Kayaks- Big and Small

The girls set their tent up- obviously when you are 10 and 11 this is a highlight of the trip.

Even though you had to sleep on a matt... right Annaliesse. On the other hand Mom lets you have the SMILE phone in the tent to use as a flashlight, which is also a handy dandy camera. So you can take pictures when most likely had other things to do. 

Uncle Mark and Lindsay and the girls AND Aunt Laura and Mile came late Thursday night. The kids were thrilled to see their cousins- seriously thrilled.

Friday we headed to Surveyors Lake. Thanks for the suggestion Sister Cathy Anderson- amazing suggestion. We headed over Friday morning and took enough supplies to sink a battleship. I freaking kid you not- between the paddle board, our kayak, Miles 2 Adult kayaks, massive floating tube, floatie tubes, sand toys, paddles, lifejackets, coolers of DP, coolers of lunch, swimsuits and towels, books and lawn chairs, shade tents and baby equipment. A part of me was ready to quit before we had even finished unloading.

But once we had unloaded, before we had finished setting up, the kids were out on the lake. It was still early enough not a ton of people were there yet, the lake was calm and the turtles were swimming and sunbathing. Once the kids found the turtles, not just one but 15 or so sunbathing on a log, they were out in those Kayaks and the paddle board for a while. You should see those kids on the kayaks- we have had our kid kayak for 3 years now and Remy and Barker are amazing at it. It is nothing for Remy to paddle all over this late and have no issue. She is fine and talented with that kayak, even though this Momma insists that an adult or big sister is close enough in another floatie when she is paddling all over the world.

Those turtles were the funnest part of the day, Barker at some point after watching turtles for a hour or so had a real dilemma.  He was sitting soaking wet in a lawn chair, eating a sandwich contemplating about if he should swim or not. Yes he had already gotten wet, but hadn't "swam".
He was telling me "I don't want to swim in turtle poop"
😂😂😂😂
His 8 year old brain got over it pretty quick after Aunt Lindsay had her big floatie blown up and in the water. Turtle poop is only so scary.

Not only did the kids enjoy the kayaks, so did the adults. Mark was determined to try the kayak. Never mind he was slightly too big for it... paddled out to the middle of the lake and partially sank it. There was so much water in it he couldn't really move very well. Laura was out on the paddle board and helped him back to shore. It was great laugh for those of us on the shore.

This was not the last time we sank one of those kayaks.

Man we had a good day on this lake shore. And just after lunch a friend showed up at the same lake!! Out of nowhere I see Jen walking down to shore with her four kids. I met Jen through craft group last year and we have been friends since. I wish we saw more of each other, our kids go to different schools, do different sports and our schedules DO NOT mesh- but the few times we see each other and our kids see each other we mesh. Well that was a long explanation.

Jen showed up with her kids! YAY!
Our kids played for HOURS with their friends. It added new life into the kids who have been playing solely with siblings and cousins for weeks. The big girls got right into the kayak, attached 2 tubes to the back of the kayak and away they went. Barker and Remy with Jens 2 youngers paddle to the turtles on the paddle board, baby kayak and big kayak. The jumped off the dock, played in the sand and had a great time. Jen and I visited while we swam/watched and enjoyed the mini break from our kids. All was going well until we registered the MOM screaming.

It's summer, kids scream all the time. While we were visiting, we heard kids laughing and screaming and playing. Now there were some kids who were super loud- it looked like it was coming from a big group out in the middle of the lake. We ignored it, and kept visiting. 10 minutes later we hear the MOM and it sounds like its my kids, Jen thinks it her kids.. IT WAS OUR KIDS!

The girls had tied the 2 tubes to the kayak and headed across the lake. I guess the paddler of the kayak kept getting tired and so they kept switching. Switching and switching until they had let so much water in the kayak it had sank! I ran to the bank, grabbed the other kayak and was paddling out to them pretty darn quick. Lucky THIS is one of the many reasons kids were lifejackets. This mom untied the tubes and pulled the kayak back to shore. It was funny because all the safety sets that we take. A fun adventure.

                          

We ended the day with dinner at the trailer and a dance party. 

Arlie wasn't too sure about Aunties dance moves- but neither are my kids so......

Thursday @ Tie Lake

We spent Thursday at Tie Lake. 

Tie Lake has mostly residential all around it, with a small public beach/park. There is no over night camping, which makes it less busy and very quiet. Lucky for me the kids slept rather good in the trailer, most of us sleeping until 8am.

Which was great because Kalia and Annaliesse were livid that I wouldn't set the tent up Wednesday night. There was absolutely no room at the first camp site, and we moved camp sites that morning. With Arlie coming to camp the ledge was going to become a big issue- so we moved to a bigger site which was really great. 

We pulled into Tie Lake Thursday just before lunch, only to realize that Grandpa forgot his swim suit. Grandma headed back in the truck to get it, enjoying the quiet alone time. Grandpa and I were sorta jealous of her.....

Grandpa and I held down the fort.... er beach front?!?! Meaning we got the paddle board in the water, blew up the floaties, started a hole for Remy's sand project, made sandwiches (and 2 SANDwiches), and made sure life jackets were on. One of the BEST things I bought for the lake is Barkers Net. He freaking loves that thing, he is always the first one in the water with his net, looking for fish/minos/snakes and whatever else is in the water. Kalia and Annaliesse are more into the floating devises we have. The girls and I got on tubes and hung out for a bit- Remy and Mommy don't fit the best on the red tube, but we made it work. 

