British Columbia Road Trip

This year for our family vacation we decided to do a little road trip into BC.  Our trip started with a picnic lunch at Lundbreck Falls.  It was so beautiful seeing the falls and doing a little hike up to them. The temperature was already scorching and I was melting but it was fun.

 

On to our camp for the first night, Kimberley Riverside Campground.  It was beautiful, we wished we had more time there, next year we will definitely be back to stay a few nights.  The site was nice and protected with paths through the trees for the kids to explore.  Armin happened to get bit by a wasp, we think anyway, and since we had no after bite a pinterest find worked wonders...toothpaste!!!

The campground also had an outdoor pool with other games too, a humongous chess board and ping pong.  So much fun.  The wasps were a bit pesky though and wouldn't leave us alone especially when we were eating.

 

The next morning we packed up camp and headed into Kimberley to look around the town.  There was a market down the old street where the boys got their faces painted, Calum had a soccer ball with flames and Armin a tiger!  For lunch we headed to Cranbrook and ate on the way.  Onward to the ferry to take us to Ainsworth, our next stop for two nights.

The ferry ride was fun, the kids were a little afraid but had fun walking around.  We got to stand right up front and watch the ferry dock.  Both trips we rode the Osprey 2000, it could hold 88 vehicles.

This is a picture of the smaller ferry, it could only hold 22 vehicles.

 

Our campsite for the next two nights was at the Woodbury Resort, just a few minutes north of Ainsworth Hot springs.  It was perfect!  The hot springs were fun, the temperature just like a hot bath.  The caves were much hotter, not my cup of tea and they were dark and when my glasses fogged up I couldn't see anything.  But Armin and I made it through unscathed!  Calum loved the plunge pool, he would just sit it in the freezing cold water and when he got too cold he would just warm up in the hot pool!!

We did have to do a little rearranging of our campsite to accommodate our huge tent but when the owners helped bring us wood they didn't seem to mind!  Our campsite had an outdoor swimming pool which the kids and Jared had fun playing in, Myrna and I enjoyed watching their shenanigans!!!

Sunday we went into Nelson to go to church, which was awesome.  I love how unified our church is, we felt so welcome there, so much so they were asking if we were visiting or moving in!!  Oh it would be a dream come true to live there.  So beautiful!!!  After church we wanted to check out the beach but it was closed because of ecoli in the water so we let the boys play on the nearby park, then we took a ride on the old street car.

 

 

 

A reincarnate of James Dean

The boys were fascinated by it, the creaks at every bend in the tracks and the wobbliness as it bounced along the track.  The conductor put his hat on Emry's head and the boys both got to ring the bell!!

 

Monday we packed up from this beautiful site knowing we will one day be back, we loved it!  We headed to Creston for the next leg of our trip!  On our way to Creston we stopped at the Glass house, just off the highway!  It was so cool, truly a work of art!  It was built in the 1950's by a man who was a mortician.  He had decided he wanted to build his retirement home entirely out of glass embalming bottles.  He enlisted the help of his fellow morticians to save their bottles.  His house used over 200,000 bottles.  He also used them to make a deck railing, a bridge, and other decorations on his property totalling 600,000 bottles.  It was quite the sight to see.  The house itself was adequate and had only the rooms necessary.  A living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.

 

 

After settling in at camp we went and checked out the river in Creston and took the kids swimming there!  Myrna and I sat in the shade and watched them have all sorts of fun!!! Calum was terrified of all the fish and kept looking under the water with his goggles on, as soon as he'd see one he would yell and scream.  We told him many times to take his goggles off so he wouldn't see them, but that was to no avail!!  Armin found a large stick, his staff, and he spent hours playing with it!!  Later that night we went and saw live music in the park and then finished the night off with some super yummy pizza!  



 

 

Our trip took a turn for the worse that night when Myrna tripped over a log and hurt her knee very badly.  It was time for bed so we all just went to sleep hoping it would be better by morning.  But it in fact was worse.  Myrna could put no weight on it at all.  We were headed to Fernie for our last night but we decided we better just head straight home.  And a good thing too, Armin also took a turn for the worse and got very sick. 

 

 

As soon as we got home we dropped Emry and Calum off at the house and headed straight to the Emergency room in Vulcan.  Myrna had an X-ray done of her knee and Armin was given fluids until he could keep them down and then we were able to go home.  Myrna's X-ray showed no break but a hairline fracture just below the knee cap.  She is to be no weight bearing for a month and will be getting a hinged cast next Thursday.  We were back in the Emergency with Armin two days later still not perking up.  And his fever still really high.  So they gave him fluids again this time through IV.  It took a good week and a half for him to start feeling better.  He lost so much weight too.  Poor little guy.

