I Said SMILE!

So we took four disgruntle teenage girls and our always enthusiastic son for our family walk this evening. Five walks in seven days I am counting as a major victory...

Walk of choice tonight.... The 7 km Seal Bay horse and bike loop.

My Superman and my darlings....From the back don't they look so sweet......

So I THOUGHT getting a group shot around a rusted out old car along the way, was a good idea.

Apparently this is Bailey's happy face

Madison having nothing but HAPPY thoughts about her loving family.

Holly practising her TRAGEDY face...she was worried she might get tetanus

All out MUTINY...Holly storms off and threatens to sue me if I put this on the blog!

All SMILES ????...I'll take what I can get.

The nice thing about a long walk....they are all in bed early and by early I mean 10 pm. Only 192 hours until school starts, but who's counting

Exercising and Rain Delays

So as part of our new healthy life style we have started going for family walks. But before you think "awww how wholesome of them" I have a few confessions to make.....

Getting five strong-willed offspring to do anything together with out whining, complaining, eye rolling and oh yeah stomping, I love stomping....is impossible. Anything that is not perceived as their idea, will cause the angels to morph into whinny devils. Trust me ear plugs are the only answer....

So by the time the loser cruiser has arrived at said exercise location the superman and I have had our work out in parental gymnastics....

The first evening we headed to the Courtenay Riverway for a leisurely walk along the river. After explaining the keep to the right principle a few times we gave up and figure, if a bike takes out a kid it will be a hand on lesson in survival of the fittest...So 4 minutes into our walk, our resident comedian Dallyn does something that makes me laugh, and I a 30 something, mother of five, did something that hasn't happened since the "London Drugs incident of 1993". I peed my pants in public. Yup you heard me....

So what do my superman and all my darlings do?....Point and laugh. Point and laugh. So nice of them not to draw attention to me. So I quickly make Bailey give me her hoodie and wrapped it around my waist, which only made things slightly less apparent. So Bailey says ``you can keep that kay``. Dallyn says "mom if you want I can buy you Huggies for your birthday", While Madison informs him that they make depends for that purpose....Holly then says "Kramer Family walk, first day: 200 metres".....All while I'm trying to make a mad dash back to the van. My sweet superman snickering all the way.

So the kids stop at the at the library while my superman drives his incontinent wife home, to change....

Our walk then continued after only a 20 minute rain delay....my darling offspring taking turns asking me "are you sure you don't need to go potty?" every three minutes or so, Bless them.

I am still working on the steps of forgiveness, it could take a while :)

Thankfully, All subsequent walks have been slightly less eventful.

Yay us!!!

Now That's a Cupcake :)

I thought a post about cupcakes perfectly ironic directly following my South Beach post but trust me this happened B. D. (before dying diet)....

I am now working in the Young Woman's Program at Church, specifically with the beehives

(12 and 13 year olds) an age group I've never had before. My first Sunday teaching them we celebrated two of the girls birthdays....In the only way I know how...CUPCAKES :)......

I've wanted a ginormous cupcake pan for a while.... I found this one at Superstore for $10 .

The girls loved them!

But here are a few pointers...

* It takes 11/2 prepared cake mixes to fill both sides of the pan

*Bake the day BEFORE you need them...starting at 8 pm makes for a long night

*It took most of an hour to bake them....hard to get the middles done.

*Let them cool completely before trying to trim them

*Trim meeting sides of top and bottom as flat as possible

*Decorate top BEFORE you place it on the base.

*Never try to ice anything in a hot kitchen

Life's a {South} BEACH

So the Superman's had a treadmill stress test last week and came out of it saying "my heart's fine" which I thought was good.  Today we had a follow up with our Family Doctor which shed much more light on Super's current situation and proof that Super needs adult supervision at the doctors.

Nothing like the doctor using phrases like "it's not good" and "ticking time bomb" and vividly describing the affects of fat on your internal organs to slap a family (read wife) out of the oh so comfortable zone of carbohydrate DENIAL. I appreciate our doctor's honesty and bluntness. We all needed a reality check. While many things in life are out of our control, there are many more things that we do have power over.....

 So there is no longer denying it....We have to change our eating habits as a family, NOW! So when both the cardiologist and our family doctor said to try the South Beach Diet I figure it was worth a shot. I`ve always been a bit of a diet sceptic (I really don`t like any word that has DIE in it) But when faced with the alternative and realizing that if cupcakes and cookies were an effective diet we`d of been skinny all along.

So life in the Kramer house is now a beach, a SOUTH BEACH....wish us luck, we`ll definitely need it :)

There Is No TRY!

