Summer Road Trip 2010!

Lunch at Liard!  We arrived there the night before.  Mike and the kids went for a dip in the hotsprings in the morning while I cleaned up and made lunch.  Then we hit the road - the second day of our road trip!

We managed to entertain ourselves on the road.

We kept our RV journal up to date and wrote an entry everyday.

The Schweppes Monster returns!

We explored the various towns (often gas stations and their sub-sanitary washrooms) during our stops. We found swimming pools, malls, shops, restaurants, fields and parks to walk Deja in... During our evenings before bed, we told stories, chatted and played card games!

Josh checkin' out the foxies at Moxie's!  We enjoyed delicious meals and the cool atmosphere.

Outside of West Edmonton Mall (RV in the background)!

Josh's new duds!  We went on a bit of a shopping spree in WEM.

We have to take these pictures. They're something to show his future girlfriends.  (I never thought society would allow 80s fashion to return? Maybe this is one of those signs - the end is near.)

After a wrestling match: Jaylene won!

We found this amazing spot just outside the small town of Lanigan.

The four of us played an epic game of Frisbee. (This is Josh!)

Making Mike jump for it!

Jay's turn to throw!

Josh threw the Frisbee into the trees.  That meant he was the one who had to fetch it. Apparently, it was difficult to reach, especially with bare arms. Josh also expressed that he heard some strange sounds coming from the bushes.  He thought it was a good idea to run back to the RV for a hoodie before continuing his Frisbee hunt.

The three of us waited, soaking up the sun!

To our surprise, along with the Frisbee, Josh returned from the forest with two little friends.

They really liked Josh and wouldn't leave him alone!

They were keen on Jay too!

We knew it was time to move on, because people were expecting our arrival in the Peg. "Let's just stay a little longer..."  It  truly was a beautiful spot!  We could've easily stayed there for a few days.

The family helped me realize it was time to hit the road.  I made them pose for a photo before we left.

For almost six years, I'd been waiting for this moment.  My mom was finally able to meet her step-grandchildren, and vice versa! (Step-grandteens now!)  It was a wonderful visit!  Josh and Jay are so good at going with the flow, making themselves at home in new places, and feeling comfortable with new people. My mom and the kids easily fell into conversation...

Then we were off to visit with Dana and Ethan!

We decided to go shopping at St. Vital Mall where it was air conditioned.

Ethan was pretty excited about the idea too!

Later that evening we met up with Jess at the Forks.

After chatting over dinner outside at Beachcombers, we took an evenig stroll around the markets and along the river.

Dana invited us to stay with her and Ethan at her parents' house while they were out of town!  She's always so hospitable, and we got such a warm welcome from Ethan too!

Taco Night at the Mistelbachers!

Dana and Jay hit it off!

We were introduced to the newest additon of the Mistelbacher family: Aurora!

Jay and Aurora getting to know each other.

We built a fire in Dana's second backyard firepit and cooked smokies for dinner!  Josh was having a little trouble. Apparently, it happens to one in three men at some point in their lives.

Then Josh and Jay had fun helping  Dana "burn her life"!

Ethan: "Mom, I've decided, I'm not going to sleep. I'm going to stay up with the big kids." Dana: "Is that right?"

Dana, Jaylene and I had assembly line manicures and pedicures done, including leg and hand massages while sitting on massage chairs.  Definetely an experience! (By the way, the cute little hand and foot belong to Jay.)

We also received free flip-flops from the salon, which Ethan was quite happy about!

Amanda flew into Winnipeg from Toronto and met us at Dana's!  It had been six years since we'd seen each other. (Too long!)  Josh and Jay showed her funny videos on the netbook. (Mike really enjoyed this evening. Amanda and Mike hit it off right away and fell into conversation as though they'd known each other for years.  Amanda has a knack for this!)

Then it was the day of the belated reception and social.  This is a set-up for social prizes.

Tables set up for the belated reception

The Winnipeg Krouses signing the guest book! (Mandy and her fiance, Chris and little Jimmy, Jennifer and Debbie). Bonnie drove in from Thunder Bay, Monica came from Toronto and Sean flew in from Edmonton.  Some of these family members hadn't seen each other for over 15 years! It was time for a reunion. (By the way, the Krouse family members were, hands down, the best dancers of the evening, and also the only dancers of the evening, along with Amanda and me. At least they know how to have fun!!! Thanks for that!  You were great, and it was wonderful to see you all, even if it was brief!)

