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This vacation has been an incredible adventure. I can't believe we've been gone from home for so long. Our family has loved having this time together and we've had an amazing time. We are both sad and happy that today is our last full day in Ontario. Tomorrow we head home.

Nate's birthday was great. He loved having some time with people he hasn't seen in ages. There are aunts & uncles, many cousins younger and older, and family who have become friends. The Barker's are a crazy lot. The stories I've heard this weekend! Apparently they all had a little more fun at my wedding than I realized! The boys have enjoyed meeting the entire crew and have had a blast with some fun people.

Today we headed off to the scenic caves which were really interesting. It was quite a feat to walk through the moss-covered rocks and rickety stairs. There was one point called "Fat Man's Misery" where there was only 36" of clearance. Jericho and his Dad went through as I was a little nervous about the claustrophobia. Jericho loved it. He even said "This is a memory I will never forget." I think he's referring to the whole trip, because we feel the same way.

There was a little bit of worry the evening of Nate's birthday though as Jericho had a sore tummy for a few days. As he sat down to dinner, he told Nate that he was going to throw up. Nate responded with the typical parental response: "You'll be fine." Then he puked. We took turns sitting with him as he did vomit a few more times, but around 11:30 pm we started to worry as he was writhing in pain and asking us to help him. So we took him to emergency (both boys ended up in emergency on this trip!!). The doctor was kind, took his time looking him over.. but all he could deduce was that it must have been a stomach bug. No one has exhibited similar symptoms so we're hoping he was just the only one that caught it. Maybe food poisoning or something??

There is a girl here who is dating Nate's cousin and she's participated in Disney on Ice. She was Belle. The boys are enamoured with the fact that she knows Mickey and Goofy.

Our rooms are all disasters. There is a lot of stuff we need to clean so we can leave early in the morning. Then we will be on our way home.

It's been an adventurous endeavour where we've learned to hold tight to those we love, to invest time in each other; to stop and take pictures of random items along the way; to take the scenic detour whenever possible; to be silly; to relax; to give hugs whenever possible; to enjoy the afternoon and sleep-in in the morning; to listen; to dance and sing; and so many other treasures.

We love you, we miss you, and we're coming home.

Brought to you by The Blue Mountains

We have now moved an hour and half further east to a town called Collingwood. Specifically, we are nearby the local ski hill which would be severely made fun of if it was anywhere near our mountains. It's really more akin to a hill than a mountain. This weekend is the entire reason for our trek. These few days are what we travelled across Canada for. My Mother-in-law's family is getting together for the long weekend and there are many of them we haven't seen in forever. Our rental home is a tri-plex (but we're only renting two of the units) with 8 bedrooms in each side. It's massive. We are blessed as a little family to have two bedrooms!!!

Our last rental ended in an interesting way. My Father-in-law found the rental as he knew the people who lived across the street. The neighbours ended up coming over a few times and even lent Ted their motorboat! So yesterday the plan was to take most of the grandkids for a little ride. They ended up stuck in the middle of Lake Huron for a few hours. It was more difficult for me as the Mom to be waiting and worrying, but the boys had a great adventure and Jericho now mentions it to just about every stranger who says hello. They were amazingly rescued by a sailboat named Sea Biscuit. These kind strangers pulled in the broken motorboat.... well maybe not pulled as much as tugged along at a snail's pace. It's really too bad they weren't rescued by someone travelling maybe a tiny bit faster. When my Dad heard this news he asked if we were sure it wasn't a rowboat.

*** This little bit is for my Dad****

My Dad would hate Ontario. Yes, it's beautiful and I'm sure he would find some fun stuff to do. There are some lovely wind turbines and gigantic combines and other bits of machinery he would love to look at. BUT - in the past week I have seen about 10 Tim Hortons and ZERO Starbucks!!! Horrors!!

*** OK - all done : )

Another interesting end to the cousins adventure was the washing machine quitting. Do you know how much laundry is produced with 13 people, 5 of those people being small children who are going to the beach everyday? I'll tell you, it's a lot. Ample. Oodles. Apparently it was too much for the archaic machine in the rental house. It reached the end of it's proverbial rope.

I asked Nate tonight if this is a good length of time for a vacation. He smiled and said that yes, he's had a great time. Tomorrow is his birthday, my husband is turning 34. We don't have plans for the day as of yet, but tonight we took the family to Swiss Chalet to celebrate as we had a few more gift certificates left.

Clementine is doing well too, but I think she's itching to get on the road again. She stalled a few times during the days we didn't travel far. We're still getting looks all the time and little kids waving at us. It's been a blast.

Cousin Adventures Continue...

