My brother and his partner came to visit the cabin and as usual things revert back to childhood. Why does unresolved childhood conflict rear its ugly head and is there anyway to overcome it? Do we have to always act like we are 7 years old around our parents?
Personally I have lots of unresolved issues with my brother, he's great at everything he does and has the same tastes, humour and opinions as my parents. I on the other hand do not. It pains me that we can't sit and talk to each other like friends or want to get together to hang out.
It is what it is and to force it into something else just won't happen. Is it environmental or is it genetic? Looking back through the family tree I find that my father isn't close with his sister, my grandfather didn't talk to his sisters (and one lived just behind them), my great grandfather moved across the country from his siblings. Is it genetic?
Personality has a lot to do with whether or not you will get along, my brother and I just happen to have different personalities - he has one. He loves small town living and knows what is going on in our home town where I love the city. We are both outgoing but in different ways, he is always surrounded by friends and yet has a career where he doesn't work around people. I enjoy my solitude at home yet have a career that involves meeting new people and building relationships with them on a daily basis. He's athletic and healthy, I'm not. I read, he doesn't. I like to discuss politics and philosophy he jokes about political issues and is not philosophical. I have kids, he doesn't. The list goes on and on. Although we had the same upbringing, the same environment, the same opportunities we are as different as night and day.
My brother has lots of friends for a reason he's a fun guy to be around. He is in no hurry to be a responsible husband or parent because he enjoys his outdoor recreational activities. He keeps in touch with friends he's met all over the world and is always the life of the party. He has a great career that suits him to a T and he's really great at. He has a beautiful woman to share his life with and a wonderful life in the Coastal Mountains of BC. What skiier wouldn't want to live just minutes from Whistler?
I admire him and think he's got a great life, just wish we could get past all the childhood crap and be friends.
Family Gatherings - Adult Siblings Can we Just Get Along?
Okanagan Vacation - The Kid is Finally Swimming!!!
I am thrilled my son who hates water and doesn't like to swim is finally swimming - without the aid of a life jacket. He's 9 and the fact that he is not a fish when it comes to water is a huge contention with me and my family because we are lake people. I lived in the lake growing up and my dad did before me and his mom before him so how could my child not like to swim?
I had put him swimming lessons but after the 4th time with no improvement at $35 a session I finally said enough is enough. I have tried to force him to swim and throwing him in to get him used to the water... I know it has the opposite effect but sometimes I just get so frustrated that I throw him in with his life jacket on. OK it's not a life jacket ... his personal flotation device which everyone calls a life jacket due to it's common use as a life jacket.
My first day visiting him at the cabin we took the boat across the lake to swim and I started to swim back to the cabin to see how far I'd get ... I'm extremely out of shape and the thought of exercise makes me tired. My son (in his pdf life jacket) started swimming with me after 2 hours we had made it over half way before a strong current in the water impeded our progress. I was extremely proud of him because he did so well in really deep black water without freaking out.
Today he was aloud to go into the lake without his life jacket as long as he didn't go out over his waist. The next thing I know he's swimming without any aid of a life jacket and not just for a few strokes but for a decent length of time. I was so thrilled, this was big for him and such a relief to me.
Now if I could just get him to put his head under the water we might have another fish in the family.
Okanagan Vacation Going Well - Local Charity Event
Visiting the kids has been wonderful. We seem to arrive in my hometown, Endery, to visit at the same time every year -- For Endery's Mardi Gras and Legion Days. The kids love Mardi Gras and look forward to it every year. Last night they attended the charity Mardi Gras carnival that raises money for the local organizations.
They love to play all the carnival games and the charities in the area need the support from outside families like ours. They had dinner, ice cream and won some prizes that would have been cheaper to buy at the dollar store. They even won a dance competition with Gramma. Last year was busier then this year, they had shut down main street last year and this year it was off to the side. The event was still lots of fun for the kids even with the heat.
Enderby is a small town with limited resources so to most city people it won't be as flashy as they are used to. The Mardi Gras is a symbol of a community coming together and supporting itself best it can.
For more information on the North Okanagan Community of Enderby.
Okanagan Vacation Tips
So you are going to the Okanagan for a vacation, I grew up there and go there on a regular basis so I know what the traffic can be like. We are going to go and visit the kids at Mabel Lake tomorrow which got me thinking about Okanagan vacations.
If you are driving there the cheapest gas can be found in Enderby where the Indian Band's Super Save keeps the prices a few cents lower than anywhere else. There is a Shell station and an Esso station which match Super Save's prices.
If you are driving from Vernon to Kelowna or the other way around traffic can get backed up pretty bad between Oyama and Winfield where Hwy 97 goes from 4 lanes to 2 lanes. To avoid the backlog of traffic and for a scenic route take a backroad along Okanagan Lake instead of Kal Lake. The turn offs are at Predetor Ridge and the North most light in Winfield. The road is gravel for a short period of time but mostly paved. It is a beautiful view especially in early evening. Check out maps for the backroads at google maps to help you navigate around traffic lights and narrow sections of highway 97.
