Agawa Bay, A Little Glimpse of Heaven

We packed and packed some more and headed out Thursday morning. In years past, we would make this trip through the night, but this year we changed our plans and did the drive in two days. The first night we stayed in a hotel in Sudbury. As Dave called it Camp Radisson. Caleb was so excited. We had the typical, never ending "Are we there yet" questions. Joel isn't the happiest of travellers. He didn't sleep much and was fussy, but overall, he did well for being cooped up so long. Caleb was so happy about the hotel, it had a pool and he never stayed in anything like that before. Joel was thrilled too, I have never seen a baby so excited about curtains and playing peek-a-boo with them. Amberly left for Agawa on Wednesday with Dave's parents, we needed all the space we could get in the van and she was thrilled to be going on an adventure with Grandma and Grandpa.

Friday morning we headed off towards our final destination. It's about an hour and thirty minutes north Sault Ste. Marie. It's a long drive, but beautiful to watch the land pass you by. Rocks and trees and lakes everywhere. We arrived at the campground almost at 3pm. We dropped the boys off at Dave's parents trailer while we found our site and set it up. (it was nice not having the added chaos of the kids running around while setting up tents). Once we had everything settled and the kids all back with us we had our first meal and swim in the lake. It was freezing! But refreshingly wonderful. The water there is crystal clear, you can see the bottom way out far. The first night we had a wonderful sunset also. The sunsets there are not to be missed, they are always beautiful, almost can take one's breath away.

The kids all had a blast, Caleb's new favourite saying is "I'm enjoying nature" Dave took him on a couple of hikes and Caleb felt so special and big. Amberly loved picking up different rocks and carting them around in her stroller. She didn't go into the water much, just played along the shoreline getting in the water up to her ankles. Joel only went in a couple of times. It was cold there for a few days. The kids did a couple of kids programs, one on rocks and another on animal tracks. Dave and I got to go on a hike just the 2 of us which was really nice. We made the trip up to Wawa midway through to get more groceries and celebrate Dave's mom's birthday. We had just a great trip away. Again memories were made and there are never any regrets. The things I will cherish the most are:
*watching the sun disappear behind the shoreline with my kids by my side
*enjoying a campfire with my husband while the kids were tucked in warm asleep
*feeding the chipmunks and the mischievous squirrel
*Caleb peeing in the bushes with his pants down to his ankles
*Amberly being a mommy's girl, to the point I was exhausted by it
*Joel smiling for the camera
*Caleb concerned about a mouse after his mommy freaked out at the sight of one, goes to show how much we are examples for our kids.
*Dave and Caleb running into the cold water with no reaction
*Amberly picking out the exact rocks amoung millions and knowing which were hers
*Joel's excitement over seeing a chipmunk
*Sandy bums and making them skinny dip to wash the sand all off
*snuggles in the morning when they all woke up
*on a freezing cold night, spooning with a warm hubby
*big huge rock formations with trees growing from them
*huge waves bringing in fun play
*yummy homemade upside down chocolate pudding warm out of an oven
*the feeling of clean feet before bed
*hot cheesy pizza in a town with a "silly name" (Wawa - Caleb told me that was silly)
*napping while the babies did
*getting lost in the pages of a unique book telling a tale of a fictional town in northern Ontario, how appropriate

I could go on with more, some are still fresh on my mind, others I would have to think and look for. Friday rolled around a little too quickly for Dave and I, but maybe not soon enough for the kids (they were starting to show signs of exhaustion through their behaviour) but we did the trip in one day heading home. It was long and tiring, but glad to pull into the driveway in one piece. It was sad watching the lake go by on our way home, my mind not understanding how one could live there, and yet at the same time the beauty of it all, how could one not want to live there? Civilization was so few and far between, but the splendor of the surroundings was amazing. Definitely our family favourite and will go back again.

This is what mornings looked like.
Dave and I at Old Woman Bay on the way back from Wawa The beach at Agawa, with my babes.
Joel loving the sand at Katherine Cove Amberly taking in the view of the lake Caleb watching the sun go down on the beachAlong the trail of the Sand River
The French River just south of Sudbury

We Ordered It and It's Here - THE HEAT

Back in June when everyone was wondering where summer was, we kept repeating "hope summer will come and be a good one". I think it's safe to say it's here. Although I wouldn't mind a degree or two less in the highs. Our grass is brown. We could use some rain.

