More pics....

I stole these pictures from cousin Cayley because she had her camera out when I didn't!

The campfires and my mom in law taking a picture of Cayley taking a picture :)

Brock with Aunt Kathy and cousins Ryan and Sydney. They were great little babysitters and loved taking Brock on walks or to the park!

Zane and Rhett are ready to make smores. It's hard to tell but it's actually almost night here and they were determined to get one in before heading to bed!

My dad in law Greg, holding Jamie and Amber's puppy Barkley. Brock LOVED Barkley and was always holding his had out for it to be licked!

Brock modeling his camping jammie fashion! Long johns, boots, and a camo hoodie! He was totally strutting his stuff for the aunts and cousins and we were dying laughing!

Yes, he knows he's cute.


Chillin' with Daddy and Cathal while mom got the others ready for bed. I'm told he gave Cathal a 'five' and then just held on. He's got good taste - we're happy to welcome Cathal into the Jackson family!

Most of the grandkids and great grandkids and of course puppies.

Not sure who was taking the picture and Brock and I weren't in this one...he'd had it and desperately wanted a nap! But this is pretty much everyone who was there.

Zane and Rhett waiting patiently for more pictures I think.

Cooking breakfast the last morning we were all there. When we all get together there is enough food to feed a small army...which is good because that's kinda what we are!

Mom in law Brenda, with Cayley's dog Shortie at the fire one night

Cliff and Zane. Zane looks like he's not impressed about waiting for something...or maybe it's just his sunburned face :(

Camp life....

Camping pictures

A rare moment of Brock holding still. He loved being outside every moment of the day and was always on the move! He kept us all on our toes!Zane, Rhett and I went for an Adventure! They were dying to take me adventuring and took me down a trail next to the creek. They'd already been down there lots with cousins and aunts and uncles so had picked out lots of things they wanted me to see and take pictures of. Zane got down to the creek by sliding down the bank on his bum...Rhett and I chose to walk upstream and find a nice little path down.
They both went over this bridge without blinking an eye...I was worried for a small second but then just enjoyed the moment.

My tour guides! It really was a great path...full of neat things to look at and cool enough to make you feel like you were miles away from anything.Posing at the end of the trail....it actually led us to the fish hatchery for Premier Lake.Cliff and Brock catching some down time in Grandpa's hammock. I think Brock stayed there long enough for the picture and then he was off again!We drove 1/2 an hour to Wasa Lake and beach because there is no beach at Premier Lake. Rhett and Zane had a blast playing in the water and sand. Rhett wouldn't take his shirt off and was a little mad that he was soaked but got over it soon!Brock wasn't so sure about all the sand....it was a big hill of it leading down to the water and he was quite happy to stay up nice and high and dry with mom under the beach umbrella! Just getting into my good book....This is Brock's new squinty eye smile....I think it's because of the flash and maybe the sun now but this is his new pose!Sandcastle that Zane, Rhett, Uncle Jamie and Amber built! Isn't it awesome!Smile Zane!They buried Uncle Jamie one day and made him a whale....the other day they buried Zane and made him a merman. I thought I had pictures of that...guess not. I'll have to steal some from my mom in law when she gets home next week!Rhett was quite content to be with everyone but playing his own little game at the same time! Grandma, Leo and Rhett morning of us going home!
Smile mom....this is for all the pictures of me :)

See mom, if you go over there I can make a run for the road!

Jammies, hoodie, and being outside. The boys thought this was a great way to start the day!

Zane was very casual about the whole thing....like "I do this all the time...no big deal..."

Cliff manning the pancakes. It's a good thing they like them because the boys ate them every day. And lots of them...one day Zane and Rhett both ate 4! And the day we were headed home Zane was sure he could eat six. He ate two, took 4 more, ate some but decided he was done. Knowing his mom wouldn't be happy about how much he left on his plate, he grabbed Rhett's plate to take the garbage and told me he almost finished it. I bought it for about 1/2 a second, busted him, and just laughed at him because of his scheming little mind. He really wanted a sucker that Aunt Judy gave them last night and I told them they could have it after breakfast.

Mmmm, pancakes.
Brock posing for mommy. This kid was a layer of dirt, bumps and bruises from head to toe...but he was soooo cute doing it!

I'm off to see what I can see!

