Where Does Time Go?

It has been almost 2 months since I have written a blog post here.  How is that possible?  As the days, weeks, months, years go on it seems as though time just keeps going faster and faster.  Sometimes I wish I would just slow down but I know that's not going to happen.  I do know that I need to learn to make more time for the things that are important to me . . . writing, scrapbooking, reading are a few things that come to mind.  However, making more time for the "me" things is a work in progress.  In the mean time, here's what's been keeping me busy and away from the blog for the past two months.

I started a new position at work.  I am now Acting Supervisor of our preschool building.  Although it took me just about as far away from my comfort zone as I could possibly get, it has been a welcome change.  There have been lots of new challenges and I am learning a lot.  As of right now, it is a temporary position and we have no idea how long it may last but I am going to enjoy it while it does and take the opportunity to learn everything I can about the job so that I can do it again if the need arises.

The whole family got together for a BBQ at my parents place for Mother's Day.  With my youngest brother in college in Lindsey, my youngest sister going to college and working in Peterbourgh, my other brother doing shift work as a firefighter, my other sister only having her son every other week, and us living almost 2 hours form my parents, this doesn't happen very often.

We all had a great time and there was even a family game of monkey in the middle with a football.  Give that I am very uncoordinated and as athletic as a stick, I choose to stay on the side line and take pictures!

As always, I spent a weekend (and lots of time before the weekend) helping with the New Moon Rabbit Rescue garage and bake sale.  Although it was a long, busy and exhausting weekend, it was a hue success.

Then came gardening!  Well, gardening started with that week of unseasonably warm weather we had in March, but in May I planted the vegetable garden which means much more time is spend playing in the dirt!  You can read all about my gardening adventures (and see lots of photos) on my gardening blog, My Almost Green Thumb.

We spent a weekend camping in June.  Henry and I have loved camping since before we were married. Liam loves anything that he can do outside, loves fishing and going to the beach.  Camping is a perfect little get away for us.  We enjoyed the weekend at Fitzroy Provincial Park and are looking forward to get out and doing some more camping this summer.

We celebrated Liam's birthday.  Christmas is far too busy to fit in a birthday party, so we opted to do a half birthday party for Liam this year.  We had a BBQ, hung out outside and it gives him a chance to get summer presents.  

It has been a fun and busy start to the summer.  And I expect it to stay that way!  We have lots of things we want to do around here (build a new shed, expand a flower garden, put in a shade garden . . .) and I am sure there will be lots of picnics and trips to the beach and other fun stuff.

Camping According to Liam

First I had to help Dad put up the tent.  It's hard work, but would have been easier if Mom had put the camera away and helped.

Then I just wanted to sit in my chair, relax and have a drink, but they would only give me an empty bottle.  Where is the fun in that?

I was very social all weekend, saying "HI" to all the people, dogs, cars and trucks that went bye!  Dogs and trucks were the most exciting!

When it started to get dark, I got my jammies, my tiger flashlight and my bedtime milk.

When I got up Saturday morning, I was cold and cranky!  Dad thought a fire might help, but I really just needed a nap!

We went to a fair, I rode in my wagon and saw lots of animals.  I like watching the horses chase the cows.  (Team Penning Competition) 

I got to have some french fries with ketchup, my favorite!

And then I drank Mom's lemonade.

Then we went for ice cream!!  

Then it was nap time, I didn't really want to have a nap, I tried to convince mom and dad that I could stay up and play, but they didn't listen.  And I really was pretty sleepy!

Dad cooked steak on a fire for him and mom for supper.

Personally, I prefer grilled cheese sandwich, yummy and easy to eat!

After supper, I did some playing, but I was nice enough to take some time to sit down and read stories to mom and dad.  They really like story time, but they laugh at me a lot.

 I had some cheesies.  They didn't stay in the container very well and I had to pick them up off the ground a few times.  Mom didn't want me to keep eating them because they were dirty.  But the dirt didn't bother me!

I finally gave in and got my jammies and bedtime milk and went to bed.

After I went to bed, mom and dad had another fire and roasted something called marshmallows.  I have no idea what those are, but I wish they'd let me put stuff in the fire.  Maybe I could blow up something like they do on MythBusters!

Sunday morning, I was up early and raring to go!  I played with my toys and ran around.

Then I decided that it would be fun to climb something.  Mom thought this was high enough . . . 

She was wrong!  I kept going!

I said that I would cook breakfast or make coffee for Dad, but wouldn't let me.  She said that the stove gets too hot for me to use.

