A few more pictures are here.
The Canada Day camping trip has been an awesome tradition amongst my group of friends. I don’t remember the exact details about how it got started, but I am thankful it did.
This year was an interesting year. Sprout was definitely coming with us, but Gramma made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. Sprout stayed over at Gramma’s house which gave Sox and I time to set up camp without him.
This turned out to be a great luxury since we had to set up camp in the rain.
It was a strange experience not having Sprout with us. Sox and I were able to enjoy a dinner out Thursday night, sleep in on Friday, pack the car, and drive to Parksville on our own schedule. I missed him, but it was great to spend some alone time with Sox .
Camping was very fun. I have lots of memories of camping when I was young, and I definitely want Sprout to have something similar.
Sprout seemed to enjoy his time in the campsite too. He played with the golf set, the trike, the scooters, balls, dogs, walking Yoshi, and pretty much any other toy he could get his hands on.
The only issues we had were some minor sleeping issues. Sprout went to bed with ease, but one morning he woke at 2 am and was unhappy until we brought him to bed. We think he was cold. Another morning he woke up early (around 5:30am I think). The last morning he slept until a reasonable time (6:30).
We had some fun on the beach too. Sprout had fun playing in the sand, and I had fun making sand castles for the other kids to destroy. I did get busted for having Yoshi on the beach though. Sox and Sprout were playing on the beach, and I had headed out towards the water with Yoshi. I saw Sox running out towards me so I headed in. A warden had come by, and Sox saved her the trouble of heading out. I forgot that he wasn’t allowed out there. I thought he was allowed there, but on leash only (he was off leash too). Apparently the warden was very nice, and I had no problem removing Yoshi from the beach.
The first day we were there, before I picked up Sprout, Sox and I took Yoshi for a walk on the trails. We came across a large field, and I quickly grabbed Yoshi since I saw a few deer in the field. At first I saw 4, but then more raised their heads until there was 7 visible. Pretty cool.
The big thing we kept an eye on for the weekend was the weather. Thunderstorms and rain were predicted for the weekend, so everyone came prepared with rain gear, tarps, and ropes. Sox and I, along with KaptainK and JJ put up a tarp over our cooking area and that was it. We sat back and enjoyed the show as the rest of the guys spent hours tarping almost every square inch of our campsite. It was quite the show. Tree climbing to get the ropes up high, complicated rope schemes, bungy cords, and the biggest dams tarps I have ever seen.
We also had camp fires every night. Nothing says camping like a good camp fire.
Dogs, kids, good friends, good food, good times. Those are the makings of the best kind of a celebration.
Monday was time to pack up. I did the majority of it while Sox played with Sprout and some of the other kids. I like the challenge of packing. I got everything in its spot, except for one table. I had to pull out half a dozen things to get that in. The scary incident I had was when I was trying to close the Yakima. I was on the roof of the car and managed to get the pod closed with a lot of effort. Then I lost my balance, and almost fell off the roof into a bramble bush. I caught myself with my foot and was able to right myself before falling. Close, but scary. I think I scared a couple other people too.
The last part of this story is the drive home. Sox and I stopped at Starbucks in Nanaimo before hitting the road for home. The first sip I took, I was disgusted. It tasted like coffee mixed with cherries. It was the most disgusting concoction I have ever tasted. I could smell the syrup when I brought the cup to my mouth, and could not stomach another sip. We had already started the drive home, and going back was not an option. We ended up stopping in Duncan, and the shop there fixed the mistake. It was a very disappointing discovery, but I was happy when it got fixed.
The camping trip was great. I can’t wait for next year.
Last night I was taking the garbage out, and I heard a sound I had heard a few times before. Rapid, but soft cheeping. When I passed by one of our bushes, the noise stopped. I had heard this sound a couple times, but was never able to pinpoint
Investigating I was able to peak into part of the bush, and was able to spot the nest. Just above the edge of the nest I could see two beaks poking up vertically, and perfectly still. Baby birds, most likely robins I would say.
Pretty cool. We were going to trim back that bush severely a few weekends ago, and decided to postpone it until the fall so we could see it bloom. In retrospect that was a good thing. Now we need to wait until the young’uns have flown the coop. Hopefully they will vacate by the fall.
Tonight was my 34th donation. Sailed through it no problem too. The guy who did the iron test commented that the droplet sunk very quickly. Good iron levels are a good thing.
After donating, I skipped the cookies after downing a couple glasses of Iced Tea. I ended up having home made brownies and cookies. Mmmm, much better than Oreo’s and Fudgeo’s.
I want this shirt. I want one bad. Happy little coffee cup. Sarcastic little coffee cup.
Too bad they are out of my size.
This morning I went to feed the fish, and noticed that the two smaller Barbs were not in good shape. One had a missing caudal fin, and the other was missing most of the same fin. When I fed the fish after work, these two were just hanging out in the corner together, and did not eat any of the food I dropped in the tank.
Tonight these two are trying to swim around the tank without much success. I’m thinking that they are expending a lot of energy going nowhere, and are not eating. Not long now.
Today is Fathers Day, and like last year I am reflecting on the past year with Sprout. My first reaction is where does the time go? Was it really a year already? 2 years ago we learned we were expecting?
Astonishment aside, being a dad is one of the best things I have done in my life. It is incredibly rewarding in the simplest of ways. Watching Sprout learn and grow, helping shape the course of his life, teaching him new games, tricks, jokes, and skills, and participating in his triumphs and achievements. Truth be told, the difficult parts (like refusals to get into seats, or the tantrums of a tired/hungry boy) are something to learn from as well.
I spend hours watching him play (not playing with him). I love to see how he plays, and how his mind works. While horsing around with him I can get him laughing the deepest belly laugh he can muster. His smile and laughter brighten my darkest mood. When I am with Sox and Sprout, I rarely think about work. I love cuddling with him first thing in the morning, and having him curl up into me at night while I sing to him before bed. Meal time with Sprout is always fun too (except when he starts throwing food directly at me).
I love being a dad. I love my wife, my son, and my family. Fathers day is perfect for reflecting on all of this.
Sox and I splurged recently and got ourselves our first espresso machine. We actually got one as a wedding gift, but returned it since it wasn’t the right kind (we learned that after putting one on our registry).
A friend told me that Starbucks was selling their Barista machines for close to half price. Seemed like a good idea, and so far has been. I’ve been enjoying Americano’s every day now, and have made a couple latte’s as well. Mmmm. Now to figure out where to get great beans, and is convenient to get those beans. So far Serious Coffee Espresso roast isn’t cutting it.
I just returned form a venue trip a week ago. The Canmore Nordic Centre continues its refurbishment project, with the main lodge under construction. We will again be staging the event in the biathlon area. The Food & Beverage and Washrooms, plus showers from the main lodge will be lost for this year. The good news it that the new lodge is much bigger and will add to events in the future. Good news… the Food & Beverage folks will be setting up down in the biathlon area. Additional washrooms are being brought in to off set the loss of the main lodge.
I am definitely glad I bailed. No showers at all, temporary food setup, porta-johns for the whole weekend? I’ve also heard of potential floods in the area, meaning the trails are probably pretty saturated right now.
That just doesn’t sounds like an awesome time to me.
