A Party!

At the beginning of April every single one of my kids recieved a letter invitation to a Co-op party to be held at the middle of the month. See, way back in September when we got our first chickens, we had to do some scouting for a feed/farm supply store that we were hoping was decently priced. All the local feed stores seemed to be ordering their feeds from the Co-op half an hour's drive to the east, so we thought that maybe we should just check the co-op out and order from them. What we learned was that the feed stores somehow managed to sell at a lower price than we could buy at the co-op, but we decided to join it anyway since we'd probably need other farm stuff besides feed. Part of joining up included free admission to the 'kid's club' for all of our children. Basically this just meant that they got a little card that says they can have a free cookie whenever we pop in for a visit, but it also put all the kids on the mailing list for seasonal events like a Christmas party in December and the Easter party in April.

Along with the invitation that listed all sorts of fun stuff like: face painting, bouncy castle, popcorn, carriage rides, petting zoo, fishing pond, lollipop tree, egg toss, ring toss and plinko games, balloons, cupcake decorating, nail painting, and concession stand, there was a coloring sheet that could be colored and returned to enter a draw for a new bicyle! The kids were beyond excited to even get the invitation, but the thought of possibly winning a bike, was more than they could contain. I told them we'd see how things went, and decide whether or not we went later, but they could still color the pictures and we'd figure out a way to submit them. It turned out that the party was on a day that the kids had off of school, and instead of the predicted rain, we woke up to dazziling blue skies and sunshine. Sir had things to get done at home, but if I wanted to take my chances on a outing with 6 kids by myself, I was more than welcome to do so.

(the check-in line up)

So, we got up, had breakfast, did our chores, grabbed the coloring sheets and headed off to the party. We got there just before lunch time and the first thing we had to figure out was where to even start. There were lines EVERYWHERE! Finally we asked enough people the right questions, and got pointed to the starting line that took a whole half hour to navigate. At the end of the line, we checked in, and each kid got a booklet of tickets to use at the different stations set up all over the roped-off part of the parking lot. And we were off!

(Butler waiting for the next batch of popcorn)

First we decided to take advantage of the all-you-could-eat popcorn. It was lunchtime, and I had not thought far enough ahead to pack a lunch. The party was supposed to be over by 2pm and I had valiantly thought beforehand, that we could be there by 10, see all there was to see and be home for lunch maybe a little on the late side. HA! But we were saved by the popcorn and it was delicious. It also provided enough steam to make it from station to station throughout the day without too much fuss.

(Hal and Ricka enjoying every bite!)


(Dolly bounce-posing)

Some things didn't need a ticket to experience, which meant that you could do them over and over if you wanted. The bouncy castle was one of those things, and a few of my gang really got their miles in on it. Ricka left her sweatshirt in the shoe pile (I was able to track that down before too long) and Emma must have been planning on saving time on a return trip to the castle because I found her in another line without her shoes on once. I made her go put her shoes back on unless she was INSIDE the bouncy castle. Butler didn't have a lot of patience for waiting in the lines to the various stations and more than once I found him back in the castle after making it about halfway through a line somewhere else before giving up. And PC's only regret for the whole day was that he only got to bounce in the castle ONE time! I later learned that this was to be treated as a serious misfortune because of the tragedy that it really was.

(Dolly at the Cupcake Decorating station)


(Dolly helping some of the other kids with their cupcakes)

The cupcake decorating station was a fun one. Each kid got to choose either a chocolate or vanilla cupcake, spread pink or yellow icing on it and top it with as many sprinkles and/or candy flowers as could be fit on top. And then they got to keep it! I wish I had taken pictures of the kids' finished products, but we were so hungry when we got home from skipping lunch that day, that I let them go right in and gobble up the cupcakes even before having a normal afternoon snack. The cupcake station was also where Dolly really shone as a helper. She's getting so big and independent and she's very capable and willing to help the younger kids. It was really nice because usually I'm so busy doing and redoing every step for different kids, that I never get a chance to step back and see the big picture. This time, I was able to juggle Hal and Ricka and take pictures while Dolly helped out where an extra hand was needed. She did that for a number of the things we did that day and it was a real refreshment to me.

