The Oldfield 6

Well, I told the boys that we would go to Science North one say this week since it has been awhile since we were last there. Although I was waiting for a rainy day that just didn’t seem to come, so on Thursday we just went, originally I was hoping to go with just the boys and I got the impression my Mom was going to keep the twins but when it came to go she was planning a quiet day by herself so I didn’t argue. On the way to Sudbury I tried to call my Dad to see if he would join me since i wasn’t really looking forward to jungling 4 kids wanting to see different things. Sadly my Dad had forgotten that he had plans and was gone, he said he would have come other wise.

Science North was nice but I don’t recommend 1 adult for 4 kids with such an age gap. We say lots of kewl things, it started with a quick stop at the toddler play area and then off to see some cool insects. Josh held a hissing coackroachand petted a spider. We got some nice pictures of butterflies but Braydon was terrified that one would land on him so we had to leave that area quickly the twins thought they were cool. Then we were off to the science area where you used the microscopes and checked various things from insects to trees to rocks close up. They even had one for little ones that projected the image on a TV screen for them instead.

Next level I believe was the body and lego areas. The boys had fun pushing buttons to make a picture of a man make different body noises ie, farts, burps, sneezes all the fun stuff, farts being the most popular.  The lego section was great but it was one of those spots that 2 adults would have been nice. The twins played in a kid area with lego trains and tracks and a load of other pins of lego. The older boys wanted to builder racers and race them but I couldn’t seat with them and build since I had to watch the twins so they were sort of stuck, I felt bad for them. There was also a space section which we looked at briefly before we headed back down.

 As we left I had told the boys we would check out the H2O section, it was by the main exit, so we went in there and the twins watched a cute movie while the boys went and checked out all the neat gadgets they had to show how water moved and what you can do with water. We left there for a grocery store and another quick stop at my Dad’s (he still wasn’t home) and then back to the cottage.

The last full day at the cottage was spent relaxing at the beach and slowly packing up. The boys went to a camp fire by the trailers there with my Mom while I stayed at the cottage to listen for the twins and pack up as much as I could. The next morning I packed up the van and headed on our way. We had a quick stop in Narin (our home town) to visit my grandmother’s grave and do a little tour of the old Hwy to enjoy a few memories along the way.

Make a Smilebox photobook

It was a nice drive home and a great relaxing week…. I have already booked a week for next year… Maybe D’Arcy can join us next time though.

Something I didn’t mention in my last blog entry was the week D’Arcy left my boys were in a 1 week Bike camp. They had a blast Josh was in an all day moutain biking camping going through trails and learning tricks in the bike park. Braydon was also in a bike camp but for a younger age group, he spent the morning on the bike going through trails and playing in the bike park and the afternoon was spent doing different sports and just having fun. They loved it, both were up every morning waiting for me to get up and take them and every day I picked them up they had new scraps and bruises but no complaints. I think that was the best money I have spent this summer, and the bonus part was that they included a meal and 2 snacks so no foo prep required for me.

Okay back on track now, so I dropped D’Arcy off at the airport on Friday and Saturday the 4 boys, my Mom and me loaded into the van to head north to a cottage we had rented back to where both my Mom and technically I am from. It should have been about 5hr drive but with traffic and kids stops it was actually 6hrs, thank goodness for built in DVD players and a good supply of movies.

We pulled into the resort/camp/cottage grounds between 5 & 6 pm. The owners came over to welcome us and give us a tour of the cottage.  My first thought was not bad, because we walked into a nice kitchen but not amazing and then we walked into the open area, sitting/dinning/living room and it was amazing old wood cabin with old antique feeling, beautiful stairs going up to the loft and a large window with an amazing veiw of the lake. It was truely amazing.

Make a Smilebox postcard

That first day/night we pretty much just unpacked and relaxed, the older boys and I went for a walk around the park so they could get an idea where everything was and so they didn’t feel nervous about going places. I cooked dinner (I had made spagehti sauce before we left home) and we all sat down to eat at 7 or 8 pm yes late but that is what happens when you don’t show up tell late.

The next day sadly my Mom or I had to go into town to do the groceries, town is about 15mins away so it was easier to shop after we got there then trying to transport all the food with us. So my Mom went figuring it would be easier for me to watch the kids then her. So while she was gone I put the twins to bed for a nap and got the older boys to try and entertain themselves. Did I mention there was no TV at all so my TV/Video game junkies were at a lose for what to do. Luckily for them there was a scrabble game which Josh proceeded to kill Braydon with everytime they played.

When my Mom got back with the groceries a few hours later we quickly put them away just in time for the twins to wake up from their nap and then the swimming begin. The boys pretty much swam every single day we were there with a few interuptions for other things but they had a blast and the fact that my oldest was swimming without a life jacket, jumping off the dock and the floating dock into water that was so dark you coudln’t see the bottom so completely impressed me. I grew up in this area and swam in these lakes around there all my childhood and loved it and it is so nice to see my kids enjoying it too.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Tuesday, my father came out with his boat for a visit and a rid. Since we were up north we were only 30-45mins from my Dad’s place so it wasn’t a big deal for him to come out to say Hi for a few hours. The boys loved it as soon as he got there they jumped in his boat and helped to unload it and bring it to the dock by the cottage. Then we had a short visit and lunch and Allistar decided to fall asleep on Papa. So sadly we put him to bed and my self and the other 3 boys went for a boat ride around the lake, acutally to the other end of the lake. I have to admit it was really nice to only have 1 of the twins I am not sure what I would have done with 2 of them in the boat. Either way it was great, a little wind burned and sun burned but it was fun.

