Chapter 35

camp friends

there was another family at camp at the same time as us.  they serve overseas and led the evening chapel time. 

what a blessing for them to have kids that fit right in with beth and lucy, jake and alex! we all fell in love with all their kids and enjoyed them immensely.  it was an added treat to vacation.

annika, lucy and beth...

jake, alex and PRINCESS leah... 

 

alex and leah

 

the little girls crocheted all week and on talent night at chapel they handed out handmade gifts to everyone!  it was so sweet. what precious hearts. 

this picture was taken at our big picnic at picnic rock.  they loaded their yarn and hooks into backpacks and traveled them along on the boat ride.

 

 

these guys below coined themselves the awesome two and psycho third.  i was a little sorry for jake at first...but he had a bit of a personality change on the trip.  i think it might have had to do with a girl.  not sure but it was really interesting to watch.

 

leah and alex had a photo session.  this was one of my favorites from it. 

 

jake and matthew skipping rocks.  matthew was 17 (i think) and such a great kid (uhummmm...man). 

 

this is kira.  she's 15 i think.  and i don't have many pictures of her because she enjoyed lots of alone time.  :)

 

eric and miles talkin' shop.

 

my friend carla...

 

we enjoyed getting to know miles and carla too, not just the kids.  :)  they taught us a new game that can easily be addictive!  and we learned a lot of good, challenging, and thought-provoking things in chapel from them...things we're still chewing on. 

fishing...

why go to Canada unless you're going to fish?

well, i have to admit i only went out twice.  but eric and jake and a few of the girls were die-hard fisherman.  (except for the day eric was whipped from getting jake's cold)

beth - she loves any kind of animal, even leeches.  she's a "touch" kind of girl and these leeches were thoroughly loved on before dying for our lunch. 

 

lucy out-fished everyone.  this day she caught this plumpy small-mouth bass and an 18 inch walleye.

 

again, beth touched every fish we caught.  :)

 

and the adorable dimples just make her more sweet.

 

and jake made headways this year.  last year he wouldn't touch a leech and wouldn't hold his fish (much less eat them). but he loves to fish. 

this year i told him if you bait your own hook with LEECHES, not just worms, you can be 13 on the way home.  which means he could eat off the adult menu, not the kids' menu.  :) 

he is a hungry boy so he not only baited with leeches, he also made friends with his fish.  good job jake. 

* and on a sidenote - he is totally turning into a young gentleman before my very eyes.  no longer a boy.  just a bit sad mixed with joyful anticipation for him.

 

the family out fishin'.  and on this day it was nasty cold (and i'm wimpy) and raining.  needless to say it was my last day fishing. i preferred staying at camp with lucy and the bear.

pretty cool

my sister-in-law's husband, kyle, was on american chopper a few weeks back.

here is the continuing story. kyle is the guy at the beginning with Paul, jr.

pretty cool.  someone famous in the family.  :)

reality check

living in a hotel, moving, vacation, new job, upheaval, kids going through emotional roller coasters = life here.  and through this it seems like i've tried to just stick the rest of the world in the back of my mind and block it out.

here's a reality check for me.  i have it easy.  these faces will keep me from sleeping tonight...

Go to this link and watch the video.  nothing new or earth shattering.  but even though the statistics are not news to me, i am remembering how wrong they are.

i kinda hope they keep you awake tonight too. 

day 2 - the drive into canada

well, the first picture says it all.

jake had a cold, which after 15+ hours in the car he passed on to everyone else in the family who suffered with it throughout the week.

alex loves her family sooo much and can't get enough of us. (she was actually happy in this picture, just practicing her drama skills - she's good)

beth started a beautiful crocheted blanket and it is looking awesome.

lucy is avoiding the camera - you know, because she wants to be like the older kids.

 

the annual pit stop at the cross river in the next couple of pictures...

 

 

 

 

this stop was on Lake Superior - where the cross river dumps into the lake.

 

the kids thought it would be fun to wade in the water.  the rocks were slippery and slimy and it was a bit treacherous.

 

and then on the way back to shore alex slipped and her sunglasses fell out into the water that was sweeping towards the lake. 

super hero brother jake went after them.  but to no avail.  it was a very emotional next hour.

 

i dug into the only suitcase accessible - the one from the overnight hotel stay.  it only had clean undies and shirt.  no shorts.  ;)

he had to sit with a blanket around his waist while i "dried" his shorts.

we made it to Thunder Bay for a late lunch and a Wal-mart run.  got our fishing licenses and bait and were on our way to our week of quiet and fishing!

it's 10:32 in Canada.

it's 9:32 here in KC.  night before last (on a pit stop while traveling) one of the kids announced that the lights were going out. 

we were sitting at Culver's and i couldn't figure out what they were saying.  it was 9 pm and Culver's was open for another hour.  but the kids were still on Canada time.  and in their minds the generator was going off at camp even though we weren't there.

we love it there.  it seems to be a special, special part of their memories and for that, i am incredibly grateful.

we had a great week.  most of the meltdowns waited until the end and some for the drive home.  a few of them were mine.  ;)

i am always so surprised how nice it is to go there and be without my computer and without my phone for a week.  it was quiet (well, relatively quiet considering my kids were still along).  it was beautiful...no, more like breathtaking at times.   the sky is so clear and blue, the lake is so mirrored and huge. 

we met some new friends and even though they live on the other side of the world they will be visiting KC soon so we get to see them again!  our kids became quick friends and it was such a blessing added to our week.

but now it's back to reality for us.  we are "home", at least what is home for us for this week (a hotel).  we are figuring out what normal will soon look like.  we are trying to process the transition that took place just before we left for vacation, where we were able to avoid the inevitable change ahead.

so here we are.  the kids are already bored and i am googling free things to do in KC.  first up tomorrow will be the library.  :)

and since we are all on top of each other in this small space my quiet blogging time is very limited (and also why this post may not make sense).  i'll try to find a few spots alone in the bathroom from time to time this week and blog some pictures from Canada.  but until then here's just a few...

 

 

yum

yogurt parfaits for breakfast!

"continental breakfast" has gotten better since i was a kid...

Alex's eye

 

 

 

a few from the move

 

 

 

jake enjoyed being home

makin' his favorite popcorn...