The past few days have been filled with the following: beaches, sand, sun, laughter, chiding, crying, jumping, singing, dancing, playing, sea gull chasing, swimming, sand castles and sand dragons, movies, food, 8 adults parenting 5 children, rain, laundry, indecision over what to do, pictures, reading and fun.

We usually start the day with Jericho and his grandparents being up first. There are 3 bedrooms in this place and 4 family units. Greg & Sam have the downstairs bedroom with Malik and Ashiah, Dave & Noel have one upstairs bedroom with Daveigh, we are in a bedroom with three single beds, and Ted & Marie are in the open atrium on an air mattress. It’s crowded and each room has it’s own limitations, but most of us tend to sleep until at least 9 am. Jericho is an early riser compared to everyone else and soon the entire place is up.

At some point we decide whether or not we want to head to the beach and then work hard to pick a good one. Each beach in the area has good points and bad ones. Singing Sands is a bit too far, so we haven’t head there yet. Lion’s Head is a great beach for the kids with shade and it’s usually quiet, but the water is frigid. Sauble Beach is nice with sand for miles and beautiful water, but parking is expensive and it’s always crowded. This morning we didn’t even have crepes made by Uncle Greg until 11 am!

For the past two days, we’ve packed a lunch and headed to the beach. It usually wears the children out nicely to play hard for a few hours in the heat. The kids all play so great together.

Today we ended up splitting into two groups. Greg & Sam went with Grandpa for a hike in Lions Head while the rest of us went to the playground. We had fun until the daycare centre showed up with 20 plus kids! It was a very laid back day. Nate made an amazing soup for dinner, and we had a campfire on the beach complete with smores, sing-a-longs, and sparklers. Uncle Greg even did a little magic that made the fire change colours!!

Of all the cousins, Jericho stayed up the latest and went to bed at 10:30. It’s been fun week so far, only a few more days to go : (

For those who are missing us, the boys have been very homesick, especially Jericho. He misses his toys.

The Day the Cousins Arrived!!!

I realized that I haven’t explained what it’s like driving around in the van. Due to the fact that there is zero air conditioning, all the windows are down. The motor is in the back and quite loud. So while we drive down the road, it’s quite difficult to hear if there are any issues in the backseat. I can hear “Mommy!!” once in awhile and “Help!!” or whatever, but a lot of the time it takes ages to find out what the problem is. Whichever parent is not driving, ends up walking to the backseat to figure things out. Not the safest, but unless we figure out a different mode of conversation we’ll need to make do.

Today was a very exciting day for my son. He woke up at 7:30, hoping his cousins were here. We had to explain that they were due to arrive this evening. But Daddy made a great breakfast and we tried to organize what we wanted to do for the day. Mommy & Daddy cleaned Clementine inside and out and found a moldy laundry line which may have been the reason it was so stinky. Then we headed to the car wash and finished the job. Meanwhile, Grandma & Grandpa were adventurous and took the boys to the grocery store.

We received a call that the rental house would be receiving a showing at 1:30 as the owners had been trying to sell this place for awhile (it’s quite nice if anyone is looking!!) so we made plans to go to Sauble Beach. I had no idea what to expect, but as we drove into town and saw the lines and lines of cars and the packed beach, we remembered that it was a Saturday. The sign as we drove up said “Welcome to the best beach in Ontario. It was stunning, I admit… but incredibly busy.

The beach went on and on for miles and the sand was gorgeous. The water was warm with some waves which brought much joy to the kids. It was a fun couple of hours until we returned to our vehicles to find a pair of parking tickets. Apparently we didn’t park on the proper angle, which is hard to do if the vehicles on either side are a certain way. Nate and his Dad are both refusing to pay. Here, here!!

Ashiah made her arrival not long after we returned from the beach and Jericho was elated. He hugged her, gave her a birthday present, and happily played with her and her cousin Malech who has also joined us for the week. Malech happens to be 5 days older than Jericho and gets along spendidly with my boys.

But we noticed that due to the fact the boys went to bed at 11 pm last night, they needed to go to bed on time tonight before their other cousin arrived and while Malech and Ashiah continued to play.. which is a little sad, but we know what works for them – enough sleep!!

So we’ll see how tomorrow goes, should be fun!!!

Family Week!

When we started out planning this trip, we really weren’t sure what to expect. Since I was a small child I’ve always struggled with motion sickness. A road trip across Canada doesn’t seem like the brightest idea when driving a short distance sometimes makes me puke. The beauty of Clementine is that she doesn’t seem to go fast enough for that to be a problem. There was only one day where I felt sick and it was because I was reading in the backseat! Honestly, the entire experience as of yet has exceeded my expectations, in spite of one bad night. The boys have been well-behaved, my husband has had the ability to relax and I have realized that camping isn’t bad. I only wish I could somehow eradicate all mosquitoes.

