Good byes and Hellos

As mid-August approached, I knew that my time with Abby in our home was drawing to an end. Her move date (August 25th) was circled in red on the calendar and little piles of things she would need to take with her began to pop up throughout the house. Gulp.

We had often talked about travelling together in celebration of her graduation, but covid and finances (or lack of) prevented us from being able to do something grand. She graciously settled for a weekend trip to Edmonton. We would go up together, drop some of her belongings off at her new apartment, and have some fun along the way. 

Our first stop was in Calgary to visit the Van Gogh display.

It was SO cool!  We visited several rooms, each one immersing us in changing pieces of artwork.

It was inspiring, and I loved being able to share that with Abby. 

At one point, I watched her from a distance as she took notes (I later found out she had been writing a poem) and marvelled that this girl of mine was days away from starting a life on her own. Was she scared?  Had she been adequately prepared? What would she create for herself in the days, months and years to come?

After visiting the art show, we got her a membership at Costco, dined on sushi together, arrived in Edmonton, set up her new room, met her roomates and then she left for an all night party with her newfound friends. I stayed back, in this unfamiliar place that was now her bedroom, and cried myself to sleep. What an emotional game this parenting thing can be!

We made it back to town in time to stop in at Jewel's place where she had gathered all the Rausch cousins together for a final goodbye. With Ava away at school, Mya about to serve a mission, and Mason and Abby both moving up to Edmonton, we had all been feeling nostalgic for the good ol' days of "cousin camps" and get togethers. It was nice to sit in the back yard and reminice and wish them all the best of luck!

We had a great summer with John's sister Rachel and her family, who have just moved to town. The night before Abby left- we stopped Dave's Drive In (where she was working her last shift) and left some inspirational notes on her car.  You know, "Phone your mom often," "Always wipe your face." You know, the most important lessons one would want to pass on.   

We had one last dinner with Abby, Grandpa and the Stevens'.

And the next morning, by 10:00 am, she was gone.

It was a tearful goodbye.

Almost traumatic.

We all felt a sense of finality as we considered the days and weeks ahead without the oldest sibling.

How life for our family would never quite be the same. 

Sam made sure to giver her some specific instructions.

(AKA: a list of things for her to buy for him.)

And then, there were three. 

I wandered around the house, after Abby left, for about two hours and just sobbed. 

Then, I went down to her room (to perhaps feel closer to her) and saw the potential for my very own office space.  A quiet corner of the house where I could get me school work done. 

I still miss Abby a tonne, but I mean- this room has been nice, too.

Hello, Mom cave.

 

Baseball, parties, and old friends!

Some of the highlights from August include:

The town Heritage Days parade. Nate got to walk with our MLA Joseph Schow. He wasn't alone. He got to join his cousin Maddax and his good friend Jacob. We always LOVE parade day!

We joined Crystal and her family out in Waterton one evening. I like Waterton most of all - at night! That's when the wind calms down and the bats come out. Cheezies, chocolate, and good company are all you really need on a summer night. 

It isn't summer for us, without a trip to the city to watch some baseball.

It's always the same: Hot dogs, cheese-covered chips, watching funny games on the jumbotron, and cheering on the bulls before leaving in the 7th inning. We never tire of it!  (Well...until the 7th inning;)

I was able to meet up with some of my favorite former students. 

These girls graduated two years ago. It was fun to catch up with them while sipping licorice-flavored milkshakes and eating fries!

John and I went on a fun date one day in August. We started at the top of Akimina Road, (up by Cameron Lake) and walked down towards Cameron Falls, finding all of the best fishing spots along the way. 

It's cool watching John fish rivers - he sure knows how to read the water. 

We had such fun that day, and so so many cool places, we wanted to share a few of those spots with the kids. One week later, we took Jess and Nate to explore the river, just above Cameron Falls. As long as we kept far from the falls, we were lucky enough to have the prettiest spot to play, all to ourselves!

We found a rope swing that Jess tried to work up the courage to use (the water was cold) and there were plenty of spots to sit in the sun while John fished. 

We loved getting to experience a part of Waterton that we had never seen before!

So Dog gone cute

I don't think that I talk about our "Radar" often enough. 

