It's Called Glamping

This past weekend, the Umbachs and Wolseys joined us in what is referred to as "glamping", otherwise known as glamorous camping.  

What's the difference...

cabanas instead of tents

electrical outlets instead of flashlights

mini golf, swimming pool, paddleboats, ice-cream shop

hot water showers

internet access...sort of

trips to the county fair

a front desk that sells wood, ice, spaghettios and dental floss

What's the same...

smore's around the campfire (or should I say schmores)

biking around the lake

dutch ovens, camp stoves, fishing poles

finding spiders and beetles,

late night camping chair discussions

sunscreen, life jackets, 

hot days and cool nights

smelly clothes, delicious food

fun fun fun!

Here are just a few of the fun times 

we had at the Lynden KOA...

A Little Lesson:

"Glamping" with children under two years old (Benjamin and Nathan) is the way to go!  

side note:  I intend on investing in some new music soon, 

for those of you who recognize songs from past videos!

Peace of Mind

We're home...the animals were fed, the flowers were watered and the vegetables are still growing. Thank you to Nikki C. who made it possible for me to leave and completely forget about the duties of home and enjoy a vacation away with my troops!  Paying someone to live your life for you for a couple of days is truly an investment worth every penny.  I know there is always the neighbour who could pop over, pick up the mail and do a few chores.  But the peace of mind of someone keeping the fort going... completely worth it.

A Little Lesson:

Vacations have many stages to them.  The idea stage... let's go camping.  The planning stage... booking the site.  The organizing stage... we need to get a new camp stove, book house sitter, clear schedule etc. The packing and cleaning stage... don't forget sunscreen, I can't leave my bathroom looking like this!  The executing stage... what fun we are having in the woods.  The coming home stage... picking up your life where you left off.  And of course now, the blogging stage... how will I condense 527 memories into a few sentences.

Back to the Bush

We are heading out again to go camping with our buddies from Tsawwassen the Umbachs and Wolseys.  This "bush" however has        e l e c t r i c i t y !  So I may continue my bloggin' habit now that I'm a complete junkie!  If not, I'll be back on Sunday!

Side Note:

We have another friend/house-sitter coming to watch over the zoo of animals and plants while we're gone.  My hope was to leave the house in spotless condition to give the illusion to our house-sitter that we live in a squeaky-clean abode.  After daybreak this morning, as the sun started hitting my windows, my walls, our furniture and every other fingerprint infested item in our home, I realized I will be lucky to give the illusion we don't live in complete squalor.  So much for squeaky clean!  

A Little Lesson:

The exercise of looking at your home, every drawer, cupboard, corner, closet, carpet, linen, dish, mirror, sink, railing, garbage can, toilet, stair etc. through the eyes of someone who will stand before these things without your presence is humbling to say the least.  And without you standing behind them reminding them quietly. . . I  h a v e  f o u r  c h i l d r e n . . . t h e y  

d o n ' t  c l e a n  u p  l i k e  t h e y  s h o u l d . . . 

Where's Mommy?

We headed out with some old friends the Sillitos and Brooks family to do some camping just outside of Kamloops.  It was just one of those camping trips where I did all the picture taking and after all was said and done...it kind of looks like I wasn't even there.  That's okay...my hair was a mess anyways.  Have a look...

A Little Lesson:

     Teach your kids to take decent pictures.

 

A Million Words

I put together some of our reunion photos to create a little movie this morning with my kids by my side helping me choose their favourite pictures.  We quickly discovered that I had not taken any pictures of Jordan tubing, or all the wonderful dinners we shared, playing slapjack late at night, the "cousin" party at Aunt Betty's place, or daddy playing tennis, or my Aunt Kathy or my cousin-in-law Susan, or Hunter's birthday piniata etc.  

A Little Lesson:

     Yes, a pictures does say a thousand words.  But there are still a million left unsaid when you forget to grab the camera!

Clara's Here!

I love my Grandma.  As a little girl I used to love to go to Cardston to see her.  She was just like the grandmas you read about in storybooks.  She always smiled, she gave you big hugs, baked homemade cookies just for you, told you stories about the olden days, made beautiful quilts, golfed with her friends, and loved you no matter what you did.  She is a faithful Latter-Day Saint and I have thought on many occasions throughout my life in tough circumstances "what would my grandma do in this situation."    When it was time to have our third little baby I spent a whole week in what I like to call uncomfortable labour - you aren't screaming in pain but you think with every uncomfortable contraction that it will only be a few more hours.  This all started  on Monday morning when at the time we had decided our little girl would be named Elizabeth Clara. Elizabeth, because I love that name and Clara, after my grandma.  The contractions just kept going on day after day - I sent my kids over to my mom's house day after day thinking this baby is surely going to come today.  Five days later, I went to the hospital at 11pm to say I have been doing this for five days I'm exhausted surely the baby is about to arrive.  They examined me and said not yet and sent me home.  Just as we were packing up our things to go home I went into excruciating labour for 45 minutes and my little girl was born just after midnight on January 10th 2004, my beloved grandma's birthday.  It was like she knew she had to hold on until that special day, and when it arrived, out she came!  We changed her name to Clara Elizabeth.  