Today is my birthday. I had a wonderful special day. My children spent the day at Christa's. Dave and I spent the morning together, running some errands, picking up things for our camping trip. My brother-in-law & sister-in-law gave me a gift card for Chapters, so we went there also and I used that. Then Dave took me to Red Lobster. Yumm, it was so good, and I was so full afterwards! I had to drop him off at work after lunch, I then made my way home in the afternoon and vacuumed the house and mopped the main floor (apparently I don't do this often enough, whenever I vacuum with Joel around, he screams the entire time, so I did it while he was gone). After that I went in to work for a visit and to talk to my boss about my upcoming return. It was nice to see my friends. For my birthday, my hubby spoiled me by replacing my point&shoot camera that died. Without it I only had the ipod to capture video and I didn't like that. So I got a cute coolpix camera. My in-laws gave me a gift card for itunes, woohoo! I feel pretty special tonight.

We're heading up to Agawa Bay on Thursday. Tonight I packed for Amberly, I'll try to get the boys stuff all packed tomorrow so that I can worry about myself and the food situation on Wednesday. Amberly is heading up with my in-laws on Wednesday and we leave Thursday morning, stopping in Orangeville on the way for Caleb's specialist appt. This year we're doing the drive in 2 days. We'll go as far as Sudbury Thursday and stay in a nice hotel (it's got a pool, Caleb will be thrilled!) Then make the rest of the trip on Friday. I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping to find some opportunities to relax. Having Dave's parents there will help a bit, we may have the chance to leave the kiddies with Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours so Dave and I can do some hiking.

I better head off to bed. Tomorrow is a busy day!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For U2 Toronto July 11 2011 #U236...

O.k. I couldn't resist. Just watching this again sort of gave me goosebumps!

U2 - Beautiful Day on July 11, 2011

After ordering my tickets in November 2009, the day finally arrived for my brother and I to go and see U2 perform at the skydome or The Rogers Centre it's now called. It was a hot but beautiful day. While approaching the dome it was observed that it was closed, but once we were seated they started to open it up which was great. The band Interpol opened for them. Never heard of them before, didn't like them much either. The guy didn't even talk between songs or introduce themselves or anything. It was about 9:05 when U2 started the show with Even Better Than the Real Thing. And it was! It was so great. I found the entire playlist which I've attached here so I can remember in the future :) It was a great show, will always remember it. I didn't hear what the final attendance was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 60 0000. The Dome was packed all around with people on the ground too. Bono made some political issues made known as usual and I respect him for this. I'm quickly reminded of how rich we are, maybe not rich by north american standards, but the fact that I have water coming out of a tap in my kitchen that has power and a roof that covers is a blessing that more than half the world does not have - MORE THAN HALF. "What you don't have, you don't need it now". With this in the back of my mind, this morning on the news they said that 10 million east Africans are on the brink of stravation, there is a refugee camp in Kenya that is over populated and they are running out of supplies and the women and children are suffering the most. Would you be willing to donate? http://www.worldvision.ca/give-a-gift/Pages/DroughtintheHornofAfrica.aspx


1.Even Better Than The Real Thing
2.The Fly
3.Mysterious Ways
(with "Someone Somewhere In Summertime" snippet)
4.Until The End Of The World
(with "Anthem" snippet)
5.I Will Follow
6.Get On Your Boots
7.I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
8.Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
9.Beautiful Day
(with "Space Oddity" snippet)
10.Elevation
11.Pride (In The Name Of Love)
12.Miss Sarajevo
13.Zooropa
14.City Of Blinding Lights
15.Vertigo
16.I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
(with "Miss You", "Psycho … moreKiller" and "Discotheque" snippets)
17.Sunday Bloody Sunday
18.Scarlet
19.Walk On
Encore:
20.One
21.Where The Streets Have No Name
(with "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" snippet)
Encore 2:
22.Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
23.With Or Without You
24.Moment of Surrender

Camping....Take it or Leave it.

This past weekend we camped in Alliston at Earl Rowe Provincial park with a bunch of our friends. We had beautiful weather, a great campsite, a pool, seems lovely doesn't it? Well as lovely as it sounds, it is so much darn work! The pictures will remind of me of why it's worth it, but living in the moment of it, I was ready to throw in the towel and cancel our coming week long trip. I just was not enjoying myself. It was hot, I was tired (staying up late around the campfire while the kids sleep, and waking at the crack of dawn when the kids do isn't a good idea) the kids were wild, these 3 things are not a combo that someone orders up because they want to!


