Farewell my friend.... Be my ArchAngel....

Last night, our friend Tracey Nichols-Chapman passed away after a life long battle with Cancer.

 

 

Her storey, in brief:

 

 

As a child, she lost an eye to cancer. 

 

30 years later it came back WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT.   (This all happened in a span of about 6 weeks). 

 

3 years ago, in her third trimester she found out the cancer was back and they had to take her other eye.

 

Her & her baby daddy ran off to city hall and got married.

 

They waited until the baby was far along enough to birth so she could see him.... ...

 

48 hours later, they took her good eye.

 

The following year, newly wed, new mom, newly blind, she fought to cancer with everything she had and had countless surgury's...

 

The 2nd year she spiraled into a deep depression.

 

This past Christmas, after a complete meltdown, she decided it was time to start living again and was ready to take on her new dark world.

 

She's not been well for the past 6 weeks.  Last week she was admitted into the hospital and diagnosed with Lung Cancer and Brain Tumers. It was time for her to stop fighting.

 

 

We were blessed that she called for us and got to spend 3 hours with her on Good Friday.

She passed away last night.


Rest Dear Tracey.  You are no longer in pain.

iPhone 4S!

Finally, after almost 6 years of me NOT having a cell phone, I got one!


Lair has been wanting me to get one since we moved back to Calgary but I just didn't see the need (and I'm cheap).

So why the change of heart?  Two things really.

1. In late October, at work, I won a Blue Tooth.  I joked that it was the Universe telling me to get a phone....

2. In 2 weeks (last week of October, 1st week of November), we got over 20 calls on our home line - all phone solicitors.  No 'real' calls for us.  Grrrr!  So what's the use of having a land line anymore???


SO, we're cancelling the land line, and I got a pretty new white iPhone 4S....  I love this thing!   I love the easy contact with Lair and friends.  It was well worth the wait and I will probably never live without one from here on in....

:)

October has come and gone!

Hello Blog world...  So sorry for not updating this!  It was a fun and busy October.


We had a nice visit with Dee who was in town getting the Loft ready for a new renter.  It was fabulous to see her and can't wait to see Scott during the Christmas holidays.



For Thanksgiving we headed up to Red Deer to see Marianne new house and enjoy some family time.  Mom and Giuseppe came up too.  We had a great visit and a fabulous dinner.  On our way home, at Gasoline alley, Lairs mom called,  Kerri's (who was 24 weeks pregnant) was being air lifted from Medicine Hat to Calgary with pregnancy complication.....  That was a long quiet drive home, we were so worried.  HOWEVER, am am SO happy to say, she is still happily preggers.  In brief, she was at the foothills for 1 week, then moved to the Ronald McDonald House for 3 weeks, and they finally gave her the ok to go home on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy.  She is due Jan 22....   The whole family is so relieved to see her head home with a growing belly.



The annual Zombie was was mid month.  We didn't do the walk, but we went to a Zombie Apocalypse party @ Vern's Tavern with 1 room House, 1 room PSY.  Karen & Steve were kind enough to have Quinn sleepover so we were able to go shake it.  originally I didn't intend to dress up, then a '50's housewife zombie' costume fell in my lap!  Seriously!?  How could I not.  So to top it off, I bought a Bettie Paige wig and cats eye glasses.  It was so much fun!  We went as far as getting liquid latex and making some goarey pieces.

Lair had an opportunity to go on a 5 day business trip, having appointments with Produce Manager from all the stores he services in central/northern Alberta.  In 5 days he put over 2400 kn on his truck.  He was able to spend 2 nights at Uncle Dwayne in Grand Prairie and got to visit auntie Charlene too.  It was weird not having him here.  Both Quinn and I missed him very much.




We went to BARDO III (A full on psy Halloween party).  Lisa, Dean & Ivy slept over and we had Claire come babysit sleepover.  It was one hell of a party - I danced almost all night long.  I had such blissful feeling dancing up front and center with Lawrence by my side.  Where we were, dancing, at those moments, was exactly where we were meant to be.  (If that makes sense).  There were many old friends and acquaintances in attendance that night, it was just perfect!  I also had Brittany by my side and it was wonderful to have her share this piece of my life.  I danced so hard and was so sweaty, I actually sweated off my latex applications!   LOL  As well, Jason Melnyk and his wife came!  I know, funny right?  We've been in touch over the years through facebook.  I haven't seen him since I was very pregnant with Quinn.  It was a nice reunion, though we didn't get much chit chat in (I was to busy dancing).  [for those who don't know, Jason was my first boyfriend and we dated for a few years as teens].

