SIGH....


Okay ... we are down another computer...unfortunately it's mine...so I'm at the kids mercy of getting a little "computer time"...they are very generous so it hasn't been a big problem. However all my photos are on my computer and I can't post any pictures on the blog. The good news is how much more we get done in a day without my computer though...who knew! This past week we've done lots of baking, lizard catching, swimming, the beach,tree climbing and just goofing off...we finally made it to the pumpkin patch too. it really was an interesting trip because it was so different than doing it in Ontario...not only did we get great pumpkins, we also picked onions, beans, carrots and radishes! We did the normal corn mazes, hay bale play too but we are not used to being able to pick our own local produce year round...and so close to us! This will probably become a regular activity for us since everyone had a great time and we had some yummy veggies to make with dinner! The kids also got their electric scooters this week and have been zipping around as fast as they possibly can. I must admit I tried them out and can see why they are always on them... I just don't go as fast as them!

Halloween Crafts

The beginnings of a new garden...

I normally try to get the blog updated every few days. This has been difficult lately as Ali's computer is in getting fixed...again...did you know Katie now weighs enough to crack the entire keyboard if she stands on a computer?...sigh...So Ali has been using my computer...a lot...thank goodness Bill had the smart idea to get the extra warranty on the kids laptops...we've used it!!

I'm managing to snag a few moments when I can convince him it's absolutely necessary for me to check my emails (and facebook if I can get away with it!). So I will have to get the pictures up later but for now I can update you on our week. Saturday we all went to Huntington Beach...we have an annual pass so we can laze around for the whole day on the uncrowded beach...the kids are always happy to play in the sand and water and Bill dug these huge holes with the kids that had everyone stopping and admiring them. They were deep enough that you couldn't see them when they were inside them! Sunday found us at Camping World...one of our favorite stores of course...I really needed some outdoor lights so we could stay outside longer in the evenings...it gets dark too early for me.

Monday the kids planted a garden. We bought a bunch of pots and soil and the kids all picked out plants and seeds to grow. The big pots have flowers to decorate our yard and the smaller ones have carrot seeds and bean seeds. Katie picked out a tomato plant and they all helped plant some herbs to make a little herb garden. Gardening is one thing I think we all miss about having a permanent home and yard...this should help!

The kids have also been busy making Halloween decorations. This week we put up a giant spider web, some orange lights, ghosts and lots of spiders! More spookiness to come! We will visit the pumpkin patch this weekend so we should have some great pumpkins to add.

Later in the week I went out with the moms from the local homeschooling group. It was nice to meet new people and get the inside scoop for activities the kids can participate in the area. In the next few weeks we will be trying out some new groups and activities and see how it goes. The kids never complain about trying new things that's for sure! On Friday we went to the beach with some new friends. The kids really enjoyed hanging out together and we've already made plans to get together again to do the San Diego Zoo. The beautiful sunshine and sound of the ocean made up for the parking ticket I got....hmmm...something about me and California I guess...hope this is it for the traffic/parking tickets!! Another weekend approaching...at least Bill be driving for the weekend so I'm safe for a couple days!!

Ali can be found reading just about anywhere these days!

Meeting New Friends

This week we joined up with the Orange County Unschooling group at an amazing new park near us. I can't believe we never found this park before! It certainly pays to hang with the locals! Katie liked the two story sand box, and doing the crafts that some of the other families brought. Maddy practiced for a while and mastered the stilts, and Ali...well... give the boys something to wield and it's like they've always known each other! It was great just to hang out with like minded people for the afternoon..we look forward to becoming regulars at this park day!

Saving the Seals

One of the kids favorite places to go near here is the Pacific Marine Mammal Centre. This place really is great...right now they are rehabilitating three elephant seals, eight sea lions and three harbor seal pups. If it's not busy the staff usually will take the children behind the fences and talk to them about the animals and what they do to help them. This week while I was chatting with one of the volunteers she invited the kids and I to come to the releasing of three seals that were fully recovered and ready to re-enter the ocean. What a great opportunity, as this is generally not open to the public. I assured her we would be there! So Sunday morning we left at 7:30 to go to the beach and be part of reuniting the seals with the ocean! It turned out to be an extremely joyous and emotional experience as we watched these little ones scamper across the sand and swim off...we watched them for quite awhile swimming, jumping and just playing! And the three of them stayed together the whole time. This was probably one of the most exciting things we have experienced since being on the road, and we are so thankful to the centre for inviting us!

