exploding mothers and July’s lessons

I’m sipping hot mocha and and typing with wifi.   I can hardly believe this is considered camping.

The only difference between this and our real life is the room size and the bed.  But I digress.

We picked this campground off the internet and are only passing through for one night.  It’s doing just fine for us.

Last post I talked about how great going camping is and some preparation but you must know that the prepping can be the MOST difficult part.  That is…mothers I tend to be very high strung when packing and preparing.

My confession is that I got ready a little like a shaken 2L bottle of coke.  Every time my preteen made a snark I was shaken up, just a bit, and by the time it was 5 pm the contents of my coke bottle was oozing and I fairly screamed my way around the kitchen and the dining room.

My neighbours had to close their windows and I needed to get some air.

The list was getting longer and more and more undone.  Remember pillows, blankets, soap, milk, water, coffee, flat iron, tent, children.  Remember. Remember. Remember.  So many don’t forgets.

Count to 10 and feel very bad for screaming things I cannot even write here.

So, all in all, I still forgot my flat iron and my husband didn’t pack the screened in tent. Two very important items.  But we’re traveling and having fun doing so.  

This post is also the wrap up for July.  And I’ve learned a few things this month that are somewhat educational but mostly disregard-able unpublished news.  But you might relate.

1. It takes as much time to pack for a weekend trip as it does for a month.

2.  I have a bad habit of self-diagnosing.  Either that or I’m a hypochondriac.  Right now I may have hypothyroidism.  Ya, I know I’ve got to stop googling diseases.

3.  You can watch netflix using the wii (cool) but not watch a DVD movie (not-cool).  Why is that?  I would really rather an all in one.

4.  Plantain (the weed) is my new healing miracle plant that I’ve learned about and I’m on the lookout for it every where I go.  I think I’m becoming a witch doctor.  I can’t wait ’til someone gets a bee sting so I can grind up the plant in my mouth with gnashing of teeth and place it on the bite.  For Real.

5.  The price of gold was bound to drop.  So was potash.  Remember buy low, sell high.

6.  Perhaps the best advice I’ve ever received was to get more sleep.  God says Go to Bed.

And perhaps that is the best healing tool of all.  Rest.

The camper is dark and the computer now lights the table so I’m off to sleep.  How’s your summer been?  Check out Emily’s links here to see what other cool bloggers have learned in July.

how to get ready to go camping

It’s time for us to haul out the ol’ camper trailer and do some family vacationing.

The camper has sat idle since last year and even then only saw a campsite once for 2 days.  The mosquitos ate us alive and forced us to take her home for relief.

But this year we head to the prairies.  We know what we’re getting into. We head east and leave the hot sun.

 

tays in the win’

We’re going back to where it all started.  

Where our roots run under wheat fields

and the children’s little feet played in the sand dunes.

We know that it will be windy there.  There will be bugs the size of hummingbirds.  The trailer will cool off at night and we’ll need our flannels.

We know the eye can see for miles of pale yellow  brown with only a strip of highway to cut the view.

And we can’t wait.

**BUT**

To prepare for a trip like this one has to go over a few things.  This is what I’ve been doing.

1. Establish who is sleeping where.  Our camper has a bunk and no one wants to use it.  They are teenagers.  We might have to bring a tent. I bought a memory foam for our bed.  Call me a princess – I DON’T CARE.
2. Test all appliances before we go.  Fridge must keep food cold and stove top must have a light.  Or you will have spoiled milk and no cold cereal.
3. Wash all bedding and towels before we go.  Yes, Please.
4. Restock fridge and pantry.  I recommend getting the little sugar cereal in the boxes.  It’s the only time you have permission to eat a sugar breakfast.  Also the mini-mustard and ketchup are a must.
5. Pre-book the campsites if you can but be flexible enough to park on an abandoned lot by a teal green lake for rustic fun.
6. Be prepared to drop millions of dollars to the mega-oil companies if you are hauling any type of trailer.  Gas is unexplainably expensive!
7. Keep old books and magazines in your camping unit different from in the house.  I have a home reno magazine from 2008 permanently in the camper.  Feels like new every time I read it.  Once a year. 
8. S’mores are old.  Bring oranges for cakes and bananas for boats.  Bread and pie filling are great too and nothing beats fresh gunpowder green tea at night.  Nothing.
9. Do a daily read as a family or group.  We have read ‘A Long Way from Chicago‘ one year and we still talk about it.  Books that are universal.  This year we’re trying ‘A Wrinkle in Time‘ by Madeline L’Engle.  She is awesome.
10. Talk to your neighbors.  The campfire is a great place to share coffee or a beer with those camping near you.

Camping has been a part of our life since we were young and now we carry on this tradition.  It sounds very Canadian, tres cliché,  but we have all this land to explore and the home we pull around on wheels is a fantastic way to get into nature.

I’m sure you have lots more great ideas to make family camping successful.  Feel free to share.

Have you got any camping plans this year?  

on having a family holiday

 

The Arbutus tree, found only on the island

After much ado with packing and getting the trailor ready we have headed to Vancouver Island for a fun filled family vacation.  or something like that….

Why do the kids wait {in} the vehicle for at least 15 min. while we rush about getting last minute items?  Do they think we’ll leave them?

We are camping, exploring, eating yummy bush pies, and sitting around a fire.

I’ve had lots of thoughts on what to write in my blog but literally no opportunity to here in wi-fi no man’s land.  BC Provincial parks are amazing and true to nature but undeniably make you live right here and now in the real world with the port a potties and waterfalls hikes and shimery sunlight through the trees.  Feeling a little lost after being away from the internet we plunked down in the Comox Starbucks, and plugged in to the cyber world.  It’s a luxury to be able to drive 15 minutes and get to travel through worlds miles apart.

Our Ft. Langley coffee shop

I (we) learned how to surf on the Pacific Rim.  The town of Tofino is located at the furthest western point of Canada (I think!) and has waves from the pacific ocean to make them surf ready.  We decided to take lessons and had a blast.  The sun was warming our face and the wetsuit made us walk like penguins.  By the end my arms felt like lead and the salt no longer bothered my eyes.   Look out Hawaii, here come the 6 w’s!

Funny things I forgot:

1. bug spray
2. my swimsuit
3. toilet paper
4. dishsoap

Things I’ll remember:

1. the colorful bracelets the girls made
2. watching the kids in bright yellow shirts surfing
3. listening to the kids giggle in bed
4. the smell of campfire
5. my lumpy bed

Thank you Lord, I am forever grateful for my rich life.