 

We didn't drag our sorry butts in the door until almost 6am.... and in doing so, woke up the kids!  DOH!  Poor Claire, I told her they'd be up early, but no one expected them up THAT early!).

We finally got up around 10:30 and Claires mom picked her up shortly after.  With Lisa & Fam, we had a family day of cuddles and movies.  It was very nice.  We took Ivy for another night so Lisa & Dean could go to another Halloween party.





For actual Halloween day, I got up an hour early to get 'Bettie' ready for work.  She was the best Zombie of the 3.  I told my boss I wouldn't dress 'sexy', but no one said anything about Gorey!  I was the bell of the ball at work that's for sure!

 

Lisa & Ivy came over after dinner to go trick or treating.  We spent an hour out and they got tons of candy!  It was a great Halloween.

Hoop class...


I signed up for the Intermediate Hoop class which began Oct 5.  This spring I took the beginners class and I was super excited about the 2nd class.... It is 10 sessions long with about 15 ladies in the class there are a few at my level, a few intermediate, and a few I question why they are taking the class because they are so good.

At first I was really enjoying it, as it was at my 'level', but the lessons quickly surpassed my comfort level and abilities, leaving me feeling sad, defeated, and uncomfortable.  Not to mention there were a few young gals in the class whose waist was the size of my thighs....  Not helping my confidence at all!  : \

So I was coming home sad and frustrated, and unable to practice because it's cold and dark outside (most things I need to practice are off body stuff, and playing 'ring toss' in the house is a disaster waiting to happen).

While Lawrence was o his business trip - I missed 1 class.  Then the next week, I had such anxiety about going, I bailed and drank wine and watched TV instead.  Then the week after that... well, I e-mailed my instructor and quit.

I have lost my hoop mojo....  But my personal promise to myself is, in the spring, when the snow thaws, if there is a class, I will take it again.  At least I will have a backyard to practice in in-between classes.



So that's October in a nut shell spilling a little into November.


Love and light to all you!   xoxo

Sept. long: Friendtropy, music festival.

Lawrence had an obligation he wouldn't cancel and work on monday - so he stayed home.


Quinn and I on the other hand;  Friday afternoon we left Calgary ~ 2:30 Trailer in tow.  We met the Allans in Rocky Mtn House at 5:30 and finished the long drive out to the mountains.

We finally found the site and found the Paranteaus and our weekend began.

Friendtropy is a very small  music festival of mixed Genras.  There may have been 150 people there?  Max, Jasmine & Quinn and their new little buddy Calex hung out and had a great time playing in the forest.  Friday night we were all in bed pretty early.

Saturday was spent hooping, workshops, and hanging out.  The music was funky breaks and perfect for the afternoon.  The evening we hung at main stage for awhile and when we put the kids to bed, spent the evening around the fire at camp.

Sunday, another beautiful day of relaxation.  Sunday night the music was pumpin!  Shawn built a mini Temple and they even turned the music off to have a quiet burn.  Quinn and I sat there and talked about his Grandpa's and uncle Dave.  It was very touching and very emotional.

When we put the kids to bed, Quinn asked me if I wanted to go out and Dance.  I said yes, and we had a little talk about him sleeping in the trailer and Ursula & the kids were sleeping in their tent.  I felt he was comfortable and safe enough, so I went dancing!  (He more or less told me too - how sweet is that?).

So me, Justin & David shook it almost all night long and the music was great!


Monday morning, Karen was kind enough to tend to Quinn for me so I could get some sleep.  I was so tired and rather hung over.  The night before was a good idea, bad idea scenario - as we had to pack up and drive home later that day.

But I managed to do so.  We left the site around 1:40, stopped in Rocky to Dump the RV potty, stopped in Red Deer for Dinner, and pulled in around 8:30.



This has been a TOUGH week.  The sleep dep and party recovery is sure taking a long time to bounce back!  In the good old days, I would have been fine for Tuesday.  4 days later, I am still pretty rough!  Oh well.  it was fun and totally worth it.  Only thing missing:  Lawrence.  <-- next year he is obligated to his Chosen Family every long weekend in the summer.


So, on the agenda for next year is:  Inshalla w/ Quinn,  Motion Notion without Quinn and Friendtropy with Quinn.  Not to mention a few Chosen family camping trips!!!

Burning Man may have to wait a few more years, right now family comes first.

August recap

I can't believe how fast August blew by!

It started with the fabulous weekend at Kevin's Farm.

