Quemahoming Dam, our local 'beach'

The Quemahoming Dam is about a stones throw away from our house (technically about 8 minutes driving) and one of our absolute favorite little pieces of heaven.  We 'discovered' it last summer, but it wasn't until this summer that our real love affair with this place blossomed.

There are so many wonderful things about the Que that I can appreciate as a Mum to three little kids.  First, it's so close by and inexpensive to visit ($5 to park).  It's almost never super crowded and I can usually grab a picnic table with no trouble.  The water is clean and clear and the depth of water is so gradual that our little crawling Violet can happily splash about freely with no waves or drop off into the water.  The kids love it because 'the rule' is that they are allowed to walk in (with no floaties) up to their chests!  There's sand for building castles and a playground for when/if they get board of swimming and digging. The kids call it 'the beach' Did I mention it's a little piece of heaven yet?

We met our friends the Stifflers there and spend a whole day with six kids, none of whom whined in the least bit while they played and swam the sunny day away.  It was such a perfect day to spend chatting and giggling with Ang (my friends since elementary school!) while played happily for all of nearly four hours!!

When Caleb was spending a playday with us and Violet was cranky from cutting teeth, I packed the lot of them into the truck and we went to the Que to spend the afternoon because sometimes they just need space to run!  That little trip for a picnic lunch and wide open spaces (with water!) totally changed all of our moods around and burned some serious kid energy.

We had our last day of summer party there on the Sunday before the school year started.  We spend the afternoon playing, swimming, and picnicking with our friends and family as we squeezed the last juice out of the season of bathing suits and suntans.

We thought the Last Day of Summer picnic was our farewell to the Quemahoming, but then after a hot Labor Day working around the house outside at home, Brandon and I decided we could all use a little holiday joy and we headed out to the Que for some early evening sand digging and swimming. It was a little chilly (we still got in) and there were a few fallen leaves floating on the water (that made for fun pretend fish to catch), and the water was a little lower (they released some recently) but our Labor Day evening at the Que was a perfect farewell to our local 'beach.' 

In early September, my sisters requested that we all sign up for a 5K together and guess where it was being held, yep, at the Que!  So I got signed up and signed the two big kids up for the kiddie race and we met our Adams family there on the last Saturday of September to run in the Que Classic.  On the drive over, Gemma shouted at us from the backseat, "I thought we were going to the race!  Why are you driving to the beach!?" 

The kiddie race was first and our kids were overjoyed to see their cousins and a few of Grey's 'school friends' there.  Gemma was excited until it was time to line up and she got really nervous about all the kids running at the same time.  I asked Grey to stay beside her this race even if it meant he had to run slower than the other kids.  He agreed because I told him he could run his fastest in the 6-8 year old race next.  I'm pretty sure Gemma just cried and wailed the entire lap, but the girl finished despite being afraid!  Grey ran with the 6-8 year olds (technically he's almost five and a half) and the look on all their faces when they found out it was two laps around this time was so exasperated, poor little things.  But Grey pushed through it and came in SECOND PLACE!  I know, I was near tears of pride and surprise.

photo cred: Ken Fochtman

Grey headed out to a hockey clinic with Heather and Caleb (thank you again!!) and Brandon had the girls in the stroller while I ran the 5K with my parents and two sisters.  I was so happy to see my dear friend Stacy there (! finally.  I MISS YOU. #busymomsprobs) and our cousins the Garretsons and Albert (Caleb's Dad) too.  There were tons of racers which was awesome and the music and pep talks got everyone excited and warmed up since it was a pretty chilly morning, especially being so close to the dam. 

photo credit:  Ken Fochtman

Our family all stuck together through the duration of the race and my sisters and I had fun cheering for the 10k racers that were passing us on their way back in to their finish line.  It is so inspiring to see the different kinds of people that push themselves to do their own personal bests.  All kinds of runners, speed walkers,walkers, and stroller pushers from all different ages, sizes, personalities, and places in their life.  Something about a race really gets me in the guts.

We made it to the finish line as a family (holding hands because my sisters and I love being weirdos) and relished in the fact that we can all do this together as a family; all healthy and together.  #luckiest

photo cred:  Ken Fochtman

So, basically this entire post is a love letter to the Quemahoming Dam, our local 'beach.'
Until next season, Que.  We will be thinking about you fondly until warmer weather comes back to us.
xoxxo,
Team Studer
(especially the Mumma)