Family Vacation ~ a week to remember

On Wednesday August 13th Papa, Grandma Cathy and Douglas spent the night at our place and the Brundritt family came by at about 3:30 am. We finished packing up the vehicles, loaded up the half sleeping children and pets and we were off....Well, we would have been off if the Brundritt mobile was working.... the battery needed a boost! Hmmmm, was this a glimpse of what was to come?
After a quick trip to Timmy's we were on our way - for a long 12 hour drive to the Great White North (well hopefully green and not white, but definately north) Somewhere along the way - around Dutton I think - the Brundritt mobile acquired a speed wobble.....Oh no, what now? We pulled over at a rest stop and Al shifted the load in his trailer and van to correct the problem. A short while later and we were off again....When lunchtime came we stopped at an area along a small lake. Tilden Lake in Temagami. We ate sandwiches, let the dogs stretch their legs, and yelled at the kids to "stay out of the mud!" It was a beautiful place to rest from the long drive but the stress of trying to keep the kids away from the water and out of the mud puddles was taxing. Once we got back on the road I felt like I needed a rest from our rest stop.

There were three vehicle loads full of us going to Cochrane and we carried radios in each vehicle to be able to communicate with each other along the way. Sometime along the drive up Papa (my dad) came on the radio and said "Do you ever wonder what the trees are thinking as they stand here all this time looking at the hydro poles??? One tree is probably saying to the other tree "hey does that look like cousin George to you?" *Sigh* Only MY dad would think up something like this....
Well past the half way mark and heading toward the last leg of our journey, we came into the New Liskeard and Dymond area. As we rounded a bend in the road, Al came on the radio telling us that our trailer wheel on the passenger side was wobbling.... we pulled into a gas station to confirm it - the wheel bearing blew.
The service station attendant directed us to KalTire down the road. We creeped down the road at a snail's pace praying our tire wouldn't fall off completely. When we pulled into KalTire the
mechanics came out to inspect our problem and told us that they were unable to help - they didn't do that kind of work - they just did tires. They were nice enough to lend us the tools necessary to do the work ourselves though, and told us how to get to Canadian Tire to pick up the parts we need.
The men got the the trailer jacked up and removed the tire and did all that macho greasy man stuff then left us and the kids there while they went to Canadian Tire to get the parts we needed to fix the wheel. We kept the kids occupied with snacks and drinks.... it was a nice break from the long drive anyway. The kids explored the parking lot and a stack of old tires and the older girls walked the dogs a bit. It felt like the men were gone for such a long time. When they finally returned we anticipated a quick fix and getting back on the road toward our destination. Things rarely happen the way we expect them to....It's a good thing that Papa is an awesome back yard mechanic and he really knows what he's doing .... a word to the wise - Never leave home without your own personal mechanic, especially on a long road trip. Papa and Al got the tire fixed on the one side of the trailer and wisely suggested we do the other side as well. A good thing we did - it may not have made it all the way to Cochrane either. Did I mention that during this whole procedure we had a torrential down pour????
It started thundering and then came the lightening. When it started raining the kids all jumped back into the vehicles. Cherie and I tried our best to keep the men dry while they worked tirelessly on our tire problem. The rain was cold and very very wet! It did eventually end but we were so soggy by then that it really didn't matter anymore. Thank God we all have a sense of humour... we needed it. As the men were finishing up and returning the tools to the guys in the Tire Shop, one guy - Kim Lee Hamelin - brought us out new blue golf shirts to change into since our clothes were soaking wet. What a blessing that was - it never felt so good to be dry. We left KalTire three hours later feeling very thankful for how our day had turned out so far... things could have been so different but they turned out well in the end.

As we journeyed on, we concentrated on spotting wildlife - moose, bears, deer, etc.... As we studiously looked for signs of wildlife, Grandma Cathy was focused on spotting signs of Tim Hortons! She had much better luck than we did.
Once we finally arrived in Cochrane after an adventurous 16 hours, we stopped at our favourite A&W Restaurant for dinner. We must have looked like some sort of sports team or something with our matching shirts (Thanks to Kim Lee Hamelin @ KalTire) and a bus load of children. We had dinner and with filled bellies and tired bodies we crawled back into the vehicles again... for the final 15 minutes of our drive to Kamp Koppes.We arrived at our place and unloaded vehicles and unpacked our bags. the kids were so excited to have finally reached our destination... I think the adults were too. We set up camp and settled in for the night.