The following weekend, we went camping to Jarvis Bay at Sylvan Lake.  It is a beautiful campground!  We should have just gone up saturday morning, but went out friday after work - traffic and delays and not getting groceries before we left - Friday evening was a bust.  We finally arrived at dusk, set up then went grocery shopping in Sylvan Lake.  Know how hard it is to find a grocery store open at 10pm on a friday in a small town?

On saturday we headed of the the waterslides.  Big mistake!  They were so rediculusly busy.  In 5 hours we did 5 slides.  So not what I had intended.  :(  When we went to Atlantis in Vernon we had non stop sliding fun with no one in the park.  Sylvan was the complete opposite (and twice the cost).

     Lawrence originally did not want to go, he suggested we save the money and go to the lake.  Well honey, You were RIGHT and I was totally WRONG (kind of the theme of summer 2011!  LOL).  Our day would have been so much better spent at the (free) lake.  Lesson learned!  I don't think I ever have the need to go back to the Sylvan Lake waterslide.

The rest of our trip was nice.  Quinn stayed up late enough to see the stars come out.



The weekend of 19-21 we went up to Edmonton to celebrate Ursula's Birthday and their official house warming party.  First off, their house is amazing and perfect for their family!  The yard is HUGE!  You could easily fit our whole lot (from garage to sidewalk) in their back yard TWICE.

The visit was awesome, the party was fun fun fun.  They got a bouncy castle for the kids for 8 hours.  It was fun for the adults too!).  Both Ursula and Faye did their 'Virgin Burns' <-- meaning they  Fire Hooped for the first time.

All in all a fantastic weekend.



The weekend of 26-28 we had family in town and spent the day at Sicome Lake.  The water was good once you got in and we all had a pretty good time.


So that's August in a nut shell!

August long weekend

We certainly had a fantastic August Long Weekend!

FRIDAY

Kevin invited a bunch of us to his family farm near Crossfield.  His parents were kind to let us bring out our trailers and tents and have a Bonn fire.

It's a beautiful parcel of land.  So nice to get out of the city and neat to see where Kevin grew up.  You can sure see how being a 'country boy' is SO different than a City kid.

Kevin is constantly improving himself to be wise and more green/efficient.  One thing he has learned about is a 'Composting potty'!  Instead of all us drunkards coming and going in his parents house, out back in a shed he set up his composting potty.  He has built a nice Toilet with seat and you do your business into a Huge Pail.  Once done, you cover it with Sawdust.   It has minimal (if any odor!).  Once the bucket is full, he has a pit surrounded by hair bales where he dumps it and mixes in grass and straw.  This in turn composts and by next spring he will have a great organic fertiliser, good for plants and flowers, but not suggested for edible organics.   Pretty cool.


They are also a part of a large art project for Burning Man.  Their group is creating a large 12 Petal Lotus Flower.  You can sit in the centre, and the petals open and close.  I believe there is also a  mountain scape to represent the AB foothills.  This lovely project will be hauled down in pieces to Burning Man and will be displayed with 21 other art pieces.  Then they will all be burnt at once.  Epic!  One of the reasons for his little gathering was a 'Test Burn' to see how the material would act on fire.

Quinn and Ivy were the only kids there.  They sure had fun!  Kev's parents are Grandparents to 6 little ones under 10 so they have a trampoline, swing set, yard toys, sandbox, ect, not to mention just SPACE to run around!

So while they kept themselves entertained we hung out at the large fire pit.  It was a fabulous evening.


SATURDAY

In the morning, those of us who stayed overnight hung out and chilled.  Another beautiful day.  We left for home in the early afternoon and just hung out and chilled for the rest of the day at home.


SUNDAY


I met Lisa & Ivy at Riley Park for Colleen K's son's b-day.  We had a great time.  The weather was 30 degrees, we had shade if needed the kids played played played, and Lisa and I spend all afternoon floating together using a pool noodles  (one as a foot-stool, and one as a shoulder rest)  LOL  It was awesome!  We just floated about as if we were the only ones in the pool.

It's so neat bringing Quinn there as I spent so many of my summer days as a child in the same place.  We made it home by 6, Lawrence had dinner ready for us then we watched a family movie.  Perfect Day!


MONDAY


Lair had to work  :(   Lisa & Ivy picked us up around noon and we went to Caloway Park!  Another action packed fun day that's for sure!  The sun was shining, the kids were well behaved, pure Awesome.  Would you believe Quinn is big enough to go on the Big Roller coaster!?  I couldn't believe it.... but I fibbed to him and said he wasn't quite tall enough and maybe next year would be his year.   He still enjoys the 'baby coaster' so much - I don't want to take the simple things away from him just because he's tall.

