Five Things I Learned While Camping in Grande Prairie

1. During the longest days of the year, there is no need for flashlights or lanterns of any kind...EVER. It doesn't get dark until midnight, and even then it doesn't ever get completely dark. You can easily maneuver your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night without the aid of a flashlight. The picture to the right was taken at 11pm, and it's just thinking about getting dark.

2. Camping in an unexpected heat wave is HOT. With temperatures well into the mid to high thirties and possibly even reaching forty, and the moisture from all the rain that had fallen the week before, there was always this slightly sticky feeling. Thankfully between sprinklers at a friends house and the Eastlink multiplex pool we were able to keep cool(ish).

3. Although James says he is excited to ride the horses, in actual fact he is afraid they are going to eat him. This became evident when Daniel put him up on the horse and he screamed in fear. When Uncle Gene helped him down off the horse, it swung its head toward James. James yelled out in all sincerity "DON'T EAT ME" It brought a tear to the eye of Uncle Gene's friend who just couldn't stop laughing hysterically.

4. Kymberly's depth perception and hand eye coordination are a million times better than they were before she had her surgery(see my July 8/11 post). While hanging out at our friends parents acreage James found a bat and some balls and was having a great time playing baseball. When he had abandoned it, Kymberly wanted to try. She actually hit the ball far more time than she missed it. I was so thrilled to see such great progress. I know, she's got her eyes closed in this picture, it was just such a great picture I had to include it. You'll just have to trust me that she actually hit the ball.

5. I don't know a lot about my Uncle Gene, he wasn't around a whole lot when I was a kid. Up until 5 years ago(see my Aug 19/08 post to read about our amazing reunion), he was just a guy with a beard that I remembered seeing just a handful of times. I learn little bits each time I get the pleasure of visiting him. This time I learned that Uncle Gene left home at a young age. According to him, everytime he looks at Tansley he sees his little sister, my Aunt Becky.  He says that when he thinks of Becky, he still thinks of her as she was when he left home, not as a grownup, and to him Tansley is a spitting image of that memory.

All in all it was a wonderful trip that I would do again. We spent a lot of time sitting on someones deck eating food, visiting and watching the kids play. It was a very relaxing vacation. I'll leave you with just a few other pictures.