Vacation Time!

We are leaving today for a two week vacation! Of course I am stressed out since the entire vacation is with family... Ah family.

We are leaving here in about an hour and hoping to make it past Watson Lake tonight on the Robert Campbell hwy. By Sunday we should be at my parents house outside of Dawson Creek, BC. 1500km with two boys is always an adventure! This is a fast trip and we will only be there for five days. My grandparents will be there visiting so the boys will meet their great-grandparents! Pretty exciting. Then there are a couple of days shopping and visiting with a friend who used to live in Kugluktuk that will be in the Grande Prairie area the same time as us and some quick visits with friends in Dawson Creek.

After five days we start driving north again. We will spend a night in Fort Nelson with my brother and his family then drive north to Francis Lake here in the Yukon. We will be spending six days there camping with my parents. I am already looking forward to relaxing with a few good books and my fishing rod there!

I just finished cleaning the house while the kids play with a babysitter. Now to get the last few items I am forgetting!

Weight loss update: Nope. Didn't hit my 50lbs. I am currently at 41lbs down and now just hope to hold that while we are on vacation. I am still going to buy new clothes while we are down south as a nice present for myself even though I didn't hit 50 yet. I will get back at it when I get home!

And can everyone continue to hold our friend Allison from Mayo in your prayers and thoughts. She is such an amazing woman facing one of worst fears a wife can have, all the while growing a beautiful babe. We are thinking of you Alli all the time. Rub that gorgeous growing tummy for us! xxoo

Now hopefully we don't have to break a window with a hammer after locking the baby in the truck like we did two years ago on this road....

:)

Rainy Day Trouble

Little boys and rainy days don't mix. Okay, actually they do mix, but only when the little boys are outside splashing in the puddles.

They did just that this morning with two girls that I hired to play with them while I helped a friend with a resume. This afternoon I needed to start packing since we are leaving on Friday for two weeks, so we did not spend time outside like we usually do. The boys decided this would be a great time to demonstrate their destructive skills of which they are working on perfecting.

While I was in a bedroom folding and packing clothes for our trip the boys decided to do this:

Fill the empty garbage can (bag is on the floor since it was nearly full) with books and toys:

And empty out my craft paper bin all over the floor:

How can boys this cute get into so much trouble when you aren't looking!

A Visitor!

Do you remember just after Christmas when I blogged about the girls who saved my life? One of them had some meetings in Whitehorse and she took one night to drive to Faro for a short visit. You know you have a good friend when they will drive 800k for an 18 hour visit!

I had hoped to take her out on the quads or at least for a walk around town, but the weather did not cooperate. We did get a fabulous thunder and lightening storm and hours upon hours of pouring rain. It made for good sit inside and girlie talk time!

Thank you for the visit Lana! I will have my fingers crossed that you move up here one day for work and that we will get to see you on a regular basis.

Dirty Face

This kid is drawn to the mud like a
raven to a garbage bag in the back of an open truck:

Dirty Feet

You know it is has been a good day when feet are this dirty by supper time:

Distraction by Sewing

Tonight I had to get my mind off of the heartbreak my friend is going through in Mayo, so I headed down to my sewing room to distract myself for a couple hours. I created a sequel to this purse I made last month.

I am still not completely happy with the final product. I need something better to make the strap out of. A suggestion from a friend of d-rings sounds perfect, but I just don't know what to use for the strap material. This one is out of elk hide and rabbit. Not sure if I am fond of the rabbit front; I think the seal on the other one looks so spiffy. I do like the little wooden button I bought the last time I was in town. I am going to spend a while scouring the internet looking for other examples to copy. Suggestions are always welcome!

Thoughts and Prayers

My mind, heart and soul have been occupied all day with thoughts and prayers on a tragedy unfolding here in the Yukon.

You can read about it here, but I would recommend not reading the comments following it.

After corresponding for months, we finally got to meet this couple in the fall when we spent time in Mayo while Matt was covering shifts there. They are the kind of people that you walk into their house and feel instantly at home and like you have known them for years. Hunter still talks about visiting them; he is in love with their dogs.

Please send all your positive thoughts and prayers to his wife and all of their families.

Relaxing in Ross River

Matt spent the last week working in Ross River since they were short-staffed. The kids and I headed over Thursday morning to spend time with Daddy and to procrastinate from my house and yard work.

The four days were so relaxing and Matt didn't have to spend much time at the heath centre on the weekend. Our days were filled with walks, playing with RCMP families and Kennie the teacher, chasing squirrels, more walks, throwing rocks into the river, walking over the bridge, scraping knees and heads, napping, watching cartoons and movies and even more walking. I feel so relaxed! The community was a near ghost town other than the drunks that were yelling and fighting outside the nursing residence on Saturday night/morning.

July is half over and I know I will blink and September will be here. The rest of our summer is jammed packed with a trip to see my parents, a week camping with them back up here, two weeks in Mayo while Matt is working and then lots of hunting! This is the best summer we have had in a long time.

Hunter walking over the footbridge.
To go there and back is over half a kilometer!

Family Photo:

Pelly River Barge

Throwing rocks- the favorite past-time!

Entranced with cartoons we don't get a home since we only get CBC.
The rubbermaid was used as a boat, a train and a doghouse this weekend.

Look at that grubby tanned face!

