Yahupitsville, Saskatchewan??

It is official, we are in Yahupitsville!  I mean Moose Mountain, Saskatchewan.  I am not too sure how people find this place because nothing seems to work here.  Our Tom Tom cannot get a signal, my phone does not work (because as I said before we are in Yahupitsville), and there is no WiFii.  We are so disconnected from world that we would not know if the world was going into Armageddon . . . which has not been a bad thing.

The campsite that we are in feels like camping as there are trees surrounding our spot and the smell of campfires in the air . . . we even had s’mores last night for the first time. 

Today, we started our day off by riding our bikes exploring the area around us as the weather did not look good for the day so we thought we better get the kids outside while we could.  Part way through our ride the skies started to clear up, so we decided to go to the local waterslides, which was a hit with our kids . . . in more ways than one (I’ll explain later).  Once again I was amazed, shocked at the lack or rules at such a place.  When we got to the top of the tube ride I asked the attendant, “can he go?”  She looked at me as if I was nuts, “ah ya.”  I stood at the top of the slide waiting for her to say go, but she did not so I asked, “can I go?”  she responded in an annoyed way, “aaah yaaa” . . . as if I was somehow interrupting her nail grooming and gum chewing.  I soon learned that it was pretty much a free for all as people just jumped on the slide when they were ready.  The kids had a blast riding the slides for the day.  Emma could always be heard giggling in her tube as she watched Michelle and I tumble out of our tubes in each pool. 

Emma even went down a slide with a 6 foot drop part way through the slide . . . why not . . . there are no rules here.  It was literally a 6 foot drop straight down.  I believe I jarred my back and neck as I plummeted ungracefully to the pool below in my inner tube.  I think of what I was like years ago loving these types of slides, in which I see the same enthusiasm in my kids.  They are chanting, “6 foot drop, 6 foot drop”, on our way back up to the top, while I am thinking, “not a-gain, not a-gain”.  I think the thrill of danger in me, has been replaced by the thoughts of pain, suffering, and medical bills.  I believe that experience has taught me that if I do this, it WILL hurt and probably for days.  Whereas, when I was younger I would be thinking, “cool!   I wonder how I can hit that drop faster and higher?  Argh argh argh”.  That is the problem with kids, they haven’t experienced pain enough to realize that what they are doing is not a good idea.  You see, I can make a connection to something in my past as being painful and therefore come to the realization that this is not a good idea.  Kids on the other hand have no filter . . . some people believe that they are just courageous, others not so smart, others say that they don’t think before they act . . . I believe they haven’t felt pain enough to stop them . . . life’s lessons.  The unfortunate thing about being a parent is that in situations like these, I know this is going to hurt . . . for days, yet I have to do it for the kids.  You see, they see it as fun and conquering their fears, whereas I see it as an opportunity to feel hope . . . hope that I don’t get hurt and hope that if I do, it does not last long, and hope that I won’t need to see my physiotherapist.  I think I went off of that 6 foot drop like 10 times, but I guess it is a good sign that I am blogging about it tonight.  This is one thing that I love about doing things like this with my kids is that it allows me to try some of those things again as an adult . . . painful or not.

Remember when I said that the slides were a hit in more ways than one?  Well, on our second last slide of the day, we decided to try the double tube down a slide called the Twister.  Emma and I successfully navigated it once before and the kids wanted to try it again.  So, we hiked up to the top of the slide and Emma and I went barreling down.  Emma was giggling all the way down until we hit the last turn of the slide . . . we banked really high causing our tube to roll over and her face hit the slide just before we entered the pool.  I picked her up and saw that her nose was starting to bleed.  Emma was crying and as I walked her over to the attendants, her nose started to gush.  It looked like a bad scene from a horror movie as it dripped down her face and into her bathing suit.  Onlookers looked in horror to see this little girl’s face a bloody mess.  Emma put on a brave face for the first aid attendant and with a little ice and paper towels her nose eventually stopped bleeding.  I always want to end off every experience with a positive one, but unfortunately for this day, Emma’s did not end that way.  Despite the head trauma (yes I am exaggerating here), all of the kids had a great time.

Tonight, the kids were in awe at Mother Nature as she put on a thunder and lightning storm for them to watch as they sat in bed.  “Mom!  Mom!  I saw a fork!” Emma shrieked in delight.  I guess it was a good thing that we went to the slides today as there is an alert of a possible twister in the area around us.  Great!  And here we are sitting in a trailer park!  Don’t they always seem to hit trailer parks?  Anyways, I sit here alone, yes alone writing today (which is probably the only time that I have been alone since this trip began) because Michelle promised Emma that if there was thunder and lightning she would sleep in her bed with her.  Lets just say that Emma cashed in on her promise and wouldn’t let Michelle sleep anywhere else as she said, “the whole night mommy, the whole night!”