Friday was spent cutting grass and tidying up the place... lots of trimming trees and cutting paths through the bush for the kids.It was the first day of Bear Season so the men weren't around much.... the women held down the fort.
We played on the ATV and enjoyed the view from the new observation deck Mike built this year (tower 1). The view overlooking the ravine is so beautiful - the sound of the water running down the stream has a hypnotic effect to it. One could stand on the deck for hours just drinking in the sights and listening to the water playing over the rocks below... and not even notice the time passing by. What a relaxing place to be. When the noise and activity level rose around camp, I'd escape to that tower to lose myself for a while in the beauty of what the Lord has given us - and we are so humbled by His magnificence and Greatness... and our smallness and dependence upon Him. Sunday was an exciting day. The Brundritt family had brought their own pop up trailer up to Kamp Koppes and set up camp next to our place and Papa and Grandma Cathy and Douglas bunked with us. There were four adults and seven children in our place (including two dogs) and two adults and three children in theirs (including one dog). All sixteen of us met in our place each morning for breakfast - oatmeal and toast - and on Sunday Mike preached a mini sermon for us. In the afternoon we went into town to attend the Cree Festival (like a pow wow for the native community in this area). We had a great time watching the dancers and listening to the singers.
The kids even tried a few dances on top of the hill we were standing on - they looked pretty good : ) It started to rain so we went into a tent marked "Cree Language" and visited with a few Cree teachers while we waited out the rain. We went in to the arena and checked out the local crafts and things for sale.
The men did some more hunting in the afternoon and they discovered a huge area of blueberries... so they came back to get us all to go berry picking. We had a great time picking blueberries. I have never seen so many berries... wow, what an incredible sight. The kids had so much fun climbing over tree trunks to collect handfuls of juicy blue yumminess.
The kids had blue stained hands, faces, and bottoms of their feet.... how in the world did they get blue stained feet?That night things cooled down a bit. A wild thunderstorm rolled in near bedtime and kept the dogs and the little ones awake longer than anyone wanted. The lightening was awesome and the thunder sounded like nothing I've ever heard before... it rumbled and crashed and shook the ground - you could almost feel it in your bones. It was amazing to watch. The wind blew and the leaves on the trees sounded like a waterfall.... and then the water really fell. It was a driving rain that came suddenly and seemed to escalate in waves. It was blowing right into the windows I had to get out of bed to close them all before we got soaked. The sound of the wind and rain against the trees finally lulled me to sleep.

When we woke in the morning (on Monday) it was considerably cooler and drizzling rain. Grandma Cathy and I went into town to pickup a few things. We were surprised to learn that it snowed today in Cochrane - wow, what a summer vacation.... SNOW!!!! Tuesday morning was freezing - there was frost on the vehicle windows .... is this really summer?

Papa (or Gladys as he's been affectionately renamed) went hunting outback (towards the back of the 75 acres ... on the other side of the stream near tower's 2 & 3) He put on his camo, took the ATV and drove off into the sunrise - it was suggested that he wear waders as there are a few spots that are deep and wet since it has rained so much this year. Gladys opted not to and off he went. It was only a short time later that the radio crackled and Gladys' voice hesitantly informed us that the ATV was stuck - really stuck - in a water hole....(Hmmm, probably wishing he had those waders now.) Mike and Al donned their waders and went off to rescue Gladys and the sinking ATV.
Once the ATV was back on dry land Gladys continued on to the back to hunt. We later found out that he spent the better part of the day in his camo boxers while his clothing sun dried on the walls of the blind/tower. Good thing the sun was shining and the temperature in the sun was nice and cozy. Perfect for partially nude sunbathing in the wild.

