Emily Park - July 4-6, 2007

From my journal:

Emily Park – July 3-5 Site 244 – great site!

Thursday:
Our adventure starts on Thursday since Cam was off! We headed up to the Arnold’s summer abode (where the trailer was parked) and The Monty’s…. minus Jill joined us. It was raining – which we were told had been the theme of the week up there. With the arrival of 5 children under 6 – things got fun even with the rain. The kids had a great time playing and laughing and at bedtime we were all pretty tired. The boys (Cam, Grant and Alan) and I played some Wizard until about 10:30pm when we all turned in for the night. We were expecting an early morning with the kids so we had to get our beauty sleep…as much as possible!!!

Friday:
The morning started off rainy so we thought we were in for the same as the day before. We had breakfast and Grant read the kids about 6 Robert Munsch books while the babies had their morning naps. We packed up and headed to Emily Park after naps. Taking the windy back roads out of the cottage Charlie and I got a little queasy. Thankfully we weren’t on the windy roads too long before we were on the highway and barrelling towards the park. We arrived to sunshiny skies and warm weather. All the kiddies had to have a nap and it was great to see the Brooks-Barfitt’s already there! The adults had some wobbly pops while the kids slept and then we went to the beach! It was gorgeous…everyone but me went in – despite it being very frigid! LOL!! Can’t stop the kids from staying out of the water….born water babies! Alan kept the good times going with his beer in the kid’s bucket…they were well supervised despite that hilarity! Jill arrived around 5:30pm when we were getting back from the beach and we made some supper. After supper we went to the park with the kids. They had a blast and it took a lot of convincing to get them to leave. We managed to bait them with the promise of roasted marshmallows. When we got back Alan had the fire ready to go and the kids were able to gorge themselves on sweets before dinner. Bedtime went without a hitch and soon we were all drinking by the fire again…funny how that goes….

Saturday:
Early morning as usual, however, Cam let me sleep until 8 – awesome! Got up and ready for the day. Made the traditional BLT breaky and had our morning Caesars (not an option) and the day took off from there! It was cool but we were still in shorts (and we had sweatshirts on)…it was a little disappointing because it is July! The kids had no problems – they ran amok for the day and had a great time. All the babies are mobile so we were on high alert since the Monty’s fire pit was smoking all day (good job with the bacon grease Alan!). Cam set up a tent for the kids to play in (once Jimmy brought it) and they had a great time in there. Once naptime came the kids and Jill went down for a while. The boys played horseshoes while Jacky, Ang and I thought about baby names had a couple beers…well most of drank anyway…no more breast-feeding for me! On a side note: I had a sacral flare up and the pain killers I badly needed required that I stop nursing…so I’m done now. Made my 9 months though…pretty happy for that! Back to camping…the weather did improve a bit so we did do the beach after naptime. We had a great time again even though it wasn’t as warm as the day before…no parents swimming this time! Got back and had a great big buffet smorgasbord with tons of great food. My kids ate like champs and we discovered that salmon right on the grill is very yummy! Kiddies in bed after marshmallows again (and a lot of teeth brushing of course) and then Cam busted out the guitar and serenaded us while we stuffed our faces with more great snacks. Jacky had her iPhone with music on it so we listened to some other tunes after Cam’s back got sore. As always we had a great time chatting and enjoying ourselves. Earlier night tonight…all the drinking during the day makes for an early night!

