I feel like I am just now recovering from it all. It started with a trip to the Shuswap lake, followed immediately by SMA Family camp, followed immediately by a flight to California, followed immediately by a road trip back home. It was crazy and super tiring, but we survived and I am happy that we got to experience all that we did.
The trip even started out a little tricky. We got ready to pack up our van, which is a hard task in and of itself, and it started to DOWN POUR!!!! We are talking what I call a Florida style rain hit us and my poor hubby tried to do everything he could so that we could get on the road.
We took 2 days to get out to the Shuswap to be with some of our dear friends, who invited us to their cabin on the lake. Their cabin is water access only and it was a new and interesting experience for our family.
We celebrated Landon's birthday at the lake with our friends and while the whole experience as a whole was awesome I have to document something that happened that was pretty darn scary for me.
I guess it is fairly common for some pretty nasty winds to blow through that lake. While we were coming home from a hike that we had done we got caught in a pretty sudden storm. The waves were gettting quite large and the ride was getting very scary. This is the kind of moment that I really never like to contemplate or feel as a mother. In my head I am trying to figure out how to take care of and comfort all three of my kids who are sitting in different places in the boat. The wind was insane. We were drenched, but I'm not sure whether it was because of the rain or the waves. Through the constant slamming of the boat I was very concerned for Evans back. I kept trying to brace each hit as much as I could while giving him comfort through the experience.
Landon was sitting on the front of the boat with two other kids and Justin. Here is where I am going to make a side note and say that I am so grateful for divine guidance in my life. Before we took off for the trip I insisted that Justin sit up at the front with Landon because I didn't feel comfortable with him being up there with no adult, just in case something happened. Well that something did happen.
After driving in the storm for a while (it seemed like ages, but that could've been because I was so scared) they switched drivers and the nose of the boat went under the water. I watched my middle baby go under the water with it and that is about when I lost my mind. The nose did this 3 times when our amazing friend got control of the boat and got it back up. Everyone in the front was ok and I was just thanking my Heavenly Father that Justin was there to provide comfort and help keep Landon on the boat.
At this point I am pretty hysterical and Evan kept screaming that he didn't want to die. My own mind kept racing to the worst case scenario and how I could protect my children. I knew the likely hood of the boat going down was low. If we were thrown from the boat I knew Landon would be scared and tired, but he is a strong enough swimmer he would be alright with his life jacket on. I would have a hard time keeping Cameron and Evan's heads above the waves, even with the life vest on. They both have breathing issues and this is where my mind kept coming back to.
Finally someone made the decision to pull into the last available town we could pull into. We got off the boat and took refuge at a convenience store. We were all drenched, a little shaky, and waited out the storm together. I feel the most telling thing was the owners saying that they were watching us and they saw the boat go under the water and they were surprised that it came back up again. I also have to say that they kept praising Dave on his stellar driving skills. They said that they were so impressed and rarely see such stellar driving on the water. The fact that he was able to safely maneuver us to shore was amazing.
The hospitality of the store owners was incredible. I'm pretty sure they let us use all of their extra blankets and sweatshirts so we didn't freeze. It was dinner time and the only thing the baby (who had no bottle) could eat was ritz crackers. So Justin purchased a box of ritz crackers and I started to feed Cameron the best I could.
We waited for a little over an hour, but the storm did indeed pass. We did make it home safely. Evan still talks about the day we as if it was a near death experience for him and I can understand how he felt that way.
Oh, and I failed to mention that while it was complete mayhem on the boat ... my sweet baby Cameron slept through the whole thing!!!
The rest of our time at the lake was lovely and very relaxing! I feel so lucky to have such great friends who invite us out to their home and treat us so well!