He has, after all, completely changed our family dynamic. 

We all adore him. (When I say "we all" - I mean the kids and I.)

We love on him before we leave the house.

We gush on him as soon as we return.

We let him follow us from room to room, which he does so faithfully.

We've pretty much set him up to experience FOMO and separation anxiety for the rest of his life, but gosh darn it, he is just so cute. What were we supposed to do? (The adage "there are no bad dogs, just bad owners" comes to mind. ;)

Speaking of "bad owners," we knew that we'd been a little negligent when Radar started running into walls and fences because he couldn't see clearly. 

One long hair appointment later, and it was like we had ourselves a new dog.

It's so nice to see his eyes again!

We are smack dab in the middle of a ten-day period in which Ray Ray has to wear the ol' "cone of shame." 

Poor little guy.  

    

We sure love him!!!

 

A final Adventure

I sure know how to plan our family vacations!

Back in the spring, I had made efforts to secure a campsite (no small feat when a kajillion other people are fighting to do the same thing) in the Kananaskis. We had driven through the area a year ago and were in awe of its vastness and beauty. We knew we wanted to get back.  I managed to get a spot for mid-August, and though I try to avoid camping in August (it's always cooler than July) I figured it couldn't be too cold, right?   

Wrong. 

As we were arriving, cold, wet, fluffy flakes were falling all around us and my hopes of a "summer camp" faded away as I considered the fact that I had not packed anything more than hoodies and toques. 

How did we survive our freezing cold winter-summer camp, you ask?

Well- thanks to the fact that I'd booked a swanky little Trappers tent to stay in - we managed just fine. (Thank you very much!)

I mean sure, there were times when it was so cold that we didn't know what to do for fun, times when we got so cold we just huddled up in the van for warmth, and times when we got so tired of shivering we came close to packing it all in and heading home.

But overall - we managed just fine. 

Mostly because of this guy. 

John was handy to have around (as always), what with his doing of everything, his cooking, and his occasional reminders to us that we were being complete and utter wimps. If it weren't for John - we surely would have called it quites. 

And I'm glad we didn't, because after our brush with hypothermia that first night, the sun came out (doesn't it always?;) and we were blessed with the most perfect 2nd half of our getaway ever!!

How charming is this set up!

K-country (that's what us rustic people call the Kananaskis) is full of picturesque rivers, lakes, mountains, and trails. John would have been happy to fish the whole time. 

If only it were that easy. 

You see, I had this long list of things that I wanted us to experience, and seeing as we had lost a day (re: our near-death experience) we had a lot of ground to cover. 

First off, a small family hike to Troll Falls!

It's a pretty simple hike that took us to a great waterfall that we could walk behind. 

I love waterfalls like this! The funniest thing about this hike though was the troll dolls that were hidden along the trail. There were signs along the way, letting you know that if you found a troll, it was yours to take home. Abby claimed a cute, blue-haired little thing. 

That afternoon, we found ourselves soaking in the sun at Upper Kananaskis Lake.

John (of course) had to try to walk around it, fishing rod in hand. Abby and Jess took the paddleboards out to the island. Sam and Nate tossed a ball on the shoreline and took Radar on walks. 

I just lied there on the rocky shore, covered my face with a jacket, and literally let the sun warm me all the way through. 

Our 2nd night went way smoother (warm, dry clothes work wonders) and we stayed up past dark eating hot dogs, s'mores, and visiting. 

I made sure to remind the kids often that this was our last family vacation before Abby's move to Edmonton. 

Could this really be our last adventure as a family?  

(At least as the family we have been for these past 18 years.) 

Will my four kids ever again pile into the same vehicle to go camping?

Will we ever again cram into one tent together?

Will I ever again get to lay on a shore and listen to the voices of my five favorite people drift over a lake?

 I'm hoping and praying for more days, exactly like these!

16 years - My heart can't take this

Sam has been waiting for this birthday for a long while. 

For months he has said things like, "Just wait until I have my license" and, my favorite, "When I have my license, your life will be so much easier."   I'd always nod and agree, knowing full well that though life with another driver could be more convenient, it would most certainly be anything but easier. 

16 always hits me hard. In my mind, it is the beginning of the end.