 

 

 

So despite our trip being cut a little short it was still lots of fun with great memories made!  I really like camping with my family.  Jared cooks all the meals, its great!!  Emry helped him do the steaks one night and boy were they delicious.  It was great having Myrna along too, the kids adore her, Calum said it wouldn't have been as much fun if Grandma wasn't there!!!  

 

 







Jared had Calum convinced that he could roast marshmallows with the sun!!  He stood out there for at least 5 minutes and then realized Jared was totally teasing him!  It was fun to watch and quite the sight to see!!!!



Melted My Heart

Calum has been severely afraid of thunder storms this summer, and have we ever had a lot!  Some weeks there has been one everyday.  He usually hides in the storage room because he thinks it is the safest place in the house.  This may be partly to blame on Jared and I because we said years ago that if ever there is a tornado in our area we would go into the storage room to hide.  He must have remembered this and to this day feels the safest in there! 

While Calum is in the storage room he usually prays.  One prayer in particular melted my heart.  He said, "I'm thankful for my daddy, he tickles me and that makes me happy.  I'm thankful for my brother and sister.  I'm thankful for my mom.  She's so pretty, she's the prettiest lady I ever saw.  I'm thankful for the rain but please make the thunder and lightening stop..."  When Jared told me this my eyes welled up with big tears.  He is the most sincere, brute of a kid I know.  He is always thinking of others and is concerned about others feelings.  Yes, he is rough and tumble and can get angry with his brother and sister, but there is also something soft about him.  The way he calls Armin his Bro and his best buddy, or the way he hugs his sister goodnight or wants to hold her hand when we are in a parking lot.  And when he said I was the prettiest lady he ever saw, boy that won him some brownie points, it melted my heart!!  It also reminded me that even if I feel down on myself I know I have a fan, who loves me for who I am.

But to get him to come out of the storage room once he has gone in is nearly impossible.  Jared pleaded with him that the whole house is safe and how he would never let anything bad happen to him.  Having finally convinced Calum to come sleep in his bed one particularly bad night only resulted in Calum running to the toilet every 10 or so minutes to dry heave. 

All I can do is love this little boy and be thankful each and everyday for the opportunity I have to teach him the true meaning of why he is here.  He brightens my day every time I look at him.  I am thankful for the opportunity I have to be his mom, to hug him and kiss him and call him my own!

Our Pinoneer Heritage

Every July 24th Latter-day Saints celebrate Pioneer Day, in honor of those who crossed from eastern United States into Utah! Lots of lives were lost and buried on the trail. Families left behind all their possessions and were expected to start from scratch. Looking back on all these people went through just for a better life I am thankful I did not live in the time of the pioneers! Yet, we are still pioneers, still paving the way for those yet to come. The world is not an easy to place to live now a days. Technology has taken control, but not totally in a bad way.  There are many good uses for technology, we can communicate instantly with family and friends from far away. Medical advances using technology have made leaps and bounds. We are encouraged to use technology for the good of mankind, to help and to serve.  

This year to honor those Pioneers we had a barbecue, and played games the pioneers would have played. It was nice getting together with fellow church members, visiting and laughing and just enjoying each other's company. Jared and I were unable to stay for the games but the boys stayed and had so much fun.  Our Bishop and our neighbour paired up with Calum and built a human pyramid and did a wheel barrow race. I was thankful for these men stepping up and filling in for us when we couldn't be there. It goes to show that I belong not just to a wonderful church but to a wonderful family of members.

I am also thankful for the pioneers and all they endured so that I can live my religion freely, their sacrifices made it possible for us to be members of such an amazing church.

Fun at Little Bow

Myrna had Liam and Jonas staying with her for a few days and since it was so hot she asked if the kids and I would like to go to the lake with her and the boys!!! After lunch we loaded up the van and headed down for some fun in the sun, or shade rather!!!!

All the boys played so good together, building sand castles and wading in the water. Only Calum and Armin got totally wet but Liam and Jonas had just as much fun getting dirty in the sand!!! We were treated by grandma to a yummy ice cream cone and ate these while the kids played on the swings!!! Liam and Armin decided they wanted to try the baby swings, they didn't fit of course but had fun trying!!

It was the perfect way to spend a hot July afternoon!!!!