Jul
2018

Counting down already again?

School’s out! And I had so much fun making our first, full camping video!

He said

Yes! We’re already in countdown mode again! I know, it seems like we just got home from a week out and the reality is, we did. But the good news is things have really aligned nicely for us this year as we already have two trips out: One in May to the Toronto West KOA for the long weekend; and, then the week out in June—just a week ago—to Arrowhead Provincial Park. While at first we were unsure what having to move our first, full week out from the first week in July to the second last in June, the truth is, it’s given us the opportunity to get out one more time which makes two weekends out. And the best parts are: a) it’s back to back; and b) both trips are with groups of camping friends.

In just over a week we will have Wolfie Too back in the driveway as we prep for a four day, three night trip out with a pretty significant group of friends. All told we will be out with four families totalling fourteen people. It should be a fantastic time. We’ve opted for Golden Pond RV Park which is only 30 minutes from our doorstep which means Thursday after I am done work, we will head straight there and set up along with the rest of the group. It should be a great weekend! We’ll have full hookup and access to Wifi which means with my Dad’s projector we should be able to have a Saturday night outdoor movie! It’s nice and close and we’re excited to have this added weekend.

As Emelia mentioned in her part, we have edited and posted our second camp video as of just about an hour ago. The first one was a brief video really just introducing who we are, this one we posted is the recap of our first weekend out at the Toronto West KOA. We’re having a lot of fun making and editing the Bonne Fires videos and find ourselves now thinking about the sorts of things we want to capture and share as we plan our camping trips out. We have plenty of inspiration in the the channels that we’ve followed and where our idea to start this was born. The big ones that really got us excited about telling our own story were: Keep Your Daydream, Less Junk More Journey, and Imagine Your Dream

.This week Emelia had her last day of school this week. Her report card came home and we were blown away with all the progress she made this year. She has had her challenges with school, most specifically in her reading. But, we have found some great advocates after Danielle really pushed upon the school and being in the Empower program has helped amazingly so. Her teacher this year was a great support and sounding board for us, and it helped greatly that her Gymnastics Coach Jenna who is off to Teacher’s College was a great tutor for her math. She had all A’s and B’s this year and we were so damned proud of her.

With Emelia out of school and summer officially now underway, all we think and talk about these days is camping. Each trip is arrived at with a countdown, and each time we arrive home we move into a new countdown to a new trip. In fact there isn’t a month for the next in the next four that is without a camping trip. I don’t want to push my luck but we might even be able to make that 5 straight months if we get to November still able to countdown. All this camping counting down is a perfect place to be in!

She said

As John mentioned we are in full summer mode around here. Emelia wrapped up her last week of school on Thursday and this meant we went into full summer mode for Emelia. Emelia’s report card came home earlier in the week and what a difference a year makes. In the past Emelia struggled in school, she would get decent grades but it was the comments about her struggles along with Emelia’s emotions around school made the year end a struggle.

This year it was all about how she is keeping up with school, more comfortable and confident and the biggest for us is seeing her grades leap up significantly in both reading and math. For years Emelia was falling further and further behind in her reading and after a year in a specialized program she went from being 3 years behind in reading to reading at grade level. Add in tutoring for math and Emelia went from Cs to As in both subjects. Her grades all around have jumped and she feels great about her schooling for the first time in her entire school career.

As a reward for all her hard work this year we decided treat her to something that would make her happy all summer and keep her active. This week after months of waiting London got a trampoline park. This is heaven for our gymnast daughter. With the Skyzone opening they had amazing promotion that would give Emelia 90 minutes jumping time every day all summer. Needless to say we have already been there 3 of the last 5 days and Emelia cannot wait to go back again this week. This place is amazing – there is countless activities for the kids to do and lots of space for Emelia to practice all her tricks. We will have lots of use of this pass for sure.

This weekend was the first weekend of the summer and summer arrived with a vengeance with extreme temps. John had to work all weekend so this left Emelia and I to figure out how to fill our days and beat the heat. The Skyzone was only part of our fun this weekend. Earlier in the week we had been invited out to our friends place on Lake Huron. With temps hitting the 40s and high humidity the lake was exactly what we needed.

Emelia and I arrived at Ilka and Pat’s at 2:10 and by 2:13 Emelia was already in the pool with the kids. The adults and kids continued to play in the pool for the next 5 hours. Waterlogged and refreshed we had an amazing dinner and after dinner headed down to the beach where the kids instantly jumped in the lake! It was an amazing day!

Sunday was another scorcher for Canada Day. John had to work for the day so Emelia went to fill our day again waiting for John to get off work. We had another trip to Skyzone, errands and time together. Before we knew it John was off work and we were off to friends places to take in the Canada Day fireworks. Our friend Norma has the perfect backyard to take in the fireworks. We got to spend time with friends and let the kids play waiting for the show to start. Once again the fireworks did not disappoint, what an incredible show!

Today was a beautiful lazy day, we took the day slowly and ticked off some things off our to do list. Lots of time as a family and the perfect start to what is going to be an amazing summer!

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