We are on the go this week, making our first long haul as a family of five. A dry run for the voyages of the summer to come. For Russell, the road trip neophyte, we are travelling a scant 800 km’s to our destination. We spent a good deal of time preparing and packing bags last night so that things would come together in the morning and allow us to make a smooth departure. We checked lists, divided and conquered. We managed to pack all that we would need and probably a few extras with some storage room in the truck to spare. The one hiccup to this efficiency was the volume of carry-on sized bags. We had, a shoulder bag, a diaper bag, three backpacks, cooler bag, infant feeding bag and a book bag. Somehow we did not manage to consolidate these travel items very well and they had to be stacked and moved strategically to make room for Blizzard, our loyal hound,who was on his first long distance haul also. Despite the rookie crew, a few seasoned vets (Jules and Dom), travelled like champs and calmed the whole affair. Left to Catherine and I we would have been at loggerheads before breaking Dawson Creek city limits. Perhaps here is the takeaway from this dry run for a cross country odyssey: Commit to your travel adventure as the wheels start to roll, leave it all behind, and focus on the road ahead. You did it, you’re moving!

My oldest son just turned four. Now I can no longer say I have three boys under three and wait for the expected “oh that must be hectic.” “Yes, it’s busy.” It is also easy to get lost in the busy-ness of life at any given moment. However, it is all about holding some things absolutely sacred that make the busy-ness melt away, set the tone for the day or finish it positively. Here are my top three:

1. Morning hugs before leaving for the day, every day, no matter what. (this is now two per child, by request, which I have come toexpect and relish.)
2. Reading together before bed. Picking favourite stories, sharing books and winding down with the daily top three (or six). Also, no exceptions.
3. Play time. Drop what you’re doing, play a board game, drive toy cars, shoot a couple goals with the mini sticks, whatever the flavour of the day. Don’t worry about that email because you are missing out!

These are my top three because invariably they are always the best part of my day!

I am sharing this video because it sits on my desktop and I watch it at least once a day. Here you go world, enjoy!

Well it seems, true to form, we have upgraded our furniture with someone else’s that needed re-homing. I should clarify also, that by upgrade, I mean added a complete set to our upstairs, pushing our hodgepodge collection down which now has our downstairs rec room bursting at the seams. The NEW stuff, complete with evidence it was at one time a cat scratch post, fills our living room nicely. It is warm and inviting, and the kids have been seat dropping their hearts out(trampoline is away for the winter). It’s interesting to look at the new stuff upstairs (clean and sharp) and the old downstairs (dog hair covered and moderately worn;). I am not seeing it as clutter (it is), but as a collection of our life’s memories and some very comfortable lounge areas. We have generational furniture inherited from grandmothers that take my wife to her childhood and create reading spaces and movie rooms for my children. We have recliners that are amazingly comfortable for hockey watching and saw many a playoff game as we worked through university and set out into our careers. There is a mishmash of chairs acquired from our realtor when we bought this, our first home, and these have filled our basement rooms as have the tenants we have hosted. We have been lucky to have our chairs support a young lawyer, a teacher, students and profs from far and wide. There is still more furniture to mention: the teacher’s desk, the friends love seat, and the buffet/desk/storage unit extraordinaire. All of these pieces reminders of the ebb and flow of life. Reminders that we have had wonderful adventures, unique opportunities and many great friendships along the way. We’ll see if the new used actually replaces the used or if it is just another migration of loungers. One thing is clear, photo albums take up way less space!

It seems as though it has been the runs all summer! Runs to the hardware store, runs to get lumber, runs to the dump, runs to rent equipment, runs to daycare, runs to the cement pond…There have been a lot of runs to and fro all over Dawson Creek and area. I’m guessing Julian and Dominic could start their own contracting firm any day now. They have seen all the players and their smiles would surely win them some discounted materials.

We have embarked on several huge undertakings which are set to be complete by the end of the first two weeks of July. The way it has worked out has meant the schedule of work has been very rapid, far quicker than anticipated. This is at once great and exhausting. My summer holiday has been consumed by re-vamping the yard to solve a shoddy deck issue and a water problem. I have also been primary care giver as Catherine’s consulting has ramped up sooner than expected also. All this happening in 30 degree weather has meant for some basement cool downs for everyone. (Best sleep of the summer was downstairs, Jules, Dom, Houdini<Catherine and I all packed into the guest bedroom one night this week…climate heaven and restful bliss!)

There have been some great moments so far as a family, even doing the renos. A bicycle trip to the brick yard meant a forklift ride for Jules and Dominic a first trip by bicycle! Decisions made for the interlock patio, we headed to Baked Cafe for some delicious sandwiches and refreshing iced drinks. The rest of the day was unloading stone and dumping yard waste. Runs, runs, runs!

Our summer looks to be filling up with camping adventures, lots of hard work and connecting with our friends. It is busy and crazy and overwhelmingly awesome. We have hit the Williams Lake stampede with the Ducheminski clan (accompanied by a couple of Stoners hauling a borrowed tent trailer as well as some Hickey’s and a very cool Conner!) where we took in parades, huge breaksfasts and a great rodeo. We sent the clan forth to the north and last heard they were enjoying the midnight sun in Dawson City. We have also camped with our great friends the Gietz’s and enjoyed some good times at One Island Lake…more to come.  We have even managed a busy social schedule that saw us welcome friends to the neighborhood and bring the boys out to the acreage of Rosie and Maggie. (I’m pretty sure they’ll work on Maggie’s farm some more) and catch the Netherlands play Argentina 😦

We are busy. We are trying to keep it all on track. We are creating something up here in Dawson Creek and want to share it. So to end this post, I will say there is more to come on this new online version of our lives, but as always the live and in person is much more fun!