Rosy's Neck

It's been harder than I thought to get these posts up. I've written over two weeks worth, but don't have wifi and access to the computer at the same time. Sigh, I'll do my best to keep them coming.

Friday June 8^th was kind of a bust. Rosalin woke up with a major kink in her neck, and cried every time she moved. We decided to hang out at the campground and have a lazy day. Rosy ate lunch in our bed while watching movies…that’s just kind of the day it was. That night I tried to take her to have a shower to hopefully ease the pain in her neck, but also the smell of someone who’s laid in bed all day gets to you. I carried her to the showers and stood her up to get everything ready, and she just stood there screaming with her head cocked to the side. I put her in the shower and she screamed and screamed, grabbing on my arm trying to get out. I managed to get her washed, although perhaps not all rinsed and went back to the trailer. Apparently they could hear her crying from the trailer. Great.

Here's our little living space, it is crazy cramped at times. Spencer and I sleep on that bed, Rosy sleeps at that table once it's folded down into a little bed, and Charlotte sleeps on some blankets on the floor just behind where I'm standing. Somehow we make it work, but I'll definitely appreciate my bed back home that I don't have to take down and re-make every day!

One of My Best Birthday Presents

Our campground that night was called Crystal Lake Campground and had the most bugs I’ve seen in a very long time. They had an old school playground that seemed to just be pieced together from old playgrounds in the 80s. There were wooden swings, horses on springs with the paint wearing off, and those old swings that are the seats facing each other (I believe the Woodruff’s had one of those swings in their backyard). If I used my imagination I could envision a horror movie being filmed there, with the swings blowing in the wind and squeaking eerily. We were trying to eat supper that night, and I could hardly stand it. I was constantly getting bitten by no-see-ums and mosquitoes. Luckily I didn’t get any fly bites, but I think that’s all thanks to Ken who seemed to be their favourite flavor. After getting the girls to bed, I went to take advantage of the free shower and took the longest shower I’ve had in months…it may have been 25 minutes! Coming out of the bathroom, I saw a spider the size of the palm of my hand…scary!

That night I got one of the best early birthday presents I can remember…it will certainly provide a great memory. When Audrey came back from doing a load of clothes, she called Spencer and I outside which I was hesitant to comply with due to all of the bugs. But as we got outside, and walked into the darkness away from the trailer we realized that there were fireflies everywhere! We could see them almost twinkling in the night all over the grass, flying through the air and even up in the bushes. I could have sat out in the quiet night forever just watching the lights twinkle and listening to the crickets and frogs. What an amazing memory, I wish I was better with words and could paint a better picture for you all. We tried to get a video of me holding one, but I’m not sure it turned out.

The next morning was my birthday! Happy 25 to me! I had some delicious Raisin Bran for breakfast and the parents took off riding, while Spencer and I packed up the trailer and cleaned up. That morning was full of laundry, dishes and lucky Spencer got to dump the nasty trailer poop water. Unfortunately a clip was broken on the pipe…so I made him wash his hands real well before he was allowed back into the trailer.

It was around this time that Papa started to get a lot of flat tires, I mean he got his first flat of the trip and then a total of 4 flats in 4 days. Luckily we were in the booming town of Dryden ON. And had next to nothing in terms of bike shops that could help re-stock. After visiting 4 stores we were able to find no tubes, and 2 different patch kits and that was all. One bright moment in our day was the A&W rootbeer that I got for my birthday lunch that was so cold it was forming some slushie in it!! Luckily in all our running around in Dryden we found a little birthday cake for me and yet another giant animal for us to take a picture with.

After searching all over Dryden for bike parts and birthday cakes we drove to our campground for the night, called Davey’s Lake campground.  That night we had taco salad for supper and then we enjoyed a candleless version of Happy Birthday over already dished up strawberry cheesecake. The cake was yummy, but I’ve been spoiled with Spencer’s homemade New York Cheesecake with his own strawberry glaze… so of course it didn’t compare. 

Apparently we don't take pictures at birthdays so here's a giant moose and a bald eagle we found in Dryden.