We've been in Newport Beach now for one week, and we've slipped into a somewhat familiar pattern...eat, sleep and beach! I'm sure the novelty will where off at some point, but every time we head out to go somewhere the kids all ask "can't we just go to the beach instead?". Can't blame them...

This time around things are a little different for us. Last time we were here in Newport Dunes we were with our travelling partners the Goodman-Caines. This time we are on our own. The kids have already met some people, both new and familiar faces, so they are off playing...but I definitely get to see more of them now. And they are eager to go out...I always have company whether it's the grocery store or a walk. I'm really enjoying that! It's also nice to be close to Bill's work. He's always up and gone early and home early in the day so we have lots of time to enjoy with him. We have started going for walks every evening as a family... it's good exercise and a great time for us all to goof around and laugh!

We arrived in California two months earlier this year so the weather is also different...the Santa Ana winds means temperatures of 90 degrees....most often we are over 100 degrees...we are definitely soaking up the sun! No complaints here!!

On The Way...

We're four hours from our new home...sure we could have made it in a crazy three days but honestly, I finally just had to call a pit stop. We've been boondocking it since we left... At this point...day three of our forty hour trek across the country (again!)...we are in need of a few things...showers top the list right now! So we are in Vegas staying at the rv park we were going to visit on our previous trip out here but never made it. Funny that they assigned us a site and it was on "California Rd". After showers for everyone we went out for real food...well...not road food anyways and then back to relax before bed. Being so close to California means we can finally get a good nights sleep and leave a little later in the day.
It's been a fairly quiet ride out here. Unlike any of our other long hauls, we've had no rain, no winds, just really nice weather to drive in. I slept though a lot of the mountain driving so my nerves are still intact too! And for once Maddy's ears are not bothering her...yeah! We had some incredible scenery going through Colorado and Utah...enough to keep the drive interesting for everyone. And the weather right now...at 11pm...is HOT! Long day so I'm off to tuck in my kiddos while Bill either wins or loses my fortune at the casino!

Hangin With Family and Friends

Our last two weeks in Ontario were spent visiting with friends and family as much as possible! Good times!

Anticipation

Anticipation is building as we prepare to leave our familiar stomping ground of years gone by. The RV is finished with the scheduled maintenance, the wallet is now a bit lighter but the piece of mind is worth it as our journey across the continent for a second time is about to begin. Not sure what route we will take, but I am sure Lisa will have us on a new path, yet to be travelled so that we see new places and things. We are not planning stops or stayovers, the kids want to try and go long and far during the beginning. A case of Red Bull in the fridge and we are ready to roll! This time of year is also a tough one with the two year anniversary of Mom's passing. I am also anxious "to get out of Dodge" before September 25th arrives. Mom continues to enjoy the view from the front windshield so I would rather have her with us on the warm sunny shores of California before the snow flies.

Happy 13th Ali!

It's hard to believe that Ali is turning 13 today. We are so proud of our "man-child"! As many of you know Ali is our wild and wacky one. He's quick to joke, laugh and doesn't mind making a fool of himself for a laugh! He loves adventure...if there is a snake or lizard he will find it. If there is something to climb he'll climb it. And if there's water around...he's in it! If he can build it or blow it up he's happy! But there is so much more to our Ali. If you are lucky enough to be friends with Ali then you are rewarded with someone who is extremely loyal and protective. He is always there when you need him and he will always have your back. If you are family you are even luckier because you get to witness his free spirit and generous heart. He is passionate about what he believes in and will always give you an honest opinion. His energy is endless, his joy for life evident in everything he does. And thirteen years ago today he gave me the greatest gift imaginable....motherhood.

