No Place Like Home

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. I have had a lot of things that I have wanted to write about, but I couldn't choose which one I wanted to talk about first. And then last night, Otto and I were talking about the summer and the topic of this post hit me like a freight train.
A couple of weeks ago when I was calling my family's house my brother got on the phone and asked me "Megan, what do you like most about the cabin?" Without hesitating I answered that my favorite part about the cabin is spending time with my family. Apparently that was what Jason was wanting to hear and he was thrilled that I said it. However, I don't think that he quite understood what I was trying to say.
The cabin, to me, is my home. When I go there my spirit feels connected to my past and to my future all at the same time. As I sit on the deck and look at the beach that my mom, Grandpa and Uncle Brant cleared away when my mom was a teenager I giggle as I recollect the stories of how she was punished for going out with her friends by being ordered to haul wood up the mountain all day long. I look at the rocks with their holes eroded into them and recall endless summers playing on the beach and pretending those rocks were my kitchen and spending hours "cooking" in my kitchen. Memories of my sisters pretending to be the Little Mermaid on those rocks also come flooding back to me as I show my little girls how they used to pose on the rocks and sing the songs from that Disney movie.
Whenever we pull up to the marina and load the boat to go across the lake to get to our cabin memories of going across the lake in storms always make me nervous that the weather will be stormy and I will have to do it again. Other memories of being allowed to sit on the top of the front of the old Sea Ray boat to help weigh it down make me smile as I remember feeling so excited to be in my favorite place in the whole world.
I feel connected to my past and linked to my future when I go to the cabin. I had my first kiss at the cabin. I have grown up with a lot of the people who still visit their cabins every summer. I have had the most spiritual church meetings held at various cabins along the lake. My favorite Sundays have been where the church meetings are an hour long, and the visiting that takes place afterwards is just as long. There are Steak dinners followed by peaches and cream that have long been a tradition. There are tube wars, water skiing and wakeboarding lessons. The summer just wouldn't be the same if I didn't spend some of it trying to bribe my own children to jump off of the cliffs or try wakeboarding or tubing.
So, when I say that I love to spend time with my family at the cabin, it is more than that. I love to spend time with my roots. I love to go to the place of my childhood and create memories with my own children. I love to sit on the dock at nighttime with my sisters and ponder the mysteries of the Universe. I love to watch my mother be happier and more relaxed than she is in any other place. I love to go home to the cabin. It is a place of great memories for me, and it holds a special place in my heart. My only hope is that if my mother ever decides that she wants to sell it, that I have enough money to buy it from her. Because if I were to ever lose the place that I feel more at home than any other place, I would be sad. I would miss it more than anyone would know. It is my home. As Dorothy put it "There's no place like home."

Cousins and Babies

Thanks to the miracle of technology and the astuteness of my cousin Michelle, I was able to know the good news of my cousin Carolyn having a baby shortly after the sweet baby arrived. I am so excited for my cousin Carolyn and for my Aunt Judi and Uncle Garry's entire family. Having a new baby in the family is so much fun. I really wish that my cousin lived closer so that I could see new baby Elizabeth, but I am sure that my Aunt Judi will post lots of pics for me to see.
I know that Carolyn reads this blog, and so I just wanted to take a minute to say "Congratulations!" I am so excited for you. You have NO idea what you are in for, but I can guarantee you that it will be quite the fun ride. You will realize that you have never been more tired, happy, stressed, hormonal, full of love, overwhelmed and know that it is completely worth it than you will in the next few months. Your body will do things that are amazing, and weird. Your life will revolve around bodily functions and you will never have seen anything more beautiful than when your little girl smiles at you for the first time. Having a daughter is the most wonderful/challenging thing in the whole wide world! I will warn you that Jeff is probably already wrapped around her cute pink little finger and that will never change.
I love you little cousin. We have spent many years growing up together and I am so excited and proud of the woman you have become. So congratulations again! I love you and I am so excited for your new adventure to begin!

