This past August we were able to take our travel trailer on it’s maiden voyage and make the trek all the way to Prince Edward Island on the East Coast of Canada. The decision to get a trailer is a whole separate post I plan to share, but the main reason we chose this way of travel was so we could explore the outdoors and see new places as a family on a budget, and tow our own little ‘home’ with us, with the ability to cook our own meals and have a cozy place to rest our heads at night. Our first trip with the trailer was so much fun, and we learned a lot along the way, we fell into a good little ‘trailer life’ routine and it is something we really hope to do lots more of in the future! But first….PEI…

We wanted to take our time getting out to PEI so we broke up the drive by first going to Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick for a few days. It took us three days of driving to get there (you could definitely do it in two, but we were taking our time), the first night we stayed at a trailer park in Bainsville, Ontario, we got there just before dark and did our first round of ‘set up’ by parking the trailer, getting it hooked up and we were all excited to sleep in the trailer for the first night. It was a lovely camp ground with a HUGE pirate ship park that the kids got to enjoy as the next day we only did around 4 hours of driving, so we left a bit later giving a bit more play time. It also gave us time to learn how to pack up the trailer and get back on the road, and gauge how long that would take us for the rest of the trip.

The second night we stayed at a trailer park in Quebec, and we were all feeling very french and enjoyed seeing all the signs, and sights as Quebec has a truly beautiful landscape, with rolling hills, small mountains and lakes. We arrived at our Quebec campsite in enough time for the kids to ride bikes, and get out some energy which was absolutely essential after driving all day. We found the best tactic for keeping kids happy on a long road trip is first and foremost SNACKS (like, more then you ever thought could possibly be consumed…and then some) and taking time every day to still be active and play and get fresh air. We didn’t use any i pad’s or movies at all the entire trip because two of our three kids get carsick watching them, and ain’t nobody got time for that! LOL

The next day we had a long drive as we planned to go all the way to Kouchibouguac, and unfortunately our GPS lead us a bit astray that day. We ended up taking a VERY sketchy, VERY long, VERY hilly and winding dirt road for over 3 hours which really delayed us. It was pretty grim for a while, there was literally no signs of life on this road for hours, we wondered if we would ever make it out alive and back to civilization lol thankfully we had lots of snacks for the kids and we were towing a bathroom ;) so that was definitely helpful! (Did you know you can use your trailer bathroom while on the road, so that REALLY cuts down on the amount of icky public restrooms at trucks stops you have to use, which is fairly amazing) We had also just filled up with gas before we turned onto that road so that was a huge blessing, as I am not sure what we would have done if we had run out of gas on that road with no service stations for hours. Needless to say we got to that campsite after dark and backing in the trailer was fun, but we did it, and we were all so happy that the following day included no driving, as we had made it to our first destination!

Kouchibouguac National Park was so beautiful and clean. We spent our time there hiking, biking and lazing at the pristine beach. It was a great park to stay at as the campsites weren’t too close together, so we had a bit of space, and there were endless trails for the kids to bike around on. The beach was long with very light blonde coloured sand and some fun waves. The walk to get out to the beach is an epic boardwalk, so just make sure you can comfortably carry everything you bring out with you, as it’s a good walk. The kids loved playing and rolling around in the sand, and jumping and running around in the waves, while we just enjoyed watching them have fun. They even have a separate dog friendly beach there, which was a plus for us as we brought our big golden doodle puppy that needed to run! The only thing we didn’t like about this park was the BUGS! Where we are in Ontario in August we are already well past bug season, so we really weren’t expecting such an influx of bugs again, but it was mosquito crazy the few days we were at Kouchibouguac, so unfortunately we couldn’t have any bon fires or sit out at night or we’d get eaten alive! One of our other favourite things at this park was the Bog trail which we walked one morning, it was such neat scenery to look at and we were told that early mornings you can often see moose there! We joked that by the time we left, we could finally actually pronounce the name of the park. (kow-chee-boo-guac) It was a great place to stay and we’d definitely go back!