The kids had an amazing time. All their little buddies were there running around, biking around, playing together. All together we had 15 adults and 10 children (6yrs old and down!) and 3 babies baking in the oven! On Saturday we had another family come for the day bringing their 4 children too. Sounds a little insane?? Maybe a little! There were good laughs had, great conversations, comforts from friends who were going through the same as me, all of us looking out for eachother's children. Memories made.

Such as:
*Joel eating bird poop (almost tossed the cookies with this one)
*Marshmellow beards
*Burned or Burnt - is there a difference?
*Amberly running down the road shouting I have to go potty and waving at the strangers.
*Having the strangers ask me on the way back if we had success.
*Biking with Caleb around the different sites.
*Hearing her sing to herself at bedtime.
*The guys running into the discusting water for a swim and Amberly following right behind.
*Caleb sitting with me telling me how dirty the water is and his decision to just watch with amusement.
*Men and their love for bacon. (wrapping bacon around the wiener before roasting on the fire)
*Being too hot to nap in the tent, so the kids napped outside in the trees.

CARS 2 - Collision of Worlds music video

Definately not my cup of tea when it comes to music. But this one is for my boy. Caleb loves it!

Joel finally crawls

And I use "finally" loosely because I really wasn't in any hurry for him to do this. Actually I was kind of hoping he would hold out until August after all of our camping trips. Oh well. I'm still so proud of him :)

My Girl is 3!

It was 3 years ago my baby girl entered our world, in a hurry! I never knew how scary the situation was until I had Joel and some of the nurses remembered me and had to come and tell me what they remembered on July 3, 2008.


She's full of life, keeps us on our toes. She's entertaining and exhausting! We love her to bits.



Happy Birthday my precious sweet thing. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much.

The Pinery

It was back in March that we booked our sites for this past weekend at The Pinery. It's one of the toughest parks to reserve a site because it's so popular. Our weekend quickly arrived and we hurried to get everything we could think of together, our camping gear and needs for all of the kids and ourselves. Caleb and Amberly were so excited, so much so, they didn't nap on the way there. We stopped half way on the side of the road at a rest stop to feed Joel his bottle. Amberly announced she needed to use the potty. This rest stop unfortunately didn't come with port-a-potties. So I taught her how to pee like a girl in the bush! She didn't even dribble a drop on herself, she excelled in it!

The Pinery is a big ground, once we got booked in and found our site, we quickly went to work at setting up our tent while the kids explored the site finding bugs and sticks and stones. We got everything up in good time and then Amberly and I went to find our dinner (not in the hunting with a gun or rod term) thinking I would head into Grand Bend. Well, I got lost in the campground, it took me forever to figure out where I was, that I just ended up at the camp restaurant and ordered our meal there. Once we got it and made it back, we in total were gone for an hour. Long enough that my brothers were there and had their tents up!

The weather wasn't so great, it was windy and cold, but we had to venture to the beach to check it out and we were so happy to see it. The kids were thrilled. They ran up a head of us, but one lady who was sitting down told us that their excitment at seeing the water lit up their eyes, she said she was thrilled to see their joy on their faces.

We had a wonderful time there, and I'm so thankful for every moment that passed by like campfires, swimming, walking, sleeping in tents, sunny weather for the last half, snack foods, checking out Grand Bend and their shops, ice cream cones, birthday celebrations, sand creations, sand food samples, a little baby boy who will crawl to find the dirt, laundry tub close by for rinsing little girl accidents, first lost tooth the whole campground needed to know about, playing hide and seek with flashlights, asking to go to bed, laughter amoung cousins, super loud hand dryers the girls thought was neat to put their heads under, spotting the tick before it made it's way into my boy's shoulder. So many things to take into memory and have for life. It's fun creating these memories, and I hope to hold on tight to them for a very long time.

Here it Comes

Here comes the busy! Here and there and all the prep that goes along with it all! Ooo La La, I love summer time. First camping trip coming this weekend. Hello Grand Bend!

Official Stats

The following is the message sent through email from the gym....