Bonnie and Tracie chatting for the first time since Mexico!

Jay wearing her maid of honour dress once again

Josh opted for the faux-hawk this time around.

Jess talking with her mom, Susan, over dinner.  (Susan, thanks so much for being part of the evening and for supporting us!  It was great to see you!  And, of course, you too JESS! You look beautiful!)

Karen Berrel signing the guest book.  It seems like any time Karen is with me lately, she's signing something!

My mom and Amanda came into the RV with me to help me put on my wedding dress...something we wish my mom could have done on my wedding day. Even though it was for the reception instead, it was still a very special moment!

My mom and me!!!

Talking with the Collignons! It was so great to see them! They really are like family to me.  (Thanks so much for coming to meet Mike and the kids, for all the kind words, and the support!)

 

As you can tell, Mike has the camera, but he was quite busy setting things up, taking care of the video and meeting new people.  So, we really didn't get many pictures during the reception.  If anyone else did, please share!

A classic Ken Mistelbacher (possibly, Wolverine's father)

Tracie, Amanda and Zastre together in the same room?  I think the last time this happened was close to 16 years ago!

We had only  half the room set up for the reception.  Afterwards, we moved tables around to open up the room for the social. (Although, this wasn't really necessary.) Then Dana organized people to sell tickets, etc...  Here's Dana looking gorgeous, as usual!

Carey and Jill also at their stations  (At this point in time, Carey has no idea how much driving around she'll end up doing into the wee hours of the morning...  We are so happy that she is so patient and reliable!  Cracks some great jokes too!)

Here's a classic Amanda and Chelsea photo:  Amanda looking beauiful and classy, while I goof around!

The end of the evening was rushed with a clean-up deadline.  It was decided that all of the empties, left-over alcohol, left-over food, and many other extras, would be loaded into our RV for storage.

It continued to pile up and there was little room to move.

It became obvious that we would have to come up with some miraculous organizational skills in order for the 4 of us (+ Deja) to be able to sleep in our RV comfortably.

Jess tried to console me as I became glazed over with the realization of the hours of work in front of us.  Luckily, Mike figured out a way to clean off the beds well enough for everyone to sleep.  It took us approximately 10 hours the following day to reorganize and clear out items (driving to various locations, returning beer and liquor from the bar, throwing away garbage, recycling, giving food and things away, and storing food and items logically. We even had a few things stolen from us while trying to organize them outside the RV.) As soon as we were done, we knew it was time to get out of the city!

We were so happy to wake up in the Grand Beach campground!

Then we were off to find our way to the beach!

Our excitement built once we hit the sandy trail.

The sand was almost too hot for bare feet.  We couldn't wait to jump in the lake.

Josh and Jay swam out to the buoys...

...while Mike blew up the air mattress.

This is the East Beach.  It's smaller and usually less crowded than the west side.

We decided to change campsites so that we were in closer walking-distance to the beach. We loved our campsite!!!  So did Deja!

Back at the beach the following day.  Josh is waiting for us with football in hand.

Jaylene covering herself in waterproof sunscreen.

We drove over to the West Beach after lunch, just to check it out.

The West Beach!

We decided to walk the trails to Spirit Rock.

Spirit Rock is really out in the lake. However, we took our picture beside this cool rock instead!

Despite the attacking mosquitoes, we managed to pose for the picture.  Then we were out of there, heading back to the beach.

On the West Beach boardwalk

We decided to head into the Grand Beach community to find a restaurant.  A boy gave us directions to a little pizza joint.  Pizza and wings - Great meal! Even our disgruntled waitress couldn't ruin it for us.  We could hear the thunder rolling in as we were finishing our last bites.  It was an adventurous and quick return trek to our RV.  We made it just in time!  Then we had another Manitoba thunderstorm performance that evening.  One of many during this trip!

The following day at our campsite: Mike and I snuck off for a little romantic stroll!

That's my man!

