the happiest. Here are some pictures from our day out exploring....pictures don't do it justice. This picture just captures how i see my husband and my first baby--they have this bond that is so incredible to watch. Chris is such a leader and i love to watch him with our babies.
disclosure: he is playing with the pop can--he did not drink the pop!

yanin called me a little wood nymph in this shot--is that good?

At a young age......

Here is my beautiful husband, even so young, working on the ropes course.....

Night Time Routine

I am starting to love our night time routine these days--here is how it goes: 5:30 dinner at the camp (bell rings, we drool and hop on our quads and last night it was turkey, tonight is roast beef!! yum!) .......so, we eat, play and visit a little, hop back on the quads to take 2 very tired boys home. Chris baths them and gets them ready for bed while i whirl through the house cleaning up and getting ready for tommmorow...and technically we now have 4 free hours to enjoy!!

Tonight though, we are heading to honeymoon bay to watch the fireworks at 10pm--Chris is trying to talk me into bringing Elliot too (but i would rather just bring Isaac since he listens and doesn't run away and lets me sit and relax--Elliot however, is is a totally different story these days!! )
Here are some shots of yesterday today--Staff meeting in the background and Elliot on his new favorite spot on my quad (yup, the sketchy front grill-the little monkey loves to climb).

And here is Isaac with his favorite girl Marijke (and an extra little picture of her that i saw and totally loved!!!)

Thoughts in my head this morning.....

do you think its really bad when you hide from your kids when they come looking for you?

this rain is killing me!!

World....meet Jack

How to start this post? I can't possibly even start to convey how this trip was to kelowna to be with my sister as she embarked on delivering her baby. How can i possibly get across how amazing and horrific at the same time her labor was? For anyone who knows me, and knew of my labor...let me just say, it was a piece of cake....39 hours ending with an emergency C-section was a walk in the park compared to what my baby sister went through. That is all i will say about her 62 hour labor ending with vacuum suction and an episiotomy....but also that she is the most amazing woman i have ever seen in my entire life. Words sound so hollow as i write this, so i won't make it long for fear of simplifying the most important thing i think i have ever been part of with my sister.

Jack is the most beautiful baby boy and they are so over the moon with him and she is recovering like a total pro! Brad held it together much better than i did through the whole ordeal, but you can see in this next shot of carrie and i crying in relief that Jack was out--my dad said it was hard to tell who had the baby! haha...so here you go:

Summer so far......

Not much for blogging these days, but here are a few current shots!!

Things i am thankful for tonight:

Taking a ride on our quad after dinner tonight - isaac and i on mine and elliot and chris on his...riding side by side while the boys laugh and giggle.

Jetski rides after dinner last night - chris taking both boys, one at a time for a boot around the lake--it was even sweeter for them since they knew it was past their bedtime!

Chris thinking about wanting a windsurfer a few weeks ago, and someone called him at the camp today, totally out of the blue, and asked if he would like one.

Our new van that doesn't need work and is paid for.

Did a huge purge today (5 boxes to go to thrift) and the cleaning lady is coming tommorow to detail - a clutter-free and clean home will soon be MINE!!!

My sister in law moving closer.....

Most important: we are so surrounded by love...at work, with friends, family...couldn't get any better!

the list could go on and on....we are so blessed!!

I can't close my mouth!

The jetski has been a part of isaacs little water routine the past few days......last night he and chris were out for a ride and isaac yells: 'daddy, don't go any faster.....i can't close my mouth!!' He loves it and tonight was Elliots first ride on it as well (i won't take it personally that he freaked out to come on with me, but climbed happily on with Chris...hmmmm?)

I haven't blogged really about Elliots big birthday turning 2 - but it was a really great day with my dad surprising us and showing up in time for dinner though my mom had left for winnipeg the night before. (he has never come on his own, so that meant alot in and of itself!) but we had such a good time together-i sure love my dad and never really get to spend one on one time with him. Took him quading - and there was a bear just booking it up the hill as we drove by, but he stopped right beside it to wipe his eyes and i am yelling with my helmet on (so he couldn't hear me) but i was yelling to KEEP DRIVING!! BEAR!!! BEAR! Anyways--he was pretty bummed he missed it, so we turned back, but it was gone....pretty funny though!

Here are some shots of Elliots birthday - it was a special birthday because my dad showed up, but also because we just chose to have the most special people in our lives there - the only ones really missed was carrie (soon to deliver, so fair enough!) and my mom (dealing with her dying mom in winnipeg). I got the news that Grandma died as Elliot was patiently waiting for me to bring his train cake out to him on the deck.




