Wordless Wednesday - Labor Day Fun...Summer's Done

Well, Blogger ate my Top 10 Tuesday post that I spent an hour on so onward and upward.

Nintendo DSs save a rainy camping day (they are sitting under a huge tarp).

Nothing like playing in the mud!

Cold and rainy weather don't stop the margarita maniac!

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, See No Evil.....crazy girls!

Sleeping in Mommy's cozy bed.

Learning to ride his push bike....SO BIG!

We're very sad that summer is over.  How did you celebrate Labor Day?

This (Almost) Wordless Wednesday post is linked up at 5 Minutes for Mom and A Lot of Loves!

Read more...

Worst...Mother...Ever!!!

We headed out to Carseland Provincial Park for our last big camping hurrah this weekend.  We were camping with six other families and a boatload of kids so I thought 

"YES! This is the perfect opportunity to get rid of Elmo!"

You see....Elmo has been a thorn in my side for the last year.  I bought an Elmo pinata for Evan's 2nd birthday party but I was afraid to use it for anything other than a decoration because he would be traumatized.  So Elmo has graced our kitchen counter for the entire year (except for a brief stint in Evan's room before Elmo was deemed "too creepy" for a bedroom decoration).  You may have noticed him here, here...basically any picture that showed the kitchen.  I planned to get rid of him once and for all at Evan's birthday party this year but we forgot.

So.....

My new plan included taking Elmo camping so all the kids could pull the strings and get the candy (this is a string pinata instead of a "beat it with a bat" pinata).  Evan seemed okay with the plan.  

I should have known things were going to go badly when the older kids wanted to dismember Elmo....then it was decided that the pinata would go into the fire when we were done (as does most paper garbage).

Yeah so this scene sent Evan in hysterics screaming "I don't WANT Elmo to BURN!!!!!"

Yeah....

WORST

MOTHER

EVER!!!!!

Read more...

Friday Faces

Since I posted Banff pictures yesterday, I thought I would post some cute people pictures from our trip.  Hope you enjoy!  I'll be back to writing soon...I promise!

Read more...

Rules for Rules Sake?

I am a rules girl.  Dewey says that if I were a super hero I would be "Rules Girl....out to enforce the rules of the world!"  I'm not quite THAT bad!  I like rules.  They keep people in check and give us a guideline to live our lives.  Do I break rules?  Of course!  Most rules make sense and you might break them but you at least know why they are the rules.

One thing I don't like, though, are rules that don't make sense.  Camping in Banff this weekend we came upon quite a few things that just didn't make sense & left us with a bad taste in our mouths.

Prior to leaving for Banff, I checked the Parks Canada website to see if there were any closings, etc I needed to know about.  I also checked to see the rules for the campsite we were planning to visit.  The normal stuff was there....leave a bare campsite when you aren't there so it doesn't attract bears, be courteous to your fellow campers & quiet time after midnight.  Ok, I can live with all of that!  Let's roll!

We arrived at the campsite to see a paper sign on the window of the ranger station.  "Fire ban & quiet time in force at 11pm!"  What?  You see, here in Alberta it stays light really late so it doesn't get dark until after 9pm.  Then with a campfire & some marshmallows the kids are barely in bed by 11!  Where's the adult time?  The time spent chatting around the campfire relaxing with a glass of wine??????  Ack!  We went ahead and paid to camp because we didn't have a plan B.

Then.....we broke the rules.  Well, it's more like we ignored them.  We just didn't put our fire out at 11.  Really what would happen?  We were a small group of 4 adults at that time (kids were in bed) and we weren't singing or listening to music.  We figured that SURELY they were using this rule to weed out the rambunctious 20somethings who keep the whole campground up.  We were partly right.  On the first night we got visited by the ranger & it was pretty chill.  On the second night we got visited by THE RCMP!!!!  Now it isn't as bad as it sounds b/c they were there to visit the campsite next to ours about a car parked in the wrong area & we wouldn't have even known it was the RCMP if those campers hadn't told us.

SERIOUSLY????  Don't the RCMP have better things to do than enforce bs rules that don't even make sense?  I totally understand fire bans when the forest is dry (we got rained on for 2 days & the fire hazard rating is "low" per Parks Canada) and I get bans on noisy people.  What I don't get is punishing everyone with stupid rules instead of just throwing out the trouble makers!