Sunday:
Ugghhh – Sam was up for 1.5 hours last night! He is teething so he was crusty! Cam was a saint and got up with him between 3-4:30 and even let Sammy falls asleep on him. He came back to bed and then the boys were up at 6:30am. He let me sleep and then at 8 am Cam went back to sleep for a couple hours while I did the parent thing. Sam was much happier but still lacking a little sleep. Gorgeous day outside! Can’t believe how nice is it – always happens this way – the weather is gorge on a Sunday when we have to leave! So…Cam decides that he wants to take Monday off so we can go back to the cottage and enjoy the day. First things first – we need some more Caesars and the kids play outside while the adults tan! It was so nice that no one was in a hurry to get home. After baby naptime we all packed up – slowly and begrudgingly! No one wanted to leave! We packed up and headed out. Decided to try a new route that GPS said…bad news! Took the back roads to a dead end. Have you ever backed up a 32 foot fifth wheel on a gravel road with overgrown trees? Luckily we had a cottage driveway to use but it was still a challenge. Cam was surprisingly calm and collected…must have been my stellar steering directions! LOL!! Got the cottage after the boys slept in the car and we went swimming…. it was cold but the sun was so nice and warm. Played some cards and then an early night…we were expecting Sam to be up early again however, he slept! As always we had a great weekend. Cam has the boys to himself next camping trip at the Love family camping weekend – I’m off to Windsor for Veronica’s bridal shower – a weekend alone….how will that fare? Hopefully Cam will chronicle the weekend!




MORE PICTURES TO COME.....

Wonderland

Last weekend we took the boys to Wonderland. It was the annual OPG day so we got a deal on tickets and met a few people that we knew. We only lost Charlie for 3-4 minutes at the most so it was a pretty good day.
Cam

McRae Park

From my camping journal

McRae Provincial Park – May 29-31, site 165 – grassy, open and awesome!!!

Friday:
Arrived later than usual as Cam was on a training course at work and had to put in his time. We arrived at 6pm and shortly followed by the Monty’s. Very impressed with the sites as they are big, open and grassy. Not much for privacy but when there are 4 families on the 4 sites around you….it’s not a big deal. We fed the kiddies and put them to bed around 9ish – a little late for them and it showed….Charlie was wired up!!! Around 9:30pm he finally calmed down and went to sleep. We had some drinks by the fire and while most of went to bed around midnight – Cam and Alan stayed up until 1am! Crazy buggers! They had a great time chatting it up.

Saturday:
Calling for thunderstorms off and on all day. We had beautiful sunshine and heat all day. It was fabulous. The first time my skin has seen sunlight since February and the other ladies were lapping it up too. We all got pretty burnt but it wasn’t too bad because it felt so good and honestly, we didn’t know we were getting burned. The kids had a great time at the beach for about an hour and then all day they were running around and playing while the adults vegged out and watched the babies play under the shelter. It was a great day and it managed to convince Jacky that it is okay to go camping. Her rather frightening experience last time is slowly melting away. We started getting dinner ready around 5ish (after having some very yummy seafood chowder courtesy of Jacky – and yes, the tomato base was good Jill!). John and Marian had come to visit so they entertained the kids while supper was being prepared. Read: the kids were in the back of the pick up truck (the bed) and John was teasing them all – but they LOVED it! As soon as dinner was ready the sky turned and the wind picked up! Oh crap….here comes the storm. Cam ate dinner and watched the boys while I frantically cleaned up the site for the impending storm. We (the guys and I) got everything cleaned up and then the heavens opened up. Derek, Ang and the kids all came to our camper while the boys had baths and they watched a DVD. We were planning on spending the evening inside watching the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (yes, we had a tv!) but as soon as it was bedtime – magically, the sun came back out. It was perfect – we put the kids to bed and then we had a fire. It was pretty frosty after all that rain so by 11pm we were all in bed. It was a lovely fabulous day – the real reason we are addicted to camping!

Sunday:
Woke up to a cold and frosty day. The boys were awake around 7ish and Cam threw a movie on for them while I slept in until 8 – it was great! Sam had some breaky and then back to bed while Charlie (as per the norm) went to the Monty’s to eat his breakfast…LOL!!! We have to pack up today but we are not really in a hurry to get going. The weather turned for the worse and the wind picked up. We packed up and all of us were gone by 11am. We pumped out and drove to my parents house where Pat and Ted were visiting for the weekend. We saw them for about an hour and then we all headed out again. Going to Nana and Papa’s for supper…yummy!
Alicia

Trip to the (Oshawa) Zoo

Not sure if Alicia has posted about the zoo before (and too lazy to look). It really is more of a farm than a zoo but is perfect for the kids. Mom and Dad got us a family pass for the year which is great because it is a perfect place to go for a little walk and is only a 10 minute drive from the house. When we get there Charlie gets a bag of popcorn from which he feeds both the animals and himself. Always a good way to get some exercise and put in a couple of hours.

