Camping in Castle

  We finally went on our first camping trip with just our little family since Carter was a baby. I was a little nervous to go by ourselves. As you may know, camping as a parent is very different than camping as a child. As a child you don't realize all the packing and organizing that needs to be done in order to make a trip go smoothly. Everything is just exciting and fun. As a parent it's extremely stressful being responsible for everything and I don't usually relax until I'm in the car. Maybe that's why I always start to fall asleep soon after we start driving... Anyway, since this was something we hadn't really attempted before we decided to go somewhere low key to make sure we could do it. Like, 2 hrs away in the foothills of Castle mountain, in the middle of nowhere, by a river. Southern Ab had just had some major rain storms that had washed out a lot of the main road. So lucky for us we were the only ones crazy enough to drive through a washed out road with some places that had boulders the size of our tires. 
 Lucky for Mark my dad use to take us 4x4ing all the time in our land cruiser and I have fond memories of driving through rivers and up and down steep mountains. Memories where I was the child and my dad was invincible. My mother's memories may be a little different... I recall one camping trip in Australia, to a place called Madman's Territory. I remember driving down a steep mountain in the dark of night, on a narrow rocky road with five of my siblings and our dog in the back of our small Toyota, while my mother was in the front, hunched over, covering her eyes and probably having an anxiety attack. Us kids however thought it was the coolest thing ever. Again, it's interesting how our perspective changes. This camping trip also may or may not have involved 2 of my brothers almost stepping on red belly black snakes (one of Australia's most venomous snakes), and my dad being chased by an extremely long water snake. Despite these, it was probably the best camping trip of my childhood. There is something about being in the middle of nowhere with just your family and nature that really bonds you together. I wanted to have that with my family.
  This forestry park has paid campsites just off the highway with people and toilets that we passed on by. We wanted to really get away. We crossed the river a couple of times. There's nothing to get your heart rate going faster than crossing a river in your truck and feeling it pick you up and carry you a foot or so. After driving about half an hour down this crazy road we found the perfect spot off the main road and right on the river. There was a fire pit from previous campers and a beautiful meadow that had been grazed down by a herd of cattle. They actually came and visited us while we were camping there. The meadow was full of wildflowers. There were wild blueberries, strawberries, thimble berries, and mint all living together. There were also various other herbs and interesting plants growing all around us. The river was beautiful, although ice cold. The weather was perfect and the scenery breathtaking. It would have been paradise...if it weren't for the bugs. They seemed to have multiplied from all the water as some horse back riders that passed us told us they weren't usually that bad. As long as the fire was going it wasn't bad but the constant buzzing around our heads was enough to make you go mad. For a couple of weeks afterwards if ever I felt a tickle on my skin it would be followed by a slap, just as a reflex. There were mosquitoes, hover flies, house flies, no-see-ums, and the worst GIANT horse flies. For those who don't know what they are here is an excerpt from wiki-
"Horse fly bites are painful, the bites of large specimens especially so. Most short tongued (short proboscid) species of horse flies use their knife-like mandibles to rip and/or slice flesh apart.
Horse fly bites are more immediately painful than that of its mosquito counterparts, although it still aims to escape before its victim responds. The flies are very agile and adept at flying. Their bites may become itchy, sometimes causing a large swelling afterward if not treated quickly.
They are often not deterred by attempts at swatting them away, and will generally persist in attacking until they secure their quarry or are killed. Many often will give chase to their intended targets for a short time."
So next time we would definitely bring a netting canopy of sorts to take refuge in during the middle of the day. We dug a hole for a toilet which the kids thought was exciting.
 We spent half the day doing some more 4x4ing and we didn't even get stuck! Then we escaped by the river.
Mark and the kids went for a swim in the river and waded across to the other side. They convinced me to join them. I think I know what frostbite feels like. I thought my legs were going to burn off. But after going in and out a few times it doesn't feel as shocking. We made clay masks, skipped rocks and had contests of who could stay in the water longer. It was a beautiful day.
 I loved just being out in nature with no-one around. At least until a couple passers by asked us if we had a gun or bear spray...Mark didn't know he was allowed to bring his gun and we didnt realize we were in grizzly territory. Mark didnt sleep that night and we left the next day. There were no traces of bear anywhere but the thought that we had no way of defending ourselves if there was one was a little too much adventure for our blood.
 We stopped at Glenwood ice-cream store on the way home to top off  the perfect camping trip. I hope my kids will look back on it with fond memories. I know I will.
 Check out our slideshow:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKQUTLkYaqU

Note:It may only work on a PC depending on the type of handheld device you have.

 New Beginnings

 

I started this blog soon after Mark and I were married, back in 2006. For some reason I kept putting off actually writing anything. I have kept a journal of sorts since I was 11 but with each child I have I seem to find less and less and less time to write. I also have many extended family members who have written their life history and I would like to one day do that as well. Writing has always been one of my passions but I have neglected it for many years. Perhaps by recording my family adventures on here it will help me to keep it up.
 So I guess I better start at the beginning. Mark and I met when I was 15 and he was 16 at a church youth dance. Our story is a long one which perhaps I will write another time. Basically we were friends until a couple of months before his mission when we started dating. We wrote throughout his mission and when he came back we got engaged after 3 months and married 3 and a half months later.  I feel so blessed to have married my best friend and we have been married now for 9 wonderful years. We have 4 kids Carter, Leilani, Jacob and Adelaide who keep me very busy.
We moved to Raymond, Ab from Victoria, BC leaving all my family behind. It was a little scary but we have loved living here. It has been a great learning and growing experience for our family. I think everyone should move away from family from a while to learn to rely more on their spouse.
 We lived in my parents basement for 4 years which was so nice being close to my family to visit with and have built in babysitters. When we moved I would have panic attacks at the thought of taking all 3 children shopping by myself. I would usually leave them with siblings or Nana, or we'd all go with my mum. Moving away has taught me that I can do things that I never thought I could. I also had to rely more on my husband which has been good for him too. If you've never lived away from family I recommend trying it even just for a year. It's nice to establish your own family where you are not formerly known as... That being said I definitely miss having them so close and am grateful for phones and computers to keep them feeling close.
 Mark is a machinist by trade but this past year decided to go back to school to get a combined degree  in Bachelor of Arts/Education. He wants to be a high school shop teacher. He is doing great in school and is really enjoying it. I am a hairstylist and work out of the home. I love having the flexibility of having my own business and I love doing hair. I also am a homeschool mom and enjoy learning along with my kidlets.
We love doing exciting and fun things together as a family. Mark loves dirt biking and one of the pluses to living in Raymond is the motocross track a couple of minutes away. Our kids like to ride as well and the rule is they can ride a dirt bike as soon as they can ride a two wheeler.
 I hope you enjoy reading about our adventures!