So what do you think?  What is your biggest "stupid rule" pet peeve?

Read more...

Wordless Wednesday - Fishing

Evan & Kate loved their first fishing trip with their Daddies.  Thankfully Jeff had the camera so he could capture these great shots.

This Wordless Wednesday post is linked up over at A Lot of Loves and 5 Minutes for Mom!

Read more...

We've Gained Weight & We Have Bugbites....Yep...We've Been CAMPING Again!!!

I had all of last week off so we met our friends the C's (Jeff (aka Coz), Andrea, Kate & Lauren) and the R's (Terry, Heather, Owen & Jake) at Long Lake Provincial park for a few days of camping.  It was glorious!  We stayed Sunday through Friday and only had one day of iffy weather and only one night (late) of rain.  In Alberta that is as good as it gets!

It was our first visit to Long Lake campground and we loved it.  Our campsites were treed and a short walk to the beach.  Oh, yeah, they had a great little sandy beach for the kids.  Evan LOVED it.  He would have stayed there all day if we let him.  They also had a little store with a concession (ice cream, anyone?) and a playground.  It was the perfect spot for a 3 year old.  Evan wanted to move there.  The whole drive home to Calgary he kept saying "Turn around!  Go back to camping! I don't want to go home!"

Here are a few (a lot) of my favorite pictures from the week.....

This post was Evan's favorite part of our campsite. He spent a lot of time perched on it or laying on it so he could "fly".

Our first day was a bit cold & rainy so Evan and Kate took some time off to watch a movie.

Coz made me a killer marshmallow for a S'More.  YUMMY!

Beach time!  Kate needed a quick warm up in the towel.  The lake water was a bit chilly!

Evan loved the beach....and raspberries which he's wearing on his nose.

The wagon got a workout heading back and forth to the beach.

ICE CREAM!!!!!

My son.....boy of many funny faces!

My favorite picture of Kate & Andrea

Sitting around a Ukranian campfire.  It was dubbed that because of the two HUGE logs we were given from our friend's dad who is....you guessed it....Ukranian!

Hanging out with the R's extended family.  Dewey really enjoyed jamming with an accordion though he doesn't know many polkas.

Party, party, party.....sleep!

More ice cream!  This is Owen (part of the R family)

This is Jake....Owen's brother.  They introduced Evan to his new obsession....Bakugon.

Me & Andrea....it was great to get to catch up.

Dewey made margaritas for everyone.  They are very, very yummy but may be responsible for my "fluffy" feelings since our return home.  

Isn't Lauren cute?

Kate & Evan loved playing together all week.  Evan was playing hard to get at this point but Kate gave him a hug anyway.

We ended up talking Andrea & Coz into staying an extra day to camp with us.  The week was just so much fun.  I can't wait until next year to go back again!!!!!

Read more...

Top 10 Tuesday - Favorite Camping Foods

This post may explain why I NEVER lose weight over the summer.  Sigh....

1.  Breakfast Tacos - Dewey started cooking these every camping trip.  They are good at home but really rock when we're camping.  I guess fresh air makes everything taste better.

2.  Hotdogs roasted over the campfire - I'm not a huge fan of hotdogs BUT I LOVE hotdogs cooked over the campfire.  Add some ketchup and relish and mmmmmm......YUM!

3.  S'Mores - Toasted marshmallows are the basis.  We eat them two ways....either two graham crackers with Nutella or openfaced on a President's Choice Concerto cookie.  Pretty much a staple at every evening campfire.

4.  Fajitas - We grill extra steak early in our camping trip.  The next day we slice it thin and saute it with onions, bell peppers & fajita spice.  Wrap it in the leftover corn tortillas from Breakfast Tacos & YUM!

5.  Bean Salad - So easy yet so good.  It makes you forget that you can only cook on the coleman stove or the grill.

6.  Campfire Pizzas - We own pie irons that get used pretty much exclusively to make campfire pizzas.  Two pieces of whole wheat bread with cheese, pizza toppings & pizza sauce in the middle.  Into the fire they go & they come out all toasty and gooey and yummy!