Today was laid back. We did a bunch of laundry, hit the beach a few times and enjoyed a fun dinner with Grandma and Grandpa! We’ve rented a house for a week with Nate’s family. So far it’s just his parents and us; with his siblings arriving tomorrow. We were expecting Ashiah today and had to let Jericho know they’ve been delayed until tomorrow. He was sad for a bit, but he has now moved “the best day ever” to tomorrow (due to her arrival).

There was much deliberation that occurred with the selection of our rental as we are a large crew. It was hard to find a place that worked for everyone and in the end this place fell in our lap. It’s really quite nice. There’s a large deck with a view of the lake and a path down to the water. Jer and Kai are quite excited about the bunk beds and the rest of us will figure out how to squeeze in.

Malachi has been quite the ham lately. He had the chef of our amazing fish and chips lunch wrapped around his finger. I was horrified when he asked her why her tummy was sooo big (it was), but she was gracious and sat down next to him and chatted him up. At dinner he had the waitress smiling and commenting on how cute he was. While at the grocery store, Jericho introduced him as the little guy and Kai proceeded to show off his karate skills. I need to get him in some classes because he’s so funny!

There is also someone else in our party who is receiving a lot of attention. Clementine gets many stares, smiles and comments. On the road she gets honks and waves (most of them nice). At one point there were three people talking to Nate about what year she was and how long he’d had her, etc. Bruce’s Peninsula apparently likes their Westfalia’s! We also caught a glimpse of Petunia on our way home from dinner tonight. Funny how I use the term home, considering our home has had wheels for the last few months.

After I had blogged last night, the boys were in their motel bed telling each other stories. Jericho had scammed Malachi into telling most of them. It was hilarious. One of them involved a giraffe being eaten by a bear. Then a duck came along and she was also eaten by the bear. Then the bear ate a light and the light lit up the bear’s tummy. Seriously. Jericho kept insisting on a story about a rescue dog throwing an airplane back into the sky. Where did I get these kids? There ideas have been crazy of late. Currently their favourite game is ‘flood;’ Noah style. “Everyone run, all the animals are dying and and…..” the antics continue with zany craziness. Boys will be boys.

Tomorrow is a sad day, it’s my cousin’s funeral and I’m not able to be there or with my family. I’ll think of all of you and wish I was there to give hugs and remember Mike. He was a great kid and a fun cousin! It’s surreal to think that he’s gone.

Research

We didn't travel much today and soon you will find out why. Yes, we found a wondrous campsite last night and we were very excited about it. But Nate and I each only slept about 2 hours the entire night. Between the sweltering heat and the inability to open too many windows due to swarms of mosquitoes and a little one who had a few too many nightmares... it was an unpleasant way to spend a night to say the least.

The irony is that we looked for the perfect campsite where we could put up camp for a few days and just relax. If it wasn't for the heat and the bugs, it would be paradise I'm sure. So we decided that tonight was destined to be a hotel night. There's no way we will risk our rest for a second night in a row. It was difficult to choose a place as we weren't sure what we were looking for. At first we thought it would be good to find an indoor pool so the boys could swim with their lifejackets and we could chill by the side of the pool.. but there weren't many hotels that offered that as an amenity. We stopped by one place that had a huge indoor pool, but the parking lot was empty as was the restaurant in a very touristy town named Tobermorey, the top of Bruce's Peninsula. The next motel I stopped at was full, and as I asked for recommendations she said "Whatever you do, don't go next door." Sure enough when we googled reviews on the place we had just visited, they had received a tonne of negative comments.

So we skipped the pool and headed for a newer motel which actually looks more like a large house. Any Maple Ridge folks would akin it to the place next to the Pumpkin Patch, but this one is much nicer. There's a koi pond and a hot tub and the beds, bathroom and entire room is beautiful.

We really needed a break after last night and we're praying for plenty of sleep tonight. Thank goodness for windows, walls, air conditioning, and huge double beds!!

July 20th Belated

Distance Travelled: 465 kms

Today was a whirlwind. Our only goal was to make it across the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry to Tobermorey and once that was accomplished we had no idea what to do with ourselves.

Thanks to Google, we’ve found a little piece of heaven off the beaten track. We’re in a little place called Miller Lake on the Bruce Peninsula about 35 minutes off the ferry. For a little while we had started to doubt the GPS, but just because there’s a dirt road doesn’t mean there isn’t something worthwhile at the end. Now, I will say we have yet to encounter a campsite with mosquitoes this bad. There were actually swarms of them and it did take us about 30 minutes to find all those bloodsuckers in Clementine. In spite of that… the owner is absolutely the nicest lady and our site is incredibly private and quiet.