Can you believe that mom had the nerve to tell me that I was dirty??  

This funny cat came and ate some of the cheerios that I left on the ground.  But he wouldn't come play with me.  I was very sad when he left.

I think that we should go camping every weekend!  I like playing outside and getting dirty!!

Camping . . . The full Story

As promised, here is the full story of our first camping adventure with Liam, complete with pictures.  Because this was Liam's first ever camping experience and our first camping first camping trip in about three years, we decided that we would go for one night, just to see how it went.  It really is amazing how much stuff you need for just one night.  But as Henry pointed out, with camping, you need the same amount of stuff for one night as you do for a week.  And when you add a toddler to the equation, you need A LOT of extra stuff . . . wagon, playpen, portable booster seat, toys, lots of clothes, diapers . . . his stuff took up as much space in the truck as the actual camping gear!

We arrive at the campsite at Fitzroy Provincial Park at around noon on Saturday.  We quickly unloaded the booster seat and I threw together a peanut butter sandwich for our hungry little bear.  Fortunately, he was happy to munch on his sandwich and watch supervise as we unloaded the rest of the truck, set up the tent and had a quick bite to eat.  By then, he was ready to play!  And play he did.  

Shortly after we arrived on our site, a woman came over to us with two tonka trucks, they were packing up to leave and they weren't going to fit in their vehicle to go home, she wanted to know if we wanted them for Liam.  They are older ones and well used, but I still thought that it was very generous and Liam was beyond thrilled with his new acquisitions!

Once we were sufficiently set up, Henry wanted to go fishing and I wanted to take Liam to the beach.  First we hit the boat launch area so that Henry could do some fishing and Liam was quite happy to do some exploring and playing.

Taking in the sights . . . 

Anywhere with rocks and stones is a great place to play!

Water . . . he didn't want to go in, just wanted to splash in the edge.

Deep concentration . . . 

Finally getting to fish . . . and he's got one!

Liam was very eager to run over and see what Daddy had . . . he touched and that was enough of that!  

Liam was pretty interested in the beach.  There were lots of people to watch and it was like a GIANT sandbox!  But it was kind of hard to walk in!!  He played with his pail and shovel, dump truck and of course some sticks!  We didn't stay at the beach very long because it was hot and sunny and a certain little someone needed a nap! 

Liam couldn't decide if he should play in the sand or watch the people!

There was a stone in the sand and he was determined to pick it up with his two sticks . . . needless to say, he didn't have the co-ordination to do it . . . even Daddy had a hard time doing it!

Back at the camp site, Liam was more than ready for a nap and didn't even complain about being put in the playpen in the hot tent.  And I was ready to pull up a chair and relax!  Chasing him around while Henry fished was exhausting!  So, into a chair I went while Henry started a fire to cook supper.  Aside from that we really did relax until Liam woke up.

The view from my camp chair at nap time!

Henry cooked some delicious steaks for dinner (hot dog for little bear!) and after dinner, we just hung out at the campsite and let Liam play.  

Big boy insisting on drinking water from Mommy's cup . . . refused to drink it from a sippy cup, but quite enjoyed it from my cup . . . although I think more of it ended up on him and the chair than in him!

If you don't bring blocks for the boy, he will improvise!  He probably spent 20 minutes building with the dishes and taking them in and out of the bin!

"So, is this our new house?"

Bedtime didn't come until about 8:40, which is pretty late for Liam, but he was having so much fun playing that we just let him go until he was tired!  Unfortunately bedtime didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.  Henry went fishing again and left me with Liam.  I pulled out my phone and plopped myself in a chair waiting for him to sleep.  Everything would have gone fine I think, except that he could see me from the play pen.  As soon as I realized that he was screaming at me because he could see me, I moved and he went back to his usual babbling and singing that he always does before he goes to sleep.  By 9:20, he was sound asleep and we didn't hear a sound out of him until about 8:15 the next morning!

Sleeping boy . . . 

When Henry came back from fishing, we had a nice camp fire, some grown up drinks and even a bedtime snack of hot dogs roasted over the fire.  We stayed up later than we should have, but it has been a long time since we've done this!

Campfire . . . 

Sunday morning, we didn't really do much except have breakfast, pack up and head for home.  Although it was a lot of work and somewhat exhausting, I think that it was a successful trip and Liam seemed to really enjoy himself.  We will definitely do it again this year.  And next time, we will tempt fate and try for two nights!

You can only eat Cheerios with a stick when you are camping!!