To Renovate or Not to Renovate...

Renovations. I'm sure we've all heard that renovations are nightmares. Mark always says it's easier to tear down the house and start over than to renovate. Now I see why.
 When we bought our house in Raymond 3 years ago, I didn't even see it in person until we moved from Victoria. I saw some pictures but It's quite different seeing it in real life. I love being a homeowner and our move has been a blessing to us in many ways. But the  first thing I noticed when I went inside was how white it was. Like everything is white...The walls are white, the ceilings are white, the light switches, the sinks, the taps the fans, the linoleum, and the carpet is very light. You get the picture, a lot of white.... So I thought that painting was going to follow very soon. But once we got settled in and put pictures up the white started to grow on me and I like how big and bright it feels. So, no paint. The carpet however was another story.
 You know how hard it is to keep light carpets clean with 4 kids? Impossible! Anyone who tells you differently is selling something....literally. I actually got my carpets professionally cleaned and within a couple of weeks the stains had returned and it looked the same. I was constantly spot cleaning and frustrated. After I had my fourth baby, Adelaide, I seem to have forgotten how to keep my house clean. When I had 3 kids, no problem, for the most part. I would be able to have my whole house nice and clean once a week. Now I'm lucky if I can find clean clothes to wear. I wish I was exaggerating... I keep telling myself I will figure it out eventually and be able to get back into the groove of things but it's taking too long.... So if anyone that has 4 or more kids, a home business and home-schools and is able to keep their house tidy please share. I would be forever grateful. Needless to say the carpets were always yelling at me and I  happened to have acquired some engineered hardwood last year to redo the hallways. I have family coming out to visit for Carter's baptism in September and I got this bright idea to do the floor before they come. So we measured it all out again and realized we would just barely have enough if it even was enough. We also have wanted to redo the kitchen floor but didn't think that would happen for a long time if ever.  The more we measured and tried to plan out the more it looked like it wouldn't work. Then we realized that the line dividing the carpet and linoleum was not straight which would also be a problem.  So then we figure we may as well do the kitchen and dining room as well. We went to End of the Roll thinking we would get a complimentary wood and not expecting to find more of the same one. It was meant to be though and sure enough under a huge pile of other boxes was the same kind. We went back the next day so they would have time to dig out our buried treasure. I was so excited and in my naive little mind I thought, "Yay, I'm getting new floors and it's going to be done in a couple of days, everything is awesome!"  Haha...hahahha. What was I thinking?  I'm sure it is going to be amazing when it is done but Aaaahhhh! Nightmare of nightmares. First of all, we have to rip up the sub floor that is full of staples which is actually kind of fun and satisfying ...for about 5 mins. The kids were great little helpers and even Jake was wanting to help. And we all know it's faster when your 3 year old wants to help.So for hours we sat pulling out staples. Me and my 3 little helpers, (Mark was cooking a ginormous pot of beans) and when I looked to see our small 2 feet by 2 feet spot of accomplishment and then beheld the rest of the floor we had still to do, I cried. Well not really but I realized this was much harder than I had originally thought. Then enters Mark and pulls out the amount of staples it took all of us hours to do, in about 5 mins. What a nice husband and father to let us feel like we were contributing! Then there's 9 month Adelaide ,who loves to crawl everywhere and put everything in her mouth. I have such a hard time keeping the floor clean on a normal day to stop her from eating everyone's leftovers or anything that has been left on the floor. Then add in staples, bits of carpet, underlay and particle board and you have a baby in a land mine.  I finally put her in the playpen which kept her occupied for a few minutes but she really just wanted to be free.

Luckily she still naps twice a day, so we did most of our working then.  It was quite a sight to see my 7 year old hammering a pry bar under the flooring and my six year old hammering a screwdriver under the staples and using pliers to rip out the broken ones, and my 3 year old...well, I'm not sure what he was doing but he had a screwdriver and felt like he was doing important work. It made me feel happy and a little proud to see how hard they worked to pull out stubborn nails. They were practically beaming after their first shift. When I asked Leilani if  she was having fun she said, "It's hard but it's fun." I think sometimes we think our kids are too young to do hard work. But I have found when I have let them do something that I wasn't sure if they were ready for they could do it and actually enjoyed it. I made sure they had a break when they wanted and let them help when they wanted and we had fun together. When they see the finished product they will always remember the value of hard work and know how it feels to accomplish something that will last for a long time. That's why I enjoyed pulling out those staples. It was so much more satisfying than washing dishes or folding laundry. It isn't going to get undone or put back in. While I know housework is important, it is often hard to keep doing things that you know you're just going to have to repeat the next day and the next. So working on something that will last a little longer and have us working together as a family despite the difficulties, is in the end, worth it.