Wednesday August 13, 2008 - email

Morning can you believe that we are almost halfway through August already? I can't. Yesterday I tool the kids shopping for back to school clothing. One of my least favourite things to do. Of course the day was a total bust. None of the fall clothing was on sale and I simply refuse to pay 29.95 for pants for Mac that will have no knees in them before the end of September.

Last night Megan had her little friend Chantel sleep over they are having breakfast right now. I think that later I may just go over to my friends house for coffee and say no to cleaning again today.

My goals for today are simple to get the laundry finished or at least pretend that it is finished and to get my bedroom cleaned again and to work on finishing my wrap it is almost done.

Summer Vacation August 2008

Our vacation started on Monday morning. We got up around 7am and started packing, nothing like leaving it to the last minute. After squeezing everything into the van and making room for the kids to sit. Jamie, Steve and I got in and we were on the road by 11am which was about the time we had planned. We had a very nice trip down the highway to Drumheller. We arrived early enough in the afternoon to set up camp. The camp ground was nice, the kids really enjoyed the pool and park area. Mac loved being able to climb around the dunes and ravine behind our site with the other boys that were camping. We had a friend join us at our sight, the girls called him Fluffy the bunny.

Fluffy had lots of friends so we saw him and his buddies almost all the time, early in the morning you would find them trying to get into any food that hadn’t been put away. The kids had fun filling the air-mattresses up. Melissa wasn’t really impressed with things at this point but soon got into camping. While unpacking we realized that one of us needed to go into town for more ice and a few things that seem to have been forgotten at home. The biggest of which was the coffee press, morning without coffee would not be fun at all.

Jamie took the kids swimming at the pool while I drove back into town to find a grocery store and the Canadian Tire. Getting back to camp in time to start dinner of hot-dogs for everyone with potato chips instead of fries, which made the kids laugh but they ate them. Then back to the pool for a second time before going back to the camp site for our camp fire and marshmallow roast. Mac made several friends at the camp ground and Megan and Melissa had fun chasing the bunnies and running around pretty free. Bed time was a little hard getting 3 kids to quiet down from all the excitement was a challenge to the patience but we managed. Jamie and I found out the hard way that our air-mattress had a slow leak in it. Found out that the ground is pretty hard but it wasn’t too bad for me as I’m a little lighter then Jamie and so he pushed all the air under me. He tells me that it wasn’t too bad until about 3am....

Camping in the badlands was fun but very dusty. I’ve attached some picture taken from the playground area of the campground; it was almost all gravel dirt and sand with a little sparse grass. No one stayed clean that long.

The next morning we got up late and had breakfast then went into town to check things out. Of course no trip to Drumheller would have been complete with a climb up inside the Giant Dinosaur. I took quite a few pictures from inside the dinosaur’s mouth which sways in the wind.

Looking down from the mouth gave us an idea how high up in the air we actually were. Of course we had to take some pictures from the ground looking up too, plus, some pictures of the family sitting on the Dinosaur’s paw just for fun. The kids had fun and wanted to stay all day of course that was until we told them that we were going to McDonald’s for lunch. Then it was off to the Royal Tyrell Museum for the afternoon. Mac had to be there for 1pm for his Jr. Dinosaur Explorer Camp and Megan had her camp at 1:30pm. After the kids finished their camps we went through the museum and look at all the exhibits. The kids decided to hug one of the statues don’t they look angelic?

The camp ground was fun for the kids. Megan and Melissa made some friends at the park. Then before we left we had to make some soup for our meal and to feed the Dinosaurs.

The Next morning after a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs we left for Banff National park. Entering the mountains was so impressive. The kids didn’t seem to be that impressed until we were into Banff townsite itself. We camped at Tunel Mountain campground and were warned about bear sitings at the campground.

After a night of sleep we packed up camp and headed for Sulfur Mountain and the Gondola. We paid both our arms and legs but went up the mountain. Megan loved it and talked non-stop the whole way up. Melissa was not happy at all and screamed everytime the Gondola swayed at all. Once at the top we spent about an hour looking around then headed back to the line for the Gondola down the mountain. Melissa decided that she didn’t want to get back in, so it was fun to load up, the girl helping us in informed me that she deals with this kind of thing all the time. Crying all the way down while Megan excitely pointed out everything she could see. The gondola was really nice but I would love to try it without kids someday or maybe again when the kids are older and I don’t have to have a screaming pre-schooler on my lap.

Unfortunate after this we had to start back to Edmonton via Lake Louise and Rocky Mountain House we finally arrived back home around 9pm.

Our New Tent

Well we went out and did it. We bought a tent. Now we are planning our trip.

Here is the tent that we got Pebble Creek™ 10 Person Tent it can be found at http://www.colemanc anada.ca/ Catalog/TENTS. 7_to_10_Person. en.products it is bigger then I thought it would be but with 3 growing children I know that we will need the extra space soon.

I think that we will go to Drumheller for a couple of nights and then up to the Rockies for a day or 2. Later in the summer we will probably go to Calgary with the kids.

I'm starting to adjust to being at home. It still doesn't feel right. I'm waking up every morning at 5am an trying to go back to sleep but most days I just get up and enjoy a few minutes of quiet before everyone else is awake.



My van is in the shop getting fixed today. We get to pick it up on Thursday. I'm so looking forward to having it back and working.




On the way home from dropping the van off we stopped at Katie's to see the baby. I think that he is pretty cute.

We didn't get home until well after 10pm so the girls are still sleeping and Mac is playing the xbox360.

Jamie is getting ready for work he is the only one in this week in the sales department so he is pretty busy. I'm looking forward to his vacation the first week of August. It's been 2 years now since we had a vacation at the same time.

Canada Day Happening in the Morrow Home

What a nice Canada Day we had. It really wasn't too hot. Okay so it could have been about 5 degrees couler but hey it was better then the day before. Jamie took the kids to launch rockets

Here they are getting ready for the launch. I'm thinking that Daddy and his friend have more fun then the kids do but hey what do I know. I'm just the photographer for the event.

The rockets are ready to launch, just waiting for the countdown to start.....


An we have blast off of the first rocket...











Now for Rocket number 2....








All I can say is it was fun.

Melissa was sic again today. I really hope that she gets over this soon. I hate to see her this way. Yesterday all she did was sleep today she is whynny which probably means that she is getting better. Tonight she still wants to be near me all the time.

I'm home doing laundry and trying to catch everything up. Work is not happy that I'm home but Family comes first. I got this story in an email and think it is so true. Wish I could credit the author but none was given to me.

The Mayonnaise Jar and a cup of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceed ed to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again i f the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.The sand is everything else---the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you."Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand."One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked.It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a cup of coffee with a friend."

Another week is over. Where is the time going. Mac and Megan each had a friend sleep over last night. They were really good, nothing like having 5 kids in the house to remind you that when you only have the 3 that live here it is quieter!!

Mac and Jack watch Spiderman 3 with Jamie, Wayne and I last night. This is my second attempt to get through the movie. I didn't make it again, the lure of the pillow strikes again.

Yesterday we go some new fish for our tank. 2 Dalmatian Platies, some zebra danos and a couple of Jamie's' weird tetra's. I also had to put a mama in the isolation tank as she is about to have her babies.