Monday, July 30, 2007
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 6:56 AM
For those of you just joining us in this little saga, do not forget to read the beginning portion of the Vacation -
Vacation (Part 1) - The Trip.The second portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping - Part 1.......or third portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping - Part 2.......or fourth portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Night Camping - Part 3.
Homeward bound with a fully packed van, including trips for Canadian groceries and about 13 blocks of Black Diamond cheese. If you haven't tried this cheese you should, it really is very good.
Also have a dozen loaves of Flax Seed bread - it is also really good.
Wakey, Wakey sleepy head.Yes we are still on the road and no we are not there yet.
See my butterfly pillow?Still a bit tired from a small nap on the road (daughter not me - I was driving silly), she cuddled her butterfly pillow for the picture.
It was a long six days of camping, some of it cold, some of it rainy but most of it sunny and warm. Believe me, look at the pictures from earlier, and you can see I got sun, especially on my head, and man, if you think a sunburn on your arm or nose is bad, try getting one on your scalp.
It was nice to be back in Canada again with my wife and kids. I know my wife enjoys going back over there (she is after all Canadian, eh) but it is nice to go to different places, see and eat different food (in this case it was Canadian Chocolate) and most important we found out what we can and can't bring acorss the border....and while we can't bring beef products back, we can bring back some of the fresh seafood and crab legs we saw over there.
A lil' shrimp on the barbie...
[chuckles]
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 6:48 AM
For those of you just joining us in this little saga, do not forget to read the beginning portion of the Vacation -
Vacation (Part 1) - The Trip.The second portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping - Part 1.......or third portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping - Part 2.
The night was great, staring into the fire and feeling the heat in your cheeks. Drinking a beer or two or three...then getting a great idea about cool it would be to get a close-up of the fire with teh digital camera.
Needless to say, the camera got VERY hot, and I am damn lucky I didn't melt part of it.
Oh shush....
My daughter having fun near the beach with sparklers. It was getting a bit nippy at night so we were all wearing pants and light coats or sweatshirts.
The sparklers had a good effect, and the kids loved them.
This is the first time my son had done a sparkler and he had a blast. He was just fascinated with the light and the sparkles that were flying off.
And in this light, you can really see the buzz cut my clipper happy wife gave to my son.
Wife got a new set of clippers and they are really good, and she really, REALLY likes to use them.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 6:40 AM
For those of you just joining us in this little saga, do not forget to read the beginning portion of the Vacation -
Vacation (Part 1) - The Trip....or the second portion -
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping - Part 1.
My son, as you can see was ready to go even as we were setting up the tent.
He was constantly walking over to the van, tugging on the locked doors, and say...Go?!?!
He was bound and determined to leave, even if he had to drive the van himself!
It took him a little bit to get into the swing of things, but he eventually did.
I haven't been in my sandals very long, they can't stink
THAT bad.....
Ungh! My mistake.Seriously though, I think he was having a problem with his sandals and they were hurting his feet, so he kept taking them off to see if something was in there.
"Hey, daddy is taking a picture", my daughter is thinking with a mouth full of food. As my son is tugging away at his new find, the tissue box.
My Ball!
Need to teach him soccer means......no hands.
Alright, now kick the ball to daddy..
It was fun kicking the ball back and forth with him.
"What do you mean...feet first?"
Down from the campsite there was a lake with 'toys', both for young and old.
The dock ran out and that is where I took the pictures from. You could rent boats, or swim and bounce off the trampoline into the water. It was fun, I did the trampoline a few times - nice to even just layout in the sun on it.
The slide was another water 'toy' to play with, but many didn't for some reason. I did get my daughter to slide down it once, but because it was in a bit deeper water, I was at the base of the slide treading water until she slid down so I could catch her. After that she didn't want to go on it again.
This is out at the end of the dock, nice blue water with a lot of open space....
Ah, what I wouldn't do to have a house on the lake like this.
Uncle Mike showing my daughter what he is filming.
He really is a good guy, and you can't really tell it from the pictures, but to meet him....well, he is more like a Yogi the bear and not a grizzlie bear. He is helpful, kind, and probably give the shirt off his back for family or a friend.
He has a good heart, and I am glad I know him.
My daughter is very scared of dogs, to the pont where if one came near her or was where she could see it, she would cry and run back to the house.
She had been scared and jumped on by a dog when she was much younger, and even though it was a friendly dog, it scared her to the point where she reacted badly to any dog.
So it was in amazement as the wife and I watched her slowly start petting the dog at the neighboring campsite. She started off with getting closer, then with petting it as someone else held it, every once in awhile getting skittish and get scared for a moment or two but eventually she came back.
Until she reached this level of confidence and was able to hold the dog herself and pet the dog.
It really did amaze the wife and I, especially knowing how scared of dogs she was.
It was a good camping trip.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 4:06 AM
I should be happy, but I am not.
It isn't because of my wife or the Anniversary in itself, it is because I feel I have nothing to give at this time but my Love and a card.
At this time we are on an extremely tight budget after repairs to the van and getting back from vacation, so there is nothing much I can really get for my wife at this time and I feel like a heel.
I haven't forgotten our Anniversary.
I want to be able to give her so much but right now I can't.
I wanted to get a dozen roses, pluck the petals off and scatter them around the bed for when she wakes in the morning.
And draw a nice hot, relaxing bath for her to relax in, to soak away her worries, her troubles, and let her soak in peace and quiet.
I also looked at a special necklace, which had the birthstones of the family in hearts that was attached to it and was going to get this, till I found we were to short on money for me to get it.