We wore winter coats in the morning, needed shorts and tshirts in the afternoon, and back to winter coats in the evening. We spent the day cutting trails in the bush, hiked down to the stream, and the kids played a javelin game uncle Al made for them. The kids were so dirty and muddy. We took turns on the ATV going down the road to see some giant moose tracks along the side of the road.
Today some of us acquired nick names that will stay with us for the rest of our lives (or whenever we're camping anyway). I was affectionately known as "Outhouse Annie" (yes, we do have an outhouse... LOL) my sister Cherie became "Trailer Trash Tracey" (her family camped out in the pop up trailer next to our place), my step mother Cathy came to be known as "Crabby Cathy" and dad was simply known as Pa (pronounced Paw - with a hillbilly twang) but his name later changed to Gladys???for some unknown reason. Al became "Alice" and Mike was "Michelle" - they partly got these new names because of their hen parties they'd have when they got together after hunting .... cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck.... (worse than women...LOL)

Suddenly it was Wednesday - day 7 already, where has the time gone? We had our last breakfast of toast and oatmeal in Styrofoam cups (I have developed a hatred for oatmeal) Over breakfast, everyone shared what their most memorable time this past week was. Some favorites were:

-ATV rides

-Papa getting the ATV stuck in the mud hole out back and needing to be rescued.

-papa almost naked in tower 2 sun drying his clothes after getting stuck in the mud.

-hiking down to the stream together

-having to repair the tires on the trailer in the downpour at KalTire

-attending the Cree fest

- just spending time together as a family.
We all took family pictures at the Kamp Koppes sign.... that was an experience in itself - everything we do is an adventure.


We all went in search of the local dump to look for bears.... on the way there we passed a pasture full of goats.... "horsies!!!!" my little ones excitedly hollered .... wow are they ever sheltered. After a long back road adventure - and a hand drawn map on the back on my gum package from some local guy - we finally made it to the dump! Our excitement was short lived - the gate was locked and the sign said closed Wednesday's.
Hahaha just our luck. We were standing around with binoculars trying to get a view of the garbage piles to see if we could at least spot any bears when a city worker pulled up on a tractor and told us that it was too dangerous for us to be walking around out there - that's comforting.We went for a drive up and down some back roads.... (everything is a back road up here) ... but didn't see much - except beautiful scenery. When we returned to camp the Brundritt's all went into town to go swimming (ya, it was snowing yesterday but hot enough to swim today... figure that one out) Papa and Mike went out hunting and Cathy and I stayed at the camp with the kids and fought off dragon flies.... we are now known as the "Dragonfly Slayers".... but that's a whole other story.
The day eventually came when it was time to leave Kamp Koppes and Cochrane behind and head back to Chatham.... our vacation was over. We grudgingly packed our bags and loaded the vans for the return trip. On our way home we stopped in Dymond at a Food Basics store - well not the store but the parking lot. We were hungry and needed to feed the herd. Cherie and Al have a sweet pop up trailer that has the stove and sink unit that slide out - so we were able to cook burgers right there in the parking lot! I'm sure we looked like a charity trying to sell burgers or something... LOL but it was a good time and we certainly had fun. We were parked right next door to .... you guessed it.... Tim Hortons! So the die hard Timmies fans only had a short hike to get their desired beverage of choice.
When we got to North Bay everyone was gracious enough to stop by the "Dionne Quints" Museum for me so I could have a quick look around.... Al wondered aloud why on earth I (already having seven kids) would want to go look at five more?!?!?! Good point Al : ) Guess I just can't get enough of the little darlings. *No one really minded stopping anyway since the museum was located right across the street from a Tim Hortons.... but isn't everything located across the street from Tim Hortons?
On our continued drive home I had the van window open as we went down the highway - Little G2 piped up "Mommy, I smell Cars!" (Hahaha, she meant the exhaust from the vehicles) A little further on as we drove past a rest stop she started sniffing the air again..... "Mommy, I smell Pizza!" Yes, G2, close your eyes and sleep - it's a very long drive home.
The result of this week: Did our hunters get any bears?

No - no bears, but they did see a big bob cat and a rather large fox - but it was never about the hunting anyway - it was more about all of us spending time together sharing an experience we'll all be talking about for years to come ... making memories - that's what it's all about.

