billy bones part ii

orienting the compass



mic finds a hidden clue






papa explains the compass





going down the final trail--almost there!






triumphant pirates




look at all the goods!

do you have a message for billy bones?

i don't know if anyone still checks my blog, but i feel it is time for an update. so bear with me because i am going to backtrack and write about some events that happened earlier this summer.
back before school was out the girls got a special invitation in the mail. they were invited to have a grandparents day with their schofield grandparents. mic was really excited and couldn't wait. as do most trips, this one began with a heart pounding ride to the ferry. it doesn't seem to matter how early i leave, i'm always worried about missing the ferry. (i wouldn't be surprised if frequent ferry users have higher blood pressure) anyways we got there in plenty of time but there were a lot of cars in front of us. the loading process as agonizing for us. at last the last car in the previous row could be seen...and then they stopped it. we were four cars back in the next row. i thought that was it. especially when they loaded a big semi. then i heard nat say a little prayer. it was so cute and completely on her own. no one had said anything about saying a prayer. so i said a little prayer that her act of faith would be rewarded. finally they let the car go and then the next one and the next one and then us! we were the last car on--such a different feeling than when you are the first car to not go on.
on the ferry i found an electrical outlet and set the girls up watching a movie on the laptop. i occupied myself doing their hair. it took almost the whole ferry ride. their hair was really snarly--it's what happens when i only do their hair once a week and they do lots of swimming. i realized when i got on the ferry that i didn't have laura's work number with me so i had to hope that brent would get home from work before she left work. luckily that too worked out. we eventually met up on highway 10 and started the long traffic-congested drive to aldergrove. i had also left my directions at home and brent didn't want to bother reading it all to me so it took even longer than it had to. who knew that the fraser highway turns into a one way shopping street in downtown langley?
the schofields were really excited to see the girls. they had a treasure hunt all planned out for them. before they started the hunt ron explained to them what an "orb" was and "site" he was so funny. he spelled it out for them and had them repeat the word. hehe. the girls had to go to some neighbours and ask them if they had a message for billy bones (something that he made brent do before) they started off quite shy but they warmed up to it. ron also taught them how to orient a compass and they had to use it as well. he was so excited he couldn't stop himself from giving away the answers. at the end they found a beautiful treasure box--quite large too. it was full of things for the girls. they got some clothes, new beach towels, and lots of candy.
in this happy state of affairs laura and i managed to extricate ourselves. we decided to to go somewhere that had yam fries. consequently we all got some. karey and elicia came too. (i think maybe they wouldn't have come if brent was there which is too bad because he can be a fun guy to do things with) it was fun to be out with the girls.
the next day laura and i got threaded. i was a little apprehensive about the pain factor and also not liking what she did. as it turned out she was about to start on me without saying a word, but laura jumped in and spoke for me. (i think laura has always done that kind of thing for me) it didn't hurt at first but as she continued it got more painful and i began to wonder if i had any eyebrow left at all. but to my amazement, there was still plenty of dark eyebrow left and not even that much of a change--no one even noticed when i came home.
from there we went to mec for laura to get a backpack just like karey's. i have never known someone to be so particular about their gym bag! nothing was just right and we were about to leave when laura saw it: karey's backpack.
then we went to robson for some fun shopping. we were on the lookout for a bag for me. i've been ready to give up the "diaper bag" for some time now and laura was the person to help me find the right one. it was a hard decision when it came down to it but i settled finally on a cool green bag from aldo.
also while out with laura, we went to a place for her to use her gift certificate on makeup. i admitted to laura that i hadn't worn eyeshadow since i was a teenager and wouldn't even know how to put it on so she got one of the makeup people to put some very natural looking eyeshadow on me. i couldn't really tell the difference but it looked like fun in the store. all the girls were wearing extreme makeup that you probably couldn't get away with anywhere else.
anyways, i felt very girly after my day with laura--like i'd had a little mini makeover or something.

i know it has been awhile. i've even had some good things to write about, but it is just a classic case of waiting too long and then losing my momentum. i am sitting here waiting for deborah to come over. it is very late. and instead of writing about the fun great things that have happened this summer i feel heavy. (is that a strange thing to say? it isn't in japanese so now i think it must be...but it describes how i am feeling) it just feels like everybody has so much pain and suffering. i guess that is what happens when i go to see the bishop. i go there with my head full of my own challenges and think to myself that somebody with fewer problems should be doing this. and then i hear about a bunch of other much more serious problems. it doesn't lighten my heart...it just makes me wonder if there is ever an end. i know there are reprieves--moments when everything feels just right and i look at my precious little family and see how richly i have been blessed. i just wish those moments would last a little longer. brent will be leaving tomorrow morning to go work in port alberni. the only way we can see to make this worthwhile is for him to stay up there until the week is over. so he is going to be sleeping in the van and showering at the lake. (i noticed last year that there are showers there). he left today but it turned out that they just needed him to fill out paper work and so i talked him into coming back home. that old familiar feeling of emptiness combined with lonliness didn't take long to settle down on me after he left today. but i am more worried about him. it is a demoralizng thing to be away from your family and even more so to do when you are living out of your van--especially when you are eating peanut butter sandwiches and yucky superstore cheerios with powdered milk. you feel you are doing hard things and life just feels that much harder. while i was writing this deborah arrived with a carload of snacks and treats for brent. she has to be one of the most giving peple i know. and she is so intuitive with her generousity. and funny as it may seem, my heart feels lighter already. (it's amazing what food can do for me) i had fun repacking brent's stuff. brent will be gone tomorrow so who knows...maybe i'll write about the more fun things in my summer.