Cutest Little Town Ever

Driving from West Hawk Lake to Kenora we started seeing a drastic change in the landscape. Soon things were greener, with thicker forest and way more rock. Also, how did I get through a Canadian education and not know how many lakes were in Ontario? You can’t drive 2 minutes without seeing  another lake or another sign for a lake.

Spencer and I are really trying to take advantage of the time we get to spend driving from place to place and stop to take in views or take pictures as often as we can. We decided we wanted to take a picture by the ‘Welcome to Ontario’ sign and when we came up to it, it was a little less than impressive. We were a little under impressed but decided to stop and take a picture anyway. Both girls were sleeping so we literally ran to the sign, took turns taking pictures and ran back to the truck before they woke up, probably a total of 90 seconds. After hopping back in the truck and taking off, about 1 km down the road we saw an official and impressive sign welcoming us to Ontario. Oh well, we didn’t need a big fancy sign to have the memory.

We drove into Kenora and stopped at a visitor information building while waiting for the parents to catch up, as they were only a few kilometres back and we were going to meet up for lunch. The information centre had some artwork and interesting facts and Rosalin enjoyed running on the grass outside. We went to the upstairs of the centre and from the balcony we could see the parents riding across the bridge and into the parking lot. We had some sandwiches in the trailer for lunch and then went down the road for some frozen hot chocolates at the DQ. I refuse to buy an extra dessert for Rosalin, but maybe I should start considering it if I ever want a treat for myself, or maybe she’s my little diet plan. I plan on sharing, and end up only getting a bite or two thanks to my little sweet tooth of a daughter.

After DQ we just went around the corner to a place called Norman’s Beach. There was a playground there and Papa wanted to go for a quick little swim. As we’re sitting on the bench at the beach, we look back to check on Rosy, and she is stripping down to go swim with Papa.  It is times like these when I realize that I’m not always the uptight Mother that I think that I am. Instead of chasing after her and getting her swimsuit, we just slathered her in sunscreen and let our little bathing beauty swim with Papa in her underwear. Grandma and Papa took off from the beach on their bikes again and we started driving through Kenora. 

On our way, a giant fish caught our eye, so we flipped around (as easy as you can flip with a fifth wheel on your truck) and parked to go take some pictures with Husky the Muskie. Kenora is a super cute little town with loads of history. Their downtown just looks perfectly restored and I felt submerged in a small fur trading town with totem poles and artwork lining the roads. As the parents were trying to catch up on some kilometres they rode their bikes as far as they could that day and then we picked them up just in time to pull into our campsite on Wednesday night, June 6.  

The fastest Ros and I have ever showered

West Hawk Lake was having some construction done on their roads so driving the trailer in there was a little nerve wracking. Luckily as part of our deal, I’ve mandated that I will never drive the truck with the trailer attached so there is no expectation that I will ever be required to do that –whew-.  When we pulled up to the campground, Rosy was itching to go play on the playground and Charlotte was starting to sound the alarm so us girls left the men to park and level the trailer while we stretched our legs. Rosy and Grandma played at the park while I fed Charlotte on the bench and then we went back to the trailer for some supper of super yummy butter chicken. Papa decided to get some more kilometres in so took off for a couple hours before it got dark.

Getting Rosalin to bed is quite the chore with her napping most days, sometimes twice and no real bed or bedtime. With us changing time zones a few times and her bed being a folded down kitchen table it is a little tricky. Usually we put her to bed in the parents little bedroom and then once they’re ready to go down, we make up her bed and carry her out to the kitchen.

The next morning the parents took off riding their bikes and Spencer and I decided to shower the family up. The shower took quarters up to toonies for 45 seconds to 6 minutes respectively. I took a dollar seventy five and Rosalin to the shower house and tried to get a game plan together for how to shower the cheapest. I got out our shampoo and got us all ready and put in the 25 cents for our first 45 seconds of water. After dousing ourselves as quickly as we could the water clicked off and we shampooed and soaped up without the water running. The shower was a family shower so was quite big and once I put in our next dollar, Rosalin was running in and out of the water stream while I was trying to rinse us all off before our three minutes ran out. I got both of us rinsed, my hair conditioned, and rinsed out before the time cut off. So, in three minutes and 45 seconds I showered myself and Rosalin and it only cost me a buck and a quarter! While we were getting dressed we heard an emergency vehicle siren blaring and it wounded quite close, we finished getting dressed and went back to the trailer and Spencer said that it was a boat that loaded in to the lake lightning fast and zoomed off, makes me wonder what was going on, kinda interesting.