Cam

Emily Park - May Long Weekend

Again...my camping journal!

Emily Park – May long weekend – 15-18
Site 251 – soaking wet!!!!

Friday:
Arrived around 2ish and got settled in. The boys were supposed to nap and finally Charlie fell asleep – Sam on the other hand – did not want to settle down. The Monty’s arrived around 4:30pm – one of the earliest arrival times ever! It was great – we made pizza’s and had a feast (The Smith’s arrived shortly after as well – Cam helped erect their new camper with a couple bumps along the way) . It was Cam’s 31st birthday so The Monty’s had a mini chocolate chip muffin for Cam with a candle – it was very sweet! The kids were knackered so by 8pm they were all pretty much in bed. We lit the fire up and chatted as always. Most were in bed between 10:30-11:30pm.
It got pretty cold at night so Trigger bunked with us for the night – I’m sure she loved the micro furnaces blowing on her throughout the night. Well most of the night anyway….Sam woke up at 1:30 am and would not really calm down so I gave him a bottle but realized that the furnaces weren’t on anymore – apparently we popped a breaker and they were not working! Got that remedied and the rest of the night passed without a hitch!

Saturday:
Sammy woke up around 6am but stayed in bed until 6:45 when both kids came into bed with us. We tried to put on a movie so that we could catch a couple more zzzz’s but they were not having any part of that! We got up and Charlie and Cam went to play outside while Sam had his first nap. We knew the forecast so the boys got all dressed up in their rain gear and hit the puddles! Had a great day – splashing around! Donna and Grant came up for the day and arrived just around 11ish. Tricia and Kevin came also with their RV and it got stuck! They pretty much waited the rest of the day for someone to help them get out. Cam pulled them out with the maintenance staff’s chain. They were totally peeved….a huge lack of communication by the teenage staff…..hmmm…. We had a great feast of steak, potatoes, Caesar salad, asparagus and a Black Forest cake – who says you have to rough it when you camp? The weather cleared up so we had a fire once the kiddies were in bed. It got really cold and windy so we didn’t last long around the fire. I think it was about 9:30 when Cam went to bed and the last of us were not far behind – I was in bed at 10:30!

Sunday:
Sammy was awake a couple times during the night and between coughing fits and blowing my nose I know that neither Cam nor myself got much sleep. Woke up to very cold but sunny weather. Hung inside for a while until it got a little bit warmer. I honestly didn’t keep tight tabs on Charlie but he was playing around the gang for the day so he was always in someone’s line of vision! Sammy was still feeling under the weather but managed to get outside for a walk. Tricia’s friend Gabbey and her hubby Mark and baby Sophia popped in and we hung out at our site while my boys slept – all of them…even Cam! When they all woke up it was time to get supper started – yummy ribs! Cam helped Mike and Jacky pack up as they decided to leave a little early. Jacky has to return to work on Tuesday after maternity leave so she’s a little sad….don’t blame her…I remember the feeling fondly. We had some great supper as always and while Cam cleaned up I took Charlie out to watch the fire for a couple minutes before bed time. It got cold at night so Trigger was once again treated to the boy’s bedroom floor. Sammy woke up once and I just nursed him and put him back to sleep – it was an easy night.
Alicia

Monday:
Wake up at 7am with Alan walking in our camper! They were out of propane and their hypothermic children needed some heat! Cam got up and gave him a tank of propane and then the kids came into bed with us – for a couple minutes anyway…I kicked them out and went back to sleep for almost an hour – it was very nice! Cam cooked a nice big hash at Jill’s and then it was naptime for the little ones. We will be packing up after naptime and heading home. We are going to the Arnold’s house tonight to celebrate Cam’s birthday (which was on Friday) – more great food I’m sure!

Sandbanks Provinical Park

When we go camping I write in a journal - since I had the computer with us I decided to type out adventures! Enjoy!

Sandbanks Provincial Park – Mother’s Day weekend May 8-10/09
Site 607 – very open but perfect when chilly outside!