Are you a photographer? There are lots of really scenic beautiful areas in the Okanagan back roads. Ellison Park at the end of Okanagan Landing Road is a fabulous provincial park with camping. Rattlesnake point on Kal Lake is another gorgeous spot for swimming in the jade water of Kal Lake. Just keep an eye open for rattle snakes.
The trip is more than just the destination when you are in the Okanagan Valley. There are so many wonderful nooks and crannies that you would never know about if you didn't take the time to stop. For example at the one traffic light in Enderby there is an antique store that looks like it would be full of junk from the outside, once you go in, you find treasures.
Kelowna is the main destination for most people, those that stop in the smaller towns are amazed to find special gems. You can get lost in the backroads but you will find so much beauty it will be worth the extra time.
Got kids? There are so many stops that are fun for them along the way. The Enchanted Forest between Sicamous and Revelstoke has a new attraction that will have the whole family burning energy. Little kids love the fairy tale figures hidden throughout the trails and the older kids will have a blast swinging and climbing through the forest's obstical course.
The Okanagan is filled with special attractions and scenery, too many to mention in one post. Keep an eye open here for future tips and places to see.
North Okanagan Real Estate
Go Green Baby Shower Theme for the Environmentally Friendly Mother
Are you planning a baby shower for an environmentally friendly new mom? Plan a go green baby shower. Invite guests using either email or recycled material invitations, ask the guests to wear green or environmentally friendly clothing and bring a "go green" gift wrapped in baby blankets, towels, gift bags, or recycled material. Details on the Recycle it's my future you're messing with baby onsie
Decorations:
Bring in flowers and reusable decorations avoid balloons and streamers. Use regular plates and dishes to ensure less garbage at the end of the party.
Food:
White cake with no food color dye. Or utilize the go green theme by using lots of green food coloring to ice the mothers favorite type of cake.
Green Tea both hot and cold.... to make cold green tea boil hot water, brew green tea add frozen lemonade and put into fridge until cold. Garnish with mint leaves.
Seasonal fruits and veggies with dips made with epicure or watkins dip mixes. Use yogurt instead of sour cream.
Have some ideas of your own? Share them in the comments section.
Game:
The Recycle Game: Have everyone take turns naming a recyclable material or a go green idea, each answer gets a point and if they name something that is also baby related they get two points. Go around the room a few times, the person with the most points wins.
Make it harder by insisting that the item start with a certain letter - start with a and go all the way to z, or starts with a letter in the mother's name.
Have a green game idea? add it in the comments.
Include the sibling:
The Siblings Role:
Have any older siblings take part by creating a gift for the new baby, decorating, and helping bake the cake. Have them help mom unwrap gifts and maybe have a few for them as well. Shirts and Gifts for Siblings
Keepsake:
Take pictures and ask each guest to write a go green tip and a parenting tip. Create a scrapbook with the pictures and tips for the new mom.
Links to Baby Shower Green Gift sites:
Go Green Message Baby and Sibling Gifts
Have a baby shower idea? leave it in the comments area.
Include Siblings in the Baby Shower
70's Theme or Groovy Girls Theme Birthday Party Invitations Print Out
I've been working on a birthday card for a groovy girls party and so far I've come up with a card shaped as a pair of bell bottoms. Here are the images of a template I put together. Which do you like best?
Bell Bottom Pants Card #1
Bell Bottom Pants Card #2
The inside of the card
I could use patterned paper and cut out the shape for each card. Then each card could have it's own pattern making each invitation unique.
Purse Birthday Party Invitation Cards
Organizing Scrapbook Supplies
A Summery 6x6 Scrapbook Album - A Year in the Life of Your Family
At Time Out ezine the project of the month is a 6x6 scrapbook album - a year in the life of your family. I put together this scrapbook a couple years ago as Christmas presents for the grandparents who live in another province and don't get to see the kids regularly. It's a great scrapbook album for a few reasons:
1. Makes a great Christmas present for family
2. Uses up scrapbook paper and scrapbook embellishments you have had and haven't used for a while.
3. The 6x6 scrapbook album size is perfect for a quick look at your family's life
4. It's a real easy and quick scrapbook to make
5. There are some cool 6x6 scrapbook album or accordion albums available.
This scrapbook is so easy to put together and takes little thought.
Step One:
Collect some of your favorite pictures from the year. If digital, crop them and print out the pictures in a 4x6 size. You only need one or two pictures from each event ie birthdays, vacations, sport activities.
Step Two:
Choose similar 12x12 scrapbook papers and cut them into 6x6 sheets.
Step Three:
Gather up scrapbook embellishments and a couple quote stacks or similar quote scrapbook products. 
Step Four:
Add one picture to each 6x6 scrapbook sheet and then embellish the 2x6 space beside the picture with a quote or a journal comment and some embellishments.
Step Five:
Put the completed pages into the 6x6 scrapbook album and you've now completed a year in the life of your family, a visual summary.
More examples at the Time Out E-Zine Gallery. Submit your 6x6 project pages to the Time Out E-Zine Gallery detail there.
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