That morning we packed up the trailer with no particular rush before heading off towards Kenora.

“If the trailer’s a rockin’…come on in, we’re probably having a dance party!”

Monday night we drove to where we were camping that first night at Birds Hill campground not far from Winnipeg. We all got settled in and organized beds for the little girls…it was pretty late so we hit the sack ready to take on our adventures the next morning.

The parents got ready early and were ready to take off for their morning ride just as our little family was waking up. We got up and Rosy and I walked to the bathrooms (yay for plumbing!). In the bathrooms I believe we discovered the moth from Dr. Doolittle. We ran back to the campground to grab Spencer and a camera and ventured forth to search out the great beast. After snapping some pictures I sent one to Mel who replied that Satan was living in our bathroom (she really doesn’t like moths).

After some colouring for Ros and Spencer and I tidied the trailer we took off to go for a walk. The park had some wonderful bike trails and there were a lot of people walking and rollerblading. Following a few rounds of some excellent “Down By the Bay” verses we walked back to the trailer to meet the parents who were expected to return shortly.

Spencer took Rosy out for a quick bike ride while we waited for everyone to return and I got some much needed quiet reading time while Charlotte napped. Once everyone returned we packed up a lunch, got changed into our swimming suits and drove to the swimming hole. Rosy was excited to try out her new water wings and even Papa got a kick out of them. We swam, ate lunch, played on the playground then took off for Winnipeg to gather some supplies before taking off again.

In Winnipeg we decided to get some groceries, but also that something needed to be done about the fact that Rosy refused to wear her hat, Spencer and I didn’t own sandals (kinda awkward when going to the beach), Charlotte didn’t own a hat, and Rosalin wore her gum boots to the lake. A few stops at Payless Shoes and Superstore got us all fixed up for our summertime adventures.

Grandma and Papa had stored up some extra miles with all the riding that they had been doing waiting for us to get there so we took off for West Hawk Lake that afternoon.

The Journey Begins

Our first day of the trip was most definitely the longest! We decided that leaving really early in the morning gave us the best chance of getting off and having the girls sleep while we traveled. I set my alarm for 3 am and after only a couple of snooze button hits I was up, fed Charlotte packed the last few things in the car and loading the girls. We were officially on the road by 4:15 am, and I was on the first shift so Spencer could sleep. So, on only 3 hours of sleep, I drove for two and some hours until Spencer was able to take over.

 We made it to Moose Jaw in good time and stopped there to attend Sacrament meeting. As I pulled Charlotte out of her car seat I could smell that she had pooped her pants and needed to be changed. We were running a little late and they were singing the opening song as we got in the building. I raced to the mothers lounge and changed her bum and of course she had gotten some on her onesie and sleeper. Charlotte also needed to be fed so as they started in on the ward business I decided I could feed her quick and still make it in time for the Sacrament. As that wound down I was thinking that we needed to wrap it up, but then they started in on some Stake business and the ward had a new bishopric put in. In the end, Charlotte got a good long feed and we made it into the meeting before the Sacrament Hymn even started.

As we drove the rest of the way, we all got hotter and tireder! The lack of AC in our car definitely made us all grumpier. Rosalin started fussing and Charlotte cried off and on for the last 3 hours of driving. Finally we arrived in Winnipeg covered in sweat and ready to cool down, unfortunately Manitoba is humid and hot and we had no such luck.

Monday was Zara's birthday party so we had a lot of little kids in the house. Everyone played in the backyard then we did a craft before heading out to the park. It was so sunny and humid that Charlotte and I mostly sat in the shade while Jen, Spencer, and the kids ran around the playground. Rosalin seems to have zero concept of her gravitational limits and frequently found herself barely hanging on while swinging from giant metal elephant frames. That afternoon Spencer also fixed out muffler and I'm sad that I won't get to experience the quiet until we're driving back to Alberta in a month.

After supper that evening Ken and Audrey came to pick us up and take us to where their trailer was parked. We had a lot of fun at Jen's house but it was time for the crazy journey to begin.