Make a Smilebox photobook

The one interesting/scary thing that happened was on Sunday night we had a visitor to our cottage who so kindly got into our garbage and carried the bag away. I told my Mom and soon as I told her that it didn’t rip apart the bag she knew it wasn’t a raccoon… Well later that day I went to clean up my dogs messes and I found a mess that wasn’t from my dog, wrong colour and size. Well wouldn’t you know we had a bear, it had gotten into a few garbages in the area and was a decent size bear considering the size of its scat(poo) that I found. The ministery was called and by Wednesday a bear trap was brought out to catch the poor thing and release it somewhere else. Never heard anything about it since but I got to see the bear trap, hope they found it.

Well again I must stop my blog to make dinner and deal with kids. But we have yet to explore the wild life the kids met and a visit to Science North. Be back soon.

Well, it has been awhile since I sat down to write on this blog but I figured it was about time to get back to it. So as I steal a quiet moment (who am I joking the kdis are locked in a room, haha).

I believe I last left off with D’Arcy getting a new job and both of us getting new vehicles. What a busy month May was. June was a little calmer, we continued with ball and by the end of May Braydon had started 3-pitch on Wednesdays and Soccer on Saturdays so we were keeping busy that is for sure. 

The baseball team has been improving alot from game to game and they are learning a whole lot. I have alot of good players on the time and they are all learning how to work together by the end of July we had managed to only win 2 games but the difference is scores was getting closer and closer, so the margines that we were losing by were getting less and less. I am very impressed by my team and think they have come a really long way, now we just have playoffs next week and then we are done for the year.

June also brought Birthdays, my middle son turned 7 and my oldest turned 9. Braydon’s party was the traditional party with games and back yard fun and even a building/painting session of different flying machines. Josh on the other hand turned in a new direction he had a sleep over, which was supposed to be him and 3 friends but by and over site of his it ended up being him and 4 friends (had to do a few last minuite pickups to make sure I had enough of everything). They had a good time I think, but didn’t go to bed until 2 or 3 am and then complained when the twins woke them up too early, hahaha, I told them too bad just means they get to feel my pain. ;) Next year maybe Josh and 2 friends but I am not doing that many again.

Also in June we found out that D’Arcy would most likely be leaving us for 6wks of the summer, so pretty mych the whole time. That was a drag but it was for work so we would deal with it. By the beginning of July it was a definite thing and I had to start rearranging my summer to make my life a little easier and try and decrease my stress. He was supposed to leave on Wed July 16 but on Friday the 11th while getting his work VISA info together they discovered that the government had messed up his passport and had him classified as a female, oops. Talk about stress level going through the roof for him for the whole weekend. On Monday he showed up at the passport office with new pictures and old passport in hand to beg to get it back in 24hrs, we didn’t think it would work without travel documents but it was worth a try (his work didn’t want to issue anything until they knew he could go 100%). Well they were amazing it didn’t cost him anything to get it done or rushed  and they even reimbursed him for the new picture, only downside is that it wouldn’t be there until Wednesday morning, so they delayed his departure until Friday July 18th. It all came in fine and the twins and I dropped him off at the airport at 2pm on Friday, couldn’t walk him to the gate though since I had to be back to pick up the older boys by 4:30 and with rush hour traffic on a Friday I didn’t want to push it. So it was a little sad to just see him leave but it was probably better then seeing him to the gate.

Time to deal with non napping kids but I will continue with the next week of our summer, our week at a cottage hopefully tomorrow…

By the way D’Arcy is still away so who knows when I will get back to this

Well it has been 2 weeks since I last typed and man has it been a busy couple of weeks. I don’t think I can remember everything that has gone on.

 D’Arcy started his new job 2 weeks ago and I think he really likes it, although he has already come home late (10:30 pm) one night, I have a fear of things to come. I will deal with it when it happens, be there done that before.

After my rainy day car shopping trip I went into my area car dealer (family friends) and told him what I had decided on for a van and to see if he may have any leads, no rush though. As soon as I told him what I wanted he handed me a pack of pages of over 300 vehicles, I got look through them to see the prices and make and models I might be interest. There was only 2 in this lot that were what I wanted. So he told me to come back friday and we would see what was coming up for auction the following week. On friday I got a list of over 80 vehicles I exactly want, all the same only differences were mileage and colour. It is a little hard to pick one or 2 out of that but I managed to pick 9. When I saw him on Monday we narrowed the field to 4 and then D’Arcy took one of those out. So he went to the auction with our price limit and our 3 choice, our #1 choice was one of the early ones up. I did tell him not to worry if we don’t get anything we can always do it again next week.