A day in the life of Otto

This weekend we had plnned a little get together with Otto's Mom, her husband, Otto's brother and his family, and Otto's sister and her family. We were planning on going to Waterton, but alas the weather and Otto's brother's back didn't cooperate so we had to come up with a plan B. Plan B consisted of going to Otto's Mom's house and helping her dejunk it. It was not as glorious as the original plan, but we still got to spend lots of time together and it was great.
That is not why I am writing this post, believe it or not. The reason that I am writing this post is because of the little treasure that we found when we were cleaning up at Otto's Mom's house. This little treasure came in the form of a cassette tape labeled "Babe's in Toyland". I was just going to put it with the other tapes when Otto completely went beserk and demanded that we keep it and take it home. I was startled that my big guy would get so emotional about "Babe's in Toyland", but it was important to him so it became important to me. I kind of chuckled when he told me that the reason that we needed to save the tape was because on the reverse side of the tape was recorded the song "Puff the Magic Dragon". Now that was all the convincing I needed, so the tape was saved from my Mother-in-law's house and taken to the home of the Comin's.
My Mother-In-Law lives about 2 1/2 hours away from our house, so it was quite the drive home last night. Finally, when all of the kiddies were settled in their seats I put the "Babe's in Toyland" tape into the cassette player in the van (yes our van is that old) and I was shocked to hear a child playing on the tape. Otto was not impressed and had a mini tantrom because he thought that his step-nephews had recorded over his beloved "Babe's in Toyland". There were no names on the cassette and so we didn't know who we were actually listening to. We were just about to turn off the cassette when all of a sudden we heard someone yell at the boy on the tape to "Come here!". We quickly rewinded the tape a bit and turned up the volume so that we could hear who it was being called. . . . .turns out we had been listening to Otto as a child.
The rest of the tape was a pleasure to listen to as we heard Otto playing robots with his friends in some parts, randomly spouting out numbers in other parts and counting by fives while he was waiting for his mom in other parts. Otto did think that the highlight of the tape was when all of a sudden the song "Puff the Magic Dragon" played and he realized that he had taped over everthing else on the tape except for his beloved dragon song.
It was so cute to listen to Otto as a child in Grade 4. How do we know that you ask? Well he did recite all of the people in his Grade 4 class picture which just happens to be posted on facebook right now.
They say you get blessings when you serve other people. Last night our blessing came in the form of a cassette tape which contained a little piece of information about what a day was like in the life of Otto when he was in Grade 4.
Thanks Kathy! That was the best little treasure you could have given us.

Proof!

Here's proof that I did it!
Thanks again Jay for running it with me!

I did it!

Well, Jason and I ran the race this morning and it was great. The course was quite challenging but so beautiful! Jason was a bit disappointed because his goal was to run the race in under an hour and he ran it in an hour and 16 seconds. My goal was to finish the race. My fastest time that I had ever run 10 km was an hour and 26 minutes. There were 600 people racing today and Jason came in around 141st overall and I came in 319th but I had beat my personal best time by running the race in an hour and 21 minutes and 34 seconds. I am happy that I was able to accomplish this goal because when I started training in June, I probably wouldn't have even been able to walk 10 K's much less run them.
So now, for the rest of the weekend I plan on relaxing and playing with my brother and parents!
Thanks for running this with me Jay! And thanks for coming with us mom and dad! It was really nice to have people cheering for me at the finish line!

Yes Man

We have just gotten back from a nice little 12 day vacation. We spent a sun and sand day in Windermere, headed off to the Shuswap for some Comin Craziness followed by two days of cleaning (not as fun), then onto Fernie for some family hikes and swimming and finishing up the trip with a sleepover at my brother-in-law's place and a day in Waterton.
Fun. Exciting. Great Memories.
One of my most favorite things happened while we were on our trip. My little Lee has decided to expand his vocabulary. He can tell you what a doggy says, a kitty says and a ducky says. He constantly yells Abby's name when he needs something and he LOVES to just stand there and yell "Abby!!!!". My most favorite new thing that he does, though is he always answers "Yep" to any question that you ask him. It doesn't matter what the question is, the answer is always "yep".
This has made me think about things. I mean the boy is probably the easiest and happiest baby I have ever had (and I have had a few) and he just is so content with life. When Lee says "yep" it is always with a smile and no matter what, he always seems happy with the results. Whether he is getting a toy, a kiss or having to be strapped into his car seat, he never whines and he is just a happy little guy.
I have seen the movie "Yes Man" and I thought about my life. Would I be happier and just try more things if I was like Lee and answered "yep" to anything that was asked of me? I don't know, but it would definitely help me get past some barriers that I usually put around me. It would make me put myself out there more and it would make me try new things. That is something that I might just be willing to experience. I may not say yes to everything, but maybe I can try to be more willing to say "yes" when things are asked of me.
Thanks Lee! Who knew you could be so wise at the tender age of 17 months?