I just got back from Winnipeg for a funeral for grandma....it was a nice time for my family on my moms side. We had a picnic together at a great park after we buried my grandma behind the house my mom grew up at. There is a cemetary there where my aunt and grandpa are buried too. Before Paul dug the hole for grandma's remains, we all talked about a memory about grandma that we loved. It was all so sweet. it rained too....which i guess we all found fitting. Here are a few shots:





i am glad to be home....this is where i belong, but it was nice to be on my own for a few days with my family and one of my greatest and oldest friends yanin.

i didn't get any of her and i this trip based on the busy-ness of my schedule and that i was being a sweet friend and not taking pics of my exhausted friend who is 6 weeks from delivery of her 2nd baby girl "Elliot"!

Big Week!

There has been alot going on these day--amazing things--lots of visits from good friends, family, camp has started, my dad was able to make it out for Elliots 2nd birthday on sunday, and my grandma passed away that day as well.

So, needless to say, i haven't been blogging--but i HAVE been taking pictures and plan to do a big update when i get back next week from her funeral in winnipeg. My grandma was a big part of my childhood and i am pretty happy to be able to get back to pay my respects.

We'll talk next week! i am off to bed now as i have a big day tommorow.....but here are some pics to tie you over til i get back! hmm...sorry, pic uploader isn't working right now and i am exhausted......g'night!

The Answer to "to pay or not to pay"....

The official answer is that 'its not in the budget'.....but the final decision was 'lets find something that Sharon can sell and get that $100 bucks back into her pocket'.

So, i am selling the camps huge water trampoline - we need to figure out a price since new they are like $5000! Definatly a few hundred!


So...i now feel justified and taken care of...end of story!

To pay or not to pay?

So here is the latest thing i am stewing over tonight. I just passed my level 3 first aid yesturday. I initially didn't pass the course last week based on a poor decision in one of my scenerios and it was enough to completly fail me though i got 100% on my other 3 scenerios and 83% on my written.

So, camp is starting this weekend and i knew i had to get certified before the campers arrived...so i trekked up to Comox yesturday (2 hour drive there and back) and paid the $100 to re-take the test. Now, here is the thing i have been stewing over: yes, the camp paid for the course fee (around $700)..but this is a binding contract that keeps me physically at the camp every thursday night and fridays all summer for this summer and the next since i am certified for 2 years. I am not being paid for this...i did it voluntarily (though i will never do it again). I was able to convince my doctor to sign the medical form for free (normally upwards to a $75 fee--so i have already saved the camp money). But i don't want to pay this money for a course i wouldn't have taken on my own, to volunteer my time for the next 2 years!

Vicki has already said i probably won't be reimbursed since they already paid for the course....so my question is 'is this a battle i want to fight or drop?'

This is also great confirmation that i could never work for the camp because of scenerios like this...if i were to get angry at some little issue that i can't let go of, i wouldn't be able to support Chris. What is the lesson i am supposed to learn here?

So, my attitude at the moment is pretty crappy and i am needing some perspective....got any?

Megs....this is for you.....

My week is prepared!! Here is a pic of my good friend Megs influence on me to prepare healthier eating and preparing ahead! See here for her super salad mondays

I have done it the last few weeks but tonight was the first time i had my camera close by, so i thought i would 'share'. She has great tips....who knew my salads would stay fresh and ready for up to 4 days...though i am not brave like her to put the salad dressing on prior to putting on the saran wrap!! And with camp season around the corner and desserts available at lunch AND dinner AND considering i am a total animal when it comes to portion control of great desserts (yup, i am still a sucker for camp chocolate pudding even after 12 years of it!!)--here is to eating mindfully!!

Mon-Day Off together.....

It was a great day for Buzzlight year who got a fresh new outfit - stocked with wings!! Here he is at Beacon Hill showing everyone how Buzz can do 'to infinity and beyond!!!' i love how this kid has no problems being the only guy around in a costume....he doesn't even seem to care that people are like "Hey!!! Its buzzlight year!! cool!!!"...yup, totally aloof....my kid.

Here is Chris and Buzz trying to be serious for the camera....

My smallest one playing havoc with the goats and the shavings......tries to make me think he is just going to brush them, but i guess he needs something to brush off them first right? Thinking ahead....yup...thats my kid.


The ultimate chilling out pose.....don't let it fool you though....you try to move this child and negotiate a better place to go and see, and he will let you have it!! seriously......all in his own time...
It was a pretty great day......
We had alot to accomplish today....i had a good long walk with amanda at 8:30am, dropping in quickly at babygroup at 10:15am, an amazing (and well deserved, i may add) massage at 10:30am, drop off and pick up stuff i was selling and buying at 1pm....and then fun with the kids at Beacon hill. So, it was jammed packed and i love when we have lots to do and are able to do it...its especially easier and more fun when chris is with us. But this week marks the end of 2 days off per week and the beginning of camp widow-hood! So...we'll see how we go--its all good when the sun shines!