Sunday, July 19, 2009
Summer Fun in Vernon
I was brave, or so I've been told, to make the trip up to Andrea's by myself with the kids. It all started with me not making it on the ferry. I got there in time to make it on the ferry but alas, the starting point at which they stopped letting people on was one vehicle in front of me. I was the second. So I had to wait 3 hrs in the boiling sun with my two boys, who could have been having naps at home. Also, I was in such a hurry to leave that I didn't eat lunch. It really really sucked...One more thing before I move on- when it did come time to board the ferry, my car wouldn't start. Well, it wouldn't be a true Clarke vacation if such things didn't happen, right?
The point is, I made it here and have been having fun ever since. Here are the things we've been doing:
-I arrived Friday afternoon. Upon our arrival, Adriel got a grand tour of all the animals. He loves it here. He is not going to want to go home!
-Andrea finished cleaning the floors and bathroom and we went straight to Kal lake. It's a beautiful turquoisey lake right by her house. It stays shallow for a while which was perfect for Adriel and we had fun playing and splashing around.
-By the time we got home it was dinner time and we were starving but we didn't have dinner ready. Andrea bbq'd steaks and baked potatoes. It was really really good. It was 8 by the time we ate.
-Adriel and Sloan went to bed at the same time. It was a relief, I needed a break.
-It was still really hot, so Andrea and I went for a night swim. Just as we got the lake the sun was going down and the stars were coming out. It was chillier down by the water, and as you all know I'm a total wimp. Once we were in for a little while, I was cold. Before I got out, Andrea said I needed to lie on my back and look up at the stars and mountains surrounding us. It was a little cold on the head but so beautiful. Andrea insisted that I would thank her later for it, and it was true. I went to bed not feeling hot at all, with wet hair, and woke up later in the night totally hot and sweaty.
-Adriel woke up in the morning and got to go out and help Andrea with her morning farm chores. He LOVES it!! I like it too, because I get to sleep. (unfortunately this morning he woke Sloan up on his way out, and thus I'm awake and writing this now.)
-We made our way back to the lake, but we had to leave early to get Rhiannon.
-we came back and had lunch. Andrea fried up zucchini in butter and spices and parmesan cheese- it was really good.
-we had naps. needed naps
-we went back to the lake (what? it's fun and Adriel loves it) This time it was a little cloudy and windy. Stormyish. I wasn't as into the swimming thing. One thing that makes the lake challenging is Sloan. Either someone has to stay on the beach with him or else bring him in the water, he doesnt mind his feet in, but anymore than that, he doesn't seem too fond of.
-Andrea keeps commenting on how huge Adriel's head is.
-She then said mine was huge too. Since when?
-We got ready and went out with Andrea's friend Monique and other women for Indian food. There were a bunch of us and we all ordered things and shared. It was really good. Sloan wasn't though. He was tired and fussy, and it wasn't until I was almost finished eating that he finally fell asleep.
-We bought chocolate
-we put kids to bed and watched Music and Lyrics in which one of my favourite lines is "I give up! My face is in the butter!"
-Bed which was late
- and then morning which is early, and that brings us up to date.
-anyhooters
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Sarahstottle posted @ 6:42 AM
Saturday, July 11, 2009
I don't know why that link doesn't work. Let's try it again kylesnewlife.blogspot.com
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Sarahstottle posted @ 4:55 PM
Thursday, July 09, 2009
I almost forgot. Kyle started a blog a while back, and he's only written in it once, but he just recently made it so others can view it. The address is kylesnewlife.blogspot.com. Thought I'd let you all know in case you're interested.
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Sarahstottle posted @ 9:37 PM
Friday, July 03, 2009
It's weird having a holiday in the middle of the week. It gets my days all confused. Like today is Friday. Who knew that Friday could come right after the weekend? That's what it feels like. My Canada day was fun.