It's been a couple weeks since I've been able to even get on the computer. It all started on the Monday when Maddy went to get her braces. She sure looks cute in them! The novelty for her however lasted about six hours...after that it was seven days of torture! Poor thing didn't eat for a week and was extremely uncomfortable...and asked everyday to go back and get them off...by day eight she was back to eating most things. Unfortunately she caught a cold this same week... I'm sure you can imagine what happens when a nasty cold gets into a 500 sq. ft. house with five people in it...yup...everyone was sick. Thankfully for the most part it was quick to pass...I'm the only one left with it and at least I can tolerate it. Just when we thought things were on an upward swing, poor Maddy got a bacterial infection that required antibiotics...which would have been okay except on day six of a seven day treatment she broke out into hives. So she's allergic to the antibiotic and is covered with hives and swelling...itchy and painful. Man I wish I could erase these two weeks for her...

Familiarity

Life here has taken on a familiar look. We seem to have picked up right where we left off when we left....the kids joining in on the regular homeschooling activities and spending time with family and friends. It's interesting because one of the things I love most about being on the road is the unpredictability of life...that each day is different and we never "plan"...we just do. My kids on the other hand are loving this more "scheduled" life. They like knowing that every Monday we go to the library program, that every Wednesday we go to the homeschooling park day...and the rest of the week they are busy planning what we will do on our usual off days. So often we end up at a friends house, meeting someone for lunch, taking classes...well you get the picture. I find it amusing because when we are on the road they never asked what are we doing tomorrow, or tried to plan anything. Instead they would awake each morning...well okay sometimes afternoon!...and ask each other what what do you want to do today...and off we'd go. Another big difference is that I feel like we are constantly rushed these days....we have to "be" somewhere all the time. On the road we were never in a hurry. In fact most of the time we never even knew what time it was. Being back has made me realize that I prefer to take it a day at a time and just go with the flow of whatever life throws at us. But right now the kids only have a few weeks left to "pack it all in" before we leave...and I see how happy they are doing it all... so I will happily taxi them around to enjoy all the things they are passionate about right now and I will have a smile on my face while I do it!

Happy Birthday Great Grandma!

Not sure what to call this picture! We were at Auntie Cindys for a barbecue and the kids played in the sprinkler...this was about as high as it was allowed according to Katie! She's definitely not a water baby!

Busy Weekend!

What a full weekend we had...and some great weather to enjoy it all!! On Saturday we had a great visit with Auntie Cindy, Lucy and Hazel. It was so great to be able to just sit outside together and soak up the sun! The kids however really never sat down much all day! They started out early in the day doing the craft at the campground...painting pillowcases. Then it was a magic show ...a quick break for lunch and then off for a wagon ride and the chocolate slippery slide...yup...you could slide and snack all in one! The kids loved it! The evening ended with a pyjama party, movie and popcorn in the clubhouse. They sure kept everyone busy and we all slept well Saturday night!

Summer Camp

A few pictures from the kids week at the OSPCA camp this month.

Today we made the move closer to Barrie. We are staying at the KOA in Cookstown...this is the same place we did our very first venture into rving around 10 months ago! I can't believe we have been on the road for that long! We were all pretty excited to move again...the kids were getting anxious about being closer to friends, and I am thrilled to finally have internet and a laundry room again. And since it doesn't add any time to Bill's commute we are all happy! We are looking forward to spending the next five weeks doing some regular activities with our homeschooling group, revisiting some of our favorite places, and being in closer proximity to family. I admit I have missed blogging for the past few weeks...so it may get a little crazy here for a bit!!

Nothin' Says Summer Like Watermelon!

Every once in a while I add my two cents worth between work, flying, and family time. It's official....our land locked home is sold. July 31 was the closing date and we managed to reach it...barely! Without a doubt we will pay movers next time to ship our remaining belongings (not much left since the purge before our RV journey and the purging leading up to the move) which still filled a 26ft truck but was stackable into a 12x12 office. We went the free office storage root to truly feel liberated to be virtually debt free! I mentioned 'land locked' earlier in that there is no longer a 'house' in the background...its gone (an odd but good feeling)...and now without a doubt our home and house is and remains 500 sq ft of mobility. It is an interesting feeling to know that will our tank full ($350 bucks of diesel) we can range in any direction for up to 1100 KM and have a new backyard...no trailing expenses of the house...no more strings attached... except for family and friends.