The missionaries stopped by this evening ....We weren't expecting them, so they got to see how we really live. I had to shove all the shoes in the closet so they could get up stairs and move all the laundry so they could sit down , But they didn't seem to mind and neither did we. We visited for a while and then asked them to share a message and a prayer before they left......

Elder C shared the following quote.

"DO OR DO NOT, THERE IS NO TRY!" -Yoda

The Superman instantly knew which movie and which scene (**Cough, Cough, NERD Cough Cough**)

I, like most of you, had to look it up and thought I'd provide the clip for all you non nerds...you're welcome.



I know Elder C had no idea that this was exactly what we needed to hear. I have felt that we need to make some positive changes as a family but like usual we are a lot of talk and no action....So here's to a lot less trying and a lot more doing :)

Now Serving # _____.

The superman got called in for an ultrasound this morning and since we were already there he decided to get his blood work done at the same time.....

So you check in at the desk and the sign says "take a number please". My lucky super hero pulls number 38. There is one empty chair among 30. Me and the superman play the "no you sit down" game for a minute until Super sits down.

The lab tec with  bright blond mohawk (I love living on the island) steps out and calls out "twenty". Now I'm not really good at math, but I instantly realize that we're in for a LONG wait. With all the magazines already taken, I go on to my next favourite waiting room pastime. People watching.....

People did not disappoint :) and so I will share the valuable lessons I learned, all before breakfast.....


1. Yoga pants ARE NOT for everyone

2. The foot wear of choice of 3 out of 4 men over fifty....SOCKS and SANDALS

3. If you are nearing 70, the brand new dragon tattoo on your calf....does not detract from your CHICKEN LEGS and will only ever look like a lizard.

4. The MURSE (man-purse) is back in style.

5. Please do not walk all the way through the hospital lobby with just your GOWN and TIGHTY-WHITIES

6. The hospital gift shop opens at 10, ten, TEN, Ten, 10 am....The lady at the hospital information booth was asked this countless times, even though the hours are posted no less than 4 times....on the gift shop windows less than 5 feet from the information desk....now that's patience!


Between the Superman's ultrasound, blood work and chiropractic appointment I spent 3 plus hours waiting. All before I got breakfast....I know I'm such a good wife :)

The ONE WIFE Kind :)

The superman had an appointment with a cardiologist today, stemming from this. It's been a wacky, crazy, soul-searching couple of weeks around here and I think I need to hire a personal secretary to keep track of all the appointments and tests my super hero has had.....

So as we walk into the waiting room I suddenly feel severally out of place. The people waiting have like 50 years (ok maybe 40) on us. The two receptionists are sitting behind two miss matched computer desks and the office decor is circa 1982 (peach/ mint green and dusty blue oh how I've missed you!). We sit down on a couch that was older than us. The fact that Five for Fighting's "100 Years" is playing on the radio makes me smile (clearly some patients around us were pushing the envelope). So I kind of get obnoxious/ critical when I'm slightly nervous...

From a few glances, I can tell that the superman's thinking the same thing I am :)

Dr S is neither conventional or soft spoken.

In a thick European accent he asks....

Do you DRINK?       NO

Do you SMOKE??     NO

What are you, MORMON???     YES

But only the ONE WIFE kind, right????    YES


The superman and I are now laughing and both grateful for the tension breaker....

Later on in the conversation Dr S asks "How many children do you have?" We respond "Five, four teenage girls and a son" To which Dr S replies "Well I'd need a hell of a lot more medication than you do Grant!!!"

We both liked him :)


Still no real answers, just a ton of new tests (apparently the Superman still hasn't perfected his test taking skills). But always grateful for a good laugh....we sure need them around here.

Beautiful Day and People :)

More than a year ago we took Sister Pung and her Companion site seeing while they were serving in our ward to Kye Bay and Nymph Falls

Sister Pung brought her parents and grandparents back to tour her mission. So we jumped at the opportunity to show the entire family around today .

A beautiful day with beautiful people.

The Happy Couple

Our brother Nolan married his sweetheart last week and we couldn't be happier! I'm not sure which I'm more happy about gaining a sister or seeing Nolan totally twitterpaded. It doesn't matter they're both AWESOME!

Grant was unable to go so Holly took his place at the last minute. Holly's big adventure included...

*flying on an airplane (first time she remembers)
*riding the Subway (train not sandwich)
*seeing Niagara Falls
*shopping her heart out
*and being the first niece to met Aunt Maggie ("Mom she's Awesome & Normal!")

Congratulations Nolan and Maggie we love you!!!!