Well, our 3rd Biggest Winner Challenge has come to an end, and with great success we might add! Our total weight loss between all teams this round was 539 lbs!! Below are the final standings. Congratulations to everyone who completed the challenge! It was hard work and it definitely paid off! If your team is not listed it is because one or more of your teammates did not complete all 3 weigh-ins which disqualified your team.

1st Place: The Fat Bottom Girls 7.96% lost
2nd Place: Thin It to Win It 6.0% lost
3rd Place: Die Tryin' 5.68% lost
4th Place: Belly Busters 4.34% lost
5th Place: Cruisin for a Losin' 4.08% lost
6th Place: The Bourne Losers 2.61% lost
7th Place: The Fabulous Five 2.23% lost
8th Place: Team #1 2.09% lost

Individual Winner: Charlene Snyder 11.29% lost!

God be praised

These words are beautiful, heartfelt, crushing.....enjoy.

We Did It

The Fat Bottom Girls won the grand prize of $1500 in our local gym's Biggest Winner competition. I don't have all the stats, as I haven't gotten them through an email and I can't really remember what they announced that evening because they lost me after announcing us as the winners. I think overall the 5 of us lost somewhere above 70lbs and over 7% in body weight. I took the honourable mention of losing the most pounds out of everyone for the 6 weeks. Yes, I'm 26.5 lbs lighter (plus 2 more since the contest ended). We each were sent home with 3 $100 bills. They are still sitting in my wallet, I haven't had any time for myself to go and shop! And that is the plan, I plan on spending those dollars on myself.
I do admit I had a mini meltdown after winning the money. I was overcome with guilt, feeling like I couldn't spend that money on myself, there's things around the house that need to be done, there's cute things I would love to buy my kids, heck, there's a hungry child in India. But after some encouragement from the hubby and close friends I was again convinced that I derserve something for myself. I haven't had new clothes for myself (outside of maternity clothes or the odd work clothes) in a very very long time. Right now I'm wearing a shirt I bought just before my wedding and I'm wearing workout capris I bought when I found out I was pregnant with Caleb. I won't even admit how old my underpants are right now! ha ha ha!
This contest was great, it was the perfect blend of motivation, challenge and encouragement I needed to get myself back to where I need to be. I still have a ways to go but I huge chunk of me is gone! There will be another contest in September and it may be an individual one, I think I would join it, not just because I have a chance to win more money, but I loved their bootcamps. If we could afford it, I would join the gym just for the classes alone.

Joel entertaining

Everyday I realize how quickly my little guy is growing. I am trying so hard to take every moment and imprint it on my mind, I don't want to miss a thing. I love him to bits!

Our Weekend of Fun

This past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Friday afternoon my in-laws picked up all 3 kids and took them up to their trailer for a fun camping adventure. Dave and I had the weekend to ourselves! Friday night we took a nice loooong walk around town. Saturday morning we had a nice quiet morning and headed to the gym where I went to boot camp and Dave did his workout. After that was over we headed to Toronto to watch the Blue Jays take on the White Sox. Our seats were in the 500 level and I haven't been up there in years. Let me tell you...I had a slight anxiety attack I think. Walking up those steep steps I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see really how steep and high we were up. Now yes, I've always been afraid of heights, but not like that. I guess with age comes more fear?? It took 4 innings for me to feel o.k. there. Dave quietly reminded me that I am going to be up there for the U2 concert which made me freak out. But it will be dark, so hopefully it won't be as bad...right? ha ha ha. The game went into extra innings, and Dave decided that we would leave after the 10th inning and find somewhere to eat. We went to Jack Astors. It was good. The game was still going by the time we were done. It went into 14 innings, Jays winning it 9-8. We made our way to the hotel by the airport. There we spent the evening watching t.v. and playing games. It was really nice.

Sunday morning we headed to my parents place stopping at Vaughn Mills first. It was nice, we wandered around the mall and spent most of our time in the Bass Pro Shop. Once at my parents we waited for our little ones to be dropped off. They had a great time at the trailer. Full of little stories, Caleb's favourite part was finding a penny in the river! We celebrated Dave's birthday while everyone was there. Then in the evening Dave and I attended the Robin Mark concert at the O'ville Baptist Church. It was so great. We spent the night at my parents and in the morning we ventured to the zoo.



