Hear me out.

Firstly, I will say we are OVERWHELMINGLY grateful for everything we’ve been given! Our camp spot is absolutely a gift from God, and we could not feel a deeper sense of belonging than we already do. Along with our camp spot, we were gifted a golf cart, to make transport WAY easier for Brady! What a HUGE gift!! Then, last summer, Dekker was gifted a kids kayak! Everyone uses it, and it is SO fun for everyone! Meanwhile, our kids get invited to join others on boats, adventures, and events with friends. We have everything we need. Please hear me heart. I am NOT ungrateful.

I truly would just like a moment to bang my fists on this keyboard and shout “WHY ARE BOATS SO EXPENSIVE?!?!?!?!”

As we sit on the beach, we stare at the boats docked in the lake. How amazing would it be to have a boat we could take out, jump off of, float around on, have picnics on, listen to music on, bring friends along, fish, crochet, read, tan, etc etc etc. It would be SO fun. And honestly, very our family’s speed.

Except there are many of us, and we need sturdy. Which means we would ideally have a pontoon boat. But goodness, have you SEEN those things?! They are STUPID expensive! As in thousands and thousands of dollars! There is simply no way, haha! And that is FINE. Because we are absolutely NOT without! But goodness! Have boats always cost this much?!

So with that off the table, I’ve been investigating getting a couple more kids kayaks or paddle boards or something fun like that! I saw a couple of years ago, a place in Swift was dumping off probably a hundred paddle boards for $10 each. They were, of course, immediately gone, but it left me with a false hope that they wouldn’t be SO expensive to find second hand.

I was mistaken. They are NOT inexpensive. Not at all. I am incredibly grateful that people are so willing to share at our beach, because there is NO way we can have multiples of these things! It makes me feel a little guilty that we’ve been given the one kayak to begin with! Yikes!

Anyway. All of this is just a little rant. Be assured I am NOT asking for anything! I’ve had to learn to be very careful on here because so many of you just jump. Which is INCREDIBLE. But I assure you, no one is asking for a handout. One is more so just cheap and cannot fathom how these things are SO expensive! Has it always been this way? Or just since camping got trendy during covid?

One of our favorite meals at the lake is big chunky salads. And yes, I did say “our,” as in including the kids. Big salads is a meal we really enjoy here at home too, so it translates really well to those hot, sticky days at the lake.

At home, we make salad in our giant popcorn bowl and sometimes still run out! So at the lake, we make two big mixing bowls full 🙂

Our big chunky salads include lettuce, cucumbers, and peppers. Every. Time. Sometimes I’ll add tomatoes, but not all the kids like them so they eat a little less. It happens, but not every time. We then add chunked up chicken nuggets and shredded cheese. Toppings include bacon bits and crunchy onions, and dressing options are your basic ranch, italian, or my homemade honey mustard.

This meal goes over SO well. Everyone eats their body weight in salad and other yummy things. If we ever worry about not having enough veggies on hand, we’ll throw some garlic toast with it, but its rarely necessary. This is a heavy favorite over here 🙂 Perfect for summertime!

It has been a FULL afternoon!

I left right around noon to make my 1:00pm counselling appointment. My counsellor and I are terrible for rescheduling, but we finally made it! We had a really loaded appointment, and I felt great at the end. I’m definitely tired after those appointments, but they leave me feeling validated and understood. I love it. I’m excited to see what comes next in counselling!

After my therapy appointment, I went for my other appointment – waxing! That was oooooverdue! Laela ceremoniously waved goodbye to my leg hair…

and then it was GONE!

Ta-daaa! All nice and fresh and clean!

Meanwhile, laundry continued!

There is never a shortage of laundry after camping!

The kids are eating supper now, and Brady, Cher, and I will eat after they go down. I’m SO looking forward to some downtime, comfort food, and good company 💜

Tomorrow is another day of prep! Groceries and packing!