A long fun day ended when Lisa dropped us off at 6:30pm for home made burgers by Lair.  MMMmm!  Nummy!


FANTASTIC FUN FILLED LONG WEEKEND!

Ashmeads July camping trip to BC!

So as I mentioned, returning home from Motion Notion was just a pit stop before our Family Vacation!

Tuesday:  We picked up Quinn (3 hour detour) and headed out to Golden (4.5 hrs) where we camped overnight just to sleep (Pit stop).   Driving through the mountains was pretty easy with the trailer.  We just kept a slow pace and didn't worry about anyone else but us. 


Wednesday: morning we headed off to Vernon, to Swan Lake where we would set up camp for a few days.  We found a RV/campground.  It was slim pickings for a last minute reservation, so this is what we chose.  It was 'ok'.  I wouldn't go back.  It didn't feel like camping as many huge ass units were 'perminant' RV's on site.  It kind of felt like we were camping in a 'Trailer park!' (with the colorful characters too I might add).

But we made the best of it.  We had full power/water/sewer.  Now that was a treat!  I really enjoyed the not-so-ruffing it aspect!


Thursday:  We headed to Atlantis Water slides in Vernon and spent the whole day there.  It was a lot of fun.  We took Quinn to Cultas Lake when he was little (2-2.5yrs) and he didn't like it, in fact, we got our money back and left.  This this time however, he had a blast!  He was big enough to go on all the slides and better yet, big enough to go up by himself without a parent!  So we were able to relax a bit while he ran around.

The park was so quiet!  Maybe 100 people?  So very peaceful, quiet, no lines, lots of space.  There looked like there was going to be a storm, but it kept blowing around us - and we had a little pocket of sun beaming on us almost the whole time.  Very lucky!  We spent the entire day there, finishing off with a mini golf game.


Friday:  On friday we went to a beach on Okanogan Lake.  It was a warm day (not hot), but nice.  The lake was a good temp.  Took a bit to acclimatise, but was fun and cool.  Spent the afternoon there.


Saturday:  We decided to head back to Calgary giving us a day to get ourselves unpacked and ready for the work week.  We stopped at the 'Sky trek adventure park' http://www.skytrekadventurepark.com/ (it shares the same parking lot as the 'enchanted forrest'.  -- Note, the enchanted forrest is totally ghetto unless you are 3 or 4 years old.

Quinn did a kids Low ropes course.  We were so proud of him!  He did such a great job!  He never fell or got frustrated and he problem solved very well.  It was amazing to watch him.  One day (perhaps when he is big enough) I'd like to do the High ropes course!  Quinn & I also did the 'Sky Swing'.  Where they harness you onto a Swing, hoist you up 15 meters, the drop you!  You drop down, then Swing big.  He loved it!  When we got to the top he was getting a little scared, and the first swing scared him (I screamed lots!) but one the 1st swing back, he said he wanted to do it again.  That's my boy!

This little stop took several hours, but was well worth it.  Pulling through Golden there was a road block...  There was a rock slide near Field the night before and the Trans Canada Highway was closed for at least 3 days!  So there was only one way to go home, via Radium on the 93.  This route took us about 2.5 hours out of way, but got us home.

We thought about stopping in Radium overnight, but there was 'no vacancy'!  So we just pushed through.

It was a very beautiful drive.  I don't recall ever going that way so it was nice to see different sites.  I would like to go back to Radium to stay one weekend.  Maybe in September when it's not so crowded?

We got home after midnight.


It was a lovely family vacation but way too short!

Motion Notion 2011

It was touch and go there for awhile if we were going to be able to attend this years festival, but Finally, last minute, Lair's mom committed to watching Quinn for several days.

It would have been so much easier if she came to Calgary, but in the end, sending him to Medicine Hat turned out to be awesome for him.

Thursday afternoon, lair got off work early and drove Quinn to meet him mom 1/2 way to Medicine Hat.  He was home by 7 so we went and had dinner, got the trailer and started getting ready.

______________________________________________________________________________

QUINN'S Weekend in Medicine Hat

We couldn't have timed it better!  Kerri's step-son Nicholas was in town So Quinn got plenty of Gramma time, Auntie/Uncle time and best of all Nick time.   Next year at this time Kerri will be home on mat leave - maybe we can work this out again for MoNo 2012!?

I digress.  He saw Cars II in the theatre, had a sleepover, went to the lake and played in the backyard pool.

We picked him up mid morning on the following Tuesday 1/2 way between Calgary & the Hat.
______________________________________________________________________________
OUR WEEKEND!
 FRIDAY
Friday we finally got or shit together and headed off - SO EXCITED!