The trees are rustling once more outside (there is no way I’m going back out there!!) and I’m sitting with Clemie waiting for the boys to doze off while Nate takes a shower. It would appear that for today, we are still on BC time as it’s currently after 11 pm.

We bought both breakfast and lunch today in our haste to make the 5:50 pm ferry, as the next one would have been 10 pm! As we pulled up at Wendy’s, though we found Clementine’s long lost older sister, Petunia! She was the same colour and everything. The owners asked if we were planning on heading up to Serpent River as that’s where a large gathering of VW buses was taking place. As tempted as we were, we really needed to find a place to stay on the other side of the ferry to allow the boys less time in the van. They were so nice and even had two sons of their own!

The ferry ride was interesting. Nothing at all like BC Ferries, in many respects. The boat was much smaller, but somehow looked huge. There was also much pomp and circumstance to each arrival and departure. In BC, it happens all the time so people don’t tend to wave, honk, etc.. but after this ride they sure did! There also seemed to be a lot of alcohol consumed on this boat which didn’t seem like the smartest of ideas. Jericho and I went outside at one point to take a few pictures of this beautiful lighthouse and when we were making our way back inside, we saw this little girl of about 4 or 5 crying. I asked if she was going in or out (as she seemed to gotten stuck between the two sets of doors) and she sobbed that she wanted to go outside. Then I asked if she needed help finding her Mom and she nodded through tears. So Jericho and I took her to the crew member nearby and Malachi noticed the excitement and tagged along. As we were walking towards the play area her Father came up and hugged her, letting her know he’d been so worried. I watched for a moment as I saw the woman I recognized as her Mom (it was a small boat) as she just sat there and watched her daughter sob to her Dad. Maybe it’s just me, but if my child had been missing, I might have made a little bit more of a scene!

We are very close to the end of our journey on this end. In fact, if the mosquitoes weren’t so bad, we might just stay here until Friday evening. The place we are staying at with Nate’s family from July 22 – 29^th is about 45 minutes from here. So on one hand it seems silly to venture far from the area. But on the other hand, I was so looking forward to seeing the Niagara area once again and showing the Falls to the boys. We’ll see how we feel tomorrow.

Thank-you to those who have sent notes saying you miss us. We miss everyone back home too! We felt we were being reminded of home often today as we passed by Maple Ridge Road as well as Maple Ridge Campgrounds, and they were both hours apart from one another! At this point I need to send a special note of condolence to my aunt as there doesn’t seem to be a way for me to travel back for my cousin’s funeral. This breaks my heart, and I hope she understands.

Until I write again…

Land of Lakes

We are alive in the land of lakes. Some 620 km from were we started. We are perched on the edge of Batchawana bay, off Lake Superior. Nearest town: Sault Ste. Marie the place of my birth. I have zero recollection of this city, these parts, or this area in general. I left as an infant and to the best of my knowledge this is the first time I have ventured back since.

This is the land of lakes. They are everywhere. There is some irony in the lakes and their names. Are these done on a whim, without a second thought or does someone devote serious time to coming up with east lake, white lake, little lake, and catfish lake? I wonder if some of this is purposeful or just happenstance:

1. why is orphan lake next to mommy and baby lake?
2. would you sit and ponder life beside desolation lake?
3. would you care to skinny dip in fungus lake?

In all seriousness this is some beautiful country and we are having a splendid time. I've gotten emails and notes with anecdotes like "hope your vacation is going well" or "hope you are having a great time." Vacations like life are not a destination, but an experience. We are called to suck the marrow out of each moment of life, not to arrive at some destination and experience accomplishment. Vacation is the same. Joy is caught up in simple moments of smiles, laughs and experience. We have ventured far, but it is not the distance that makes this vacation of value. It is the moments along the way that make heavy burdens lighter, that raise hopes to the goodness of people where joy can spring from within and not be a distant thought.

I listened to our neighbour last night. Grandpa yelled, was sarcastic, chided his wife, daughter and grand children at each turn. The only one who got a gentle voice was the dog. Sad irony. I wanted to tell him not to take out his own short comings on small children. To value the wife who stood beside him. I wanted to tell him that he should consider himself lucky in a world of death and sorrow to be surrounded by family. Instead when we met I made small talk and broke off our conversation. I was sad for him, not because his life was horrid, but because he was squashing all the simple moments with family that make life epic.

