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Camping at Camp Grande
07.24.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Camping at Camp Grande
My dad is and brother are fishing off of Vancouver Island, so my mom decided to take a vacation too. She had my dad park their trailer up at Camp Grande on Camano Island, got Lydia and Luke and invited Bradley, the kids and me to join her for a few days. We were ever so glad to accept such a fine invitation!
We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and headed straight to the beach. The kids had a blast building forts, playing in the water and looking for crabs. Martha dove right in
and chased sticks until she was completely exhausted, then we headed back to camp to camp where Mimi had a host of crafty camp ideas. I began to call the experience Camp Mimi!
The kids had fun decorating t-shirts, creating ocean-scapes in a bottle, making masks and writing plays. I would have to say a highlight for the kids definitely had to be the fire.
Lydia, Luke and Gigi explored the joys of cooking anything on the open flame: hot dogs, s’mores and biscuits which were then filled with butter and jam. Yum!
The next day we headed north to the Birch Bay Water Slides. We all had a great time on the slides and came home a little more than exhausted. We
decided to spend a second night at Camp to give Gigi a little more time with her cousins and Jude a little more time in the great outdoors. They were
both having an absolutely fantastic time. I think the best thing about the trip was the freedom that Gigi had at Camp Grande. We were able to let her
loose to explore the woods, play at the playground and wander around with complete trust in her safety. The absolutely loved it! We can’t wait until next year when we can return again to Camp Grande with Mimi and the cousins!
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Poking Adventures with Jude and Stick
07.22.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Poking Adventures with Jude and Stick
We were at St. Edwards Park the other day and Jude discovered the joy of sticks while we were on our way back to the car. At first, he had a tiny little 5 inch stick, but as we were walking he spied a long stick and picked it up. Stick!!!
Stick motivated Jude to poke and scratch stuff. As we made our way to the car, he found about a million little things to touch with Stick: an attractive rock, a crack, or, like in the picture, the giant screw that holds the parking cement in place. He would stand in place, very still, pointing the very end of his new best friend, Stick, at a very particular thing. When satisfactory contact was made he would wave Stick around wildly in celebration and move onto the next thing. It was an exciting moment for Jude and Stick!
At the end of it all, Daddy allowed the boy to bring his stick in the car. Daddy quickly second guessed his decision as the poking of Daddy with Stick promptly began. Stick ended up on the floor and is presently in our carport waiting for more poking adventures with Jude and Stick!
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How is the House Coming Along?
People know what our plans have been this summer (build a house) and we often hear the question, “How is the house coming along?” Well, Bradley has been working his tail off filling out paperwork, filing permits, checking prices, meeting with contractors, making phone calls and getting bids, but we have yet to see any physical changes on the actual property. The following picture is what our property looks like as of yesterday (7/20/09):
See, just grass at this point. Some blackberries, and oh yes, a BIG GIGANTIC ELECTRIC POLE in the DEAD CENTER of our property. That pole is where our living room will eventually be and is the one big hold up to our progress.
Here it is again:
We are waiting for Verizon to place a taller pole at the front of the property, then PSE can move this pole over to the neighbor’s property and attach the appropriate wires. This pole will not provide us with electricity, it feeds the electricity to our future neighbors. For now, it is just a waiting game as both Verizon and PSE will get to it when they get to it.
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Plantar Fasciitis
07.20.09 | Permalink | | Comments Off on Plantar FasciitisI hate PF. It hurts, it stinks, it is awful. I know that there are worse things than having each step you take feel like your foot is being squeezed in a vise, but it is certainly unpleasant. I have had PF for over a year now, and last week made another trip to the doctor’s office to try something new.
This is the new thing:
Bootsie, I’ll call it. I was told to sleep with it on. Skeptical? Yes. $50.00? Yes. Uncomfortable under covers? Yes. Worth every cent and every moment of discomfort? Absolutely!
Why? If you have ever had plantar fasciitis, then you know that your foot heals over night in the wrong position while you sleep. The result is that the first few steps out of bed in the morning are excruciating! My morning has typically been hearing Jude holler and then me flipping over onto my front, putting my feet on the floor and stretching the best I can. Before he gets too noisy and wakes his sister, I hobble out to get a sippy cup of milk and retrieve Boy. I hobble back to the couch (or bed) with Boy where the first steps wear off and my feet relax a little. All day, every day, I limp and am in pain. I consider the necessity of each and every step. I feel like an old person. Someone says let’s go for a walk and I inwardly grimace. Even riding my bike is causing me trouble now.  PF feels like a lame excuse not to exercise, but it is so not. It just HURTS!
Then along came Bootsie, my new bedmate! Bootsie keeps my foot bent all night, keeping my tendons healing stretched-out style instead of relaxed and short from being in a somewhat pointed position. I wake in the morning with NO PAIN! The first steps? NORMAL! Or, at least, tolerable. I can get Boy, milk and to the bathroom without a fuss. I think Bootsie is my new best friend and will be the answer to my problem. Bootsie will give me back my mobility. I already love my boot. I can’t wait to start walking again.