We had a chill 6 hours at the lake. I love that these kids can play and enjoy the lake for the day, its one of our favourite things to do in the Summer.

Back at the trailer we got back on board with our Reading Program. Truth be told July was the only month we were able to do it this summer- August got insane busy and we managed 5 days I think. But this day Barker sat beside Grandma and read My Weirder School to her and he rocked it. His reading improved crazy well this last month- and its amazing. Amazing and humbling because all it took was his Mommy/Grandma/Grandpa/Daddy/Aunt to sit down and listen for 15-30 mins a day. 

Kalia was busy devouring Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites while Annaliesse was laying in the trailer reading her second book in the Underland Chronicles. Thursday was a good day.

Camping in BC start!

You know that quote

"Live for the journey not the destination"

and the even better quote

"You'll be the same year after year, except for the people you meet, the books you read, the films you watch, the places you travel, and the new things you do"

Every summer we have tried to do some form of staycation- 

2018 Drumheller Dinosaur Museum

2017 Takakkaw Falls

2016 Waterton and Banff

2015 Cardston Heritage Days 

You get the idea. Some sort of touristy thing around here.

Frank Slide has been on that list, and this was the year! It was on our way to Lake Koocanusa, and we had all day to get there!

I should have timed it a bit better- No actually. I timed it just fine- my kids forgot how to hold their bladder on a Mommy Road Trip. Actually if we are being honest Barker forget how for the entire summer- and Kalia wasn't much better. This was the first crying about the bathroom, but definitely not the last....

We pulled into the visitor parking and Barker made a mad dash for the trees- he couldn't even make it inside. Lucky for him there were lots of trees and tall grass to hide in.

Another thing.

Looking back at these pictures obviously I let the kids dress themselves. 

There is NO way I would have let Kalia or Annaliesse in public dressed like Remy when they were her age, I would have died.

Know what?

I didn't even notice what Remy was looking like, until now when I am looking back at the pictures. Good Grief Heather. What on blinking Earth!? I mean it was a travel day, but seriously?

Kalia and Annaliesse, and even Barker sorta enjoyed the museum. 

Remy did not. At all. She was mad we stopped on the way to see Grandma and Grandpa, and wanted to get back on the road right away. See her impressed face?!!?😂

The kids let me browse for 45 minutes, which was longer than I thought, and then we watched a 20 minute movie on Coal Miners. Those poor senior couples in that theatre with us. Remy wasn't into it and scream whispered at me constantly, Barker kept asking when we were going to see people die from the rock slide, Kalia kept Ssshing them with Annaliesse scream whispering back to be quiet she couldn't hear.... Good Grief. 

All was fine once we headed out to climb some rocks.

Enjoy the view.

Feel the wind in our face. The cold cold wind.

We dawned jackets and headed out to the rocks. Remy and Kalia were not prepared in the shoe department, so I gave Kalia my toms and I wore her flip flops. Remy went with her flip flops which was fine with me, she couldn't climb big boulder and she took things slower. Then she just stuck with me on the path, venturing off for a few rocks to just come back to me again. 

Barker took off and climbed like I had been holding him hostage for a month. He ran into the rocks and had a blast. Man Annaliesse was annoyed she couldn't keep up! Kalia couldn't decide if she was going to take off and enjoy herself, or hang back like a preteen. In the end Barkers delighted yelling, jumping around and climbing was too much for her and she took off after him. 

We played for long enough to all become cold (hour or so) and then climbed back in the van. 

To stop 30 minutes later at Sparwood and see the Big Truck.

I tried to hold Barker off from climbing, as ALL over the truck says no climbing... I lost, took some pics and then made them get down. They played around the tires and climbed up again, I made them get down again, and this repeated over and over for the 30 minutes they explored the truck. 

We pulled into Koocanusa around 5:30 pm. It really wasn't very warm, but the kids were determined to get in the lake. Usually the answer is no- especially when I know they are only going for 5 minutes or so and then be cold and whine. Today I just went with it- I knew they wouldn't last long, but whatever.

Digging through the packed van the kids found their swim suits in record time, we unlocked the bikes from the trailer and off we went. A bike ride though the camp ground was exactly what the kids wanted after the drive- even though we stopped twice! The beach at the camp ground really wasn't ideal for swimming or beaching but it sure was beautiful!

Kalia and Barker walked around the logs you see, designating the swimming section, they laughed and laughed. Kalia made it to the first split, and tried for like 5 minutes to figure out how to get over the break without falling in. Baker climbs up on the log, passes her, jumps the break and walks to the dock on the logs. 😂😂 Kalia's face was hilarious. Annaliesse just ran in and swam for the dock. Let me tell you, it was cold. Remy didn't even get in. I was right they lasted about 10 minutes.

Back to the camp after the short bike ride and swim we explored the lake shore at the trailer. The ledge to the lake was a huge drop, gorgeous sight lines, but Grandma was stressed to the max once we showed up. The kids were pretty good about it, especially after Kalia and Barker tried to climb it from the bottom. They made it, but it was scary when they got that high. You can kinda see how far it is, in the picture with the kids and Grandma and Grandpa sitting on the log. 

We were all delighted to be out camping finally this season and ready for the coming week of Adventure.