Back from the Arctic: The Highlights

Okay. So, we aren't really back from the Arctic....for a while there....I really did think we were at the Arctic this weekend. Must have been body memories.

We went camping this weekend. You knew that. What you didn't know was that I survived. Barely. Even though, overall, we had a good time, and good memories were made, and a whole new slew of stories were hatched, there were times that I was downright miserable. It was one of those camping experiences that I said I never wanted to be a part of. And yet....I was. Darn it! I was, and am, thankful for kids' ability to be oblivious to some circumstances and carry on like nothing is wrong. Making lemonade out of lemons.

This last weekend was opening day for bow hunting season. The last couple of years, the kids and I have tagged along and gone camping while Tim is out hunting. Part of me dreads it, but I usually end up having a good time. The kids enjoy going, too. Especially when their cousins are around. Circumstances were such that we didn't see a whole lot of cousins. Oh well...my kids still managed to have fun. I survived....though there were times I had fun, too.

The campground that we stay at has a lot of fun things for the kids to do. We camped in the same spot as last year....right next to the playground. I love that they kids can get up in the morning and jump right into playing. They love it. The bad thing about that, though, is that it is impossible to get one certain boy to stop playing long enough to eat. I learned to just give Luke stuff he could eat on the run. Once we figured that out, he ate quite a bit!!

The other bonus of our camp spot is the proximity to a pond....that supposedly contains fish. Thanks to Great Uncle David for the fishing poles....and to Uncle Ken for the tackle and experience...and to Uncle Tony for the Powerbait....my kids spent hours at that pond doing their darnedest to catch one of those fish. I should probably thank myself in there, too. I can't tell you how many times I untangled fishing lines....retied on hooks and weights...removed seaweed...and replaced bait. Thankfully, I never had to remove a fish...thought I was more than prepared to do so. I must also thank a couple of Strangers that came at opportune moments to save me from a pickle....or replaced some weights that we had lost. I called them my angels.




Luke got pretty good at casting. Caden did a pretty good job teaching how. He was quite proud of himself for remembering everything that Uncle Ken had taught him. He loved that we would defer to him with our questions. I chose this picture of Luke casting because if you click on it and look in the upper left hand corner...you will see that the hook is covered in seaweed. The pond was FULL of it...and we always lost the bait. Luke and his optimism preferred to fish without bait....because he was catching Seaweed Pokemon. Notice his "Big" catch in the second picture.




Here is a picture of Caden being the expert. He eventually decided that putting on the Powerbait wasn't such a bad idea. I love this picture because it captures them in one of those rare, precious, completely agreeable moments.

The seaweed was so bad that the boys even took to practicing their casting in the grass. Believe it or not...they had more success in the grass than in the pond. Did I mention that the seaweed was bad? Ugh.


After a while...Daria took to a different kind of fishing. The pond was good for something. It was full of tadpoles. The little picture may not show them...but if you click to make it bigger....you'll see them. There were hundreds.


I was amazed at Daria's fearlessness. She picked them up without even a shiver. We had a couple of tadpoles as pets in a bucket at the campsite for a couple of days. They got tipped over the last night...and with a cry...Daria scooped them up and ran them to the pond. Thank goodness they lived. I can't imagine the drama if they hadn't. Here she is trying to scoop up some more tadpoles.

Tim spent a lot of time hunting this year. We didn't see him basically at all on Saturday. They headed out to go hunting at 3:30 in the morning. (ugh) They didn't come back into camp until some time after 8:00 p.m. Sunday, they hunted in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day in camp. That was nice to be together that day. We drove to a nearby lake called Lake Penland. We attempted to fish there as well.

At least some of us did.


I really don't think we had the right gear for fishing. We quickly lost both hooks and weights on the rocks at the bottom of the lake. Caden was so upset. He really loves to fish and had hoped to finally catch one at this lake. It didn't help any that we watched another kid reel in a really nice fish not too far from us. Guess that tells me that I need to invest in some better fishing gear....and learn how to use it!!

