camping, glamping or something in between

We didn't go "glamping" in it's truest form, but we definitely did not go camping either! I guess we did what is known as "RV'ing". During the Victoria Day long weekend, we went on the inaugural camping trip for our trailer and, in a word, it was fabulous! Mind you, we're coming from a 1964 tent trailer, so our new 28-foot trailer seemed a bit extreme. But, believe it or not, in the RV world, our trailer is "entry level"!

In any case, we had a fun-filled, luxurious camping trip. We decided for the inaugural trip, we would keep things simple and make sure we had all the amenities. So, we headed across the border to the KOA in Burlington.

Firstly, I have to say that I can't believe we waited so long to get a Nexus pass! After the long weekend, the news reported that border line-ups were not as long as they've been in the past. However, the line going south was at least a couple of hours on Friday afternoon and about an hour going north on Monday afternoon. That is still 3 hours of line-ups that we avoided with our Nexus card. Furthermore, we did not have to scan the radio stations to listen for border wait times and schedule our trip around the border. We simply went when we wanted to!

Anyway, back to the trip - we arrived at the campground early Friday afternoon and immediately set up. It was so quick and painless that Brian and I were actually sitting at the picnic table asking each other, "That's it?!". It was really THAT easy.

The campground had a park, an indoor pool and a great off leash pet area for Nikita to run. Josh had a blast and even Avery loved to explore the gravel and grass area at the foot of our trailer (she's our resident gravel eater!). And, surprisingly ideal, there was a "camping superstore" in Burlington where we went on Saturday morning to finish stocking up the trailer. When do I EVER get to go shopping on a camping trip?!

We had planned to do a couple of things, like take a ferry trip to the San Juan Islands, but the weather didn't really co-operate that weekend so we mostly hung out at the campground. The park, the pool and taking Nikita for walks proved to be more than enough entertainment for the kids. Josh especially liked the proximity of the other campsites. He felt very comfortable going up to other campsites, introducing himself and asking what people were doing! He made friends with a couple of kids at the park and managed to stay out of trouble for the most part.

The kids slept great in the trailer, too! We had to make strange sleeping quarters because I was worried that putting the 2 kids in the same space, they would disturb each other. So, Avery slept in her playpen in the front of the trailer and Josh slept in the top bunk at the back of the trailer and they were both fine. On Sunday, they were both so tired out by naptime that they both had 3 hour naps through the afternoon! It's true what they say about the fresh air...

On our last day there, we managed to make a visit to Lang's Horse and Pony Farm. Our original intent was to get Josh on a pony ride. At the Queensborough Fall Fair last year, we asked Josh if he wanted to go on a pony ride and he said no because they were "stinky". We asked him this time and he said yes. When we got there, Josh gravitated to the horses. We kept pushing the ponies, but he insisted he wanted to ride a horse. I totally thought when he got on top of the horse he would freak out and want off. No such luck. So instead of getting a pony ride, Josh got a horseback ride!

We didn't get many pictures of the weekend, but here are some that we did get...

Bedtime milk on the couch in the trailer

Swinging in the park

"Keep pushing me, Mommy!"

Our set-up, complete with Aves exploring

Roasting marshmallows by the campfire - Josh was actually quite afraid of the campfire and preferred the raw 'mallows. Jon and Caroline came up from Seattle for a day visit. We couldn't believe that Caroline has never roasted marshmallows over a campfire before!

Caroline tries to perfect the marshmallow roast and even makes some smores!

Josh puts on a helmet to prepare for his horseback ride (nice sign!)

"Look, Mama! This is Otis."

He looks so small when he's up so high!

How toddlers sleep on the trip home from a camping weekend

How pre-schoolers sleep on the trip home from a camping weekend

5 days and skinny

OK, that title is completely misleading! I haven't gotten skinny in 5 days...trust me.

I haven't posted in a month because things have been CRAZY going back to work. If you've talked to me, you know what I mean. Anyway, I had to take a second to post a couple of thoughts:

1. Skinny jeans are going to be the death of me.

2. I started a new job this week and this is my first 5-day work week in about 3 1/2 years. Ugh. I'm exhausted!

Happy Birthday, Aves!

I remember at one point during labour, just about a year and 5 hours ago, I thought to myself, "How is it that I could have ever forgotten this pain enough to have another child?!". But the honest truth is that today, a year later, I remember that labour was the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced, but I cannot physically remember that pain! It's amazing how the human mind works!

Avery was born a year ago today. I can't believe she's 1 already! It was also my first day back at work today, so it was quite an eventful day. All I can say is that I can't believe that this year went by so quickly! It's been an amazing time.

Parenting the second time around has been a completely different experience than the first time. It's been much harder, but I've enjoyed it much more! Maybe because I don't have all that first-time parent anxiety. I'm not sure what it is, but I loved having the time to bond with my children.