    Re-introducing her to her great grandma and namesake at the reunion just made my little Clara's face beam.  She had never met another Clara, certainly not one who was as important as my wonderful Grandma!  I would find Clara slipping away from the group to go sit next to her great grandma throughout the reunion.  Even though she lived far away, and didn't get to see her very often, it was like she knew this lady is something special.

A Little Lesson:

     Sometimes without reason or understanding there are people in our lives we just adore.  We can hardly see their faults, we hold them in high regard and we love them with all of our hearts.  I feel that when this life experience is over we will come to know with a greater understanding why that is.  Perhaps it was something we experienced with these special souls before we came here.  I don't know.  I sure do love my Grandma!

Heading to the Bush

Today we will head out to go camping with some dear friends.  I have only been blogging for like what - 5 days.  But I have to say,  I have fallen in love with keeping a journal. I have one journal from birth - 18, with about seventeen entries.  I was an avid journal writer on my mission which was 18 months.  And when Emily was about three I was writing  weekly into the family newsletter The Phylactery for about a year.  My poor posterity...not much reading material I'm leaving them.  But here's to another try!  I will return on Monday!

A Little Lesson

     One of the benefits of summarizing your day at the end of it is how you start to see experiences as you go through them.  Experiences become moments in time that you will later reflect on.  It starts to feel like there is a little less 'wo is me' and a little more wow - life is short!

The List

Ten Reasons 

We Love to Go to the Lake

time with the girls

getting to see my grandma

(who started all this fun)

and cousins I rarely see!

the resort is beautiful

people help me with my children 

(thanks grandpa!)

hiking on the trails

trampolining on the water

swimming in the pool

relay races with the cousins

laughing until it hurts

A Little Lesson:

     Packing, cleaning, organizing a house sitter, buying food, taking the car in, clearing the schedule, getting knew stuff, and all of the other hundred and seven things you do before vacation...is completely worth it!

Wishes Come True

Two years ago Jordan came to me and said "Next year mom I only want one thing for Christmas...a baby brother."  I smiled and thought what a nice thing to say and went on with my day.  He didn't give up.  He brought it up every couple of weeks and I would always smile and tell him what a nice boy he was.  Late in the year, at the end of November  I was having an unusual amount of heartburn and decided I had better look into it a little deeper and lo and behold we were going to have our fourth baby.  Surely one of the best surprises we'd ever had.  It was hard to believe.  I found out on December 4th we were having a little boy and that meant we were actually able to give Jordan his wish. We announced it to Jordan and the rest of the family Christmas morning 2007.  There was something quite magical about the whole thing.  Kind of the way you feel after watching a Christmas special as a kid...I'm too old to believe in Santa but...maybe he is real.  Now when I look at the two of them, it's like little Benjamin knows that his big brother wished him to this earth.  I love seeing them together.

A Little Lesson:

I try to never look at life and it's experiences as coincidences.  I believe when this journey we take here is all over we will sit down to review our lives on the really big screen tv in heaven we will be amazed at how much our lives were touched by carefully orchestrated blessings.

Grandma Love

I arrived at the beach this morning with my niece Jessica yelling "I've got two fish in my bucket. See, see see!"  Emily and Jessica were hard at work laying on the edge of the dock trying to use their new fishing nets to scoop up the awaiting minnows below.  After many futile attempts, it seemed like the minnows had caught on to the girl's scheme and headed for calmer waters.  Emily was trying hard not to be too disappointed as her bucket sat empty and her cousin's bucket was abounding in spoils.  My mom, Emily's beloved Grandma set off to do what she could for her granddaughter.  The fact that she had had two knee surgeries in the past ten months was irrelevant.  She got herself down on that dock and didn't get up until she caught a fish for  Emily.  


After more than half an hour, and hardly any circulation left in mom's arm, Emily's bucket was no longer empty.  A silver shaded minnow was the newest addition to our family and a smile returned to our little Emily's face.

We joke about how mom hasn't quite figured out all the functions of her email, or the camera on her cell phone, or what an ipod is.  But I have watched and admired the love she has for my children.  She would swim across shark infested waters for them.  She has a fierce sense of protection and pride in who they are.  I have a deep and profound appreciation for that mom of mine!

A Little Lesson:

Some would say that grandmothers spoil their grandchildren.  I believe that grandmothers know that their grandchildren are busy being raised by their parents, and so it is their obligation and sacred duty to raise them up high above that busyness and help them feel in every way that they are the most important people in the world.  

