The Mad Cycle

So this morning there is all kinds of commotion and yelling coming from the basement. Daughter #1 comes stomping up the stairs and starts unloading the dishwasher, angrily tossing dishes in their assigned places. I ask her "What's wrong?". She yells back at me "Why don't you ask Tansley?" and continues slamming doors and tossing dishes. Later after Daughter #1 has left for school with Daughter #3, Daughter #2 comes up stairs all scowly and not yet dressed for school. I ask her "What was going on down there this morning?" to which she responds in an angry voice "I don't know. All I know is that Kathryn was mad". "So why was Kathryn mad?" I inquire. "I DON'T KNOW!" she yells back. In an effort to figure out the cause of all the crankiness I venture to ask "So why are you mad?". "Because Kathryn was mad.""OK, let me get this straight. Kathryn is mad but tells me to ask you why she is mad. I ask you, but you don't know, but you are mad because Kathryn is mad."

Of course, I should have figured that all out on my own, it's all so logical. Daughter #1 is mad because Daughter #2 is mad at Daughter #1 being mad at Daughter #2. Makes perfect sense.

Our Unplanned Trip to Waterton

The plan for the holiday Monday was that Daniel was going to Waterton to climb Mt Vimy with friends and the kids and I were going to stay home and can the 88 pounds of pears that were just right for canning.That was the plan, until I discovered that the wasp problem that Daniel had been trying to fix under our bay window had decided to make it's way INTO my house. Oh, I haven't told you about that yet? Yeah, we discovered that there was a wasp nest under our bay window, but not out in the open, up inside the guts of the house. There was a very small opening under the window between the plywood and the cement foundation that they were coming in and out of.  Daniel sprayed, twice. Monday morning I saw a wasp flying around the window so I went to kill it and discovered about 20 more in the window! Where the heck were they coming from! I looked down, and saw three more come out of the heat vent! They kids all went down stairs while I attempted to solve the problem. That didn't last long as they soon discovered a few wasps downstairs too. So they went out side. I got some plastic grocery bags and folded them up and duct taped them over the heat vents in the living room by the bay window and over the one downstairs that was directly below the bay window. I then proceeded to kill the ones trapped behind the curtains in the bay window and then vacuumed up their dead carcasses. I decided that canning pears may not be the best thing to do as I wasn't in the mood to deal with wasps and scared crying children. So we made a quick decision to go have an adventure in Waterton since we hadn't been there at all this summer...how lame is that? We packed up a quick picnic lunch in the cooler, gathered up swimming suits and towels and made sure all the kids had good walking shoes and off we went.

 It was a beautiful day in Waterton with not a breath of wind. It was a quite hazy so the sun was never shining directly on us but it was still very warm. We first headed down to the Lake and ate our picnic lunch.

 The kids changed into swimsuits and played in the water. That was all fun and games until it tried to rain on us, so we decided to take a walk in town so I could show the kids where I worked the summer before I married their father.

 While we were walking the rain stopped so we then headed to the park for more fun and games.

 I wanted to take the kids up bears hump. Kathryn and Tansley were all for it, having been up once before. Kymberly was nervous. I showed her which mountain we were going to climb, that it was just a little one, but that didn't help. She was scared and didn't want to go. I told her it would be fun. When we got to the trailhead she exclaimed in delight, "Oh, there is a path to follow!". Apparently she had had something completely different in mind when in came to "Climbing a mountain". In our haste to leave home, I hadn't thought to grab backpacks. I had grabbed water bottles, just nothing to carry them in. And thankfully the snugly was still in the van from a previous trip to somewhere. Kathryn, my clever child, used a hair elastic to close the bottom of her hoodie and then tied the sleeves together to create a bag she could carry over her shoulder. It was just the right size to put the water bottles and cookies. It took us an hour to reach the top. After the first little bit I didn't think I would make it to the top with an extra 20lbs strapped to me, but once I got my blood pumping, I felt good and ready to conquer the world...OK, maybe just Bears Hump. James "Gave up" at least a dozen times. But we bribed him with cookies and the chance to see chipmunks up close. After much coaxing, we finally made it to the top. But to our dismay, not a chipmunk to be seen. Good thing James was just thrilled to be on top of a mountain and to have some cookies. It was beautiful on top, without even the slightest breeze. I can only remember one other time that I have been up on bears hump and there hasn't been any wind at all, and that was the summer I worked in Waterton.

Going down took us half an hour. James didn't want to go back down the mountain. But Kathryn was great and keeping him going. She was really patient with him. Kymberly and Tanlsey went up ahead of us a bit, but I told them to stick together and to be nice and loud. They started singing songs like "there's a hole in my bucket", "My dog Lima likes to roam", "Father Abraham" and any other silly song. It made the time go by quicker, and even James started singing his own silly made up songs. There was no chance of a bear encounter with my crew around.When we got to the bottom dad was waiting around the corner and jumped out and roared at Kymberly and Tansley. James was so excited to tell dad that he had climbed a mountain! Ella was all tuckered out from her climb, she fell asleep in the snugly.

We passed a number of people on the trail, and just about each one made some kind of comment about me being a brave mom. Kathryn, looks at me and says "mom, everyone keeps saying that too you." Yep, I'm either brave or crazy...I leaning towards crazy. But I wouldn't change it. We had a fun day. It was a much more fun and exciting way to spend the holiday Monday than staying home and canning pears, by a long shot.