(sunset at Kouchibouguac)

The next day was exciting because we would be getting to our final destination of Cavendish PEI, and it was only a 2.5 hour drive to get there! Spirits were high as we drove over the bridge to PEI and we couldn’t wait to see that famous red dirt start showing on the ground. We stayed at Cavendish Campground right in PEI National Park during our time there, and it was a really nice campground also, smaller sites with less trees, but so close to the ocean that you could hear the waves, and no bugs! I will always remember this day because while we were setting up camp I got a call from my sister totally surprising me and telling me she was PREGNANT with her third babe! Right after we set up we went straight to the beach and I let myself feel like a true Anne of Green Gables with the wind blowing my hair as I ran towards the red cliffs edge and looked out to the ocean :) well…it wasn’t that dramatic and picturesque, but it was still fun!

We like to keep it fairly simple on any family trips we take, so we don’t typically do too many touristy things, if any at all. Our time in PEI was spent taking walks around on the trails the national park had to offer, a lot of biking, which is one of the kids favourite things. Afternoons were mostly spent at the beach right on the campground, because we found it was the nicest and quietest one in the area, and the kids would just play in the pink sand for hours while we read books, or just chatted, listened to music and relaxed. We went to ‘Cows’ ice cream one afternoon and the kids all got an ice cream treat, and we walked around some of the little gift shops (think, everything Anne of Green Gables). My favourite treat on the island, since I can’t have ice cream (#dairyfree) were the AMAZING PEI potato fries! I think I could eat those every day and never get tired of them. My boys especially loved the poutine, how Canadian ;) We had a couple bon fires in the evenings, and roasted marshmallows and scouted out a lighthouse to go take pictures of. It was a really nice, low-key time, and we all enjoyed it so much.

There isn’t a good grocery store in Cavendish, only a gift shop/tiny food section with little produce which is about a 2 minute drive from the camp site, so we needed to drive a bit further to get some groceries one morning. We went to a little town about 25 minutes away called Kensington, and they had an actual grocery store with more then everything we needed at much better prices then the tourist shop. Cavendish has no shortage of touristy things to do, that just wasn’t on our agenda this trip, and we were more there to enjoy the landscape and all the beauty the trails, nature and beaches had to offer.

After 5 days in Cavendish we packed up and headed home, first day driving all the way to Quebec, and the second day driving from Quebec to our home in Parry Sound, Ontario. It was definitely a long two days of driving (12 hours both days, as pulling a trailer you end up going a bit slower and you can’t really rush) but we had a wedding to shoot that weekend, so we wanted to get back in two days instead of dragging it out longer. In retrospect I wish we had three or four more days where we could have gotten out to Nova Scotia as well, since we were SO close to it, but it just wasn’t in the timeline for this trip. We can’t wait to go back out East again soon, and do Nova Scotia AND Newfoundland, that is really something to look forward to! Canada is so beautiful and I am grateful to be able to show our kids little bits of it and to call it our home.

Have you ever been to PEI? What was your favourite part of being on the island? Mine was hands down the red sand Cavendish cliffs, watching the sunset from standing on them will always be such a beautiful memory and so glad we have some pics to remember it!

Thanks for reading about our little journey out east, we can’t wait to go on more trips and to keep logging and sharing the memories along the way. Click below to watch an EPIC video recap that my husband filmed and edited of our trip!

-Shelley

  Today, I came in from church and noticed that I had two very ripe bananas sitting in our fruit basket, so I made a mental note that I should use them up by baking some banana bread.  Then I opened my fridge and saw that I had a bunch of strawberries that were on their last legs, looking a little sad, but still usable.  Hmmm.....I like to create recipes so I started to think that strawberry banana smoothies are really yummy, so maybe strawberry banana muffins would be even yummier, and then I remembered that I had mini chocolate chips in my pantry and that's when the idea was born for banana split muffins!  So I mixed up a recipe and it turned out delish, my kids gobbled it up and I used up those produce items that were about to be tossed, win win!  Here is the recipe in case you wanted to enjoy them too :)

