We're off

We're off to the wilderness but we have Taggart the Tiger to protect us so I'm sure there is no need to worry.

face painting courtesy of the very kind and patient Aunty Mary

Back to the blogging world in a week or so.

Little rock stars

Forgive me if this is something only a mother could love - I just had to post.

Hudson discovered a no-fail mode on Rock Band - very 'ego-boosting' for Taggart.

They are singing the GO-GO's as I type this. So funny.

What are you so grouchy about?

I am not in the habit of using this blog as a place to vent my frustrations. I actually consider myself a bit of a non-complainer (I hope those who know me will agree). I don't like to complain and waste energy on things I can't do anything about.

But.....today I feel like I am complaining about everything.

a whining four year old

bickering brothers

pool-water that I can't seem to get clear

a dirty floor

fixing too many snacks

the list goes on...

And then I thought what's wrong with me today? What am I so grouchy about?

I think I've figured it out...

Going

camping

stresses

me

out.

We don't leave until Sunday and we are only going for four nights (in a tent, mind you) so why am I already freaking out about it?

Because

it

is

so

much

work.

I've spent the last hour googling and then finally getting on the phone to find out what kinds of food we can and cannot take across the border. Good thing too because all the stuff I thought we couldn't take we actually can but firewood, which I hadn't even thought of, we can't.

I've got lists everywhere, in my head and all over the counter, to make sure I don't forget anything. We don't camp enough, so I really don't have this down to a science. Yet, I'm not sure if I really want to camp any more than we do.

Okay, enough.

I've vented and let it all out.

Do I feel better?

I'll let you know.

It might take until after we've returned.

Wish me luck.

Something I forgot

I've been told that I left out a very important part of our Lac Le Jeune weekend. I knew that I had and was planning to cover it in a second post. But when a certain person (he knows who he is) has the camera, I am left with about a thousand photos to go through, delete and edit. It takes a while.
So without further delay, the scaries part of the weekend for me by far:
Knife throwing. "Isn't that dangerous with all the kids running around?", you might ask. "YES", I say, "it is." But we did it anyway because, as I was told, that's what boys do when they are in the bush. Oh ya, and girls.

That big stick was put there by Tony as the line to stand behing when someone was throwing.
That's me trying to keep Tag behind the line.Still trying to keep him there - look like Cooper's trying to help.
Can you see that lovely look on my face - I was quite certain that Tag was going to cut off his right ear.

Who said girls can't throw knives?

Feeling very manly.Glad to say that we left the back hill with all of our fingers, toes and ears.

Lac Le Jeune

This past weekend we spent three great days at my brothers cabin in Lac Le Jeune. When we got there on Saturday afternoon, Rudy and Tina were there to greet us. The weather was nice and warm but not hot. Not swimming in the lake weather, by my standards, but of course I still always coax the kids to get in. While my coaxing did nothing, Uncle Rudy's bribing was all they needed. $10 bucks for who ever jumped in off the end of the dock. All the boys took the bait. I think we were all a little surprised that they all did it so quickly and Rudy that he would actually have to cough up $30 bucks. Apparently they are all a little money hungry. Not Reagan though, she was quite happy to stay warm and dry. She always has the most money in her piggy bank than her brothers at any given time. She's a saver.

Hudson was the first one in.Tag was second with a cannonball.'Gimme some of that'Cooper finishes it off

Reagan thinking that getting wet and cold is not worth $10.

The rest of the day brought hanging out on the porch (my favorite), a walk in the woods to see a big tree hit by lightning, kayaking, dinner with our lovely hosts, and an attempt at fishing.

Love this shot for some reasonThe biggest 'blowy flower' everThe walk got a little long and boring for Tag - here he's trying to throw a rock at me because I won't carry him

Uncle Rudy distracted him nicely with this big stick which they both carried all the way back to the cabin. Tag was determined to take it home but we threw it behind the cabin when he wasn't looking and luckily for us he didn't notice.Got this photo thanks to Rudy - thanks for noticing my girl in the beautiful light - this is one of my fave shots of the weekendDessert on the porch.

Some Reagan and Hudson time hanging out on the dock waiting for the others to come back in the boat
She was teaching him some silly song that she learned at campSome quiet time with Dad and his iPodTime to get clean. Cooper informed me he was very thankful he wasn't part of this particular group shot.This one was taken on the drive home. We were at a stand still on the highway for about 45 minutes due to a vehicle fire. The kids just got out of the truck and literally played beside the highway.Maybe my favorite of the weekend. And on this note - Happy 16 years today to you, Tony. Happy Anniversary. I love you.

A much needed giggle

After spending almost 3 hours waiting for our truck to be serviced at Honda today when they told us it would only be an hour and a half I was pretty much spent. The first hour and a half was spent walking down to McDonald's to have lunch and then poking around the dollar store to kill the time. The last hour was spent in the tiny waiting room of the service department with absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing, to do. Doing that by myself would have made me a little antsy, doing that with my four children was enough to....well let's just say that I was in need of a big cup of tea when I got home.

But soon after we got home we all got just what we needed to lighten the mood. There was a knock on the door. The kids ran to answer it and it was closed just as quickly. Reagan had a small package in her hand with a giant mess of a pink bow on the top. "For Cooper" she said, "from Avery". Our little five year old neighbor across the street, who apparently has a spot in her heart for Coopster. The funny thing really was the way Cooper handled it. He really thought it was cute, smiling and giggling the whole time he was opening the package (which took some time as we think Avery used a whole roll of scotch tape). "Maybe it's the Lego set I've been wanting", he said laughing. Inside the package was a little note with some scribbles and her name, an Abbotsford Hawks hockey sticker, and a tiny package of BBQ Spits. We all got a very big kick out of the whole thing but the best thing was how Cooper got right to work making her a thank you note, complete with a lollipop attached, and one for her little sister too.

Sometimes Cooper can be a real parenting challenge but what can never be disputed is his heart and his sense of humor. He's got a big one of both. No wonder Avery likes him. :)

These two...

I've spent a fair amount of time with just these two lately. Cooper was at camp and Reagan always seemed to be off with one friend or another so it was just us three. Hudson has always wanted Taggart's attention the most but unfortunately is usually the one to get it the least. So these few times that Hudson had Tag all to himself he really loved it. We are talking about moving Cooper out of Hudson's room and moving Tag in, giving Cooper his own room. They know nothing of this though, as Cooper would absoutely jump all over it. We'll give it a bit more thought but thinking about their personalities , it could work.

Photos taken at Lake of the Woods in Hope. We had a picnic there before we picked Cooper up at camp.