After we lost the tackle, we decided to hike around the lake a little. Caden had a hard time finding much joy in that activity. He was still mourning the loss of his gear. Oh well. He did snap out of it long enough to take a picture with this really cool looking tree.
Even with all these fun memories, the biggest impression I have of our camping experience was how stinkin' cold it was. In past years, when things have been a little tough for the Mom, I have put on a smile and done my best to make the best of it. There were a couple of time this last weekend, that I was so miserable that I just cried. I don't think the kids knew....so that is good.

We arrived Friday afternoon to a wonderful afternoon. It was so warm and comfortable. I was really hoping that it would be a good sign for the rest of the weekend. I had seen the temperatures for the Portland area and I knew it was going to be cool. Tim tried to convince me that Eastern Oregon is always warmer. Still....I prepared for cool temperatures. It is a good thing that I did. Even so, I don't feel like I prepared enough.

Saturday started off cloudy and cold. I so did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. I snuggled in my sleeping bag, waiting for a glimmer of the sun. It never came, and my bladder finally drove me from the warmth of my sleeping bag. I quickly pulled out several layers of long-sleeve shirts and fleecies for the kids and I. Somewhere around mid afternoon, the sky cleared and the sun came out. I did manage to get down to one layer of fleece at one point. For a very brief amount of time. I was optimistic again that Sunday would be warmer. We went to bed with a clear sky. I took that as a good sign.

Boy, was I wrong. If I thought that Saturday was cold, Sunday was a freezer. I didn't even want to eat breakfast that morning, because everything seemed too cold. I put twice the amount of layers on the kids and I and I still was so cold. I hated to be envious of my sister in law as she would load her three kids up and haul them to her mom's trailer to keep them warm. I felt like this homeless waif, pleading with her eyes, as she left. I was so pathetic. I was so cold.

Around 11:00 a.m., I had walked up to the bathrooms. As I was leaving, I heard the camphost announce that it was 42 degrees. Still. No wonder I was so cold and my fingers felt like popsicles. I kept looking to the sky....praying for an opening in the clouds to let the sun come in. No such luck. For the most part, the kids were pretty good sports about the cold. I wasn't. Inwardly, I was that homeless waif. Pathetic. And cold. By the end of the day, my shoulders began to ache from scrunching them up. I kept telling myself to relax them...but soon they would creep up again. I think you see my shoulders...and my pathetic look in this picture. Humbling.

If you notice in the background of that picture, you will see that it is pouring. And I mean pouring. Around 7:00 that night....it poured for about 15-20 minutes. And hailed. Tim kept emptying out the top of the tarp over the tent and I would watch it cascade down the sides of the tent. I was so hoping that it wasn't soaking the things inside.

Thankfully, my brother in law had a little propane heater that he loaned to us. Since the fire restrictions are so strict up there, no fires were allowed. I cursed being a Good Little Girl and sticking to the rules. I wanted a fire so badly. We made do with that little heater though the output needed to be several times higher. I tried to be thankful. (Can you tell that Sunday was a dark day for me? Pathetic. And cold.)






I hate to admit it....but Sunday night just about broke me. I was extremely tempted to load my kids up and head for home. The slightest excuse would have sent me there. If I had been Samantha...I would have twinkled my nose and been home...soaking in my hot bath. As we crawled into bed that night, I was so relieved. And yet I dreaded it as well. I knew it was going to be cold. I was praying that it would be a short night...rather than a long night.

We turned the heater on in the tent for a little while that night as we climbed into bed. That was nice, though it took me forever to warm up. 12+ hours of being out in 40 degree weather chills a body out. When Tim left to go hunting, he asked me if I wanted it on. Being nervous about it in the tent, I said no. I so regretted that decision.

Overall, I think we were fairly warm that night. For the most part, I felt warm that morning....but my toes were cold. When Luke climbed in with me, I felt his toes and they felt a little cool, too. I did notice that the condensation was frozen in these perfect little drops on the inside of the tent. Then I noticed that even my breath was leaving frost marks on my sleeping bag. Talk about not wanting to get out of bed! Unfortunately, my bladder forced me out a lot sooner than I wanted!! I was cheered by the fact that I saw a little sunshine on the tent. Yee haw! So, I climbed out to make a trek to the bathroom intending to come crawling back into my sleeping bag. When I got outside, I was pleased to feel the warmth of the sun. It was still cold...but that sun felt so good!!! I was praising Jesus for the sunshine...that's for sure!!