[sighs]
I feel like a terrible husband, because I want to do and be so much for her.
My wife is my Heart, my Love, my World and I love her very much.
My heart aches for her when we are together and when we are apart.
I want to take a rose and slowly dip it to her skin, slowly tracing lines down her body to make her shiver. To carress her hair, and trace her face with my fingertips.
I want to see her smile at me lovingly, and see the glitter of her eyes as they sparkle in amusement.
I want to run my fingers through her dark hair as it cascades down her back.
There is nothing I wouldn't do for her.
And yet I feel like the world's worst husband because I have nothing more than a card. Ah wife of mine, please forgive me....
Friday, July 13, 2007
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 9:49 AM
Well, it has been awhile, and I got a bit side tracked but haven't forgotten to continue posting on the vacation we just finished, so without further delay....it is on to the next part!!
For those of you just joining us in this little saga, do not forget to read the beginning portion of the Vacation -
Vacation (Part 1) - The Trip.Well, after making it to the wife's nephew's house where we were to meet up with him and follow him out to the campsite...it was already pretty late.
[chuckles]Reason for that was not my driving, let me make that
perfectly clear!!
But the directions we got from my wife's brother, well, let's just say it left alot to be desired....like where we turn, how far up we are suppose to go, what street we were suppose to take...ect. You know, those small little details that make getting to your destination so much easier.
[laughs]Once we got out to the campsite and got up the next day, family started to arrive....
And big brother wanted a hug!!
...and as you can see, he managed to get it with me taking the picture.
Then my wife's favorite nephew shows up, don't they just look too cute?
Yeah, the wife will probably make me pay for these pictures...
[chuckles]
Drama Queen, our daughter, had fun camping. It was her first time and she loved every minute of it. There was a lot of families around with kids her age, and she had fun playing with them. I guess it also helped we had some major bubble making stuff that made big, small, and tons bubbles - of course the hard part was getting it away from the wife and me cause we liked doing them too!
Nap time was at times hard, because the kids would want to play, so the wife and I would take turns laying down with the kids, mainly Comedian, our son, while the other one stayed up with Drama Queen.
Don't they looks so peaceful?
Of course my wife really hates pictures taken of her, especially when she is tired, or just waking up....you will have to settle for this picture, because I couldn't get the camera back up after I took this one cause she had her hands around my neck throttling the life out of me after I took this picture...
Never take her picture before she has coffee!
[laughs]
Comedian and Me with a Daddy break for comforting him.
Comedian wasn't having too great of a time at first, and he would walk over to the van and tug on the locked doors and look back and say, "I wanna go!?!"
He did get used to the idea of camping after a bit, but took him a bit longer than it took Drama Queen.
You will notice my hair is really short, wife cut it like that before we left so I would be cooler (I was in the military some time back) and let me tell you, getting a sunburn on top of your head is no fun. No fun at all!
Showers were horrible, because you get a little warmth up on that sunburn and it felt like you were soaking it in gasoline. Then there is laying down to sleep and feeling like your head is a blow torch and your hair is on fire.
[laughs]Bad thing is when it peels it makes you look like you have dandruff. Ungh! But I lotioned, soaked, softened and then scrubbed the hell outta my head when it started to peel so I didn't walk around looking like I had mange or something.
Sleeping in the tent wasn't so bad, but the kids did tend to want to sleep up with us, and we had an air matress (yeah sue me, it makes for nicer sleeping) and 4 on a mattress like that was uncomfortable at times, and laughable at other times. Of course the Wife probably didn't think so when Comedian would toss and turn and whack an arm here or stick a foot there....
But the kids are getting used to the idea of camping, and that is great, because then we can plan more outdoor times of fishing and camping!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Posted by Break from Sanity @ 3:47 PM
It was a decent vacation, time with family, my wife and children.
We were going to go to Oak Lake for camping, the route is mapped to get to wife's nephew's house.
The Sarnia border crossing wasn't as bad as it was last time when we were coming back. Last time, it took us two and a half hours waiting at the border to get through the check points. It was THAT backed up.
A better idea of what the bridge looks like at night can seen below.
Reminder for anyone who crosses this way....
Bring drinks, especially coffee!
Because it was almost two hours before we saw a place to go into for coffee. Most of the drive was farmland and countryside for the first couple of hours. There is nothing wrong with that, but then you have to get off the freeway and drive for awhile on rural roads to get to a small town for anything to drink or food.
Speed limit is mostly 100 on the highways but I was doing 130 - 140.
That would be Km/h not MPH.
[chuckles]
A few stops along the way for food and drop off bags of clothes to a friend's house, and minor stops for Canadian chocolate.
Wifes Favorite: Big Turk Chocolate Bar
My Favorite: Mirage Chocolate bar
One thing my wife (who is Canadian) says, is that there is a difference between American and Canadian Chocolate, and that American chocolate tastes 'waxy'.
I agree, because I have compared both, and you want to try something good, try an Aero Bar or Mirage. Damn they are goooood.
I digress though, it was a long trip and the kids were mostly behaved, a few whacks from the back as they would get over rambunctious and smack each other, but other than that they enjoyed the trip also.
Only ran into one bad spot in Mississauga, Ontario where we ran into rush hour traffic and I mean bumper-to-bumper; stop-and-go; for 2 hours!!
We were late getting to the campsite, but got settled in and froze our tails off for the first night.....
Continued next with....
Vacation (Part 2) - Camping
Homeward bound with a fully packed van, including trips for Canadian groceries and about 13 blocks of Black Diamond cheese. If you haven't tried this cheese you should, it really is very good.