Jay posing for the next swim suit edition

Mike and Josh making sure no boys come within 20 feet of her!

We spent a good portion of the day playing Frisbee and swimming in the water at the West Beach.  It was a scorching hot day! Actually, we had perfect beach weather for the three days we were there.

Burgers and fries on the West Beach boardwalk

As we drove back into Winnipeg, we decided to stop at the go-kart track.

Mike #25

Jay #14

Josh #17

Gentlemen, and woman, start your engines...

...and then they were flying around the track!  Jay and Mike side-by-side

Josh in the lead!

One more lap for Mike...

After go-karting, Jay and Josh simply had to race again.  We returned to Winnipeg for a whirlwind good-bye.  We had a hot tub and showers in my mom's building and then we took my mom out for dinner. It was a nice way to spend our last evening together. We also took a couple driving tours around Winnipeg to show Josh and Jay the downtown area, the Golden Boy, St. Vital Park and more.  We missed seeing so many people, but tried to at least make contact through various messages. Mom and I were able to spend some quality time together over coffee during the morning before we left.  We all said farewells with big hugs and best wishes.  Then Mike, Josh, Jay and I hopped back into our RV, pointed it west and began our drive home.

We stopped in Weyburn, Saskatchewan to visit Willy, Kellie, Sierra, Ayva and Ty!  What a warm welcome!  We drove up and found the whole family waiting outside their house for us.  After greetings, the Mason kids turned into tour guides as they familiarized us with their home.  Before we knew it, Mike and I were standing on their deck with beers in our hands, chatting with Willly as he BBQed.  Kellie was in the kitchen also preparing dinner.  The five kids decided to bond  by geeking out together on their DSs in Sierra's room!

Ayva and I painted our toenails together!

Ayva also entertained me on the piano!

Kellie invited her mother and sisters over for dinner!  

  

Ty waiting for cake!

Little did I know, Kellie found out it was my birthday.  So, she went out and bought a bunch of food, for a delicious dinner, and a birthday cake for dessert!  They even sang "Happy Birthday"!

I think this is me trying to still be sexy at 34. (Or still goofy at 34!)

Sierra and Jay decided they were going to set up a tent in the backyard and sleep in it that night.

Willy decided he would time them to see how fast they could set it up!

We watched them...

...and cheered them on from the deck!

They did it, without any help from the adults, and pretty fast too!  The tent was all ready for their camp-out-slumber-party!

Jay, Ty, Ayva and Josh watching a video

Ty, Josh and Ayva cuddled up in the living room

Jay and Willy

Ayva and Josh

Ty and Kellie

Sierrra and Jay

You definitely don't mess with these two!

Ayva was soaking up her Josh time and vice versa! 

Sierra and Jay picking out movies for their sleep-out!  Good ol' fashion camping with a portable DVD player!

Then we had to say good-bye to the Mason family:( After the warm, warm welcome, tour of the town, delicious meals,  visiting and conversations, hanging out together in the hot tub (that is so nicely sunk into their deck), looking at pictures, watching videos....it was difficult to say good-bye!  It was such a nice, relaxing stay, and so great for the five kids to be able to spend so much time together! 

But we knew we had to hit the road again.  We pointed the RV northwest and continued toward home... 

We stopped at West Edmonton Mall again to eat some of our favourite food, shop a little, and this time....

...go on rides!

Josh and Jay went on the "Red Roller Coaster" twice -

Once with Mike...

and once on their own.

Then look at them - They're as happy as can be!  (Just watching them while they are on this ride makes me a little nauseous.)

They found a new ride and fearlessly hopped on!

Josh and Jay flying by

"Nothing could be better than being here together."

"Let's go play some games!"

Josh decided to stack.

He knew what he was doing. He hit each one perfectly.

And then he missed the very last one...

At least it didn't break his spirits!!!

We were back on the road again, and once we entered Yukon, we were greeted by strange skies.

The skies were beautiful, but,unfortunately, we soon learned that part of it was caused by a forest fire. Luckily, it didn't cause damage to Watson Lake residences.  The end of the drive was scenic and seemed a little longer than usual as we entered Whitehorse at dusk.  However, we received another warm welcome from Judy and Chester who were waiting to greet us at our house as soon as we arrived home!