Our favourite part of the day was a simple game of tag. It was better then drumheller, or the zoo. We splashed in the warm waters of lake superior late at night and laughed and laughed at the silly antics. We were, together, happy and enjoying each others presence. There was nothing that could have made that moment better.

In the end I am sure that the miles driven, tanks filled, items lost will pale in comparison to the moments lived. I often reflect that "this is all we get." If we miss these moments, then we arrive at the end empty. This is far to philosophical and deep, but I cannot help where a nameless grandpa pushed my thoughts: Life is too short to yell. Life is too short to mistreat. Those things suck the very essence out of what we are given in each other.

“I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately,

I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life,

To put to rout all that was not life

and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

This vacation is about little moments and that is what makes it epic.

July 18th, Belated

Distance travelled: 414 kms

Highlights: happy goodbye's to each grandparent, a tour of a hospital (grandma's work!), roasting marshmallows and actually eating them, deer up close!!

Jericho's fave: first sparkler's from our camping neighbours

Jericho's least fave: getting a small burn from his first sparker

Malachi's fave: swimming in Marie Louise Lake at our campsite

Wildlife spotted: two deer, one WAY up close

We had planned to leave Dryden around 9 am, but didn't get out of town until 10. I even managed to forget my book and cherries at the in-laws. Oh well... it's not an adventure without forgetting a few things along the way. So far we've lost: a Blackberry charger, Malachi's green flip flops (had to buy him new ones that were blue that he doesn't love as much.. and even now we're missing one once again), Malachi's care card at the Portage La Prairie hospital, my purse and Dan & Sarah's - we turned back, and Malachi's sunglasses at Dan & Sarah's. Most items seem to belong to Malachi or myself, forgetfulness must be hereditary.

Saying goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa wasn't hard at all, not because we won't miss them, but because we'll see them on Friday! We had a great stay and felt incredibly well rested. I went to wake up a 3 year old boy who seemed intent on missing our departure. He woke up, looked at me snuggling him and said "I have something to say. Thank-you for snuggling me." I have to say it's a pretty amazing way to wake up. Being appreciated sure goes a long way.

After a quick breakfast and stops at both the church and hospital to say our goodbyes, we had to head out of Dryden the scenic route as there was a serious looking accident on our highway. We were in good spirits though and nothing was removing the smiles from our faces. Except when we took a look around and noticed a low cloud of hovering smoke. There are quite a few news stories on about many forest fires in Northern Ontario, many of them were close to where we have been travelling. It's hard to imagine the work the firefighters need to accomplish to help extinguish these fires. The maid of honour from the wedding we attended on Saturday was flown out of Dryden on Sunday morning to fight fires.

Our itinerary entailed a solid 6 hours of driving to arrive at the Sleeping Giant campground. We had hoped to set up camp around 4 pm, but due to losing an hour (We're now 3 hours ahead of BC time) and the campground being 30 kms off the highway, we didn't arrive until 6:30. Luckily we had stopped in Thunder Bay for some hamburger fixings and had a quick dinner before driving down to the lake for a swim. The drive had been sweltering, most of our clothes were soaked from the heat. It was by far the hottest drive we've encountered so far and there were a few moments we wished for air conditioning... but swimming in Marie Louise Lake was that cool-down we had been hoping for. It was the perfect end to the day. But walking from the lake to the car, we all managed to get a little dirty. So I held the boys up front with me while Nate drove slowly through the campground. I could feel the glances of those grandmother types, but we just waved. We drove straight to the showers and I dressed the boys for bed.

But once we were back at the campsite, it didn't seem like the time for bed quite yet. So we started a fire and gathered some sticks for roasting marshmallows. When we attempted this in Banff, both boys preferred the non-roasted kind. But Jericho in particular took great joy in making his marshmallow 'golden'. Once the bag was empty and Nate was done burning his hand and whacking me with his stick, we started to get things ready for bed. That was when the neighbour walked over with glow sticks and sparklers for the boys. They had already started to go 'upstairs' but I let them come out just to light the sparklers. Nate had the camera ready and I lit them. The boys were so cute. They walked over to the neighbour kids and shared the glee. As soon as the light when out, however, Jericho touched his stick out of confusion and managed to burn his finger. So we had him stick his hand on the block of ice in the cooler while I told stories of my own childhood tragedies involving sparklers. Ok, there was only one.

I think it was soon after this that Nate and Malachi had spotted a deer on their way back from the bathroom. They told us to come quietly and with the camera we walked right up to her and snapped a bunch of pictures before she decided it was time to move on. The boys had never been that close to a deer, even though they are around our home often.