Friday:
We arrived at 3:30pm to a beautiful warm day in Picton. Check-in was a breeze and the attendant informed us there was an alcohol ban – who knew? Of course – we decided to strictly adhere to the law and cracked a beer when we got on our site. Jim and Madison were already here and happily came over to greet us. Charlie and Madison quickly went off together exploring. Charlie is 2.5 years old now and Madison is 7. This was Sam’s first camping trip of his life at 7 months old and he did swimmingly. He loves extra attention (who wouldn’t) so he was happy that the kids were talking with him. Alan and Jill (plus kiddies – Hayley 5, Avery 3.5 and Matthew 11 months) arrived around 8ish. They got stuck in some wicked storms on the way and we were waiting for it to hit us. However – no rain! Good times!
Bruce Huxter and his family came around 5ish and set up their camp and their friends Lyle and Connie came too – along with Jamie and Nicole – plus everyone’s dogs! It was a great campfire that night. Lyle is a bit of a pyro and did the fire up Newfie style – minus the tires!
I started the “crying it out” method on Sam to get him to sleep through the night (he was still getting up once or twice a night to nurse) so we knew to expect a different schedule from him. He was up twice but only cried for about 10 minutes each time. Didn’t wake up Charlie so we were all pretty happy about that. Charlie was a champ and slept on the top bunk despite a little bit of protest.

Saturday:
We were weary of the weather all day – the forecast called for scattered showers and 20mm of rain. It thunder boomed and there was lightening and lots of rain but it didn’t put a damper on our day. The kids were playing all day outside – riding bikes, playing soccer, making dandelion soup. We had sun in between the rain and some wicked wind but we had a great time.
I went with Jill and the kids for a little walk around our loop and besides being a little bit tortuous, due to an over tired child, it was nice to walk around – have to keep that up! Sam had great naps and ate like a horse – the fresh air does that do us all. Nothing extremely out of the norm for our day – just hanging around, enjoying each other’s company and loving that the kids all played together (and nicely for the most part). The kiddies all had baths and watched a movie at our place while we wound down from the day of fresh air and “sunshine”. Everyone was knackered so by 9pm the Monty’s were all-asleep and by 10pm Cam was. I stayed up at the fire for another 1.5 hours, as I knew I would get to sleep-in in the morning because it was Mother’s Day.

Sunday:
Charlie set the alarm for 6am – so that is what time we got up! A little bit on the early side but Cam let me stay in bed until Sam needed to be fed at 7:30. I showered and got ready for breakfast while Sam slept. It’s chilly out today but not raining so packing up will not be a big issue. We will have breakfast – hang out for a little while and then pack up to go home. It is Mother’s Day so I think we are off to the Arnold’s for dinner. As always the camping was great and I’m so happy it is camping season again! Next weekend is the May long weekend and we are off to Emily!
Alicia

Time is ticking!

I can't believe how quickly the time is going! Sam is 7 months old now and Charlie is 2.5 years! We haven't been up to much but busy as always. We are gearing up for the camping season - really looking forward to that! We go this weekend to Sandbanks (weather permitting) to continue our new tradition of camping on Mother's Day weekend.

We did our first family trip at the beginning of April. We went to Cam's friend Tim's cabin in Bancroft. We went to relax and we certainly did that! We ate, chatted and took the kids on the ATV's. On our way home we stopped at the Hunter's cabin and surprised them! It was a great time!
Alicia




My best friend Beth was married to her sweetie on April 18th and I was a part of the wedding so I occupied myself helping her out wherever I could. It was a beautiful day and a great wedding. Mom did the cake and flowers - truly stunning.


Sam starting swimming lessons in April and he loves it. He is my little fish. He happily goes under water and loves to splash! Cam was able to join us for his first class and took some cute pictures.



Charlie is talking up a storm and being as sassy as ever. He is looking forward to camping and loves being outside playing. Cam bought him a playcentre for the backyard and he is always interesting in playing. He also loves playing hockey. It's all about the "Stanley-O Cup" for him! A jock in the making I think!


So - I'll try to update during the camping season but we all know how horrible I am at updating the blog! Cheers!