This weekend at camp was worlds apart better than the previous. Thank you Lord for this beautiful reprieve, where we played for hours and hours in the water, in the hot sun, with our people. Where we ate easy meals and lots of treats. Where we slept in. Where we regrouped in our ice cold camper. Where we met goals and progressed in healing. For these things, we feel truly blessed. 

This morning was shockingly beautiful. 

A completely solo beach was a treat 💜 All the fun stuff was at our disposal. Brady and I sipped coffee as the kids played. 

Can anyone say bleach blonde?? 

We packed it in shortly before lunch, and headed back up to camp to get on all the jobs! 

Laela did dishes. Dekker and Rowan refilled the water jugs and the wood bin. Solly packed up all the clothes and laundry. Wavy retrieved all the stuffed toys and books, as well as gathered up all the boots and shoes off the deck into a hamper. Brady made hot dogs for lunch, and we all sat and ate before we packed the van and got on the road. 

These three days in between trips are FULL days, and we’re here for it! Making memories and taking names! 

It has been one of the most beautiful days 🥺 My heart is full and happy and hopeful and light. Here is a quick breakdown for you to share with us 💜 

We had some terribly cute additions to our breakfast, where we made roughly 30 s’mores and very much enjoyed ourselves! 

We hit the beach early and enjoyed a peaceful, overcast morning of lake time! I have zero pictures to prove it, but it was so beautiful and so calm. 

We lunched and headed right back to the beach. It was hotter and busier but still so incredibly lovely. It wasn’t long before Brady took a plunge that he’s been debating for a while. It was time to get that man on a paddle board. 

With our friend Stacy’s help, we got the boat stable, Brady out onto the dock, down the ladder, and onto the board so seamlessly. He was an INCREDIBLY happy man. 

I felt very overcome with emotion coming off the dock, and lo and behold, there were a few other friends sitting on their beach chairs, working to gather their composure as well. It is SO incredible to be SO loved and cared for here. I could rave about the community here all day long. But for today, I will just say that I am truly touched. 

When it was time for Brady to be done, someone we don’t know well who is just visiting for the week overheard and offered to come be our third person. We accepted, and she steadied the board so Brady could more easily get off and onto the dock. 

The entire thing was a raving success 🥺😭 

The day wrapped up with our friends joining us for supper, and then all of us going for dessert at their site. 

It has been an incredibly lovely day. I know it will be a joy to be home tomorrow. It always is. But I am so grateful to have such a beautiful getaway here for our family. Praise God!!! 

It’s possible that today is the hottest day of the year. I have absolutely no actual information on the subject, but having actually spent the day in the sun on the beach, I can vouch that it is the hottest day I have witnessed thus far in 2022. At its highest, it was 31C, felt like 36C. Just HOT. 

But the kids embraced it hard! They kayaked, paddle boated, paddle boarded, floated, and played hard in the water! It was BEAUTIFUL. 

Even Brady got in on it! 💜 A couple of people on the beach even reached out to him to say they would love to help him get all the way into the water if he wanted to go. We’ve always felt we could ask, but it feels great to have it offered. Thank you, guys 💜 That is very loving, and I know it’s vulnerable to out it out there for fear of offending. We only feel loved and supported. 

The beach day ended with snow cones with our friends, and a supper of sandwiches because everyone was too hot to make or eat real food 🥵 

We don’t know what the rest of the day holds, but we are SO grateful for AC in our camper where we can really let down and feel comfortable! 

Between heat exhaustion, funny sunburns, and Benadryl to counteract the HORRID mosquito bites, wish us luck for our sleeps!! 

Dekker is back with the gang!! On a CRAZY hot day, we joined their windup chapel, where we sang their songs, heard from the speaker, and watched their video. Dekker sat with some buddies and was all smiles. He was visibly SO happy 😍 it was so good for my heart to see. Some siblings in particular really missed him 💔💜 Oof!

Since Dekker came back to us, we’ve been squeezing him for stories, and he has provided. 

