Day 2

First of all, to update you on THAT campground - BAH! It seemed alright as we were going to bed. Sure, the events leading up to it weren't ideal - whatever, right? Fine.
However, THEN all stinking night long TRAINS came rambling through right beside the campground. You either have to be deaf or a really deep sleeper (like my kids). It was ridiculous. Both my mom and I were up by 7, ready to get the heck out of there.

I'm driving, we're truckin' along. We see a fun thing - in the middle of a field with no other visible signs of wind anywhere.So when I feel like my RV is punched with a gust of wind, I figure it's one of those anomalies and keep going, with my eye peeled for any other signs of mysterious wind. THEN it kind of feels like the road all of the sudden changes groves, when to my eye it doesn't look any different at all. Last straw. PUFFFFFF ... tires blow. I pull over as quickly and safely as I can.
Mom jumps out, assesses the situation, comes back in and we call AAA. Get told she doesn't have RV coverage and it will take 7-10 days to come into effect if we add it then. The AAA people in Moses Lake, WA give me the number to the Les Schwab place .I give them a call. The service guy has one call before us and will be there A.S.A.P Three hours and $450 later, we're on our way with two brand new tires and a new healthy fear of something else going wrong with the stinking RV.

We arrived at the Tacoma KOA around 7pm. Grabbed our swim suits and ditched the beast.
It's a great little place. NO TRAINS. Breakfast every morning, playground, beside the river and a bird sanctuary, free showers, camp store ...

We're off to explore Seattle today. Should be a zoo with all the stuff going on for the Fourth - Totally excited about that (sincerely)!

Trip Home Day 1

We (and by "we" I of course me "I") have the whole trip mapped out. Even things to do ALONG the path home. I am willing to vary on times and actual activities, but in the beginning you have to have at least a "sort of" plan on how things are going to go.
So before we left Canada I had made reservations at a camp site near Bonners Ferry, ID. It's only about 6 hours from Raymond, a nice days drive with time to stop and admire the sites if need be.
We did stop in Sparwood,B.C. to take the prerequisite "Biggest Truck in the World" picture, then again just after we entered the U.S.of A to start taking a series of pictures I've been planning on taking since I started driving the kids up to Canada and back. The camp spot we're at for the night TOTALLY fails as a "family" place. It's called Blue Lake RV resort and it's about 8 miles south of Bonner's Ferry, ID. There is a POND (that I am assuming they are considering a "lake") which you can swim in if you're brave. Like swim in Stafford Lake brave. It's clean enough, but has a lot of "pond elements" if you know what I mean. There are non-motorized water toys you can rent FOR HALF DAYS (but no shorter amounts of time). They asked us not to let B-man throw rocks into the pond, as they have to buy the gravel (really? That's absurd.) There is no play ground.
However, if I were coming here with a group of adults, it'd be awesome. Showers, gym, laundry, quiet, views, variety of sites, games to borrow, fire pits, picnic tables, docks ... but for families ... not so much.

WATER!

Michael & Hanna Get Older

Raymond Parade

I became a "Tattoo Artist" today for like a half hour.
Learned what it felt like to be the life of the party for once in my life.
Oh yeah ... the parade wasn't too bad either, though the candy was pathetically sparse.

Waterton Lakes

with Grandpa Kim, Grandma Sandy and the Hamon cousins

Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump

Fort MacLeod, Alberta (ish) with Michael and Jenie's family

Julie's Wedding/Jones Cousin Pic's

(the Hamon kids were DONE after the "cousin" pics ...)

We Made Her "Holey"

Parks Canada

What the...

When we were driving over to Utah, we stopped at a truck stop outside of Denver to eat, stretch, blah blah blah.

We parked next to this trailer. (Rather ingenious, no?) Jerry and I had a debate on whether the people were moving or just going on vacation. I was right, of course.

Just before the people took off though, one of the men in the entourage decided something or other on the top of their 5th wheel had to be fixed. This was his solution. As he needed to move forward ... the CAR would inch forward. Jerry and I just sat there in fixed fascination. Not really believing we were seeing this happen.

Family Tradition

I haven't really been "around" S. Alberta for about 10 years.
Sure, every now and again I have come up with the kids.
Played with cousins, helped out siblings, seen a few sights.
But I haven't around for things like ... The Branding.

One of the family traditions I grew up with involved people, that by blood, are not family at all.
Yet they have held the place of love, tenderness and belonging in my life that I have mostly lacked from the people I am related to.
The tale of how that came about is for another time.
This post is about

The Branding.