Peaches on a prayer

So yesterday, while I was in Lethbridge, my local grocery store called to tell me that if I didn't order peaches by noon, I would likely be out of luck all together. I didn't get the message until 4pm. Somehow I had missed the case lot sale, and somehow I seemed to have missed the entire peach season without realizing it. It might have something to do with being busy with a 6 month old and 4 other wonderful children. Whatever the reason for my absent mindedness, I was desperate to find peaches because I only have 5 jars left on my shelf. While in Lethbridge, I had checked out several grocery stores, but nobody had cases available. And then I got home to this message. I was very disappointed. Somehow I had to find some peaches, even if it meant just buying some by the pound. I love canned peaches and I couldn't imagine going a year without any. Last night I asked Heavenly Father to somehow make available some peaches for me to can.
This morning when my little grocery store called to tell me that my cases of pears were in and that there was an extra  20lb case of peaches available if I wanted it. I said I'd take it and felt grateful that Heavenly Father had answered my prayer. 20lbs is better than none, even if it isn't anywhere close to the 80lbs I usually put up. Little did I know that Heavenly Father wasn't finished answering my prayer. Just moments ago, I checked my email and found an email from my fruit lady that I always buy apples from in the fall. The email told me that peaches would be available one last time.I thought I had missed her peaches altogether when her previous email said it was the last chance for peaches. I was giddy as I sent an email back with my order for 3 cases of peaches. Not only did Heavenly Father answer my prayer for "some" peaches, he made sure I could get ALL of my peaches. I feel so incredibly blessed and loved.

Where did the summer go?

The kids are off to school today. I'm not sure I am entirely ready for it.  I am looking forward to the regular routine again. But this summer has been so wonderful. The weather has been perfect. I'm afraid that by sending my kids off to school, this beautiful weather just might come to an end, and I am certainly not ready for that to happen.The summer has been so relaxing and crazy all at the same time. I wish we could have squeezed in one more camping trip. But oh well, we had plenty of adventures to fill our summer days. The kids have been super excited to get back to school.And now it's just James and Ella and I...what shall we do first?

Kathryn, Grade 6; Tansley, Grade 3; Kymberly, Grade 1.

Super Mom, or so they say.

I have to give a huge shout out to my amazing kids. We went camping this past week, just me and the kids We packed up and drove 5 minutes or so down the highway to our little prairie oasis, Goldsprings Park. The weather was perfect for hanging out on the newly improved beach, which we did every day, all day long. I met a number of people who were amazed that I would go camping with five kids all on my own. Then they would find out that we were in a tent and not a trailer, and their jaw would hit the ground. "Why would you come out on your own, with a baby, in a tent?" some would ask. "It just what we do, not usually on my own, but we've always done it this way, since I was a kid."  Then they would tell me I must be super mom, or something of the sort. If I am super mom, it's all because I have super kids. And I'd tell them just that. I couldn't do it if they weren't so awesome.
When it was bedtime, they went to bed, they helped with the dishes, they helped with the baby, they helped with the meals. It wasn't all perfect, we had a few rough moments, like our last night, when we got back to the tent late and there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth from three of the five kids, and I am sure our new neighbours were super glad to see us pack up and leave the next day...it's too bad they hadn't been there the nights previous to see just how good my kids really were. We had a wonderful get away, and I would do it again in a heartbeat, or next summer for sure.

Those darn aliens

I just had this conversation...

James: "My back hurts"

Mom: "Let me see, oh, you have scratches on your back. I wonder where they came from."

J: "From outer space."

M: "They came from outer space? Was it an alien?"

J: "Yes, they came from there." pointing towards his closet.

M: "The aliens are in your closet?"

J: "Yes, they are scary. And I have snakes in my room. Under here." pointing under his bed.

M: " You have snakes in your room too?"

J: " Yes. Can I have a peanut butter sandwich?"

And just like that the conversation was over.

A Geocaching Road Trip

We have always enjoyed a good road trip. We love to drive to small little towns on back roads through the middle of nowhere. This summer we have discovered the fun of geocaching. Geocaching is a global treasure hunting game using GPS coordinates. Caches can be found in cities, in towns, in parks, and best of all, in the middle of nowhere. This game was meant for us. Currently there are approximately 2,173,442 geocaches hidden worldwide. We have found 43.

Wednesday we planned a little day trip around three of our favourite things. First, a good road trip to nowhere. Second, a magnificent dam. Third, the hunt for geocaches. We headed south to Conrad, Montana and then west to a little place called Dupuyer where we made our first two finds. One at the local campground and one at the rest area just outside of town.

We then headed further west to the Swift Dam. Just before the dam we found a cache in a pile of rocks and then near the base of the dam we found another one in a tree. While we were there we checked out the dam from the bottom, from the top and from the side. Kymberly attempted to make her own little dam from rocks and moss. Tansley played with rock snot and Kathryn and dad took a trek right up to the base of the dam. There was also this awesome rustic campground that would be great for just getting away and relaxing.

Next we headed off in a somewhat northeast direction past a place called Valier. We wanted to stop at the rock city to grab a couple more caches but it was getting late and kids were getting hungry and the two at the rock city would require a little bit of hiking.. These two would have to wait for another day when we had more time. Instead we headed out on another backroad to find two quick park and grab caches. The first was down by the river in this amazing picturesque valley. I didn't go along for this one because Ella was starving, But the kids all went with dad. The next one was just up the road, with an incredible view of some awesome rock formations.

By now it was really getting late and way past supper time, so we headed to Cutbank to get some Pizza before heading home. It was a beautiful day to be out exploring. Can't wait to do it again!