Babe the Black & Tan Coonhound

Introducing Babe
Likes: "Walkies", "Treats", Other dogs (only quiet friendly ones), curling up in bed with mommy & daddy (she's a bed hog though), sneaking up on squirrels and chasing them up trees, "car rides", and snuggling up on the couch with her people to watch TV.
Pet-Peeves: Thunderstorms terrify her, strangers on or near her property bother her....she's protective of her family, "men" generally are a threat to her.....it takes her a long time to be comfortable around adults, especially men, but once she knows you well....you’re one of the pack.
Favorite Food: Babe doesn't have a favorite food.......anything edible is fair game....she is food driven and loses all common sense when she smells something tasty.
Best Tricks: Babe is "treat" motivated and tries really hard to obey, she can "sit" but she doesn't do traditional tricks. She's very adept at hiding her kibble under the pillows on the couch and sneaking past everyone to get upstairs to the forbidden bedrooms. She doesn’t realize she’s a dog. She thinks she should have a soft bed with fluffy pillows too.
Arrival Story: After searching the Internet and many dog shelters for the perfect addition to our family, we came across the AB&TC Rescue. Our family had owned a B&T many years ago and were quite fond of this particular breed so we began to discuss the possibility of adopting one of these beautiful hounds. We applied and were accepted and chose Babe. It sounded like she'd be a perfect match for our family. Babe was originally from Louisiana and was being fostered in Martin, Michigan...still quite a distance from where we are...but the wonderful people at AB&TC rescue arranged transport for her all the way to Detroit, all we had to do was cross the boarder to pick her up! On Saturday February 21/04 we picked up Babe. She was skinny and scared and was probably wondering what in the world was going on, and she was so beautiful! She layed on the seat in our van all the way home...all tuckered out from her long days trip. Once we arrived home she very cautiously explored the kitchen, the living room, and our bedroom (all on the main floor) and excitedly discovered her food and water bowls. Once we coaxed her onto our bed, she curled up for a nap. We have had Babe for just over 4 years now and are pleased at the progress she's made. When she first got here all she wanted to do was hide. She was terrified of every movement and sound. She appears to have been abused and probably by a man, as she would not approach my husband on her own, but if he called her, she would slink across the floor towards him (almost on her belly) with her head down and tail between her legs. Babe is now returns our affection and now wags her tail when she's being petted. She will stand still for a very long time just to allow you to pet her and rub her ears. Babe was so cautious when roaming around the house. She would move from room to room as if she was trying not to be seen. She would not attempt to climb the stairs to the second level of our home....she didn't like stairs and would avoid them at all costs. We carried her upstairs to show her the kid's rooms and she enjoyed investigating all my daughter’s stuffed animals, but she tried to hide behind the door when it was time to go back downstairs....so we carried her back down...although she was very underweight, Babe was not light. Now, Babe's favorite place to be is upstairs on one of the beds. Babe is so much more confident outdoors. She enjoys wandering around our backyard but really prefers to be indoors (in the winter) where it's warm....she despises the snow :) and in the summer where the air conditioning is. Although it appears that she was not used to being indoors, she certainly prefers it. Her favorite places to be are curled up on our bed or up on the couch. She seems to enjoy sleep.....she does it alot! I just can't believe how great this dog is....she can be left alone in the house without being put in her kennel, she does not chew things or get into trouble (she just prefers to sleep), she doesn’t have accidents indoors at all, she does not jump on people, she enjoys car rides and just lays down on the seat, she walks well on the leash, she is not destructive or noisy. Despite the many "issues" Babe has, she has been a wonderful addition to our family and we are so thrilled to be her people.
Upon our first visit to our vet she detected a heart murmur in Babe, which the vet said could be very normal for a 5 year old dog...didn't think it was too serious as Babe didn't have any other symptoms of anything being wrong. We got a special dog food to help put some much needed weight on her as well. Babe was adjusting well to our home and our family and we quickly fell in love with her. A short time later we noticed Babe was coughing quite a bit after our evening walks, the next morning Babe was limping and not using her one back leg very well so I brought her to the vet right away. The vet re examined her and said that her lungs didn't sound right, that Babe was full of a bunch of different parasites, the vet did a heart worm test to check it out and guess what???? Babe was positive for heart worm! Babe was further examined and found to be in a later stage 3 of heart worm disease….her microfiaria count was too high to even count and the risk of treatment was too great to chance.....the vet was concerned that Babe would go onto anaphylactic shock when they began treatment...which would be a far more terrible death to suffer than euthanization. We had only had Babe for 2 weeks thus far and the vet costs were adding up already. We were told that the HW treatment, if we wanted to consider it, would cost between $1100.00 and $1500.00 provided there were no major complications or additional treatments needed later on.