More exploring from Rhett! They've both asked me when we can go again already so I guess that mean they had a good time!

Camping....

Most people love it or hate it. I've decided that I am a fence sitter. There are things that I LOATHE about camping....but there are things that I ADORE about camping.

We just got back tonight from camping with Cliff's immediate and extended Jackson (mom's) family. And the good times out weigh the icky times. For the most part the weather cooperated. Our kids ran wild with cousins, aunties and uncles who love and adore them and think that their mom and dad could do with a couple minutes of break and willingly took them on "adventures" and told us to go hide somewhere. It reminded me of the first camping trip that Cliff and I took together when we were newly weds. We were with all the same people (minus a few who weren't there this time and the ones who have joined the family since) but it reminded me how much I love this side of our family. They are good, fun, wonderful people. And I am thankful that we get to include them in our lives!

We tented....with three kids...and it had it's challenges...but I tried not to dwell on them. Thankfully we were sharing a site with Cliff's parents who have a fabulous new trailer and had everything that we needed kitchen wise and stuff like that. We did bring some stuff but mom told me not to worry too much and made sure to pack extra to help us out in the space department. (The van was PACKED!)

We had a skunk visit every night....one night it walked right into camp and over Cathal's foot! Cliff saw it later that night when he was making a quick trip outside...it ate any dog food left out and last night found a Tupperware container full of Cheerios, pried the lid off and ate those! (I didn't realize he Cheerios were outside - I thought they were in the trailer). The chipmunks also figured out how to open the Velcro top on one of my collapsible coolers and had a their fill of buns and muffins. Wild life is soooo fun.

The kids LOVED LOVED LOVED being outside every waking moment. They never stopped. They were either at the park, walking along the creek on an adventure, at the beach....you get the picture! And I didn't worry about them....to much at least. Because we were surrounded by a big happy family and some one always knew where they were.

All 3 of them bled at least once from scrapes...and we all came home with our share of bruises. Cliff got the worst sunburn the first day at the beach. Silly man didn't listen to his wife and put sun screen on. Zane got sunburned as well because he didn't hold still long enough for me to a good job on his face and shoulders. But he had a blast. He learned to balance on his boogie board standing up while Uncle Jamie pulled it along, got buried in the sand and made into a merman, played Frisbee and just never stopped. Rhett played all the same things but a bit more cautiously. He loved the attention from Uncle Jamie and big cousin Nick...we're lucky to have such great people in their lives! And Brock didn't really like the beach. Part of it was because we drove a half an hour to the beach - the lake we were at didn't have a beach - and he was always asleep instantly and very disoriented when he woke up. So he and I pretty much hung out under the umbrella which suited me just fine. Until Cliff coerced me into the lake saying it would help my headache and then proceeded to dunk me....several times!

We ate, we played, we loved and were loved on. And we were ready to come home! We camped at Premier Lake in BC, which is a 6 hour drive for us and the kids did great both ways. I slept through most of BC thanks to Gravol...and we lived to tell the tale.

Next year we're either getting a topper of a tent trailer......

Recent Pictures

Rhett and Brock hanging out one chilly morning...both looking like they need a haircut!

Brock loves to climb into boxes or laundry baskets and have Zane or Rhett push him around the house

The night of Brock losing to our friends' driveway....not looking too bad....

The next day after wrestling with Rhett and breaking open the scab....Poor little clown faced boy....but still up for posing :)Rhett wanted to get in on the picture taking!The boys and cousin Paxton showing off their Canada shirts that I found at Children's Place...Waiting for the parade to startSlightly underwhelmed by the parade because mom won't let him join in...he kept sprinting for the road so he spent a lot of the parade in the back of the vanOr with GrammieJumping with Papa and the boysLook close and you'll see all 3 boys in this picture....Zane was doing a flip for me

and Rhett felt the need to run in front just at the moment I pushed the button!

Zane's flip without RhettBeing a table walker at Grammie'sBruises from falling out of mom and dad's bed.Auntie Lishe and Paxton came to visit

Enjoying the sun and the pool Rhett got for his birthday last year

They're too big to go down the slide on their bums so they got creative

Zane would run and dive up and down the slide while Rhett would throw the

balls and try to hit him

Great way to cool off on a hot day!

Showing off the bruises, the pot belly and his lawn mower

This is what a belly full of milk looks like!