My favorite was my conversation with him about dressing up for theme meals. 

Me: Dekker, what did you dress up as for theme meals? 

Dekker: I dressed up as a man who could speak every language. 

Me: Oh. What was that costume? 

Dekker: It’s like – a flashy vest. 

Me: …

Dekker: I also dressed up as a nerd for nerd dinner. But I didn’t really “dress up.” Just wore what I had. 

At least that explained why we saw that picture of him wearing his pj pants up to his armpits with his tshirt tucked in! 

I also found out that he went HARD for the candy time. He raved about the rainbow belts, and told me loved them so much, he ate TEN, and then he barfed 🤮 Thankfully he laughed when he told me, so I could tease him. Apparently the poweraid at the end was yuckier than the vomit 🤷‍♀️ Go figure. 

He told us about his friends, his activities, the fires, and all the silly stuff. 

He is already asking to go back next year 💜

Off we go again to the lake! During this VERY hot season we’re in, we are currently forecasted for blazing heat and pouring rain! I would LOVE that! 😍 

It’s been a full, beautiful day at home, preparing to get out the door, speaking on the phone to Dr Guselle, crocheting, and hanging out with Cher. She of course helped a lot with getting us ready for the lake, too, as she always does 💜 My mom did some grocery shopping for us. We are so fortunate!

The kids and I made it to Brady’s work with fifteen minutes to spare, so we listened to good music and chatted amongst ourselves. They’re a cute, eager bunch. 

We’re excited to finally see Dekker tomorrow!! 

Dekker has been gone at camp for several days now! I am really interested to hear all about it when we’re reunited! I hope he is having a total blast!

Before he left on Sunday, Laela was also feeling that vibe.

Her messages reads:

Dekker is going to camp today. He is so excited and packed up. I’m going to be so bored without him. Have fun Dekker! – Laela

She wrote this before Dekker left, and she made a point to have him read it. He smiled at her and said something along the lines of “Thats cute, Laela.” It was really sweet to witness.

Dekker and Laela have some deep competition between them, and its not always smooth between them. But they have a special relationship that is totally different than that of the other kids. And they really care about each other.

Anyway. I loved this. And I thought it was worthy of remembering 💜

We’ll see Dekker back again on Friday! Can’t wait to squeeze him!

The other day I posted about some positive growth for Solomon, and how I can see he’s learning to cope with different sensory struggles, or maybe even overcome some! Yay Solly!!

A day or two after I posted that post, we spent an evening at the beach. Most often, this is how it goes.

Dekker is on his kayak. Sometimes he’s giving Wavy a ride.

Other times, Wavy is knee deep in the lake, digging for rocks. Yes. She is my child.

Laela is always out on the little ladder off the dock, sitting, or standing on the steps, but rarely going all the way in. Thats just her spot.

Rowan will be taking turns on the kayak, making elaborate trenches on the beach, pumping water, splashing in the water with flutterboards, or practicing his doggy paddle.

And Solly hangs on the beach. He’ll dig holes. Sort of. But he wants to keep shoes and socks ON, and he wants to just sit. It is a fight to convince him to play.

So lo and behold, on this beach evening, everyone was in the water except him. Until he suddenly was. He wanted to take his shoes off, which was great! I encouraged him to go for it, and he dipped his feet into the lake. Stood there for a bit. And then backed out.

And I was SO proud of him! Because that was a big deal, and some great progress! I will take it, as small as it may seem!

And then he decided to be an overachiever, and he went to the dock, and walked down that ladder than Laela loves.

And then, as if that wasn’t enough, less than ten minutes later, he was here. On his own accord!

He spent the next few minutes walking to the shoreline and back, but he was comfortable and excited and not even unhappy when it was hard to get his shoes back on, which is usually a huge point of contention for him.

Basically, the point of the story is that Sol is growing and changing and getting so brave and big! I am SO impressed with the beautiful progress he has made recently! Keep doing your thing, Solly. You’re doing a beautiful job!! 💜