Cavan playing with his brothers hat early in the
morning while Hunter is still sleeping:

The boat sailing out to sea:

Everyone enjoying nap time:

The box is the best part

I am not sure why we even have toys in this house. As usual, the box is the best part of the present!

I took the box from the kid size John Deere Gator the grandparents bought them for their birthdays and turned it into a little house for them. Hunter calls it his clubhouse and they live in it!

Hello? Anybody home?

Peering out the window:

I wonder if they will need counseling for this...

Hunter is obsessed with the heat vents in the floor. He lifts them up and tosses toys into their depths. In frustration a few weeks ago, I told him there were monsters in the vents that would get him if he opened them up again. Surprisingly he left them alone!

Today, Cavan tried lifting one up and Hunter promptly ran over and pushed it back into place and warned him about the monsters lurking in the vents. I had a good laugh and then hoped they don't need much counseling when they get older!

Fears

I have a lot of fears.

There are the typical mom fears

• what if my kid runs away and I cannot find them
• what if my kid gets sick
• what if my kids need extensive amounts of counseling because I am such an odd parent
  
• what if what if what if

There are the job related fears

• will I ever get a job outside the house again
• have my six years of university become completely obsolete
• what if I am truly happy never having a real job again
  

There are the crazy-ass irrational fears

• will zombies get me if I go into my basement after dark
• since I dream about grizzly bears eating me will they eventually get me
• when the impending asteroid hits earth will I survive

There are rational fears

• what do I do if my quad breaks down in the bush
• do I really remember how to change a tire
• can I get my bear spray out fast enough
  

And then there are weight related fears

• will my ass fit into that chair
• will I have a pair of pants to fit
• will that seat-belt fit
  
• will those people mock me when I walk by
• will kids tease my boys because they have the fat mom
• will I be able to find any clothes in the store that fit me
• will I be plagued with weight related health issues
• will I die young because of my weight
• how many people judge me based on my weight
• will I be able to keep up to my boys
• on and on and on
  

I could continue with my list of fears, but it will just make me look like even more of a nutcase than I already am. But the list of fears related to my weight is the longest and most stressful (well maybe only second to my fear of zombies). I have been plagued by the weight fears since I was a child as compared the mommy fears that I have only had for the last three years. I wonder if those fears will gradually diminish as I lose my weight. Or maybe they will always be with me. I have become a pro at hiding those fears from others, or at least I like to think so.

With age has come more confidence around other people; I no longer panic in a room full of people, although I still don't feel the most comfortable. I am becoming increasingly comfortable with myself, but those fears still persist.

Why do I share these fears now? Every time I open myself up on this blog, the positive response has been overwhelming. I have conquered so much in the last six months with this support. Perhaps by sharing these fears I am acknowledging them and can finally work at putting them behind me. And at the very least I am letting other readers know they aren't alone with their fears.

So readers... care to share any of your fears so I don't feel like the only lunatic out here?

Four Days of Fun

Our four day weekend was fantastic even if the weather wasn't! We spent two days on the South Canol road and two days in Whitehorse doing some urban camping. There was a lot of rain in both areas, and it made me thankful that we have a camper on our truck instead of having to tent.

We were in Ross River first thing on Thursday and got to take in their parade. I love being part of small communities on events like this. Everyone is in the parade and hardly anyone is left to watch! We were bombarded with freezies and candy and the boys squealed with glee at the sirens from the firetruck.

This is the first time we have driven the entire length of the South Canol road. Usually we only go about 130km down. A lovely drive, but the north end is definitely the most scenic. The boys enjoyed exploring and splashing in every available mud puddle.

In Whitehorse we visited with friends, went garage sale'ing, did our shopping, went to the pool and I even got a girlie night out at the movies with a friend. Definitely a fun couple of days in Whitehorse- which seemed empty compared to most weekends we are in there. Everyone must have left town to go camping!

Ross River fire truck:

South Canol Road- beautiful as usual:

We got to drive through some fabulously muddy spots on the road. I wish I had taken a picture of the worst spots, but Matt wasn't going to stop in the middle and I sure wasn't walking back into it!!

Chasing porcupines:

Remnant from the making of the road:

Having fun at Quiet Lake:

See! I did forgive him for forgetting my fishing rod!

I see a little boy!

Taking it for a spin:

The boys loving watching the guys clean our truck at the carwash:

Half naked play time in Whitehorse at our friends house:

In sickness and in health, for richer for poorer....

How can a ten year relationship, with seven of those years married, nearly end in divorce in the middle of the Yukon wilderness?

Inform your wife (me), at nearly 200 kilometers from home and 100km down the South Canol road in prime grayling fishing territory, that you (Captain Dough-head otherwise known as my husband Matt) took my fishing rod and tackle boxes out of the camper after the last camping trip just two weeks ago and forgot to put them back in!

Yep. Nearly ended our relationship. Ask Matt how pissed I was- I am pretty sure his story involves my head spinning right around and my eyes shooting lasers at him. But after just a couple of hours (yes, I sulked for two hours), I moved on and got over it... sort of. They grayling of the South Canol will live to see another month. But I will be back. And I will double check to ensure my fishing gear has made it on-board.

And our marriage lives to see another day as well.

I love you husband. Almost as much as my fishing rod.

:)