7.  Coffee with Baileys - Coffee is definitely a NEED while camping.  Late night campfires plus Evan up a the crack of dawn means one sleepy mama.  I can only drink coffee with milk and sugar.  I must admit that often while camping we use Bailey's instead.  It is oh so yummy and we're camping.  Don't judge me!  ;)

8.  Chips - I only buy potato chips for camping and parties.  That's it.  I love chips but they are like crack.

9.  Antipasti - We are usually the WORST about remembering to bring appetizers to share.  Thankfully our friends usually take pity on us and share.  Usually there is an assortment of cheeses, sausages, salami, etc.  YUM!

10.  Okay....I'm done.  I think I gained weight just writing this post!!!

What are your favorite camping foods?  I need new ideas so please share (even if you don't make it camping anything is fair game that doesn't require a lot  of prep or an oven)!

Read more...

Top Ten Tuesday - Camping Essentials

So I must admit that there are WAY more than 10 things you need when you go camping.  I thought I would list a few things that you might not think of that come in very handy.
 

1.  Baby Wipes (our favorite are Huggies brand) - These are so useful in so many situations!  You can use them to remove makeup (whatever is left from when you put it on while in civilization), give yourself a "bath" (hey it feels better than nothing!) & cleaning.  I like them because they are much more gentle than Wet Ones or antibacterial wipes.  I think we all go a bit overboard on that whole antibacterial thing anyway!

2.  Vinyl Tablecloth & Clips - Most campgrounds furnish a picnic table for your use which is good.  Unfortunately they can be anywhere from brand new to old as dirt.  It is nearly impossible to "clean" an old picnic table.  That's when you whip out your handy dandy vinyl tablecloth & clip it to the table.  You can leave it there throughout your camping trip.  Just wipe it off as needed. 

3.  Small Plastic Grocery Bags - I know, I know....we aren't supposed to use those anymore BUT if you do....bundle them up & take them with you camping.  Since they are so small you can fill them with garbage & take them to the community garbage can frequently.  This keeps smells/bugs/bears (eep!) out of your campsite.

4.  White Noise Maker - Okay, so this may sound like a weird item BUT it is essential if you have small children.  It blocks out all the noise of birds, screaming kids, loud drunk campers at the next campsite, etc.  It is a life saver!

5.  Portable Espresso Maker or Coffee Percolator - I must admit that I like the espresso maker better.  Brew a double, add some Bailey's and you are ready for the day.  The percolator also makes great coffee if you want to make more than one cup at a time.  Do NOT underestimate your need of coffee.  After a night or two of late night campfire coupled with children up at the crack of dawn b/c it's so light out....it is essential! 

6.  Headlamps - Headlamps are cheap and they are way more useful than a flashlight.  You put it on your head & you can use your hands for carrying things/kids/your drink/etc.

 

 

 7.  Activities - If the weather is beautiful, it's usually enough for the kids to run around outside & play.  If it's raining....you better be prepared.  We always have 2 or 3 card games & a bag full of toys for Evan.  Plastic dinosaurs make a great camping toy because they can easily be washed before returning to the "home" toy bin.  If you have a GPS, check out geocaching.  We haven't done it in a few years but it is really fun.  You go to the website & download the coordinates of a cache to you GPS.  Then you find it.  Usually you leave a trinket in the cache & take something that was there with you.  You sign the logbook & then put the cache back exactly where you find it.  Great activity with kids as long as you do the easy caches....when they list them as hard they aren't lying & you might have to climb a mountain to get to it!!! 

8.   Pie Irons - Not sure if this is what everyone calls them but....these are the 2 cast iron plates on long sticks that hook together to squish bread & filling between them.  We use them to make campfire pizzas which are a HUGE hit with the kids.  Two pieces of whole wheat bread, pizza sauce, salami & cheese between the pie irons & toasted in the fire.  YUM!

 

9.  Lots & Lots of Clothes - If you ever go camping in Alberta or the mountains.....take lots of clothes.  I don't care if it's July & it has been hot for weeks....you still need to bring long pants & a coat.  We have finally learned this lesson after many cold camping trips.  Being outside even when it's not THAT cold feels much colder than when you can go indoors. 

10.  A Camper - Okay, so you don't NEED a camper/trailer but I LOVE ours.  It makes things so much easier.  I wouldn't give anything for it.  We love camping but I don't know if we would do it if we had to tent. I know lots of people that do but I just don't think I could do it.

So....do you camp?  I would love to hear all about it!

 This post is for Top 10 Tuesday over at Oh Amanda.  Definitely go check out her lovely blog & all the Top 10 Tuesday posts!

Read more...