Camping with My sister

This summer my sister Becc and I decided to try something new...something crazy...something never to be done again...we camped for an entire week with our kids and without husbands!

Now when I say "camp" you have to understand what I mean. We both have well over 30ft long trailers with popouts, we have AC, plumbing, microwaves, and any other modern convenience you could think of. So it really shouldn't have been that bad, but somehow a week with no dads and camping on the beach with 5 kids was a LOT more work then we'd anticipated. I could easily do a week without Ben at home, but I also have a fenced in backyard, and cable TV, and the Internet. We didn't have those luxuries...so it made for a busy week. But it was still a lot of fun!

Paige and Max got along surprisingly well this trip...seeing how they are both the babies of their families and are both 2 years old. That could make for a tough situation, but they seemed to hit it off:

Especially when they were getting into things (like my toothbrushes) without their moms noticing...

Or when we went for walks and they couldn't touch or tease each other...

My girls had fun with their cousins...even the one's who look nothing like them (it's so funny to see how dark his skin is compared to his brothers and my girls. Genetics...so fascinating)

And they especially loved the cousins who gave them piggy back rides (I officially want a 10 year old)

Hailey even had fun all by herself...on the muddy beach after a late afternoon summer storm (which I will add was quite scary in a trailer)

Paige kept herself occupied with all sorts of activities...namely stealing her cousin's toys/bike

She also particularly enjoyed snapping and unsnapping this life jacket...ALL...DAY...LONG

And she really enjoyed pushing her cousin and 2nd cousin on the swings

And I really enjoyed it when my camera ran out of batteries! So convenient. I also really did enjoy spending the evenings chatting with Becc, hanging out on the beach all day long, eating whatever we felt like eating and not what our husbands wanted, and working out (Beachbody Insanity) on the beach...in front of EVERYONE!! Ok maybe I didn't enjoy that last one so much, but it was still a good idea! Overall it was a fun week...tiring but so worth it! I'm not sure if we'll do this again any time soon though, but we're glad we made the memories we did!

Still in July Here

My goal is to catch up on July sometime before September hits...so here's another attempt:

Hailey turned 4 this year. I still clearly remember the day she was born (that's what us moms do though). It was a HOT HOT night, we had no AC, I had a bad case of PUPPS (google it), I was D-O-N-E being pregnant. Ben had just had wrist surgery that day and was knocked out on pain killers. I said a little prayer that night when we went to bed, pleading with my Heavenly Father to let this baby come ASAP. Then at midnight on the 14th of July Ben and I both woke up...me from pure itchiness due to the PUPPS, Ben from pain in his wrist. We gave Ben another strong does of Painkillers and then went for a walk to work off the pain...or something. We came back an hour later and went back to sleep. At 4 am I woke up...heard a pop...then saw my water break all over our nice new mattress! I tried as hard as I could to wake Ben up but he just wouldn't stir (darn pain meds/wrist surgery), so I called Ben's Aunt to drive us into the hospital in Calgary. We arrived with labour in full force...along with half of Calgary! I spent the next 11 hours of my labour in triage as I watched girl after girl deliver her baby in the HALLWAY!! It was a record breaking night in the hospital - and boy were things crazy! My mom arrived and we waited until a delivery room opened up for me. Soon after I made it into the delivery room I got my epidural, Ben also got a few pain killers snuck his way (shhhh...don't tell anyone, I'm sure that was breaking a few laws), and then Hailey arrived!! I was exhausted! I was emotional! I was so in love with that little baby!

I think all babies are special and miraculous...but there's just something so special about your first. And something even more special about that baby that comes and heals your heart after a devastating loss. I honestly never thought I would hold a baby in my arms...and that she would be breathing...and that I would get to take her home. It was such an amazing and lovely feeling! I'm always so grateful to have her in my life...that I get to love her and cuddle with her every single day!

I'm also grateful that I get to celebrate Birthdays with her...like her 4th Birthday!

4 year olds are fun because they get VERY excited to open their presents
4 year olds are fun because they make faces like this

4 year olds are fun because they still look so adorable blowing out their candles

Happy Birthday Hailey!! I'm so lucky to have a 4 year old to love and play and just enjoy!

Shaking the head

This is my favourite picture of the summer:

It just totally sums up girls and boys. Paige was pushing these two cousins of hers on these swings (classic girl...taking care of the boys in her life), and the boys just weren't saying the kind of things that she wanted them to say (like "thank you" or "I really appreciate all the hard work you've done" or "your hair looks exceptionally beautiful today"). So she just covered her eyes and shook her head and said "Oh booooys". It's good to know that there are things she can change in her life, and there are things you just have to shake your head at.

I do this same shaking of the head when I have conversations like the following with Hailey

Hailey: Mom, is 'what the freak' a bad word?

Me: Yes

H: Is 'What the' bad?

M: Not really

H: Is 'What the heck' bad?

M: Yes

H: Is 'Underpants' bad?

M: ummm...yes it's kind of rude

H: Is 'Banana' bad?

M: uhhh...no?

H: What about 'banana pants'?

M: uhhh...??? (shakes head)

Shuswap

Early in July we camped on Shuswap with our good friends the Chantelle and Sheldon and their beautiful kids. Do you have friends like these? Let me explain them to you...AMAZING! We met them years ago when Ben and I were managing an apartment building in Calgary. They were tenants there and even though I'm not even sure how it happened we very quickly became close friends. Maybe it's because Sheldon's one of those guys who gets along with everyone and had lots in common with Ben...or maybe it was because Chantelle and I could sit forever and just talk about anything. Whatever it is...our friendship just works. It was so sad when we both moved out of the apartment building and ended up an hour away from each other...somehow we need to live closer to this family because they're just so easy to be friends with.

Anyway, we planned our one major camping trip this year with them and I'm glad we did. We started the week out by spending a night at Chantelle's parents beautiful property near the lake. Stunning is all I can really say about where they live.

Then we headed to our campground and set up camp....nice set up hey?


Our kids got along great! So great in fact that they couldn't help being a little silly once in a while (well at least Hailey couldn't help it)

We made sure to keep our kids spotless at all times...camping is no fun when you're dirty. Ok I lie.

But Paige was especially easy to keep clean...in my dreams

What was surprising though was how horrified she was by the sticky stringy mess marshmallows made

We LOVED our evening campfires...can you see the baby sleeping behind that blanket? That's Chantelle's 3 month old baby who was AMAZING the whole week!

The kids spent a lot of time lounging and rearranging and lounging some more in these chairs

my girls and I figured our best bet at a decent picture was to just look silly...at least we're consistent right?

The best shot I could get of the guys...as they were getting the quads tied down to the trucks for a little fun

Popsicles...oh popsicles - we ate a TON of these all week!

Hailey explored and found little bugs to play with...she especially loved this caterpillar

Paige was a perfect doll and would sleep at the Beach during the day...seriously, isn't she so cute?

Hailey was a perfect doll and never sassed me at the beach

I occasionally asked Ben to take a picture of me to document the fact that I actually exist...most the time the pictures were blurry or over exposed. BUT at least I exist!

One evening we went for a walk to the nearby waterfalls. Ben and Hailey clearly didn't bring their faces.

another picture of me! Yay...I still exist!

Our little family at the falls

Anyway, the trip was soooo fun! I'm so glad that we finally got to camp with Chantelle and Sheldon! I hope to do it again next year! Thanks for inviting us and showing us around!