 (At least "the end" of being needed the way this momma likes being needed.)

Still, I tried to find it in me to celebrate this milestone.

In addition to our annual birthday wall of fame (or shame, depending on the photo) we also got to celebrate Sam's special day with some extra special company!

Max, the Stevens' (who recently moved to town) AND the Allens joined us!!!!!

Sarah and Ed came up from Montana for the weekend. We LOVED actually having company!

And words can not describe the love we had for Sarah's breakfast burritos. 

(Eggs, bacon, potato, black beans...all the things Sam likes, rolled into one.)

 Happy Birthday indeed!

July's Joys

I journaled about a lot of our July fun, but here are a few other events that haven't been mentioned:

After a year of quarantine, Jessica finally got to attend her first dance ever! 

There was a lot of talking and giggling as these girls met up to go together. They were definitely excited.

 

We had another massive hailstorm that ended up shredding my garden and flowerbeds to smithereens. 

I wish I'd taken a picture of the damage but I was just too distraught. Instead, here's a shot of Nate enjoying an icy cold drink with chunks of hail for the ice. 

John and I weren't at home when the hail rolled through, but this is the sight that welcomed us as we arrived back in town. 

July has given us LOTS of time with cousins!

We went up to Calgary to celebrate Savanna's baptism...

...visited Ben & Kat at their new lakefront home and had a BLAST playing in the water... 

...did baptisms for the dead together...

...and welcomed Rachel (John's sister) and Brent's family to town!  

They just recently moved here, which has definitely added to the fun. 

We have one month left of summer break. Here's hoping it ends as well as it began!!

Family Photos

I found a new favorite place for family photos so of course, we had to get a few shots of our family.

My kids (and John too) all think I make them do family photos way too often. Of course, this isn't true, but I can't convince them of that. I had to promise them all that this would be the last time I asked any of them to pose for a picture before Abby moves away.  Of course, that isn't true either, but ...

Sam took it upon himself to take the pictures for us. 

I think he actually does a really good job!

I also love that Radar made it into our family photos this year. 

John and him don't quite see "eye to eye" on things, but for the most part, he's been the perfect addition to the family. 

I was super proud of our successful evening and rushed home and ordered a GIANT print on canvas of the photo above. We felt like it was one of the nicest that had been taken and we liked that it showed a bit of the Waterton landscape that we love so much. It was definitely a pricy investment but I justified it by remembering that this was the last family photo, before Abby moved away. (sob!)

The canvas arrived this week and I quickly threw it up on a prominent wall in our house. I've been admiring it for a few days, until I noticed something that I hadn't before. Now it bugs me every time I look at it!

This stupid hand signal that all the kids do, has my blood absolutely boiling.

What does it mean? Why would Nate ruin my photo with this?

His siblings think he is hilarious.

Now, I hate them all.

You heard it here first folks. Not until my kids beg me for an updated photo, and promise to behave, will I ever consider posing with them again! haha

Morning Fishing Date

I mentioned in a previous entry that all of my kids have summer jobs this year. 

(Sam is at DQ, Abby is at Dave's Drive-In & the pool, Jess is at Dave's Drive-In, and Nate is mowing lawns.). It sucks!!! 

My kids love that they are earning their own money, and I guess that is a good thing, but how is a family supposed to enjoy quality time together when we so rarely get together?!  It's been a real struggle.

John and I have had to get used to doing a few things without them. 

Last week we got up early one morning to fish along Cameron Creek. We started at the top, near Cameron Lake, and basically pulled over at every pull out on the way down to the townsite. We would get out, fish the creek as far as we wanted, and then drive to the next stop. 

Some stops required that we be a little more adventurous getting to the fishing hole.

On this particular morning, we used rocks and locks to cross the river, climbed up and down steep walls, and even went wading a time or two, which I hadn't come quite prepared to do. John is a determined man when fishing. Apparently, if you aren't prepared to get wet, you have no business fishing with him. 

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning and I even caught a fish! 

I know John's fish looks more impressive, but would you believe me if I said I'd caught that one first, but let it go so John could have a crack at it?

 True story folks. That fish was mine before it ever found John's hook.