The boys sleeping, I read my book for awhile as Nate finished up some work stuff and before we knew it, it was 11 pm. Darn time change. That would be the end of the blog, except we had some weird experience in the middle of the night. Around 4 am, Nate woke up and told me that someone had banged on our tent canopy (top part of van where boys sleep) as they walked by. He couldn't see anyone, nor did he see them do it, but he heard it distinctly and he could still hear someone outside. Needless to say, we were both a little freaked out. He got out his trusty headlight and investigated. Nothing but a deer. But he's certain there were some shenanigans afoot. To say I'm glad I have a brave husband is a bit of an understatement.

*** This blog post is a day late due to zero internet access in the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park.. so please send all complaints in that direction.

First Tornado Scare!

Distance travelled: From here to church and the lake
Highlights: middle of the night wake-up call, church with the in-laws, swimming at the lake, and mini-cherry pie... what? They were good!
Jericho's fave: The walk he's on right this very second with his grandparents
Malachi's face: probably the pickles he had for lunch.

Nate and I slept downstairs last night and left the boys upstairs next to Grandpa & Grandma's room. We were both sleeping soundly when all of a sudden there were 4 extra people in our room and two of them were plopped in our bed. I was so confused until I looked outside. All I could see was constant lightening. My MIL told me that they were very concerned as the wind had come very quickly and out of concern of a tornado warning, they brought the boys downstairs.

It was amazing to look outside and see the trees blowing like mad and to see these flashes of light every few seconds but to hear no thunder at all. At one point it was eerily quiet. I will admit to being a wee bit fearful for a few minutes there, but before we knew it everything was normal once more. When we checked out the weather warnings all it would say was "severe thunderstorms" so once it calmed down we were just thankful.

Then this morning when my FIL arrived at his church, he received a phonecall from one of his parishioners that their home had sustained some damage from a tornado! And there were a few homes with major damage, but no injuries were reported. Apparently it touched down only 10 minutes from where we were. As scary and exciting as it was, I hope that's the closest me and my family ever are to a tornado.

We barely made it to church on time, which isn't great if you're related to the pastor! But we took our seats and enjoyed the service. They even prayed for my family and the loss of Michael which was nice. There was a couple in church today who had lost their 50 year old son the same day and he had also died in his sleep. It was nice as the sermon was broken up into three segments and two students preached the first two segments. I enjoyed it.

After church we came back to try and cool off and finally headed to the Ghost Lake for a swim. I love the feeling of swimming in cold water on a hot day. The boys had a great time and even enjoyed being thrown in the water a few times. We still can't get over how much better they are at swimming. I told Malachi today that I was so proud of him as he kicked towards me in his lifejacket, out quite deep in the water. He said it was because he's been to swimming lessons. Jericho can go under water and kick himself forward for awhile, but sometimes he overthinks it and starts to doubt himself. Malachi doesn't think.

At lunch today Jericho asked his grandparents if they could please move next to our house, and Malachi told Grandpa that he loved his church. I hope my FIL and MIL have enjoyed us being here, because my children adore them. They will likely enjoy the silence though as the boys love "playing" their piano, organ and toy cymbals.

Clementine is all cleaned out and ready to go. We even fixed an issue with the fuel line below. She seemed to be leaking gas, but all is well. And once we get home we need to order a new door handle as the indoor sliding one is now broken. When something is older, it's just a little more fragile. Hopefully we don't miss air conditioning too much on our next leg of the journey. We're heading to Sleeping Giant Provincial Park outside of Thunder Bay for tomorrow night and from there headed towards Nate's birthplace. Can anyone guess where that might be?

It's a no picture day as not many were taken, but I'll do another picture post if I have good internet access tomorrow.

Picture Post

Heat Wave!!

Distance travelled: a very short jaunt to Minnitaki for a country wedding!

Highlights: sleeping well, a parade of music brought to you by Jericho and his Grandma, a swimming pool in between a very hot wedding ceremony and the reception.

Jericho's fave: walking Clover the dog during the wedding reception and eating cake!

Malachi's fave: jumping in the pool over and over and over.

I woke up next to a little blonde dude. His pillow was spotted with flecks of blood, so nasty. His head looks much better today and we were able to get it wet, which turned out to be a huge blessing in the middle of this heat. It's HOT!!

Jericho convinced Grandma to go on a music parade where they went into the backyard and proceeded to make plenty of noise on some instruments which look like they have seen their share of playtime. Jericho chose the cymbals (who wouldn't?) and Grandma followed faithfully banging on the drum. It made me winsome. The boys adore their 'faraway' grandparents and it's so nice when they get to spend time with them.