Banana Split Muffins:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

(makes 12 muffins)

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup melted butter (I used vegan butter because I am dairy free and it worked great)

1/2 cup milk (I used cashew milk, again with the dairy free ;) cashew milk goes great in any                                   recipe as it's very mild and doesn't have a distinct taste)

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar (you can substitute this for coconut sugar or maple syrup for a health boost)

2 ripe bananas, mashed 

1 1 /2 cups of fresh strawberries, chopped

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

-mix your butter, milk, egg, vanilla, sugar and mashed banana in a medium sized mixing bowl.

-Fold in the chopped strawberries.

-Add in the salt, baking powder, flour and lastly the chocolate chips, stir until just combined (the less stirring the more fluffy)

-oil a muffin pan with coconut oil and put two generous table spoons of the mixture in each cup (I used up every last bit of batter as they don't over flow, they just get taller with this recipe)

-bake for 20-25 mins, or until starting to get golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

  Let them cool for about 30 minutes, because the strawberry chunks get really hot :) my kids had a lesson in patience waiting for them to cool!  They were the perfect snack on this quiet Sunday afternoon, I sipped on some green tea with mine and it was a lovely not too un-healthy treat!  I love baking recipes that are mixed up quickly by hand all in one bowl and that are no fuss, so I was really pleased with how these turned out and I know we will definitely be making them again soon!  I am all about simple, healthy family recipes that don't take up too much time, or use up too many dishes to make, haha...I also love to throw in this and that and not stick to the recipe too exactly, what is your style of cooking?  Let me know if you try out these muffins,  I know your kids will love them as a delicious after school snack!

Happy baking :)

xoxo,

Shelley

  Well, it's April 18th and guess what?  It's STILL snowing!  We found a picture on our phone from last year taken exactly a year prior on April 13th, and the kids were in tee shirts, the lake was melted and flowing and there was not one speck of snow, only new life growing in.  This year is a stark difference to that picture, the lake is still completely frozen, we are still bundling up in all the winter gear, and snow still covers the ground in a thick layer.  It's easy to complain about this eternal winter situation, we've had sub zero temps and snow since the end of October, that was 6 months ago, a whole half year with no leaves on the trees.  But since this is our life and this is where we live, I decided early on to embrace winter, and to do what we can to enjoy every ounce of whatever God gives us of this frozen season.  Through the past 6 months we have done our best to enjoy the north life, and all that winter has to offer, and I thought It would be fun to share some of our favourite things to help the winter be as joyful and beautiful a season as all the others!

  The #1 thing I've found that has helped is to GET OUTSIDE EVERYDAY!!!  Don't be afraid of the cold and elements, get warm clothes and proper outer gear and get outside every day if you can.  At the beginning of the winter I was taking our then small puppy on morning walks before everyone was even up for the day, and breathing in the brisk air and watching the sun rise up, it was so good for the soul!  And talk about a FRESH way to start the day off that will really wake you up.  A bit of physical activity, and chilled air does wonders!  If I wasn't able to make it out in the morning, after the time change as the sun started going down later, I moved my daily walks to the evening to catch the sunset through the trees.  I usually put in one ear bud (only one so I can still hear if cars are coming or bears haha but not really because I live in the woods) and listen to worship and praise music, or just soft instrumental music as I walk, and of course I take one of my pups with me.  Even if it's just 20 minutes, that is going to really give you a pick me up and a few of those lovely endorphins that get you feeling so nice.  Our kids also get outside to play every single day in the winter, we even did the 'kids in the nature challenge' during the month of February, and it was so great to show the kids early on that no matter what the weather is, get on out there and make the best of it!

LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS!  Winter is one of my favourite times of year to just LISTEN.  At the beginning of the season as the snow starts to fall, there is an amazing winter quiet that comes over everything.  Have you ever experienced it?  You can go outside, stand still and all you can hear are the snowflakes hitting the ground. It's amazing!  Sometimes an owl will call, or a woodpecker will start their rhythmic noise and you can hear every detail of it because all around everything else is quiet.  Now that spring is approaching I can hear so many different kinds of birds and their calls in detail, so many sounds that I know will soon be muffled out when summer comes and things get busier.  It reminds me of one of my favourite verses, Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  When we are still and listen, God can reveal so much to us. 

TAKE PICTURES!  I love nature photography, but I used to think that it was only a good time to take beautiful pictures of nature when things were blooming and green.  I challenged myself this winter, to find the picture worthy moments in my winter surroundings and I was surprised to find that nearly every day there was something stunning for me to take a picture of.  Taking these lovely pictures showed me that it wasn't just a frozen world I was living in, but there was still life to be found.  The intricate crackles in the ice,  and the originality of each snowflake are things that hold so much beauty if we take the time to see them up close and appreciate them.  I also love the blanket of white that covers the ground during winter, it is so bright and clean and I personally think produces the prettiest sunrises!

TAKE TIME TO SLOW DOWN!  Winter is the perfect time to slow down...take the time to read the book you have been trying to finish, curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea and finish the knitting project you started last year (guilty!) bake a new recipe you have been wanting to try, but haven't had time to do or even start up a new hobby.  Many of the animals get to hibernate and I think we should follow suit too!  I intentionally don't plan too much in the winter, especially since it is my off season from photography work, it's always a great time to catch up and fill my cup to get ready for another busy season ahead. Living in such a busy world it can be tempting to try and stay on the go all the time, but it's OK to and even really good for you to take time to slow down.

FIND A WINTER SPECIFIC ACTIVITY YOU LOVE!  For us this year it was skating!  Mostly just on our lake, but also at the local outdoor rink and we even went on a skating trail that goes through the forest of one of our provincial parks.  The novelty of ice skating on our own lake right in front of our house, never wore off all winter!  The kids and I would shovel paths to skate on for hours, and even though they were wobbly at first they persisted and have become great skaters that truly enjoy getting out on the ice.  Maybe for you it is snowshoeing on the trails, or cross country skiing, whatever it is find the thing you love to do in the winter and do it lot's!  I already have a plan for next winter, once our puppy is full grown and we can try 'ski joring'  (google it, it's so cool!)

MAKE YOUR HOUSE COZY!  It may be dreary outside, but it doesn't have to be inside :) I like to use twinkly lights, soft blankets and candles to help keep the inside cozy during the long winter months.  We also added a lot of house plants this winter, which not only looks nice but it gives you something green to look at and something to water and care for, I've also been told they help purify the air.  I also put on my Himalayan salt lamp every night which gives off a warm light and staves off the winter blues.  It only takes a minute to do these things, and they bring so much comfort and joy.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY!  Even though it's the season of cozy pants and sweatshirts as well as holiday treats, it's still a great idea to eat healthy nourishing foods and do some sort of exercise throughout the winter months.  I try to eat as healthy as I can, but I fully believe a treat here and there is GOOD for you :) as well rest is so good for you too, but staying active will help you feel so much better.  It doesn't have to be anything intense, my favourite form of workout this winter has been yoga!  It get's my blood flowing and stretches and strengthens my muscles, and I can do it right in my own home in a small space.  Whatever your fave way to be active is, keep doing it through the long winter not just in the spring and summer ;).

Lastly the winter is a great time to ORGANIZE AND PURGE!  When the summer comes here I know we will be outside ALL THE TIME, and things like organizing closets is not going to be on my radar.  So while stuck inside more then we'd like in the cold weather, why not use it as a time to be productive and get some stuff done.  I've gone through all my drawers and closets and donated and minimized and I've done two of my kids drawers as well, (currently working on the oldest to try on certain pants to see if they fit LOL) but it feels so great to lighten the load, and we definitely do this at least once a year if not more.  Now onto purging the toys....this process I dread, but it will be worth it in the end!