It was a perfect day weather wise. I was so excited, anticipating the joy on my kids faces while they discovered animals. To my dismay, they didn't enjoy it like I thought they would. They were so tired from the weekend. Caleb hardly wanted to get out of the bike stroller. He was excited to see the hippo, only to tell us to look at his poop! Amberly enjoyed herself. I think the highlight of our day was sting ray bay. It was so neat to touch them, I was amazed that they actually just slow down and surface so you can touch them.


I admittedly felt disappointed at the end of the day, I set my expectations too high. But I learned some things, like the kids need a good day of rest before starting a new adventure. But none the less, memories were created and a little more wisdom added.

So Proud of Her

Is it a girl thing? Amberly knows how to push my buttons. We bang heads all the time. She's stubborn. She's independent. She's so darn cute. But man, she causes me the most grief and I think she loves it. This whole potty thing has been the worst thing about the whole parent world. For me anyway. Caleb was a gem, he was born to be our perfect child. Is it a girl thing? A middle child thing? I don't know. But my challenge will be raise my beautiful girl to be so loving and accepting with a joyful heart and spirit. May I honour God in how I raise her because He is the one who has given her to me as a most precious gift!
It's been 2 weeks now and Amberly is officially a toilet sitter/flusher. There is the occasional accident (like this morning when playing with her friend, she forgot and just peed!) but she's fully aware of the things that need to leave her body and when usually! At Christa's she's been working on a poop potty chart, and yesterday she reached the 10 sticker goal and was taken to the store where she could pick her prize. She was so thrilled with her reward. (We have 4 of these princesses now)


Also, I have a talented artist on my hands. Amberly did this all by herself. I'm lost for words really. The only thing Christa did was the pink circle and the purple star, and my daughter turned them into flowers, added the sky and the grass and stems. I'm just so amazed! THAT'S MY GIRL!!!

Validation

Who else watched the last show of Oprah? I admit I was a little bored at the beginning but then she started talking about validation and how it's the common thread amoung everyone. Everyone wants validation. As she was speaking about this, I began to feel how I am robbing my children of that in little bits of our days spent together. Her words "I hear you, I see you, I care about what you're saying" rang out to me. Oh how often do I ignore the "Mommy can you...." or the little stories that come from their mouths because I have something on the go or that is taking up my time at the moment? I then get frustrated and angry when they do something wrong. When all along, it was because I didn't take the time to "validate" them.

I feel this way too around people. I want to be heard and seen and yet many times I feel like I've been a wall hugger and slipped out of every one's radar. Many times I get asked a question but the asker doesn't really care for my answer, perhaps out of politeness they asked in the first place, but never really hoped for a reply. As a mom I struggle day to day to find my worth. But I'm learning that I'm worth everything to my heavenly father. I count, I matter and most graciously and amazingly I'm loved beyond my comprehension. It's now my daily prayer to ask for the grace and patience my children deserve, and now I will add on top of that, for the validation my children need.

Wow - My New Favourite!!

I LOVE this band!!! Wish I could see them, but unfortunately they are opening for Taylor Swift (ECK!) and it's sold out!

The Farm

After spending a day at Shannon's parents farm, I quickly realized that Shannon (Dave's cousin and my good friend) and I had a very similar childhood, and was also reminded how dear I hold on to my memories of the farm. (Looking back at the days with open fields and 4-wheelers to drive in them!)


Our children had a blast, with freedom to run, with many things for them to do, not once did I hear "Mommy can you...."
There was a huge swing set up in the barn, we went on a long wagon ride through a marshy bush, 4-wheeler rides, ice cream and lounging around in the beautiful sunshine.

On the wagon ride we drove through so much water and marshy land.
Once the trail stopped at some dry area, we got out and explored a little in the bush. Shannon said as children they called it something which I can't remember now, but it reminded me of the springs and waterholes that were on our farm that my brother and I used to call our secret garden.
The boys were having fun throwing things into the water.
This weekend had a mixed bag when it came to weather, but all in all, it was beautiful. I did get lots of things accomplished, and survived the 3 days without my husband. Seems like things are in full swing now that this holiday weekend has gone. Our summer on the calendar is getting full of things happening, and I'm looking forward to them all.

Half Way There

Our team, "The Fat Bottom Girls" are leading the way in this contest, I'm so thrilled about that. We're a good 1% ahead of everyone else and have lost more than 10lbs over the other teams. With 2 & 1/2 weeks to go, I hope we can keep this lead and be the winners! I think we can do it and seeing the mid point results gives us more motivation to finish off strong.