Rachel's Planet: August 2010

I started back to work this week. Oi!

It was seriously hard on this gal's old worn out brain cells after 6 weeks of time off. One of the hugest tasks I have before school starts is to order, receive, sort and deliver the supplies for 390 students. It's a massive task and makes my insides quake if I think about it too hard!

Yesterday I took Nathan to work as I really, really needed an extra set of hands to put a dent into my job. He was incredibly helpful, confident and amazing. So thankful for him! Also, one of the grade 8 teachers took pity on me and gave me several hours of her time to help out which was so appreciated. Thank you Lisa.

It was nice to round off the day with an outdoor movie with my BFFs and kids. We got all cozy with our chairs and blankets and enjoyed 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs'.

It looks like a poor turn out but we were early and by the time the movie started the field behind us had completely filled up with families. Even though I was exhausted I'm really glad I made the effort to go!

Warning....every summer I post the same old holiday story. Same old pictures, same old everything. As I was going over my archives I realized that it's all just the same old, same old and we're getting old too! But here we go anyhow.

Saturday was hot...very hot. It took us a looong time to pack up for our trip because we were sapped of all energy. Liam broke out in a horrible fever and was completely lethargic all day. Poor little mite. More on this illness to come.

We headed out to Sunday morning with three happy children. Liam's fever had disappeared by morning for which we were most thankful. Here are the kiddies in Manning Park. We used to drive straight up to Oroville with no stops but it's not really fair to Liam to be strapped in so long. It was good for all of us to stretch our legs a bit anyhow.

Our next stop was Bromley Rock. I had packed a lunch so we had a little picnic and then did some traditional rocking throwing in the river. It was very hot there and it was so tempting to jump in the water but we got back in the car....not much further to go!

Arrived safely in Oroville around 3:00 to find my parents anxiously awaiting us. Keith and I quickly unpacked and then headed to stock up on groceries for the week. We just could not resist this box of assorted donuts. Sadly, they looked better than they tasted. We didn't just eat junk though. When there's a garden like Opa and Oma's you end up eating really fresh so it all balanced out quite nicely!

The apricots were so ripe they would just fall off the tree into your hand. Juicy and sweet....tree ripened is the best way to eat fruit! The crenshaw and honeydew melons were out of this world. we ate so many of them.

My mom made some jars of apricot compot in the cabin. So delicious on porridge or pancakes or toast!

We found a little friend on the beach one day. Chad is a frog-a-holic (if there is such a thing) so we took this photo with him in mind.

Liam loved the water. He loved being out on it, being in it, throwing rocks in it....basically everything about it.

Day two...the boys got fevers. Alas.....what's a Dyck holiday without sick kids? Thankfully we had some Ibuprofen with us and we just pumped the kids with as much as they were allowed and let them sleep it off. Nathan got pukey in the night which was yucky but otherwise it was just the aches and fever and lethargy.

Poor Chad. I felt bad for them both. It did turn out to be a 36 hour virus and sadly, Keith contracted it next. He spent a day and a half in the cool basement sweating out his fever. He was very miserable. Wise woman that I am just stayed far away!

Not sure which was more thrilling for Liam. The lake or Opa's 'dat-go'. He sat on this many, many times each day.

Yep...he was happy being outside from morning 'til night.

Our hottest day was 35 degrees. Plenty toasty! The lake water was fairly warm as well so there wasn't much in the way of cooling off. You know it's really hot when my landing-loving father actually gets in the lake! We had to a take a picture for posterity!

Keith went up to the garden and found us a huge beautiful watermelon. We all eagerly anticipated a few juicy slices after dinner.

Sadly it was a dud! The boys took the melon down to the dock and used it for target practice with the slingshot as an alternative.

The view from the house. The property is 3/4 of an acre and all on a slope. It's been terraced and has plenty of space for us all. The views just get better and better the higher up you climb in the yard.

We enjoyed many games during the week. We thought Nathan was ready to learn how to play Settlers and we set out to teach him but could not remember how to play 'plain' Settlers! So we decided we'd just jump in with both feet and taught him Cities and Knights of Catan. He caught on immediately...so impressive! It's a complex game and he did very very well.

Yahtzee is a good bet on a hot day. Not too much thinking involved at all.

See those lovely rolling hills in the background? It's my favorite view from the beach. Liam is enjoying an evening play time at the water.

The morning views aren't too shabby either! Here are Chad and Liam on the neighboring beach looking for big rocks for the ultimate splash!

I got plenty of reading done. I enjoyed a big fat Patricia Scanlan book and then delved into Pillars of the Earth. Absolutely fantastic reading....I highly recommend.

A flower within a flower....very pretty.

All about the rocks and all about the splash!

One afternoon I actually convinced Chad to get in the water and swim. He's never been fond of the water and it often takes quite a bit of cajoling to get him in. The neighbors arrived later in the week with a 10 year old boy so the kids all had fun playing together. Down the beach in the other direction were some other children that met up with us in the middle so we often didn't see Nathan and Chad for hours as they were busy with their new pals.

Nathan doesn't need to be coaxed into the lake at all.

Later in the week, Andrew's friend came up and brought his Sea Doo. We all enjoy taking turns on it and we would really like to get one. They are so versatile since they can tow a skiier or be used for tubing. And the most appealing part is that they are so much cheaper than a boat. We think we'd get a lot of use out of one. I did discover that I simply cannot ride the sea doo backwards though. I was the spotter for one tubing session and just about tossed my cookies!

Liam eagerly awaited his turn on the 'boat'. He took a spin with Andrew around the bay and enjoyed himself silly.

The next watermelon we picked was absolutely perfect and we all enjoyed a sweet and sticky snack at the water on afternoon.

A few doors down are the Loewen family which is where my cousin stays with her family. Her 'other' grandparents live in Oroville too! Anyhow, it was great to see Andrea and her daughter Hannah who is a few months younger than Liam.

Note Chad's look of distress. I forced him to go tubing. I thought since he enjoyed fast Sea Doo rides so much he'd also love this. Incorrect.

He'll probably forgive me one day. He was rather traumatized by it all.

Andrea's mom who is my Aunt Helga was there with some of her grandsons (what a great Grandma to give the parents a break back home!) and we had a great visit. We always manage to see some family up there.

Just hanging out with Liam. I threw plenty of rocks in the water that week. I'm sure the level of the lake rose just a bit :) Ahhh...a week of no make up, no hair products, and no cares. It was really quite a great way to end my holidays.

We truly had excellent weather during the week. Some intense heat and some more mellow days as well. No rain which was great and not too much wind. The last day was breezy and Andrew got in a bit of wind surfing.

I love the big sky country near Cawston and Keremeos. There were some forest fires in the area so the air wasn't too clean in the some spots. We had very little traffic and a good drive home. Liam only slept for about 45 minutes though and the rest of the time the boys were kept on their toes trying to entertain him. Of course I can't turn around in the car too often or I get woozy so it was all up to them to deal with him!

Travelling back to the west coast where the air is humid and our hair gets frizzy! I love the dry interior air but it didn't agree with Liam's skin. He was covered in eczema from head to toe. We've been home three days and it's just about cleared up! Another contributing factor is the very hard water up there. We all had crocodile skin and were continually slathering on lotion.

Well that wraps up our summer. I went back to work on Monday and reality has hit me with a bang! These early mornings are brutal but I will not complain. Having the summer off to spend at home with the kids was amazing....even if my first EI cheque came only one week before I went back to work!!!

More pix at http://terryography.blogspot.com/ if interested.