Because of her rapidly deteriorating condition Babe was scheduled for euthanization on the morning of March 8, 2004. 15 minutes before her scheduled appointment, Babe began acting different and started doing many things she wasn't able to do because of her poor health....we decided to give the HW treatment a try. It would be a long, dangerous, uncertain treatment and very costly...but Praise the Lord the AB&TCC Rescue offered to pay for her treatment.
Babe was admitted to the hospital again on March 16, 2004 because her condition seemed to worsen and again on Monday April 5th for another round of heart worm treatment. All went well and she came home on Friday April 9th for another month of recovery before having her final HW treatment on May 4th. Babe successfully completed her final Heart Worm treatment on May 4th 2004.
Babe is 9 years old now and is an important part of our family… she is in good health and behaves pretty much like a normal dog … Because of Babe's tragic past, she was very scared and skinny and in need of lots of love and affection.... she still has some emotional scars from her past but she’s learned to trust us and we’ve all learned how to live with her idiosyncrasies. There are many more shelter dogs out there looking for families of their own... maybe you’re the family they’re looking for?
Babe’s full profile is on Dogster, you can check it out by going to http://www.dogster.com/dogs/64507
The AB&TCC website can be found at http://www.coonhoundrescue.com/
I wanted to say "THANK YOU" to Jenn Tatsu bringing by a "boy" bike last week (just after the previous blog updates went out) to replace B2's "girly bike). He was so excited and can now ride it like a pro all over the yard :) Thanks again.
Summer's half over and I can't seem to figure out where all the time has gone too. I may be wrong but I think as I age, time goes by even quicker. I remember my own summers as a child and sometimes it seemed like there was no end in sight. We'd play tag, hide and go seek, Nicky Nicky nine doors, red rover, British bull dog, truth or dare, baseball, road hockey..... oh the memories.... As I bathed the boys the other day I was surprised to see their legs all bumped and bruised, scratches here and there and two skinned knees. So far there haven't been any stubbed toes - you know the kind - where the skin on the end of your toe comes right off like a little cap, or if you're lucky, it flaps over and is still attached by a small piece....Can you feel it? That familiar stinging pain and then the throbbing..... Hahaha, oh summer time fun..... Our summer time fun is just beginning. We're preparing to go to our property up north for our family vacation. We'll have plenty of stories to share when we get back I'm sure. For now, let me leave you with a few funnies from my herd this week:
* B3 wants some cool new toy. I remind him that I just bought them all some cool new toys and they destroyed them in less than a day. My boys are a little rough with their belongings... or anyone else's for that matter (just ask my nephew Justin - poor kid, when my boys come to visit something always seems to get broken. Sorry Justin.) B3 got a great Tonka dump truck for Christmas - you know, built tough to last.... hahaha, obviously Tonka never met my kids. This truck is metal, well now it is bent metal. But it still goes, and it's still one of his favorite toys. Anyway.... back to the story - B3 wants a new toy and I tell him no, he just destroys his toys and he tells me in a pathetic, whiny voice "something in my body just tells me to destroy things...." Hmm, maybe I'd be scared if it weren't so funny!
*Grandma Windsor was here last week. She stayed with us for a few days. She made dessert after dinner one night. The dessert contained "whipped Cream". B2 got excited when he saw the dessert and exclaimed "Mmmmm Butt Cream!" (Hahaha, butt cream is what I call the baby's diaper rash cream)
*While Grandma Windsor was visiting us B3 proudly told her that "she was a good bersert (dessert) maker"
*B3 was eating dinner - roast chicken with all the trimmings. Holding up a leg bone he suddenly blurted out excitedly "Mommy, this is a dinosaur bone!" (he was a little disappointed when I told him it was just a chicken bone)
* Since going to India on a missions trip I have fallen in love with their spicy cuisine. On occasion I prepare an Indian dish or two for dinner at home - the children really enjoy it. One night B2 piped up "Mama, I'm using Indian hands..." he said holding up his hands. He meant that he was not using his fork but eating with his hands like they do in India. What made it even funnier is that B2 is Indian (North American Indian NOT East Indian)
* The herd was hard at their chores one day and G1 had poop patrol (we have two dogs). I assigned B1 to be the pile finder. B3 spoke up (glad that he wasn't chosen) and said "B1, that's being nice and kindful."
* When I asked B3 to check the chart and see what his chore was he replied "my dream's telling me I already did my chores but I didn't. What's my chore?"
* B3 had been playing out in the backyard and brought me his prize catch of the day..... holding a bug with a pair of kid pliers he said "mommy look, I caught an ear-goo-ick. (translated, that's an earwig)
And here's a heart warming statement to end this blog;
While having dinner tonight Little G2 looked up at me from across the table and confidently said "Mommy, this is MY HOME!" (if you haven't been following this blog, G2 & G3 are recent additions to our family.)
~Have a blessed week and enjoy your summers while you can..... eventually they seem to slip by much too quickly.