Keep up with all these things, and before you know it the snow will be melting, the days will be getting longer and the birds will be chirping louder.  We are also going to appreciate Spring SO much more when it finally comes, and that in itself is a blessing in disguise.  I believe that God gives us each season for a reason, and they all have their purpose and beauty for growing us.  What is YOUR favourite way to enjoy winter? Let me know in the comments below! 

Also, never underestimate the power of a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows! ;)

xo,

Shelley

  I posted on Instagram the other day about our 'Magical Unicorn Rewards Jar' and I had some interest from other Mom's wanting to know what it was, how we use it and what was inside of it! 

  It all started last year as a way to encourage the kids in some things we were trying to teach them, and it became something fun that we have continued through the year.  Basically it's just a little jar, with small folded up pieces of paper inside that have different rewards written on them.  The kids get the opportunity throughout the week to work towards earning one of the rewards at the end of the week, here are a few pics of the jar...

  Our jar is super simple, because I am a simple girl, but you could do so many other 'souped up' versions of the Unicorn Jar!  The name came from the love my daughter has for Unicorns, and how we would always talk about a good day being 'a unicorn day', so we just ran with it and the name stuck, but you could call it anything you like, and decorate it however you like too!

  I don't know about your kids, but our kids LOVE rewards and treats,  so the idea of the unicorn jar came to teach and encourage them to work towards something that they really want, and also to enforce some basic things we are always trying to teach them like, having a good attitude, being kind and respectful, and helpful without being asked.  I'll be completely honest (as always) and say that some weeks this system just doesn't work, but some weeks it really does, and it's so fun to watch the kids excitement as they pick out a reward after doing their best all week to earn it!  We definitely don't expect perfection out of our children, but I always do encourage them to TRY their best, even if you don't feel like it, always keep trying and never give up!  This applies with their school work, chores, or even just playing with their siblings nicely.  They are young and still learning, so many mistakes and set backs will happen, but to see them try their best to be kind and respectful is all we want to see. 

  So what are the rewards IN the magical jar you ask??  We tried to pick a large variety of different types of rewards,  so that it wasn't just earning a bag of jelly beans, but lots of other non food items as well.  Like I mentioned though, my kids LOVE treats lol, it really is the way to their hearts, they have a sweet tooth like Daddy ;).  Here is a list of just some of the rewards...

- At home movie night with popcorn (you choose the movie!)

-Ice cream cone, flavour of your choice

-Time in the wood shop building something with Daddy

-Baking time with Mommy in the kitchen

-Trip to the Dollar store

-Trail ride on the 4 wheeler

-Canoe or Kayak with Mom or Dad (summer)

-A fruit smoothie with ingredients of your choice

-Sledding fun on a big hill with the family (winter)

-Boy time or Girl time (which is basically just one on one time with Mom or Dad) doing an activity they wish to do.

-Pack of gum (they LOVE this one lol)

-Campfire with s'mores

-extra long cuddly goodnight with Mommy or Daddy

-Time slot to play games on the iPad

(and the BIG time reward that we only have 1 of in the jar)

-$5 (woot woot, Joel is the only one who has gotten it once before)

  It's fun to have a 'big ticket' item in there too, we have multiples of the other 'smaller' rewards in the jar, so two kids can actually win the same thing.  To choose the rewards I actually just sat down with the kids and we thought them all up together.  I wanted them to have lot's of input so that they were excited about what they were working towards, so most all of the ideas came straight from them!  The rewards for each family will look different, but the basic idea of working towards something, and earning it is what counts, as well as encouraging your kids, and the excitement of picking out of the jar on Friday afternoon, it's a little something fun to do before the weekend :).

  Does your family do a reward system?  How does it work? Let me know in the comments!  Also if you have anymore questions about our Unicorn jar that I didn't answer in this post, I can answer it in the comments too :) Let me know if you start your own Unicorn Jar, and how it works for your fam!

Hope you all have a 'magical' weekend ;)

love,

Shelley