I remember hearing friends talk being afraid that they couldn't love the second child as much as the first. I mean, the most love you've ever felt at that point in your life has been concentrated on that first child! Well, just as amazing as the human mind works, so does the human heart. I can't remember what love felt like before Avery (probably because I'm so exhausted most of the time! Just kidding...).

But, I really want to know where the year has gone! I still remember those first few nights at home when Brian, Avery and I slept in the living room and Avery spent most of the night sleeping on my chest. I remember thinking that I needed to stop that practice before she got too used to it, but really, I wanted to hold her like that forever.

Now, just in the last couple of days, she is standing on her own. I can feel her determination as she tries to take that first step! When I ask her for a kissy, kissy, she leans in to my face - sometimes she'll purse her lips and give me a proper kiss, but most times, I get grossed out by all the drool! She can wave bye-bye and she can say bye-bye too! And she definitely has no problem communicating when she wants something! It's usually quite screechy or squealy.

She is quickly becoming Daddy's little girl, too! Aves has no problem crying out her needs and Bri HATES to hear her cry. She still has trouble going to sleep on her own and Bri still has trouble leaving the room before she falls asleep! I remember that Bri was already throwing Josh in the air at 3 months old, claiming he was a tough boy. Well, he has barely carried Aves over his head, much less thrown her in the air yet! Right now, Aves still gravitates to me for comfort, but I'm sure she will be going more to Brian soon enough!

Watching Aves and Josh is always a treat, too! Most times, Josh's idea of "playing" with Avery consists of taking away every single toy she picks up. But in the rare moments where they are communicating with each other, Josh tries to make Aves laugh, she giggles and that makes him laugh, too. She laughs even more and it's so infectious that soon we're all laughing! I love it.

Happy 1st Birthday, Aves! We are so lucky to have you in our lives!

Playtime during Rhythm Kids

Aves playing ball with Natasha, the Rhythm Kids teacher

Hehehe...this is the finger that I have Daddy wrapped around!

My stretchy face

My scrunchy face

Quality family time on my birthday!

I love my Daddy

Joshie helps Aves open her presents

A Van Dop Easter and Birthday event

Auntie Renee and Aves share their birthday cake!

Mmmmm...spaghetti and meatballs is the best birthday dinner!

I stand corrected - cupcake is the best birthday dinner!

Enough cupcake for 2!

Joshie sings Happy Birthday to Aves

Does this cupcake make my face look messy?!

Mommy, I'm all done!

pre

Josh's first official day in pre-school was today. In a word, it went "well". I would say that with all the changes going on in our household right now, Josh is adapting amazingly well to all of it.

I am going back to work next week and Nanny Tess arrived last week. We've been going through transition for the last couple weeks and I think it's been extremely tough on all of us. Having said that, all the changes are for the better - it will just take time for my heart to catch up to my head.

It's kind of hard to verbalize how I feel right now. I think I'm just numb from the heartache of having to leave my kids each day. I know that this is the toughest part and it will get better as everyone gets adjusted. I'm trying to take everything in stride, including my spontaneous bursts of tears.

So, to focus on all the good things, Tess seems to be fitting in well with our family. I hope she is feeling as good about the fit as we do. Aves seems to have transitioned well and is quite familiar with Tess now. Josh was a bit more challenging, but I think he is coming around now.

Since we pulled Josh out of daycare, we decided to put him into pre-school so he could have continued socialization with kids his age. He is starting with 1 day a week and if it goes well, we will add a second day each week.

He said that he really liked "school" today, so I'm taking that as a good sign. It's a play-based pre-school, so it's not too far off from daycare anyway. Here is his first art project that he brought home. He's done lost of arts & crafts in the past, but since this is the first one from pre-school, I thought I would post it.

conehead

Poor Nikita had an accident last week. The short story is that she was at Bri's job site and they were working on a demo for a reno. Nikita jumped up to where she knew there was a floor, but there was a floor no more. She didn't fall too far, but on the way down, she got a bad cut on her inside thigh.

The worst part was that she didn't act injured, so we didn't notice until a few hours later, at home, when Bri noticed she was licking herself in an area that was not her "privates". Nikita's not a cat, so she doesn't really lick herself anywhere, except her privates, unless she's nursing something. So, Bri took a closer look and he saw the 3-inch gash in her inner thigh. My heart sank.

We went to the animal hospital immediately and they confirmed she needed stitches. So, they kept her for a few hours while they sewed her up and she came home to us that evening, groggy and likely sore. She was hopped up on antibiotics and painkillers for a few days, so she was very low-key. But she was finished with a painkillers a couple of days ago and she seems more like her usual, energetic self.

It's been a pain because she's a bit like a bull in a china shop with her conehead. When she first came home, she was very awkward getting around with the cone. Anytime she would hit something (which was alot of the time!), she would back off. Now, she's used to the cone so she just bulls her way through when she gets stuck. Avery has gotten hit by a cone so many times, she is terrified of Nikita. And I've heard many exasperated "Nikita!"s from Josh. It's all a bit comedic!