If The Bike Fits ... Ride It

I know what you're thinking and Yes, that is one of my boys on a girls bike. Let me explain.... A couple weeks ago B1 wanted to ride his bike so we got it out of the garage and realized that it was much too small for him this year. G1 generously gave up her bike, since it fit him perfectly, in hopes of getting a new one for herself. (Which she eventually did- a new shiny red one) B2 wanted to ride a bike too so he graciously accepted B1's old bike - which was a little big for him but he was determined to grow into it. B2 doesn't know how to ride a bike. He struggled with holding the bike up long enough to awkwardly perch on the seat then fell down, bike and all, into the bushes along the fence. B2 got frustrated and discouraged very easily and vowed never to ride that *stupid* bike again, "he didn't want to ride a bike anyway!" A week or so later my brother in law brought over a bike for B3 (one my niece had just outgrown). He also brought over some training wheels for B2's bike. I tried to put the training wheels on B2's bike... but they were in three pieces and I didn't know what to do with them. I held them up to the bike wheel and tried to imagine what they might look like if they were fastened to the bike but I just couldn't quite figure it out. So I got on the Internet and searched for "How to install training wheels on a bike." I came across an interesting article that talked about why it was not a good idea to put training wheels on a bike, how it gives the child (and parent) a false sense of security, does not teach them the necessary skills and balance they need to actually ride a bike and just prolongs the real "learning to ride a bike" milestone. One thing that really stood out in the article was how the author said that parents put training wheels on their child's bike because they are too lazy to get off their butts and hold the bike for the child or run along side the bike to cheer them on...... WOW, guilty as charged! It went on to give brief instructions on how to get a child riding his/her bike - without training wheels - in only a few minutes. It was just too easy so I had to try it myself. I took B2 out to the garage and fitted him with a helmet and lowered the seat on a smaller bike I had just gotten to put aside for G2 (when she's big enough to begin riding). The trick to teaching them to ride the bike is to get them started on a much smaller bike than necessary. This gives the child plenty of stability and better ability to master the art of steering and peddling at the same time. On a smaller bike, the child had greater control and is able to catch on quicker. Once the child has truly mastered riding the smaller bike, he/she can be fitted for something more suitable for their size. Well this really was just too easy - so I put B2 on the bike, explained what to do with the peddles and how to stop and gave him a push .... and off her went! Just like that. What was impossible for him only a week earlier was now happening - He was riding a two wheeler! He was so proud of himself. I was flabbergasted at how simple this seemed so I called B3 out to the garage and lowered the seat on the bike we just got for him. I took off the training wheels and told him he was going to have to ride the bike without training wheels because it was safer that way and I knew he could do it. He was upset and insecure about the thought of that and asked me to put the training wheels back on so he could learn that way. I told him to get on the bike and explained how to start and stop and gave him a push. He was a little shakier than B2 but he caught on right away and as his confidence grew so did his ability. I was so excited that both boys learned how to ride within minutes - not nearly as excited as they were though.
Speaking of new skills and abilities.... Baby G4 is now crawling! She is determined to get to wherever it is that she wants to go and she sure is getting into everything! Besides crawling to get to her destination, she also uses her bouncy bug. You know the stationary play equipment I'm talking about - like an excersaucer but only in a bug shape with toys attached to it. The front two legs are stationary and the back two legs are not so baby can bounce a bit to exercise her legs. Well Baby G4 has discovered if she leans far enough over the back of the bug and bounces with great enthusiasm she can make this bug go wherever she wants. We timed her the other day and it only takes her 20 seconds to bounce that thing across the living room. The downfall is that she now has access to higher things like table tops, drawers, and the computer. One of her obsessions is to push the button on the front of the computer to turn it on. We finally had to retire the bouncy bug although it was her favorite toy - similar to those old baby walkers from way back when, there were just too many safety concerns.
On July 29th Great Grandma (Margaret Vince) celebrated her 90th birthday. We were brave and took all 7 kids to her birthday party. She had a wonderful evening and the children enjoyed visiting with her and all the other relatives. Things were very peaceful and under control until they had cake and pop. Then a few minutes later you could see the metamorphosis begin. First a few twitches here and there, then some giggles, a few kicks under the table and then some whining..... and it just continued to escalate from there. As people left and the room cleared out a bit, the kids got more anxious to roam around the room. Some crawling, others wiggling under tables, some rolling across the floor and others going from lap to lap enjoying the extra attention (and potential for more sugary treats). The herd wanted to bring all the helium balloons home with them and great grandma quickly agreed that they should have them. But how to get them home was another issue. We already take two vehicles everywhere because we don't all fit into one vehicle - we certainly don't have room for a bunch of helium balloons as well. Grandma and Papa Koppes came to the rescue and offered to drive the balloons home for us (THANKS Grandma and Papa - can you detect the sarcasm?) Kids and helium balloons...... Hmmmm .... I foresee lots of noise and activity ... don't we have enough?!?! On top of that, our hound is so scared of balloons. She shakes and bays at them which makes the kids torment her even more 'cause isn't it funny to see the tall skinny hound going crazy? (At a later date I may devote another write up to our hound Babe - she's got an interesting story too.)
Now for a few funnies from my herd this week:

* "Uh Ineer" Ojibwe for "What's in there?" Hahaha, just joking - it's what our curious 2 year old G3 asks often.

* Papa was playing with G2 on the couch one afternoon. He called her a cutie. G2 responded with "YOU'RE a tootie Papa"
* G1 had just finished cleaning the bathroom (I told the kids to finish up chores before we had some treats) B3 walked into the bathroom where G1 was and said to her "Mmmmm I smell our treat - it's candy isn't it?" He was smelling the citrus scent of the bathroom cleaner. Hahaha

* My little brother Douglas (about the same age as my boys - yeah, that's another story too) told my dad to collect all his pop can tabs for him - because he was saving them up to get him (dad) a wheel chair....... Hahaha

* B2 found a seagull feather outside. He stuck it in his hair and said "Look mom, I'm an Indian" Hahahaha - he's native - of course he's an Indian! Hahaha

*I had B3 at the eye doctor the other day for a check up. The doctor was checking his vision by holding up a letter E across the room from him and making it larger or smaller and asking B3 if he could read the letter. Eventually B3 blurted out "Can you come closer I can't see that?"

* While I was up late one night watching TV I heard one of the kids calling out for me. "Mommy! Mommy!" I went to the girl's room and found little G2 laying very still calling for me. "Mommy I choking" I turned on the light to find that she had vomited on her self - and in her long hair.... needless to say she had a second bath that night.

* My hubby and I went out to dinner with another couple. As we left the restaurant it started to storm. There was plenty of thunder and lightening. I guess B3 was very concerned for me. When we got home he came running to the kitchen and looked at me with relief in his eyes "Mommy, you're okay!" (aren't kids great!?)
In preparation for our upcoming family vacation, taking Buzzy to the groomers was on my list. Check out his little Camo neck tie - too cute! Because Victoria always does such a great job on him and doesn't put bows in his hair or flowery neck ties on him, I wanted to put a plug in for her services. She does excellent work at an affordable rate and is very gentle with her "clients".
Skylar has been at Teen Challenge North in Sault Ste Marie for almost 4 months now. He is doing well and is going to be baptized on Sunday August 10, 2008. Being so far from home is very difficult. I know he would really appreciate a few encouraging words and uplifting letters from family and friends. If you think about it, take a few minutes to write him and encourage him. It really would be a blessing to him. *Please note that due to the nature of the program he is in, all letters are opened and read by staff prior to being given out. You can send your letters to Skylar Sayers c/o Teen Challenge North PO Box 20012 Sault Ste Marie, Ontario P6A 6W3.
Thanks for being such a blessing : )