We stopped in Drayton to fill the trailer with water (so I could use the potty!) and we arrived late afternoon.  A lovely spot had been saved for us and it was wicked fun to just be there with our friends.

Friday night was Darvin doing a solo Sons of Aurora set.  First time in 9 years Norris (who is in Switzerland) wasn't by his side.  It was an emotional set and I loved every beat.  Didn't stay up too late, got a good sleep for the weekend.

SATURDAY
Had a lazy morning enjoying our camp.  After lunch we had good intentions to head to the beach this year (last year we didn't even try).  The music sounded good on our way down, however, upon reaching the bottom of the hill it changed to Dub Step  (I hate dub step), so, a quick retreat!  There were 10 of us at this point.  We headed off to find Darvin's camp as they brought a renegade stage (against James wishes  lol).  and SO happy we did this as this guy named 'Houstin' was spinning Progressive Trance and it was exactly what we needed!  It was a lot of fun.  We spent the whole afternoon dancing and chilling in the private Oasis of 709.  We're hoping to camp with them next year in that spot.  I think their music set up with our 'camp' set up would make a beautiful experience.

I got into the Sailor Jerry Rum (along side a few other things).... unfortunately, I guess I was a big dumb jerk to Lawrence and didn't even notice  :(  I feel really bad as it really bothered him.  I still don't know exactly what I said or did that caused him to (a week later) tell me I was an Asshole.  I was oblivious to say the least.  Which sucks.  It's inexcusable, but in my defence, it was a party-hardy day in the hot sun and he never told me there was an issue so I couldn't correct my behaviour....  Again, I feel pretty bad, especially since I didn't even know about this until a week later....  Note to self, keep Jerry in check when drinking w/ him!

Anyways, onto better things, Saturday night was Infected Mushroom.  They started with a live show and it rocked my world!  It was very 'hard' very 'rock' and had an Industrious sound.  Really brought me back to my electronic roots of Industrial music.   Unfortunately this wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but it sure was mine!

Afterwards they did an 'old school' set (from late 90's early Y2K) and it was absolutely Amazing!  So much fun. 

It was hard to leave the dance floor but my body was telling me to go rest and sleep so we did before the sun came up.


SUNDAY
Was another great lazy day.  This time we chose to just chill at camp for the day.  We did hit up the market and I got a great Space Tribe jacket!

This night was Simon Posford of Shpongle.  We saw him a year ago in a club in town and it was so-so.  This however, was pure Magic!  I certainly lost myself in the music and on the dance floor; at one point I raised my arms to the sky and started to unravel to the Heavens.....  Crazy amazing experience.  Seriously transported off this earth.


Afterwards was a really shitty DJ so we wondered about the party and our camp, tried to get in more dancing and finally decided to turn in for the night.


MONDAY
We had to wait for awhile for people to pack up and move out of the way before we could go so we just relaxed and slowly packed up and hung with the Fam.

It was a slow go home.  We had to find a dumping station to dispose of the 'potty' and unused water.  Having the trailer at the party was so kick ass!  I only used the port-o-potty once during the whole festival, other than that I managed to use my private powder room!  And it's super easy to drain/clean/dump. 

I think we got home around 6pm and were in bed early.

So Motion Notion 2011 - It was the best MoNo yet and for me would be my fav #3 in my 14 years of going to music festivals!  My only real complaints as always reflect on the poor decisions by 'management' (James Hodges) and his poor Selection of DJ's and or DJ Lineup.  <-- Meaning the flow and or talent.  For the most part was top notch but he certainly had his fair share of Flail....


So with Motion Notion 2011 over, the fun wasn't ending yet!  We still had a week off work!  wOOt!    To be continued....

Stampede Parade and Midway

PARADE DAY!  We were up n' at em super early to take the express bus downtown.

We arrived to our pre-bought bleacher seats around 8am.  We had a small breakfast and waited for it to begin.  That was a long wait!

Prince William and Bride Kate ZOOMED past us doing about 40km an hour....  Whatever.  That was lame sauce!  In my opinion, they should have been in a horse drawn carriage.  But no - motorcycle brigade and a black sedan with the tinted black windows rolled down.


The parade was ok.  We enjoyed all the marching bands and pipers.  The floats were so-so.  I found the whole thing to be lack luster and drawn out.  Quinn enjoyed himself for the most part, but was getting pretty board after the first 2 hours (was a 3 hour parade).

I don't plan to ever go to the parade again, I don't see the need.  A good experience for our family but the last experience!