While the kids stayed in their sleeping bags, I pulled out the camera to catch some pictures of the cold. I will only post one....but it proves how cold it was! I think Tim said that at 4:30 in the morning...it had been 28 degrees. He thinks it probably got a little cooler after that.

As the sun cheered my spirit, I had to laugh at my cold weather gear. When I packed, I didn't expect things to get quite so cold. So, my cold weather gear for the weekend was layer after layer of fleece, sweatshirts, vests, etc. I tried to take a picture of myself...but I only got the top half. Embarrassing picture...but kind of funny, too.

But...if you thought I was funny, Daria was downright hilarious.


Even though I spent a lot of time complaining about the cold and the rain, I think we had a good time. In another year or so, I will look back and laugh. Already I am finding some humor in it. I can handle tough things. My attitude just needs to agree with that fact!

In closing, here are a couple of pictures of the cousins on the last day.

T'was a Grand Ol' Day....

Why is it that holidays are always better when a little family is involved? This Fourth of July, we really had the family stuff going on. I don't remember exactly what day it was, but Mom had the grand idea of inviting as much of the family to come celebrate as we could. Amazingly, everyone was available!! What fun. And fun is exactly what we had. We had fun packed in there from morning until very late at night. I will say that we did have some work in there. But, there is something about work before a party.....it almost doesn't seem like work.

To start the day off, my kids were excited to spend some time shooting off bb guns. Caden literally spent hours out there shooting that thing. He was bound and determined to master that thing. He really can be tenacious when he wants to be. I shot a couple of times....it was fun. My dad sent the gun home with Tim....so now maybe I can get the cats that like to do their business in my flower beds.



Isn't it cute that they are all wearing tie-dye shirts? That was their project the night before. I think they had fun....

Personally, I think the best part of family gatherings....or any gatherings for that matter....is the food. Considering the fact that we all had just a couple of days to plan....we really had a feast that day. On days like that, I wish that I had an Extend0-Stomach....and that all calories were null and void. Since that isn't the case, I just ate myself silly.


For Tim to really enjoy food, he has the mentality of calories-in/calories out. So, the kids, and the Men-Folk gathered together and played an old-fashioned game of kickball. The last couple of years, when my family has been together for vacation, we have played kickball. Kind of a fun way for us all to get involved without too much stress. Tradition!! I ended up not playing....I was torn between visiting family I don't see all that often....and taking pictures. Though I must say, the pictures really don't capture the joy of the game......


I have to laugh at the above picture. If you notice, that is Daria's leg that is mimicking Kyle's kick. I see her do that all the time out on the soccer field. I think she wants to be in the action all the time....which isn't possible....so she pretends. Cracks me up. I'll bet she will be one of those Moms who opens their own mouth when they are spoon feeding their babies. I'm going to catch that on film some day!

During the kickball game, Caden had the good luck, or bad luck all depending on how you look at it, of losing one of his teeth. Truly, he lost his tooth. That little bugger of a tooth went flying out of his mouth....only to get lost in the wilds of the grass. I spent quite some time looking for that dirty little bugger with no luck at all. Caden was devastated...and a bribe of twice the amount of money didn't keep him from falling apart. A while later, he finally let me take a picture of his gaping hole. Notice the other tooth that is dangling......it has yet to fall out. Ugh.



As luck should have it, Tim and I had a few tricks up our sleeves for entertaining the gaggle of kids. Actually, we had brought them along to share amongst our smaller family....but it was nice that it was able to spread around to the extended family. Tim brought out his balloon rockets again....and the kids had a blast. It was fun watching them giggle and chase their balloons all over the field.

I had brought along some Mentos and Diet Pepsi to do a little "experiment" for the kids. I had done it at our Power Lab vacation bible school the week before and my kids thought it was a blast. I thought it was too. So, we had fun sharing.

The kids thought it was fun to drink the pop after the explosion was done. Yuck. I'm pretty sure that Mint Diet Coke is not the next up and coming flavor.