The Bowlby's have a long standing late spring tradition of gathering at my grandparents place to brand and (when needed) casterate the "spring calves" (I use that term in the loosest sense). People come in droves. Cousins, in laws, neighbors, friends, annoyances ... you get them all.
Everyone wants to be involved in one way or another.The most important part, in my experience, is making sure the kids feel like they have a "job". So they too, start to feel the connection. Learn to appreciate the together times hard word creates. The fun that comes when you work with your family.It's a tender time for me, as I see calf after calf being branded, possibly for the last time, with the family "crest". Watching my grandpa watch his family, with more than a little pride. Seeing the look on the "City Folk"s face as we have them do things like ... castration.And being ever so grateful that even though we've all done dozens of these, I'm not the only one with this look on my face as I say over and over, "Sorry baby, sorry..."

Okay, Dawn, you can stop laughing now.

I'll Do It in Order

Cause that's how I roll.
I've tried other ways.
I've TRIED to let things slide.
I've tried disorganizing.
Gotta tell you though, not so much me.
At all.
It makes me squirm.
It makes my stomach all jittery.
It makes my head hurt more than a little because all I can think about it getting it back in order.

Therefore, the next set of pictures will come in sequence.

Because I said so, darnit!

First of all, Ms. R's "cousin" birthday party up in Whitecourt, AB, on her birthday:

"Pool" portion at the Miller Center (FABULOUS pool, none of the bodies of water were shockingly cold. The kids were ready to go before I was...)

Then we went back to Jenie and Michael's house decorate cupcakes and open presents. I thought the idea of having the cupcakes the kids decorated as the cake was a fun idea. Duel purpose and all that.

Since I Now Have a Following ...

Just kidding, I really don't.
I mostly have illusions of greatness and glory.
No.
That's not true.
I don't have those either.
I mostly just blab and wonder why people are still reading.
Or listening.
Then find out thier not.
Listening at least.
I have no idea if they are still reading.
I could check my tracker thingy but then I'd have to hook up my lap top.

Still reading??

Hi!

How are ya? Good, good to hear.

I'm doing alright too. The trip from Texas to Utah was pretty much uneventful. We ended up driving over a diesel truck Jerry's older brother Steve bought in Arlington. Even though it is twice the vehicle my SUV is and we were carrying quite a load it got almost twice the mpg my truck does. Some what depressing.

When we got to Utah Steve said he pretty much had all of the work done on the RV we were buying from him, so I was able to leave Utah a day early than I had anticipated. The RV is pretty decent, for what it is. The milage is deadly and it's a killer on the hands and elbows when the wind kicks up (gripping the steering wheel). On the other hand, it has cruise, the satelite radio works in it, when the screen door isn't slapping around it's a quiet ride and the kids LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Even now, in Canada, B-man insists on sleeping in it.

I'll write more about the Canadian adventures when I have pictures (taken with other people's cameras) later ...

Krista Rules

I really just want to go to someone who has my blog in their roll and see that title.
Hahaha.

On to the true post.

"The Tale of Two Worlds Colliding ... Possibly NOT for the Best"

As I have been preparing to head off on our annual road trip to Canada I've been cleansing and purging the house as I pack.
I find I do it less and less as we live in the same stinking house longer and longer and loooonger.
Seriously, I think it may be detrimental to people's health to live in one house for this long.
If not their physical health, their mental health at the very least!

I've discovered no matter how much I cleanse and purge the kids and my stuff, my house will never be a house of order.

Case and point:

Here are examples of MY areas, areas that a certain other person in this household never messes with because well, they're in the kitchen...

Here are examples of a certain other person's space, which I am NEVER to touch, move, look at, or even consider messing with. I did a few times at the beginning of our marriage, I don't think I've recovered from the tongue lashing, WHOO WEE!This, sadly, is my front room. The "holding area" for things of as of yet ... unknown destinations

His office. No really.
And
the Garage.
Notice the car?
Yeah.
Sore topic.

Re-dunk-ulous

I don't know why, but people with over the top talent always leave me in tears. Take my breath away. Have me falling in love.

Britain's Got Talent 2009 Aidan Davis Dancing - Funny bloopers R us

Talent Show

This past Tuesday there was a talent show at Ms. R's school.
There was a good variety of acts that went on for nearly an hour and a half.
Dancing, singing, piano playing, gymnastics, karate, a skit ...
At the end they had all the staff from the school get up and do a little line dance for the kids.
They encouraged all the kids to get up and dance with them

(apparently some of them were scared stiff and the kids really helped them relax!)Lady on the far left is Judy Font, Ms. R's teacher - she's also one of the ones who was nervous!

As we were driving home Ms. R commented on how fun it'd been to be in the Talent Show.
I just smiled inside, it was nice that she felt her small part contributed so greatly ;)

Bad picture! It was the best I could do with my phone and the lighting!

After spending the afternoon at B-mans school, the kids and I headed up to Grapevine Mills Mall with Jerry's mom.
She wanted to treat Ms. R with an animal from Build a Bear then go to the Rain Forest Cafe.

Man, I wish I had a grandma like her when I was a kid!

