The Griswolds Go Camping

Well, it has happened. We bought a fifth wheel, so it was inevitable. I think.... We finally had a week off to do with as we wished, so the Armstrongs went camping. Just us and the trailer. There were no dogs, cats, horses or bulls involved. It took some getting used to, but we all settled in and finally relaxed. It was a total Griswold vacation. Kelly levelled (somewhat) the trailer, unhooked, and then looked at me and dared ask, "Now what do we do." I just looked at him and said, "You've got to be (insert expletive) kidding me." He grabbed a beer, sat down in his lawn chair and shut up. About an hour later he said, "I could get used to this."

We had planned the trip to Cypress Hills in southwestern Saskatchewan so we could go visit Kelly's grandmother and other family nearby. Well, as it turned out, his aunt and cousins and all the kids were camping there too. It was a great time. Jessie and Jake had a blast playing with their cousins. We drove into Eastend on Wednesday to visit Grammy A. She was happy to see the great grandkids that she rarely gets to see. It was a beautiful place to camp with lots of fun stuff to do, we all survived, so we are planning on trying this "camping" thing more often.

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Of course, on the way home, we decided we weren't in a great hurry. Believe me that was a fleeting thought. But it lasted long enough for Kelly to take a detour into some small town on the way because they still have the old wooden stockyards that have a loading chute to load on to train cars. While this holds no interest to the rest of the vehicle occupants, we let him have his way. He told us he remembers watching cattle get loaded on to train cars when he was little. Jessie reminded him how old he was and I reminded her that Canada is twenty years behind most civilized countries in many ways.

After the brief stop at this roadside not such an attraction, we made it to Kelly's sisters. We had a short visit there, because now we were in a hurry to get home. She gave the kids two baby pot bellied pigs. Now, we already have one obese swine that meanders through the yard at her own leisure. I asked the question why, I was answered by my husband, who I'm quite sure is going senile, why not?

So, that ends the tale of the Cypress Hills Camping trip of 2012. Stay tuned for the next episode of Armstrong Family happenings or mishappenings.

Summer Fun!

These last few weeks of summer have been so busy, I haven't had the time to sit down and update the blog. We spent two weeks in Texas, which was a blast. We took in Sea World in San Antonio, and then spent a few days at Port Aransas. We, then, headed back to Vernon to spend a few days. It was great to see all the sights and work on our tans, but it is great to be back here and complain about how hot 83 degrees is. cat

We've spent the last week at home catching up on the yard work and moving bulls home, where, hopefully, they will stay out of trouble. Jessie bought a bull whip and has been practicing with it. Today, she took it and cracked it off her horse. She is really doing well. Big Boy is completely unimpressed by her new toy. She is waiting for Boomer to get a shoe tacked back on so she can try it on him. I'm pretty sure he will suffer cardiac arrest. He's already in a fragile state due to the climate change, the Boone and Crockett mosquitoes, and the fact that he has been forced to get his feet wet in this new country.

Next week we are headed to Cypress Hills for a camping trip. We've never been ones to head out to a national park and camp, so it should be entertaining. I will take the camera to capture the Griswold moments. Kelly and Jessie are excited, Jake will be when we get there, and I think it sounds like a lot of work for me. My idea of a vacation is not cooking or cleaning. I just pray it doesn't rain in western Saskatchewan next week.