Then at 2:30 I got a call telling me that I had got my #1 pick of vans and that it will be at his lot that day or the next, it was there that night but it was my first ball game with Josh, I will get to that later,  so I couldn’t go look before hand. The van did show up at about 5:30 and D’Arcy saw it first. After the game I stopped by to at least get a look at the exterior, it is gorgeous in prefect condition, sadly I would have to wait tell the next day to see the inside.

The next day we had appointments in the morning and when I went by the van was gone so I figured they were checking it out. Our friend called asking for financing info and if I could bring in the plate papers so they could transfer everything. So by the end of the day on Wednesday I was able to go pick up my Van. I was excited but sad, I loved my Suburban and this just wasn’t the same and I was loosing about 50% of my storage that I had before. I know I will manage and I am a good packer but not that good some times.

 Anyway I ended up with a 2004 Pontiac Montana Extended with built in DVD, mileage was really low. The van is in amazing condition, I don’t think I have ever owed anything this nice.

 So lets recap that is 2 vehicles purchased in just over 1 month, there goes all our summer holidays, but on the up sided I have enough money to pay for the campsite in Florida in February, (yes I am insane camping at Disney with 4 kids).

Now for Josh’s first ball game , he actually played his second one tonight. For those that don’t know I am coaching my oldest Josh’s Atom ball team, the team is made up of 90% new kids only 1 out of the 14 played last year so we are at a bite of disadvantage compared to the other teams. So we show up to our first game and the other team is huge, they look like most are in their second year of ball and I just cross my fingers that they don’t totally slaughter us. The kids tried their best but we lost, I tried not to let them dwell on it since they worked hard and were a little shell shocked but alot of them were upsest. We have practices Thursdays so I had a talk with the kids then about the game and not to be upset, they had done good for their first ever game. So that practice we worked on some basic skills and teaching them how to hustle, for young kids they really don’t like to move.

Tonight was their second game and by the looks of the other team we were a little better matched, so with my fingures crossed we started the game. We did pretty good the other team got ahead of us after 2 inings we were a few runs behind but then we picked up speed and heading into the last inning it was 12 to 7 for us. Only problem I had to put in a back up pitcher because one of the early ones had be hurt, I felt really bad for this kid as I hadn’t worked with him alot at the practice. He did good but the other team got in 10 runs so we were down by 5 and needed 6 to win. We hypped up the kids and managed to get in 4 runs, the kids were sad that they had lost but then I told them that in the last game they had only 3 runs compared to the 16 this time, that was fantastic and that information improved all of their moods. So in the end we lost by 1 but we hugely improved our game.

Oh, did I mention my son is on cloud nine because he got a home run from a base hit, thanks to an over throw from the first baseman, he had a huge grin on his face (previous times up to bat this game and the last he had struck out). I am so proud of him and amazed at how well he did. Although my assitant coach told the kids she would bring tim bits if they got a home run and we had a few so she owes them, I think I will bring some juice as a treat for them as well.

Also, I may be loosing it totally, I am considering playing ladies ball, it was mentioned to me and I said no but I am thinking of it,  maybe next year when life isn’t so busy…… hahaha like that will ever happen.

 I think that is all, although I didn’t write that I had a great Saturday Mothers Day with my Mom and Sisters, we did pedicures and went to dinner, it was alot of laughs and fun.

Ok so those of you who are reading this and don’t know what has been going on in my family I will give you a quick update… nothing serious just fustrating..

About January I decided that my summer family holidays was going to be a 2week trip down east. I had been there as a child but no one else in my family had every been east, we were going to hit NB, PEI, and NS. Well about 4 weeks ago D’Arcy’s truck started to die so as of 3 wks ago he decided to buy a new vehicle, cleaning out our savings at the time and my money back up for the holidays. I told the kids weren’t going to be able to go out east over the summer but secrelty I was planning and hoping to still go. Then 2wks ago D’Arcy decided to except a new job at a different plant meaning he most likely wouldn’t be able to get all the holidays paid for the summer. So then I decided to just do something fun closer that wouldn’t require much travel time. Now the whole time this was going on with him my truck(the only vehicle to fit the whole family) had also been to the garage due to stalling problems…

The newest issue has now araised, my truck stalled out again this time I was going about 80 or so km and it just died no power brakes or steering , I was just happy to not end up in the ditch and get it to the side of the road. I am know totally frustarted with my truck and do not trust it at all, I have been lucky to not have any kids in the truck when ever  this has happened but I have a feeling my luck is running thin. Just talked to the garage and they hope they can find something this time around but no gaurintee but it looks I will be shopping for a new vehicle that can seat 6 or more. And since we just bought a car for D’Arcy I don’t think I will be getting another Suburban since it isn’t really in the budget. Looks like I will be looking at a dreaded mini van. I know alot of people have them and love them but I loved my big truck and the fact I could haul stuff with it and carry everything we needed for camping including family and the dog. But I am slowly excepting the fact I need a new vehicle and soon which will be a van.

 Okay that is my complaint now to get on with things of the day…..