Feeling crispy

We went to meet some friends visiting from the mainland at a waterpark but when we got there, they were all set up at the beach.  We were woefully unprepared.   No shade, no hats, weren't slathered in sun screen and not attired correctly.   I'm totally fried.  It's always nice to catch up with friends and the visit was fun.  Luk loved Mary and was happy to let her cuddle him.  They brought Luk a couple of wooden trucks so he was pretty happy to play with them in the sand. Jia and May were delighted with each other and played nicely all afternoon.  Not much for the big girls but they seemed happy to do nothing.  We saw a bit of the night market and they are interested in going back to see that and perhaps get a henna tattoo.  ;)  On the way home we picked up a pod for the top of the motorhome, I don't plan on ever climbing up on the roof.  It's an Eric addition for sure.

The Annual Kissinger Lake trip

Ahhh.  Our favorite spot.  So nice.  Hard to relax with four kids.  Even harder when they're in a group.  We did manage to relax as much as possible though.  There isn't too much to do there except swim. 

Jia isn't very comfortable in the water.  She is reluctant to enjoy herself.  I was swimming with her on my back and she panicked and was gripping my neck, making breathing difficult and then I was panicking and going under.  I called to Eric who was WAY away.  Ken and Shannon and a bunch of strangers were near but I finally managed to get her arms off me and flung her away from me (she was wearing a life jacket) and I held her at arms length and she said 'what should I do?'.  I told her to kick,  and she did, all the way in.  Proved she could swim if she had to.  I praised her like crazy for how great she was at helping us stay alive.  It was a scary moment.  When Eric got there I was holding her tight and trying to catch my breath and my knees were weak and shaky.  Happened so fast.  So, the lesson is to always wear your pdf when in the deep with little kids. 

Luk wasn't interested in swimming but he loved the little yellow blow up boat and happily played in there.  Lili and Fei were swimming mostly on their own. 

So, fun times with friends, lots of good food, fabulous warm lake, great site and the motorhome worked great.  Looking forward to going back.

Sunday visit

What a nice ending to our weekend at home.   Great visit and play with friends.  Luk was so tired that he thanked me for putting him to bed. 

Back to school shopping

Well, no idea if/when school will start but we need to get ready just in case.  Running out of weekends to shop.  So Mom and I took the girls clothes shopping today.  I already had backpacks, lunch bags, water bottles, rain coats and shoes.  Today's mission was indoor shoes,  jeans and tops.  We had fun.  Kid's were all agreeable.  Lunch was good.  Sales were a plenty.   We managed Mom's wheel chair and a stroller for Jia.  The stroller mostly held our bags.  At the end Jia had the hang of it, she on her own found a skirt she wanted and then a headband and sunglasses to match then gave me a pouty face in her endeavor to plead for it.  I was thinking we didn't need the sunglasses.  Clearly by the photo in the car, I was wrong and she did really NEED them :)

Last night I spent two hours sorting, culling and cleaning the toy room.  It's a little more Luk friendly now.  He is managing the stairs ok.  He has to be reminded every time to go down on his tummy. 

Tonight Eric and I are grocery shopping together.  Rare.  Waiting for Luk to go to bed before we leave. 

Tomorrow we have a few families coming over for a swim, visit.

So all in all, staying home this weekend hasn't been too bad.

Orthopedic Surgeon

I got to work today and realized that Luk had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon today in Victoria.  I still use a paper calendar to keep our lives organized.   I've tried the phone apps but I still prefer writing on the squares.   Anyway, quickly called Eric and we changed our day around and zoomed to Victoria.   He saw Dr. Weatherhead, who Lili sees for scoliosis.   He was pleased with Luk's progress.  He wasn't concerned in the least.  Didn't want an mri.  Didn't measure him.  Said his movement range and muscle tone were all normal.  Certainly normal for a kid that's only been walking for four months.  Zero restrictions.  He feels it's unlikely that Luk will have future problems.  He put him on a one year call back but didn't feel he would ever need a spina bifida clinic.  He did glance at his scar briefly.  So, good news all around.

We used the rest of our bonus day in Victoria to go pet the baby goats, go to Value Village to find a replacement cord for the power cord I fried in China for our wifi router and finally to Spaghetti Factory.  A big hit for our gang. 

Dumplings

Finally tried making traditional Beijing dumplings.  Yum.  They turned out fabulously.   Took quite a while to make them.  Next time I'll commit to the project and get comfortable at the table.  Jia made her own and cooked them too.  She was eating the first one and she said it tasted like a noodle.  ;)  Now we need to try making our own noodles.  We need a trip to a Chinese market.  We made our vinegar dip with white rice vinegar and dark soy sauce but would be nice to have the right sauce.

Then for dessert strawberries and fresh picked blackberries.  Yup...it's blackberry season.  We have a bumper crop out there too!

Some pictures from yesterday's picnic.  Sad turn out but we enjoyed our visit with everyone there.  Jia was delighted to play with Emily all afternoon.

We were coming home after dinner and I asked Eric if we could surprise the kids by camping one more night at Bamberton on the way home.  Pretty funny times, Lili says this was another one of my ideas that just wasn't a great one.  Our toilet was full and getting smelly.  5 of us for three days was a bit much I guess.  We had doors and windows open and had to break down and use chemicals. Good to know that when we're all there, two nights is our max.

I was planning to take Jia for her alone with Mommy camping trip this coming weekend but couldn't find a provincial site nearby.  So it's looking like a possible weekend at home.