Happy Tree

I took this photo in July on a camping trip. It was so hot and lovely... I am looking outside and it is raining right now (sigh). I don't remember anyone consulting me about summer ending (yes, yes my Australian friends, I realize summer is just about to start for you. Good for you, rub it in already- enjoy your slip, slap, slop and half-melted Tim-Tams!).

Here is another favourite photo from that trip (a photo of Mickey).

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Camping: My Yogi

While we were camping I decided that I wanted to take the opportunity to get a little meditation back into my life. That's right: Meditation. Some version of the following is what generally runs through my head when I "meditate":

Ooooooomm... Ooooommmm..... ommmmmm... Om-I forgot to iron my pants for today.... ahem... ok- ooommm... You know, I should wear skirts more often, it's not that I don't like skirts, but... helloooo... oooommmm. Ok, "ooomm" isn't working, that is kind of pretentious anyway... "Pretentious"? Holy crap Shauna, who do you think you are? You're calling people who devote themselves to the mountains and forgo sarcasm forever and EVER "pretentious"?... Shut up! Shut up! shutupshutupshutup.... Okay. Self love. Let's try self love... Centering... Love.... Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove... love... Hold on! Hold ON! Pull it together, you were doing it FOR A WHOLE .83 seconds! Fight it!!! Fight it, you can DO it... FIGHT IT WOMAN!!!!.... Seriously, what pants am I going to wear today...

Yeah. So a super, duper zen experience. Eckhart Tolle totally rings me for tips every now and again.

In this photo Kayloo is watching the pandemonium of what seems like dozens of crazy, deliriously happy kids (my little cousins) at the end of the dock. She is thoroughly and totally wrapped up in their every squeal, leap and splash. She is absorbed in curiosity and eventually compelled to join them at the end of the dock and when she came back I can only describe her trot as joyous.

So, wishing y'all a joyous trot today. Or at the very least that you remembered to iron your pants...

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Camping: Cruisin'

At one point my uncle took my mom, dad, aunt and I on a Boat Ride. Capital "B" capital "R" because boat rides are Wicked. Boat rides are the kind of thing that makes you feel like you're cruisin', and the only things cooler than cruisin' are the following:

1. being a black belt in some kind of martial art
2. being Pool-Shark-Good at playing pool

I am a black belt in flailing around, hitting hard and letting the Mean Streak Take Over and I can single-handedly make one, single game of pool last over an hour and a half... so cruising it is.

My mom, aunt and I played the If We Had a House on a Lake, Which House Would We Have? game. This is a pretty good game. It is similar but different to If We Had a Villa What Would It Look Like? and If We Had a Beverly Hills Home with a Swimming Pool, An Amusement Park, a Drive Thru Ben and Jerry's and a Full Time Man-Servant, What Would It Look Like? For some reason my dad and my uncle weren't interested in playing.

This game consists of comments such as the following:

• It's nice, but eek- look how far you would have to walk to the water. What is that, like, 45 seconds?
  
• 0/10. No space for the outdoor spa, which is clearly a Top 5 criteria.

For some reason the fact that we don't actually OWN a cabin on ANY lake does not stop us from being so judgmental.

In any case, we didn't find our Dream Cabin and would have had to combine 8 designs to even come close, so needless to say, we won't be purchasing a cabin by the lake this summer. Drat.

While we were gone Mickey and Kayloo hung out under their fancy tent, away from the crazy hot sun and guarded the beer.

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Camping: Kayloo & the Thong

Camping was HOT. Holy-Crap hot. Speedos-Aren't-A-Good-Idea-Unless-You're-Michael-Phelps, hot. Thong-Bikini-Bottoms-Are-NEVER-A-Good-Idea-Oh-My-God-That-Image-Will-Be-Burned-Into-My-Retinas-Forever, hot.

And I forgot my bathing suit.

You know, this should not surprise me. The last TWO work trips I went on I forgot my glasses, which is a serious problem considering my contacts dry up like potato chips and I am blind enough to run into dark doorways because I CAN'T SEE THEM. I even forgot my glasses when I went to Mexico where the whole Grand Master Plan was to sleep in, sit on my duff and read trashy magazines. Waking up in the morning and FEELING my way to the bathroom, trying to avoid breaking my toes on every corner I couldn't see wasn't originally a part of the itinerary. But you know, it added a bit of sport to my mornings and gave me an excellent excuse to start drinking before lunch.

Kayloo had the right idea. I should have just grabbed a thong and plopped right down in the lake. My family was there though. That could have been... awkward.

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Sometimes It's Hot

You know what, guys? Sure thing- sometimes it's all about being sophisticated and whetting your lips with a lovely Pinot Grigio or maybe even a randy tipple of Blackberry wine.

But sometimes it's hot and the best thing to do is grab a pomegranate cooler and lap up the sugary sweetness one bubble at a time. These occasions MAY even require that you get a wee bit tipsy. And they most certainly call for a streak through the nearest sprinkler if you're game (and your neighbours aren't prone to heart attacks).