A few weeks ago when we first were talking to my Mother-in-law about coming to stay, she sent a message letting us know that a young lady from their church was getting married on one of the days we would be here. The bride learned that we would be in town and let us know she would love to have us there as part of her day. It was a lovely outdoor wedding set outside a beautiful 'country house'. Amber wed Yon in a simple ceremony performed by my Father-in-law. Have you ever noticed how 'the bride' always seems to glow? This one was no exception. Nate had described her to me as a country bumpkin so when this gorgeous woman stepped out the car, she actually took my breath away. There's just something about a bride on her wedding day.

Seeing as it was set in the country, it was very casual. As we pulled up, Jericho asked if he and his brother were due to be the ring bearers. Marie said they could offer their services, but the opportunity never afforded itself. There was a great swimming pool which offered some relief to those of us who were melting. The boys had a great cool-off. Dinner was just what you would imagine, potluck all the way, with a large pig roasted for the occasion. Everything tasted amazing.

I felt fortunate to have a glimpse into this family. They reminded me so much of my own. I wish them both the very best.

We will be staying here tomorrow as well, Grandma is teaching Sunday School and looking forward to talking about Joshua and the Battle of Jericho! Unfortunately, we will need to leave 'the place of never-ending free showers and comfy beds with clean clothes whenever you want and home-made meals' on the morning of the 18th. From there we will head for Niagara Falls. I need to mapquest the campsites I had planned on staying at once more and make sure we can make point A to B on Clementine-time.

Keep praying for us that we would stay safe and no more injuries!! Malachi should be renamed "Calamity Joe" or something as he slammed the door on his foot this morning. Crazy kid.

Here We Go to Grandma's House!!

Distance travelled: 445 kms

Jericho's favorite: Arriving at Grandma & Grandpa's house!!

Malachi's favorite: much of the same!

This morning began with a crazy rainstorm around 6:30 am. Nate and I took one look at each other, took stock of the time, and promptly went back to sleep. We should have maybe checked outside and brought in all the shoes!! Last night I was only seeing the beauty of the campsite, this morning it was not so great.

Don't get me wrong, breakfast was great. The boys were happily playing, but all I could see was the dirt, mud and nastiness. I made an executive decision. I told Nate we needed to pack up everything in the van and then clean the boys and ourselves as best we could. We even had to throw out our red rug as it was colouring everything in sight bright red. We worked hard and eventually headed to the showers. I told Nate I would bring Clementine by as soon as they were done showering and no one would get dirty. Imagine my frustration when I spotted Jericho running towards me in his flip flops through the mud yelling "Stop Mommy!!" I thought I had made it clear I would pick them up... then Jericho said that Malachi was hurt and I needed to get to the bathroom right away. I let him in the van and drove quickly through the campsite. My heart was in my throat as I rounded a corner and saw Nate snuggling my baby with a towel held on his head. As soon as I pulled up, he said we needed to get to a hospital and Malachi would need stitches. I ran in the men's room to get everything they had left behind in haste and we were off. Luckily the Portage La Prairie hospital was only 12 minutes away.

We also lucked out in receiving treatment quickly. The doctor glued Malachi's owie instead of giving him stitches. I was relieved. They gave us a list of symptoms to watch for due to the fact that it was a head injury. He had come out of the shower and slipped and fell right on the back of his head, resulting in a large gash which still happens to be slowly bleeding. Lovely.

We drove on to Winnipeg and enjoyed a free lunch at Kelsey's, thanks to some gift cards from airmiles. If you're considering a road trip and have some extra airmiles, redeem some for gas cards!! We have managed to pay for gas twice.

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. It was important to arrive in Dryden before dusk as Highway 17 is notorious for moose crossing the road. So we drove on and on.

As soon as we pulled in the driveway, the boys ran to their grandparents as fast as they could. It's been way too long and they really missed them. We will be here for a few days just taking a break and visiting. I would post some pictures from today, but I'm having some internet issues.

Love reading your comments!! Thanks so much for your love and prayers yesterday!!

Sadness Looms, Adventure Zooms

Distance Travelled: 555 kms

Highlights: waking up feeling refreshed and ready for the day, a close encounter with a spray airplane, searching for both lunch and a campsite

Jericho's fave: the airplane!!

Malachi's fave: watching a few more trains

You are Where? Portage La Prairie, MB!!

Not long after we woke up this morning, I went on my phone and learned that my younger cousin, Michael, had passed away in his sleep. I called my Mom right away and asked her to confirm it and she did. Within 30 minutes I heard from both my brothers and my best friend. Now, he lived in Kamloops and before I was married, we travelled every year at Christmastime to visit him and his family. I don't get to see everyone as much as I'd like to now, but with Facebook, I saw what Michael was excited about or discouraged with. We had a kinship when it came to our Vancouver Canucks. I don't know many people besides myself who love them more than I do. Mike was a big guy with an even bigger heart, if that's possible. I always had an appreciation for the way he interacted with his Mom. He was a great son.