Needless to say, we can't wait for Nikita to get the sutures, and her cone, removed on Monday. I'm sure Nikita feels the same! Here are some shots of her the night we brought her home from the hospital:

Poor girl, she had such a hard time getting in the minivan and then getting on the couch!

I tried to get a shot of the sutures, but this doesn't do it justice. All you can really see is a bit of redness that surrounds the sutured gash.

This is our dog on drugs.

Huh?!

ski bunny, the movie

Josh's first time skiing
Originally uploaded by evelet

I FINALLY found out how to edit movies on my computer! So, here's some footage of Josh's first time on skis...

ski bunny

Josh went skiing for the first time this past weekend. Woo! Hoo! He actually liked it alot! I was surprised. Despite missing his nap to attend the afternoon session, he did really well. He had his ski boots on for about 3.5 hours without once complaining and wanting them off! I guess I was expecting the worst and the day actually turned out really well.

We went to Seattle to visit Jon and Caroline. They said that they were planning to go skiing/riding up at Steven's Pass, so I thought it was a perfect opportunity to get Josh in his first ski school lesson. So, Jon, Caroline, Josh and I went up to Steven's Pass for an afternoon of skiing/riding and Brian and Aves hung out in Seattle for some father-daughter bonding.

As it turned out, Josh's lesson was from 1pm to 3pm - right at Josh's nap time. But we signed him up anyway and decided to give it a shot. He had a short half an hour nap on the drive up to Steven's Pass and we arrived at around 11:30am. It took the next hour and a half to get him all set up and ready to go! Who said that getting kid's into activities wasn't a big production?!

Some of the highlights of our big ski adventure were:

- Josh REFUSED to go skiing without goggles. I guess living in the Pacific Northwest makes us really sensitive to sunlight in the winter since we rarely see it! Anyway, it was a beautiful, sunny day and with the glare on the snow, Josh could barely open his eyes when he was outside without them watering like crazy! So, I had to go to the ski shop and buy him a pair of kidlet goggles.

- I expected owies and complaints when he put on his ski boots, but the equipment guy explained that they were like robot boots and I think that's what made Josh love them. No complaints about the boots - not even once!

- I was worried about the potty thing. Josh is potty trained, but the ski school requires that kids are "completely" potty trained. That means they can go to the washroom completely by themselves. Josh is mostly there, but I wasn't sure if he could go by himself in a public bathroom - especially if the toilet flushes automatically. Josh is deathly afraid of "toilets that flush by themsel-ves". It's the first question he asks anytime we go to a public bathroom. If it flushes by itself, he refuses to sit on it. I made sure that their toilets didn't flush automatically and it turned out that Josh had to go once during the lesson. His instructor, Lindsay, told me that when he came out he said he got some pee on his pants. Ugh. But I guess he wasn't wet enough to stop from skiing again!

- I stayed for the beginning of the lesson to make sure Josh was OK. There were just 2 kids in Josh's class and Lindsay seemed to have them both listening well. I saw her teach them to put on their skis and hold their poles. Then, they went on a small "walkabout" on relatively flat terrain. I overheard them looking for "crocodiles" and stuff. She was really great with them. Josh was shuffling along with his skis in no time!

- I had to leave right after that because I could tell he was getting whiny each time he looked at me. It's so true that our kids are whiniest when they are with us and are usually fine when we're not around! Lindsay said that Josh was a bit cranky at times (like falling down) but she could tell he was pretty tired and it was par for the course with 3-year-olds.

- I only really had an hour and a half of riding that afternoon while Josh was in his lesson. Really though, it was enough! I haven't gone riding in 2 years. Crazy. I've been riding for almost 15 years and it's kind of like riding a bike - you never forget. But your muscles do! I was able to do the runs no problem (we stayed on blues). It was actually quite easy, breezy. Not alot of work involved to just nicely carve a smooth ride down a blue run...then why were my legs freakin' burning when I got to the bottom of the run?! Aargh. I'm SO out of shape!

When I went to pick Josh up at 3pm, they were playing in a snow bank. Fun! Lindsay took us back to the ski school area and she showed me how Josh could walk up the "magic carpet" and then ski a straight line down the slight incline. It was amazing to watch him ski for the first time! I guess I couldn't have missed it since I was filming it and the straight line that he chose to ski was right towards me! I had to move out of the way to avoid him! Hahaha...Anyway, I couldn't include the video in the post because the file was too big, but I posted some photos of him in his kiddie skis. Needless to say, he's been asking to go back skiing already, so I guessing that he enjoyed it quite a bit. Now, I'm not sure if there is enough snow on the local mountains, but I'm hoping that we can go up one more time this year!

Joshie looking cool with Mom's goggles - he was fine as long as he had goggles on!

Checkin' out his gear

Getting used to holding the poles

Look, Mom! I'm skiing!

I see some crocodiles over there!

Josh's apres-ski fangs