STAMPEDE GROUNDS

Afterwards, us and 100,000 other people headed off the stampede grounds.

Lets see, what did we gorge ourselves on?  Corn dogs, deep fried oreos, cheesecake on a stick, cotton candy, root beer, shredded steak sandwich, lemonade!  MMMmmmmm, I do love midway food!

We went through the Dream home and fell in love.  We bought tickets but didn't win  :(  We kept talking like we won it, and when we didn't I think Quinn was a little disappointed as he didn't quite grasp the 'day dreaming' concept of the prise!


Quinn and I got ride-all-day wrist bands from Safeway.  We let Quinn have at er in kiddy land and most definitely got our moneys worth and more on the wrist bands!  Afterwards we took him to the midway.  Man games are expensive now!  I thought they were a rip off years ago at $1-2, now they are $4-5!
I took Quinn on the Giant slide a few times, the Crazy Mouse roller coaster, and the Rainbow Rider.  He is big enough to go on other 'big' rides, but we decided to hold off on those till he is older.

We tried (Quinn was cranky) to buzz through the convention center to see what the latest Must haves are.  We also caught a Super Dog show and we all really enjoyed that.  It started getting cold so we headed home.

Stampede 2011.  Lots of fun and LOTS of money spent!

Canada Day Long weekend in Drumheller

My did we ever have a fun Canada Day Long weekend!

WEDNESDAY
On wednesday, during the day, David & Justin drove out and claimed out camping sites (3 in a row) then headed back to town as they had a dinner to attend.

We got the trailer mostly ready.  We still weren't 100% sure how to run everything, so we did a 'dry' run (not using the water or potty), but enjoying the fridge, lights, and heater!

We headed out wednesday night - funny, we wanted to leave right after dinner, but didn't leave until 10pm!  lol  I just wanted to get there!  So we drove to Drum, getting there around midnight.  Leveled the trailer and went to bed!


THURSDAY
When we woke up Karen & David, and Justin had arrived (in the wee hours) and pitched their tents.  So it was nice to see them when they woke up.

Us & the Allans went to the Tyrell Museum. It had been 2 years since we last went. Quinn enjoyed it way better this time around, but was losing interest about 3/4 way through. I think I will wait until he is 9-10 to take him again.


When we came out of the Museum it was rainy, windy and cold and this went on into the evening.  Not ideal, but the company was great!  Later that evening arrived Brenna, Chris, his 12 yr old sister Claire, their awesome sauce dog Ruby.


FRIDAY
With the yucky weather behind us we welcomed the sunshine, and Lisa & Ivy came out  :)  Once dusk hit, Brenna did a Fire-hoop show for us!  It was so neat to see!  I've only seen videos of her doing it so was cool to see it live!  She did a great job.  Got the attention of most of the campground LOL

We stayed up pretty late enjoying our friends and the fire  ;-)


SATURDAY
Quentin and his pups Dargo & Bear came for the day.  We all went to the Hoo-Doos.  It had been about 15 years since I saw them last.  Interesting geological landmark that's for sure!  I think Quinn was disappointed we went to look at 'rocks'.  And that I didn't let him climb very high!

Afterwards we went for lunch and ice cream, bid farewell to Q & the dogs, then a few of us went swimming in the river.  It was really high and really dirty but felt great in the sunny afternoon!


SUNDAY
All good things must come to an end  :(   With the weather once again being awesome, we took it easy getting ready to go home.  We had an epic breakfast cooking the last of all our food. 

Departing, Us & the Allans went to 'Reptile World' in Drumheller....   It was 'ok'.   A little expensive for what it was.  I think they could get away with charging $3-5 per person.  I don't intend to go back there!

We bid farewell to the Allans then went to Boston Pizza for lunch before heading home.  A massive wind/rain storm hit literally as we were leaving the city.  Little did we know that was the tale end of a Tornado that actually touched down in Strathmore!  So glad we weren't all set up and camping when that hit!


We were home by 5pm.


WHAT A GREAT LONG WEEKEND!  THANK YOU FRIENDS!

Love the Skin I am in....

This summer, and starting with this weekend at Motion Notion (a Music Festival), I am going to 'try' to Love the Skin I am in.

I am not (necessarily) going to suck in my belly.  I am going to try to walk with the confidence I want to - Loving every square inch of me, no matter how flabby it may be.

I do love me.  I am sad that I am a little heavy on the bottom, but really - who cares?

So fuck it.  Why hide behind me sucking in my stomach, instead, take me all in and love me cause I am Awesome.


Yup.  I say this now.... Let's see how I feel after the weekend!


xoxox

Camping! Want to join us?