Splash Day

Yesterday B-man's PPCD class had their annual Splash Day.
The teachers always do so well putting it together.
There are TONS of "stations" for the kids to choose from:
Bubbles
Sand
Shaving foam table
Three different sized pools
Slip n Slide
Shaded reading area

We also ate hot dogs, chips and popscicles.

Awesome pre-summer party!

Stellar

We allow our kids to choose what they want to do on their birthday every year.
Ms. R has choose every year until this year to do hers at Chuck E Cheese.
Bad food, good times.
This year she decided to have a swim party.
At the time I thought it was a spectacular idea.
It's ALWAYS hot here by the end of May.
Always.
Until this year.
This year we've had a very dismal spring.
Barley peaking into the 80's.
For us, that's cool.
When I sent out the invites two weeks ago I figured we still had time for the weather to catch up to the month, warm up the swimming pool water, ect.
Never happened.
She also invited 20 kids.
With this being Memorial day weekend I planned on 1/4th of those numbers, which is a fair amount.
8 RSVPed with "Yes, we'd LOVE to come!"
So I planned for 12 to come, just in case there were kids out there that had parents that couldn't figure out how to pick up a phone or turn on the internet.
TWO kids came.
Two.
Oy.
Ms. R asked me, "Why would _________ and ____________ and ___________ say they could come and then not come?"
Me, utterly defeated and feeling maybe a little mean spirited, "I don't know honey, you should ask them that on Monday..."

The kids that came had a good time though.
Because it really is pretty chilly still the pool was all but deserted.
So they got to go on the slides all they wanted, jump off the diving board, play "shark" with no one to run into.
That's a definite plus.

When we got home I opened my email to find messages from three parents, sending their apologies with the explanation that their kid has come down with Strep.
Then I got a phone call from another asking what time the party started ... ahhh, three four hours ago?

So really ... not AS BAD as I thought.

Though it did make Ms. R sad to think that no body wanted to come to her birthday AGAIN (last year only two kids from her class showed up too).
What doesn't break you makes your stronger?

Oh well, we're having a family party for her up in Canada ON her birthday, I'm sure that will take away some of the sting from having a measly party here.

Bawhahhaha

I What?

I WON!
No stinking kidding.
I honestly usually enter blog contests simply to up the number of people entering the contest and make it a little harder for the winners to win.
I never anticipate winning.
Ever.

I entered a contest Pastor Ryan was having the other day for a "Ratio" cook book.

The question was about what our favorite childhood dish was, since I'm a berry hound I responded with my sisters blue berry custard pie.

I won.

Haha.

Dawn is WAY more of a cook/baker than I am. She has WAY more mouths to feed and WAY more people interested in eating her food than I do.

So you know what?

I'm giving my spoils to her.

Happy Birthday, Dawn!

Badonkadonk

Forget the kids, I am glad the year is nearly over.
Only 5 days left tomorrow.
At least for my kids.
I'm pulling them the last two days.
Only half days of silliness.
We need to haul-butt to Utah to pick up our own personal
Behemoth.


This year I have found myself draaaaging.
Not sleepy.
Just exhausted.
Even after having a nap
or three
a day.
I'd find myself STILL tired.
Chronically having the toilet bowl fill with blood when I pooped
didn't make me feel too excited either.
The almost constant stomach aches
zinging pains from lower abdominal
to chest area
and cramping in the kidney areas ...
When I no longer have periods because I am on Mirena
I see cramping as a BAD sign.
Oy.
I'm a BIG baby about going to new doctors.
I am not a huge fan of the whole,
"Tell me your history and show me your stuff"
it's just ... invasive.
But I broke down and went.
First visit I was given a prescription for things to go in ...
both ends.
Woohoo!
Man, do I
LOVE
my body right now.
That didn't so much work
Cause this time the bleeding is
heavier
thicker
darker
scarier.
No waiting this time.
Into the doctor I went.
A "sample" taken indicated that I do
indeed
have blood in my
feces.
Like I needed them to take a
sample
to tell me that?
BAH HUMBUG!
That is what I have to say to you.
They also drew blood.
Usual crap.
You know.
Referred me to a
gastroentonologist.
For a
colonoscopy.
Called me today to tell me
my glucose is high and iron is low.
Do I have relatives with diabetes?
Ahhh ... not the ones I know.
I think they just caught me on a bad day for that one.
I'm pooping blood dude, I can see why I may be low on iron.
But I apparently am taking those results to a
specialist
too.
Because of a health insurance switch we are in the middle of,
I am waiting to see the g-word guy (I spelt it once, that's all you get!)
till I'm up in Canada.
There is one in Great Falls, MT that is in our network.
Hopefully he'll have openings
(hahhahahaa, that was a dirty pun)
in June.
I can just skip across the line, do the
deed
and go back up .

Let's cross our fingers and just hope Krista has hemorrhoids in some weird duct.

Sensitive

This is from Autism the Musical ... with a little Jack Black added to the mix ;)