In The Quiet Heart- Another Krazy Blog

Our family has felt impressed to finally share our journey through love, loss and mental illness on a separate blog called "In The Quiet Heart".  Because of the deeply personal nature of our journey, we have made this blog for "invited readers only". We would love to share our journey with you, so please send me your email address, if you would like to be included on the reader's list.

Love,
Robin and the rest of the Krazy Kramer's

PS this might take me a while, to get it all set up properly....I have a similar problem with Christmas cards :)

Costco Caving

So after weeks of mocking our friends and saying we'd never get a Costco membership again we finally bit the bullet (aka caving) and renewed ours. After all, the largest Costco on the Island just opened its doors, and it is a whopping 3 minute drive from my doorstep to the 5 gallon bucket of mayonnaise and 10 pound bag of hemp hearts,  I never  realized I needed.

We had been in several times before to take advantage of the samples and the snack bar (were else can we feed our brood for $13.93) But, we have managed to resist the muffins the size of spaceships and 48 boxes of smarties calling our names.

So today in a moment of weakness we caved....Our cards were so old they had to give us new ones.  Last time we got new cards... 1995. 1995 I had a mullet, two and a half toddlers and we drove a '76 Olds Omega....oh the memories.

We barely made it past the 150 inch TV's  before our rug rats (who had been previously threatened warned) started begging like the orphans in Oliver....
"Mom this is exactly what we need, a phone with 15 hand sets!!!" " Dad please!!! We need this waffle maker that spins!"

"Don't say another word!!!" The superman and I utter, almost in unison. That lasted all of 3 and a half minutes. So in front of the 50 glue sticks and 75 sharpies we sent ALL four of them to walk home...Now!!!. Shopping with kids is such a rookie mistake.

Now shopping in peace, we wandered aimlessly form more than two hours (we would never avoid going home ,now would we? ;)

We made it to the register with a bill of only $83.67  (a great exercise in self restraint)....And doesn't every body need 75 ballpoint pens, a pair of jeans, brown sugar, a keg of cranberry cocktail and enough laundry detergent to do laundry 'til 2013 (that's a lie, let's say next Thursday)......

Dallyn Said What???

If potty humour disturbs you DO NOT READ THIS!!!!


Dallyn: Mom, are you going to finish your pancakes??

Me: No Dallyn, I've had enough

Dallyn: Can I have them??

Me: Sure.

Dallyn: You know mom, if you're too full, you should try going to the bathroom??

Me: WHAT?!?!

Dallyn: A good poop! More room, you can eat more.Works for me every time.

Me: DALLYN?!?!

Dallyn: What?, I'm just trying to help.

Grant now laughing so hard he can't see..."Man I love that boy!"
Me: Now disturbed and not sure I will ever be able to eat pancakes again.....

Denman & Hornby

A while back Grant and I took off for the day and decided to go to Denman and Hornby Islands. I had never been there and Grant hadn't been there since he was a kid, so we thought what the heck. The ferry to Denman is about 15 minutes from our house. At ten minute ferry ride and you're on Denman. Then its a 15 minute drive across Denman Island to the Hornby ferry, 10 minute ferry ride and then you are on Hornby.

Ford's Cove, Hornby Island

The sign on this garage says "The Garage Mahal" , Grant had to have a picture :)

Tribune Bay, Hornby Island

Chrome Island Lighthouse, just off the south tip of Denman Island

Sunset over Buckley Bay on the ferry ride home

Ok, so I'm not going to lie, Hornby and Denman were slightly underwhelming....

1. It was super expensive to get there, for Grant, the car and me it was just over $79 {there are prettier islands that cost much less to get to like Gabriola}

2. The every present aroma of pot in the air, I know it's BC but come on. Hornby especially had a party atmosphere.

3. It was super busy, every where, but especially at Tribune Bay, it reminded me of my beach going days, growing up in So. Cal....Not what we're used to. If you want a beach that is just as pretty and sandy but is almost vacant try Pachena Bay out by Banfield.

Next time....

1. We will go in the spring of early fall

2. Get a BC Experience Card from BC ferries, makes it way cheaper

3. Bring your own water, there is almost no drinkable water on either Island, prices for groceries is very high

4. Spend the night on the islands, one day is too rushed, plan for traffic and waits at the ferries

Young @ Heart, A MUST See.

The Superman and I stumbled across a documentary called Young @ Heart on Netflix last night. Grant drew the short straw so I got to pick the movie :).Doesn't every husband want to watch a documentary on a senior citizen chorus?!?! ;) It was the best documentary we've seen in ages. We laughed, we cried (ok so Grant did). We loved it! If you don't already believe in the power of music, you will. Trust me, just watch it :)