JUNE


Drumhellar, Blariot Ferry campground ~ really hoping to gets spots down in the trees beside the River!

Evening Wed June 29 - Sunday July 3

Wed:  Arrive late evening (9-10?)
Thurs:  Tyrell Museum
Fri-Sat :   I would really like to go for a hike in the badlands!
Sun:  On the way out of Drum I'd like to take Quinn to 'Reptile World', as well, weather pending maybe we'll go up the huge dinosaur and maybe go to the splash park  :)


                                                                                                                                                              

JULY

Our July trip will be one of two plans.  We have taken vacation July 15-24.


PLAN A:    MoNo.  If Lair's mom can come watch Quinn from July 14 - 18, we will be going to MOTION NOTION.   Holy is the line up ever good this year!!  We really need to get out and have some 'Birdy and Lair'  time!  So I have my fingers and toes crossed that this plans falls into place.

If it does, we will come home on Mon July 18 then probably on Wed July 20 head off to Kananaskis for camping with Quinn (July 20-23).

PLAN B:   NoMo.  If plans fall through and we can not attend Motion Notion, we will take off on Friday July 15, either to Kananaskis, or maybe the Shuswap / Okonogan.

                                                                                                                                                               August long weekend is Fri evening July 29 - Mon, Aug 1.  Lair has plans saturday July 30th, but I was thinking of reserving a spot at Natures Hideaway (http://www.naturesfamilycampground.com/) for the weekend, having Lawrence drop the trailer so Quinn & I could hang out {Possibly with LISA and fam??} and anyone else who wishes to join us.

August looks to be a quiet month as we are both pretty much tapped on our vacation days for the year.  So we'll probably use August weekends to go to:

* Calloway Park
* Heritage Park
* Science Center
* West Edmonton Mall

                                                                                                                                                              

September...

Might try to get out camping one last time for September Long.  I wonder if we could arrange a Group trip to BENT RIVER RANCH?  (The original site of Motion Notion / site Jeff & Joannes booked)

                                                                                                                                                            

If any of this interests you - just let me know ~ our little family loves company!


AUGUST

No more tenting for this gal!

This past friday we headed up to Red Deer after work to have a visit with Marianne and the boys.  My how they are growing!  (now 11 & 15).  It was nice to see them.  I hope we get a chance to hang a bit this summer to go to the parks (Zoo, Calloway, Science centre, etc).

Quinn was Ben's little Shadow, it was pretty cute.

On saturday after lunch we all headed up to leslieville for a quick visit with Jason & Dixie.

Leslieville is as small as it sounds!  LOL
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=leslieville+alberta&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x5375c5c045f32e6b:0x4cee469b83c9b806,Leslieville,+AB,+Canada&ei=k-0ATuWGEY32tgPh9vC8DQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ8gEwAA


Jason & Dixie have a very old house from the 1920's that has been expanded on over the course of the years - it's interesting to say the least!  They are doing a great job of remodelling it.  Most people just paint and put down laminate flooring.... they knock down and rebuild outer walls - move exterior doors - and add Epic windows.

Their latest addition is their AMAZING bathroom.  Jetted tub for 2 with a chandelier above, and an incredible shower for two.  Terrific tile work, lighting and water works.  GOOD JOB BROTHER!


I digress.  Had a quick visit with Dixie as she had to go to work then Jason & Lawrence got to work hooking up the trailer.


We bid farewell to Marianne & the boys then took jason out for lunch in Rocky Mountain House (15 minutes away), then we pulled away with our new trailer.  It was my dad's, so I feel like my family has a little piece of him.  Many of my childhood memories are that of him taking us camping LOTS (we had a tent trailer then).  So it's nice to have the fun happy memories that I can associate with his trailor and my family creating the same memories for Quinn.

So we are now the proud owners of a 16 foot Skyline 'Nomad' (1992). 

Here is a similar one :

Our actual photos to follow after our maiden voyage to Drumhellar for the Canada Day/Brenn's B-day Long Weekend!

We found a storage place 5km from our house!  22X Storage.

Last night we brought it home and cleaned it.  Wow, did dad ever take pride in his trailer!  He obviously gave it a huge cleaning before he put it away for the winter.  He had only insured it 10 days before his passing, so was still in winterized condition.

It was very clean - including the potty!  It was not a big deal to spray down the whole thing and freshen it up.  We went though the items in and decided what to keep and what to toss and 'moved in' our camping kitchen stuff.

We are pretty excited.