Just A Little Spread

I feel one of the greatest blessings I have on this earth is an extraordinary group of people I get the privilege of calling my close friends. Not a day goes by that I don't say to myself how lucky I am to enjoy the company of so many really quite exceptional people. And then there is Colleen. She moved to Kelowna a number of years ago but we connect pretty much every day on the phone to exchange "the latest" even if only for a few quick seconds. As luck would have it, our family reunion was moved from Fairmont to Kelowna, also known as Colleen's home. I phoned her a few minutes before church on Sunday morning and said hey I'm coming over after church - I insisted she didn't clean a thing or prepare any food we were just coming to see her and Emma. Peanut butter sandwiches would be perfectly fine. At the end of our church meetings she slipped away back home while I gathered my troops and finally got them all in the car and headed to her home. With no notice and little time, what was waiting for us hungry post-church gang of six? Just a little spread...

A Little Lesson:

A great friend is worth all the diamonds, all the rubies, and all the silver and the gold. Hold on tight and don't let them slip away!

Just Something About Cousins

We arrived at the resort late Saturday afternoon with lots of hugs and kisses all around.  The kids were so excited to see their cousins.  They immediately divided into the boys and the girls.  What fun they were going to have!  It's not so exciting however, when you're a kid to find out the next day of the vacation is a Sunday which means heading off to church.  But when you have your cousins by your side it didn't seem so hard today to wake up at 6:45am and start getting ready for the trek to church.  

A Little Lesson:

     There is just something about cousins.  Siblings come with that intricate and sometimes complicated dynamic of a close family relationship.  Friends, although beloved,  don't share that intimate family-tie.  Cousins, they enjoy the best of both worlds: family, a friend and a life long buddy to travel life's journey with. 

Road Signs

As we headed out on to the highway to start our vacation I was taken aback by that magnificent stretch of road in the mountains next to the Fraser river.  I know people come from all over the world to see the beauty that British Columbia seems to be overflowing with, but sometimes as a local I just forget how grand it really is.   I was paying particular attention to the road signs.  There are so many of them, speed signs, curve up ahead signs, only 80 km until the next A&W signs, slippery when wet signs, chain up here signs and one of my favourites...if it's wet turn off your cruise control signs. I thought wow, thanks for really thinking of every mistake I could possibly make while I'm out here on the open road.  As we traveled along I couldn't help reminiscing about the last time I was on this beautiful highway when I was rushing up to see my dear Colleen before her important court date.  I left at 4am to try to be there before 8am.  Did I mention I was rushing?  As it turns out I was also rushing home the next morning to be there for my oldest to help him with a big science project before he had to go to school.  I ended up getting two speeding tickets, one on the way up and one on the way home.  In my defense, I wasn't really speeding but rather the officer was waiting at the bottom of an enormous hill, both times.  Where was the sign that should of said 'this is a big hill, there's probably a cop waiting at the bottom', it was no where to be found.  

It turned out to be an expensive mistake.  Speeding tickets these days go for around $300 each and here in BC we also have to pay a couple of hundred dollars of point deduction off our license.   My dear husband's take on the whole story:  "You should of flown first-class there and back as it would of cost us a lot less money!"  Looking back, he really was a good sport about the whole thing.   As we drove along, I pointed out the two hills I got caught on.  They were in fact big hills.  Clearly marked with signs posting the speed.  But big hills nonetheless.  

A Little Lesson:

     If I look carefully, most of the mistakes I manage to make there was always a little sign warning me earlier on in the journey.  

An Extra Day

If someone where to announce "Today the Savior will come to the earth!", I would be the one putting my hand up and asking if I could just have one more day. When we have guests over for dinner and they are about to arrive I am thinking to myself, I just need one more hour, and then the meal, the house, the kids, my shower etc. would be ready. Before every test in high school I would be walking in the room thinking if I just had ten more minutes to study then I would really be ready! Yesterday was a day filled with packing, cleaning, packing and more cleaning. We were leaving early the next morning. I did however have many what I like to call Mary and Martha moments. There is a story in the bible about two sisters who learn about putting what's really important first. When the Lord comes to visit, Martha is busy zipping around the house cleaning and preparing food while Mary stops everything and sits at the feet of Jesus. Mary is praised by the Savior for choosing the good choice. I feel like I spend most of my time as Martha, zipping around. Yesterday, however I felt like I was faced with many "Mary" choices that I decided to choose: helping a distraught friend move, make popsicles with my little Clara and fixing her bike, helping a friend with a project, going to see a house my mom wants to buy. But as I was doing these helpful things for others my head was spinning with I am running out of time! I still have to pack! I still have to clean!

Worried that I had not spent enough time actually getting ready, the phone rang at 9:30pm last night from my mom announcing, we've made a mistake, the family reunion doesn't start tomorrow it starts on Saturday! (for the record, years past it always started on the Friday) You mean I have an extra day? Could this really be true? I have twenty-four extra hours that I wasn't planning on? Are those angels I am hearing singing from heaven? What a glorious moment it was to still have just a little more time...I am so glad I didn't say no to the opportunities to help when others asked.

A Little Lesson:

Time is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter if we are black or white, tall or short, play the piano or can do long division in our head. Everyone on this earth gets exactly the same 24 hours in a day. No one gets an extra few minutes here or an extra few hours there. What we do with that time will be what ultimately defines who we are today and who we will become tomorrow.