It started out in the morning, as most days do. Kyle and I decided to go for breakfast at McDonalds since they owed me a free meal. The manager gave us the whole thing for free though, which was nice. Kyle had to spend an hour on homework and suggested that I go do something. I suggested getting a new bathing suit, because, well it was due, and Katie called me the night before telling me about the one she got, and about a particular cute one she thought I'd like. Last time I got a new suit was the same time Katie did, and so if she got a new one, I needed one too. Kyle obliged. I met Katie at the mall. We first went to Swim wear and co. (or something like that). It was the store that Katie bought her suit from. I'd heard things about this store, such as there are suits that suck in the tummy and stuff. It was expensive though. Like in some instances, just the top was 100 buckeroos. Although, print wise there weren't that many that caught my eye, I chose three to try on. One was a tankini with a skirt. The print on it wasn't my fave, but the tank was nice and long which is favourable. One was a tank and short combo, and the other a cute red retro one piece. The nice thing about that store is that all the bathing suits I tried on weren't ill fitting, and had good support. Good support is important for those sorts of things. I decided to go to the other store, Aqua La Vie En Rose before making my desicion. In that store, we found many combos of really cute materials. Katie was a big help, holding Sloan, getting the right sizes, etc. But nothing worked. The tops did unkind things to my boobs. Squishing them out sideways and such. So it was basically between two in the other store. Katie was very helpful and patient with me (unlike a certain husband) while I hummed and hawed and was completely torn and undecided. I just want to say that it's SO nice to have a sister along to help with such decisions. I can't do it by myself. I need other opinions to sway my decision. I think as sisters we understand this about eachother. I can take a really long time to choose things. I decided on the red retro. I still feel a little unsure about it. I don't want to feel unsure because its one of those bathing suits that should be worn proudly.
I went home feeling excited about my purchase. Kyle fixed that, by getting upset at how much I spent. He doesn't understand that bathing suits are usually an expensive purchase. Especially if you don't want it to fall apart quickly. It had been five years since my last one. Come on. Then I felt guilty and thought that maybe I had been to0 frivilous. I didn't HAVE to have a new suit. My other one, although old and faded, was still wearable, as long as I wore a tank over top. My suit was 80 and with tax it was more like 90. Kyle asked me how much Katie's was. It was 35 and on sale. Of course that made me look worse. I sat around feeling sad and guilty
A little while later after the kids were in bed, Kyle pulled me onto his lap and cuddled with me on the couch and apologized for getting upset with me. So, it all got better in the end.
When the chilns woke we headed out to Parksville beach for our annual tradition for Canada Day. We spend the day at the beach and then hang around for the fireworks with none other than my very special sister Katie. and Brent and kids. The park was packed this year. Every year it gets more and more crazy. This year they had all this fair stuff on the big lawn area. Tents selling things, and rides and a big stadium for performers. Chilliwack performed. I'd never heard of them before, but I bet you Andrea has. Katie said it was a Doug era band. At first we were set up by the playground. Brent made really really good ribs. Katie and I and Adriel and the girls went down for a little wady-woo. We couldn't let our new bathing suits go to waste! We were both hesitant to strip down, although I don't know why Katie was. Her bathing suit is a black tankini and skirt, and covers the "iffies" Mine bares "iffies" I haven't shown in a while. So I had a right. The tide was coming in, and it really wasn't that warm for swimming, so we just walked through some tidepools and enjoyed the feeling of the wet textured sand on our feet. Adriel of course loved it. Elizabeth wasn't too sure. She wasn't impressed when Katie put her feet in the water, or on the sand for that matter. When we got back, Sloan of course, was screaming for me. It gets a little discouraging for me when I can't even leave him for 20 mins!! It wasn't as if he was hungry, I had fed him several times!! Turned out he was tired I guess because he fell asleep. We had a wonderful feast, as we always do with Katie and Brent. We changed out of our bathing suites in the van. I beat Katie. She accompanied me to the outhouse. It was all out of hand sanitizer. We hung around our spot for a little while and then we packed up and moved closer to the beach. It's nice to just hang and watch the sun set over the still water. At one point I wanted to go and get my towel out of the van, because it was getting quite chilly and I had capris on and me legs were getting cold. So I took Adriel, because I thought he could blow off some steam. I ended up having to carry him there and back (it was a looooong walk when I was carrying him) and the only one who blew off steam was me. I wasn't even really cold when I got back. But I got cold eventually. I feel like this is really boring. Like who cares if I had a towel to stay warm or not, or that I was cold and then not and then cold again. Is that very interesting? NO!
We ate chocolate and nibbs while we waited. It took them longer to start the 'works this year. Adriel sat with us for a while and then he joined Michealah on the blanket. Gone are the years when he just wants to cuddle on my lap and watch them. At least not as long as there's fun people like Michealah and Natalie around.
After all was said and done we walked back up to our car which was up on the road. There were hoards and hoards of people and it took us forever to get out of parksville. Adriel fell asleep on the way home. But did he sleep in the next day? Nope.
And that was my Canada day, and you don't want to know how many different times I had to sit down to write this. I started like a week ago. Pitiful.
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Sarahstottle posted @ 7:32 AM