Jason did a once over and a mechanical inspection and said it's good to go for this season, but it would need some work next year.  Just to be on the safe side, we made an appointment at the 'Hitch Experts' for an inspection / tune-up (to be done tomorrow).  There were a few issues Jason couldn't fix that we would like tended to.

Hopefully repairs and maintenance won't cost too much and hopefully they will be able to show us how to actually operate everything!!  I'm excited to not have to run to the potty (or bushes) for a cold pee in the middle of the night!


I can't wait to stock it with all the Camping essentials.  All we will need when we head out is food and our clothes!


As mentioned above re: Canada Day;   Fri July 1 is the stat, so we also took Thur June 30 off.  We will head to Drumhellar after dinner on WED July 29 to Blariot Ferry Campground.   We plan to go the the Tyrell Museum on Thursday, then kick back and relax fri & sat, and on the way home I was thinking of stopping in Drum to the Reptile world.

Quinn's teeth

Quinn's molars are totally coming out  :)  He's never mentioned anything about pain or discomfort so I guess it's all good. 

His front tooth that popped out in May is pretty much out, yet the tooth in front of it is still not wiggly!  The dentist said it it doesn't make any head way by august to pop in to see him...

Inshalla Music Conference, June 10 - 12

WOW, did we ever have an Amazing time at Inshala!  A family friendly music festival near Fort McLeod (150km South of Calgary).

I was off at noon, Lair was off at 3, and we were on the road by 4:30.  We met up with the ALLAN's enroute.  I don't know what we were more excited about.  The festival?  Or spending the weekend with the Allans!

Tracy Marie was so kind to lend us her Boler.  It was super cool just pulling in and being 85% ready.

Unfortunately, due to flooding of the nearby river, the campground itself flooded so we were up slope in a field.  No biggy.

The site itself was nice.  A few potties, a nice little park for the kids.  2 stages.  The Art lab and the Geo Dome.


Friday night was an early night.  I think we were back to the camp site by 11 and in bed by midnight.


Saturday morning I got up with Quinn and hit the playground by 9 am.  At 9:30 was a craft session at the 'Kids Zone'.  Then a Biologist to the kids (15 kids?) on a nature walk around the site for about an hour, then she played games with them.  It was pretty awesome!

I attended a Workshop which was 100% me and my thoughts!  It was about engaging your 'Telepiphone' (telepathic awareness).  This workshop wasn't about reading peoples mind, but connecting with others with your energy and learning how your energy effects you and those around you.  It was enlightening.  And it was spectacular to be sharing this workshop with 40+ other people.  It left me on a spiritual high!


I headed back to camp and unfortunately, the Rain decided to make an appearance.  It came down pretty hard but with the 2 sun shelters we had set up we were fine.  Sad part was, it rained during some scheduled kids activities so these didn't take place :(

I had a date with a 2-6 of Sailor Jerry Rum...  Good idea - bad idea!?  LOL  I had a good time that's for sure, though it got a little sloppy at times.

Quinn was energetic enough to stay up late and come to the main stage with us.  He mostly stayed on Lairs shoulders.  He says he had a great time and he enjoyed the Fire Performers the most.  I believe Lawrence & Quinn went to bed after 11.  I continued to dance dance dance the night away.

Pure Awesomeness.  Great people!  Fabulous Music!

Blue Lunar Monkey kept me moving, it was heaven for my ears!  After his set (ended at 4am?), I went to pour me and Sailor Jerry in BED.




I slept in till 10:30.  We slowly packed up.

Quinn and I went for a walk and we ended up at a drumming seminar in the Art Lab!  It was SO much fun!  Quinn lost interest and went to play at the park but I stayed for the whole thing.  It was pretty Tribal.

There was a 'kids parade' where the kids dressed in their costumes and went for a walk around site ending at the art lab where the closing ceremony was about to Begin.

I loved how they started the closing ceremony.  Everyone gathered, then they asked the children to come in and they all marched in while everyone clapped and hooted and hollered.  It was incredible.  Typing this brings tears to my eyes, not sure why - just the celebration for our children was so heart felt and beautiful!

Quinn volunteered to help take down some signs, but we switched to help tear down the Kid Zone area.  When we left the Art Lab, Quinn had a complete meltdown.  The poor thing just couldn't stop crying.  We finally got it out of him that he was just so sad that Inshala was over.  He so didn't want it to end....  It took him till we were 1/2 way home to compose himself.  poor little guy.  At least we know he had a good time!

So off we headed to home where I welcomed my BED with open arms.


NAMASTE INSHALA ~ Till we meet again!

I hope next year Lisa, Dean & Ivy and the Paranteaus will join us!