I'm still in a bit of shock as this happened suddenly and I still don't know why or how. But I am holding up his Mom, Dad, brothers, and sister-in-law Amanda in my prayers. I don't know what to do about the service as I wish to be there with my family, but I'm in the middle of this journey with my family and I feel stuck. We've spoken briefly about what may happen, but it's hard to make plans when we don't know the timing of such things. If it works out, I would love to travel back to BC for a day and be with my family and hug my aunt. If not, there will be plenty of people there to love on her and as she loves letters, I will write the longest condolence letter I can. Pray that I can make the right decision.

In spite of all the commotion in my head during this tragedy, we are still well. We enjoyed a late breakfast and pressed onwards to Manitoba. In spite of what everyone says about Saskatchewan, I found it incredibly scenic. Their provincial slogan of "Land of the Living Skies" really is appropriate. The sunset I saw last night took my breath away. The canola flowers laid out beneath the blue, cloud-filled sky is like a painting. I don't think I saw a single wheat field, but it may still be early. The twists and turns in the road were much more adventurous than what I had pictured.

And now I am in the birth-Province of my Mother. It feels surreal. This is where she was born and raised. It feels like another country almost. So different from what I know as home. I am sitting outdoors at 10:23 pm and not a single mosquito bite have I received this evening! Is this really Manitoba? It's a beautiful night - warm with a slight breeze. The trees are singing a rustling song. Almost like a lullaby.

The boys were pretty good today, but we did lose both iPod's down the sides of the bench seat. It took Nate awhile to find mine so we're working to find a solution to that problem. It would be easy to say "no more iPods," but I sometimes enjoy the rumbling silence.

We had to buy Jericho new shoes today. As I threw out the old ones I realized how baby-ish they looked compared to the ones he now owns. How can this child be growing up so fast? My brain cannot comprehend the thought that he will be attending kindergarten in the Fall. A few times on this trip I have caught myself staring at him, wondering where he came from. I honestly think he is one of the most beautiful kids I have ever set eyes on. His brother is adorable, but he is simply beautiful. And the way he talks to adults!!

"Excuse me, why did that family not eat their dessert?"

"Hello! I have a sabre-tooth Tiger from the Dinosaur Museum"

And as we were frantically trying to find a campsite tonight, he looked at a hotel as we drove passed and exclaimed that it looked familiar. He even knew what familiar meant.

Tomorrow our plan is to get to Dryden. The boys are very excited at the prospect of catching up with faraway G'ma and G'pa!! We were hoping to be able to catch Rachel in Winkler somehow, but it may be too far out of the way, which makes me sad.

Anyway, I am tired and think I did just feel a mosquito so I think I will leave you until tomorrow...

One Week

Distance Travelled: 641 km!!! Personal best!

Highlights: Royal Tyrell Museum, huge thunderstorm, trains galore, and lots of driving

You are Where? Comfort Inn, Moose Jaw, SK (Yep, we are SOOO cheating!!)

Jericho's favorite: Dinosaurs Museum

Malachi's favorite: Same.

One week ago we embarked on this crazy adventure. As I sat in the back of the van with Malachi playing Uno as Nate drove I realized that these memories are going to last awhile. It was a very full driving day in spite of not leaving Drumheller until 1:30 pm. We were able to just go and 'git er done' as some might say.

The museum was incredible. To think of all the work that went into finding each one of those fossils and such. And to put each piece back the way God made it. The boys had so many questions and we just didn't have enough answers, but we will try our best to answer what we can as we learn more. So much of what I learned about dinosaurs seems to have changed. Too many species I have simply never heard of!

We didn't rush through the exhibits, but we went through and read what we could and did puzzles if we had a moment. Both kids were fascinated. They are about the perfect age for dinosaurs.

From there we stopped for lunch at Boston Pizza and proceeded to get on the road as quick as we could. It seems that Jer may be going through a growth spurt or something. I'm sure he ate about 10 percent of our snack foods. Chips, fruit snacks, granola bars, etc. Nate said he seems to be hollow today, nothing would stop his hunger. He even ate his entire dinner too!!

A Malachi-ism:

"Mommy, make sure you don't eat the ditches!!" - While I finished a plum.

I wish I could write more and maybe be a bit more descriptive and well-written, but my entire family is sleeping in these great big beautiful beds that look so comfy and well...zzzzzzz