And what would the Fourth of July be with out a few fireworks? Between my cousin and I, we were able to keep the kids entertained for quite some time. It was also nice that several places around my parents' house were setting off some pretty impressive fireworks, too. It made for a pleasant evening, to sit there around the campfire, talking with family, enjoying the fireworks and the kids' excitement, without the hassle of dealing with crowds.

Of course, there were the traditional sparklers:




Then...there were the Mongo Sparklers. (Didn't even know that they made things like this!!!!)




It was a great day that went out with a bang....or two....or three.....

Farragut State Park!

Today we went to one of my favorite childhood swimming holes at Beaver Bay on Lake Pend Oreille in Farragut State Park. I'm not sure why it is one of my favorite. It is a wonderful little man-made bay that is perfect for family swimming. The distance across is short enough that I could actually swim across it....and I thought that was pretty darn cool.

If I remember correctly, Lake Pend Oreille is the largest lake in North Idaho. AND....it is extremely deep. So deep that there is a Naval Base on this lake. Because it is so deep....it is so cold.

For me, the best way to get into the water is to just dive in. Unfortunately there are no docks. I hate getting into the water inch by inch. That is pure and absolute torture!
The kids thought that the adults should be a little more involved. It is so much more fun to be in the water than to be beside the water. Unless, of course, you are fishing. I think some of the boys fished for a while. Luke wanted to see Papa get just a little bit more wet.
He also thought that Auntie Tresa should be a little more wet as well. You can see that she was really wanting that!!


Even though the water was cold, once you got in....and stayed moving....we had a lot of fun.


Tim also got in the water.....sort of. He looks like he doing something really cool....but he is only in about 2-3 inches of water. He doesn't even want to get his toes wet. Woos.

I think Tim got a little more wet when he rode in the raft. That raft is a kid magnet....and they are in and out...in and out. Them...along with the water they bring with them!

I guess we must have played hard.....Papa had a hard time staying awake. Guess that is a good sign of another good day.

Say Your Prayers, Varmint!

a.k.a: Grammy's Revenge!


I know that I have mentioned before that the older you get, the more aware our bodies are of how cold the water can be. Thus, when we are on family vacations, the kids play willy nilly in the lakes....while the grown ups park their fannies on the beach. If it is hot enough outside, I still like to get in the water....but sometimes it is harder to get in than I wished it was.

But, I digress.

My mother did a very surprising thing while we were at Farragut. The kids, particularly Kyle, had been giving Grammy grief all afternoon. Splashes here. Splashes there. They were truly relentless. Grammy was throwing back some grief all afternoon as well. Threat here. Threat there. Even if all the splashes and threats never mounted to anything, they were all having a lot of fun.

Over time, some of Grammy's threats started showing a little more buffoonery. Every once in a while, she would charge into the water, puffing up her arms like a peacock on alert, heckling them along. The kids thought that was hilarious and would charge back into the safety of deeper waters, giggling all the way. At one point, I remember asking my mom at what point does she go charging in after them. She told me that she was contemplating it....but I never really thought that she would go in after them. The kids clearly thought that she would never go in after them.
Boy...did she surprise us all.



So the mantra became: "Say your prayers, varmint." Translation: You have thrown around enough guff....now sit there and take your medicine.

Kyle, of course, was the first target. He had been taunting and teasing more loudly and more relentlessly than all of the others combined. I haven't decided if he has gotten some sort of death wish or something.

Of course, the other kids thought that having Grammy in the water and dunking people was just too priceless to ignore. The heckling picked up to a feverous roar. They all must have had death wishes, too......


Grammy must have really done some damage to those kids' egos. I just sat there and laughed as I watched kids, still throwing out the guff, mind you, paddle themselves clear across the bay to avoid the dunkings. It is easy to throw out the threats when you are out of range!!


Even after Kyle had been dunked a time or two, he still came back, begging for more. (Sorry about the picture, Mom....it tells a story! Besides....I don't think it looks bad.)

Silly boy. Doesn't he ever learn?

Lots of fun. Lots of laughter. Lots of memories. And....a lot of prayers.