Holiday Plans Out Of My Control

Summer holidays are finally here!  We have a very busy summer planned.  Started on June 29, heading out to Rowley Alberta for the ghost town atmosphere and a famous pizza night!  Then, on to Saskatchewan to visit family.

First stop...

Or just Rowley!

Rowley is a ghost town except for the last Saturday of each month when everyone comes out for pizza night.

I swear getting adults to look at the camera is harder then getting kids too!

The best part of a ghost town?  Playing on the playground equipment that has been banned everywhere else!  Ryan loved this thing!

It was a wonderful weekend spent with family celebrating Canada Day.  Even a little drizzle did nothing to dampen these campers spirits!

No matter how hard you plan, something always gets in the way.  This time, it was a large rock thrown from a fuel truck on the highway.

After we stopped the truck, realized what had happened and shook the glass off of everything, we realized it was best to turn around and head home rather then drive another 14 hours with a baseball sized smash in the front windshield (almost a hole, it was soft to the touch). 

Now, back home with a new windshield, we are ready to start back to our summer.  With a new trip home squeaked in.

A Trip To The Farm

We are back from the farm in Saskatchewan with enough time to do laundry, have physio, run errands, and buy groceries. Back out we go, this time camping in Kananaskis.

Just some quick photos of the past week.

On the farm.
Stepped off the quads, straight to the cats.




A little target practice.

Ryan is actually a really good shot. He can't wait to go hunting with his dad.

Camping

Boys. Nuff said.

Their latest fascination while camping is fishing. The love to go through their tackle boxes, organize, reorganize, compare, and occasionally sneak a lure from Daddy's tackle box.

This is what happened Saturday morning while organizing...something went wrong I suppose. I call it Fishing - You're Doing It Wrong or Gettin' Jiggy With It.





Such a proud mommy moment.

Things did get back to normal, or as normal as boys can be after trying fishing and deciding the sand was more fun. Notice our friend's little girls so clean. My boys did not stay clean.



I didn't get a picture of Matthew. I was either laughing too hard, or was so unfazed by the filth that I never thought twice about it. Here is Ryan, much cleaner then Matthew ended up.



It was a wonderful weekend in the sun with great friends. Just what we needed on the last weekend before heading back to St. Louis and the possibility of casting again.

The Joys of Camping

Ahhhhh. Back from a great long weekend of camping. Nothing better for our family then camping. Pure family time. Even though we come back tired and there is laundry to do and groceries to buy, we always come back refreshed.

This trip had an added bonus, some how set up by chance. Two campsites over were a couple who we knew yrs ago. They have three children around the same age as well. And the campsite between us was his aunt and uncle and their three older kids, the youngest, a 12 yr old boy, who was amazing with kids and loved to play with our boys.

We weren't sure until he tried, but Matthew was able to bike (with training wheels). We thought it had to be good for strength building on his foot. Using the muscles without the same weight on it. He loved the freedom. The boys biked all over that campground together.

So with lots of kids to play with, sunshine and bikes, the boys had a great time.

And now, it feels like we are finally back home. Now to tackle the chores... besides laundry and cleaning.

I need to set up twice a week p/t for Matthew.

Going to get hubby and I back on the South Beach Diet. Eating at RMH for three weeks added a few extra pounds that I would like to be rid of again.

Also going to get out in the yard and start working there. I need to cut down the old Clematis vines, add the new twinkle lighting to the lattice. Plant strawberries and flowers and maybe if there is time, make that bed I keep talking about and plant some vegetables.

It feels so good to be back in the swing of things.

Back to St Louis

We have our tickets in hand and our accommodations booked. Ready to go back to St Louis on Sunday. My husband asked me how I was feeling to be going back so soon after our long stay. I had to think for a minute.

My first reaction is, crap, we are off again. But after thinking it through, this is a good one. This trip is what made the whole process worthwhile. We go to have his final cast removed, his foot checked out, his AFO fitted and a trip to p/t for instructions on what we need to do and how often. We are through the hardest part. 7 weeks of casting and we are onto summer! Yay!

And when we get back, I am planning a camping trip for the US long weekend. And, yes, I will be pulling Matthew out of school for it. Even though he has missed almost 4 weeks of school, a three day camping trip is just what this family needs. Some family time doing what we all love to do.

The future is looking fantastic and I for one can not wait!

Thanks, I needed that.

First a small update on the Dr. Dobbs appointment. Matthew has an appointment March 30 at 8:30 am. The Shriner's travel agent is going to call me back later today with flight and accommodation details. Shriner's is covering both of our flights as well as accommodation and meals.

I am so thankful.


Winter Camping update.

Our first foray into winter camping was a HUGE success. First of all, we had fantastic weather. Sunny, clear blue skies, not a breath of wind and this was the view. At night it was about -10 C (14 F) and during the day was 6 C (43 F). Our trailer was toasty warm, in fact I was warmer then when we had the tent trailer out in the summer.

A weekend away was just what I needed. It was a quiet, relaxing weekend filled with fresh air and exercise. No one wanted to leave Sunday afternoon. In fact, the boys were desperately trying to talk us into just one more night. Guess we will have to get out again soon before Matthew gets casted. Who can resist this much fun?

The best laid plans

Ever since we bought the new trailer, we have been planning to get out winter camping. So, when we saw the weather forecast for this weekend, we thought why not! It is supposed to be above freezing during the day, and not too cold at night.

Got going today, got the calls made to the campsite, packed the kids clothes and my clothes, got the menu made, grocery list made, and Craig brought the trailer in from the storage site. It is sitting out front right now.

Tomorrow I need to buy the groceries, warm the trailer, load it and be ready to go at 3:30. Yay! Getting out of the city just appeals to me right now. Quiet, hikes, tobogganing, hot chocolate, fires... what's not to love?

Craig pops his head in the door, one of the propane tanks is almost empty. Crap, so off to Costco he runs to get it filled. I can't do it, it is just too heavy for me. Get back, and CRAP! We have a flat! Picked up a nail somewhere and the tire is flat. Oh no!

So my wonderful, loving husband is outside right now, at 8:30 at night, with the snow coming down, taking the tire off so I can run it in tomorrow to see if someone can fix it ASAP. Otherwise, we are not going tomorrow.

Crossing my fingers.