(The Co-op mascot and PC)

PC is reaching an independent stage where he's able and good enough to do things on his own, but he struggles with being brave enough to actually use his independence. At first he sort of tread water at my elbow. Wanting to go do stuff, but being afraid to just GO and get started. However, by the end of the day, he had built up a good dose of confidence and was even brave enough to help Butler at some of the stations. The saying, "Still waters run deep." is very true with this young man. So much more than you think is going on inside his head and it's a real delight to see him venture out of his protective shells once in a while.

(Emma at the Nail Painting table)

This station was not really a station since you didn't need a ticket to participate, but it was definitely one of the highlights. All three of the girls got their fingernails painted, but where the other two did it because it was there to do, Emma savoured every second. Things like this make Emma sparkle and when she sparkles, it's dazzling! I think she literally glowed for 20 minutes after her nails were finished. It was beautiful.

(Butler and PC finally making it to the front of a line.)


(Emma at the Egg Toss station)


(PC at the Ring Toss station)


(Dolly at the Fishing Pond)

At each of the stations where a ticket was used to participate, each kid received a prize of some sort when they were finished. They got a plastic egg full of chocolates and jelly beans at the egg toss, a toy car or necklace at the ring toss game, and whatever the person behind the ocean picture clipped onto their fishing rod at the fishing station. The random prizes ranged from playing jax, bouncy balls, bubbles, pencils, playing cards, noise-clappers, window stickers and tiny stuffies. I didn't get a picture of the Plinko game or the lollipop tree, but by the time we were done, we had so much loot from all the stations, that when Hal was not in the umbrella stroller, the bags of prizes hanging on the handles kept tipping it over!

(5 of my 6 descending upon the baby animals)


(Ricka found the piglets)


(Emma found a lamb)

The petting zoo was another no-ticket-needed amusement, and it was very much enjoyed by my gang. There were baby goats, little lambs, a baby calf, ducklings, chicks, bunnies, and little pigs. We would have spent a lot more time with all the baby animals, but time was running out, and we still needed to work our way through the longest line of all. I spent half the time my kids were petting baby animals standing in line for the carriage ride so I didn't take as many pictures as I would have if there weren't time constraints.

(The carriage ride line - or rather, half of it)


(A full carriage heading out)

Each carriage ride took about 10 minutes and they could squeeze about 20 people in per trip. We finally made it to the front of the line after four trips, and just barely managed to squeeze all 7 of us in. While we waited in line, PC tried working his way through the balloon line, but each time the carriage came back, he'd ditch that line to join me in case we were finally able to go. He almost ended up missing out on the balloons altogether because everything was winding down. The same thing went for Emma and the face painting table. She even made it to the 'next in line' spot once, but gave up her spot to rush back to the carriage ride line because the horses were back. The carriage ride itself was pretty simple; a walk around the parking lot, down the side street to the first driveway where they turned around before heading back. But the kids enjoyed it. I tried to take a picture of the kids opposite me, but they were so excited and I was rushing too much to notice that my hasty shot didn't turn out at all. Dolly did much better when I asked her to take a picture of the rest of us though, so we do have one good picture from the carriage ride.

(My attempt at taking a picture)


(Dolly's photograph)

After the carriage ride, we had about 20 or 30 minutes left before the party would be over. Emma beelined it back to the face painting line, PC and Butler got back in the balloons line, and Dolly and Ricka went back to the petting zoo and then to the bouncy castle before joining Emma in the face painting line. I think there were two or three people that made it through the face painting line after my girls, so there was a general buzz of adrenaline emitting from my daughters for having just made it in time. All three girls were really happy with their paint jobs but Hal was getting tired of being locked up in the stroller There were still way too many people milling about to let him wander without getting lost, so by the time the girls were done, he was ready to go home. It was nap time.

(Bunny-face Emma!)


(Ricka getting a heart put on her cheek.)


(Flowers for Dolly)

When the girls were finished, we joined the boys in the line for balloons. It was 1:54 and the sign they'd taped to the garbage can in front of their table said, "Balloons closed at 2pm." and they were turning people away when we got there. I guess, they went through the line a few minutes before the girls and I showed up to watch, and put a felt mark on everyone in line, so they could tell if you had been in line before they closed. PC had a mark. Butler had gone back to the bouncy castle for a minute and didn't get one, but PC was trying to share his place in line in case the balloon people would allow it.

(The Balloon man)

I think I enjoyed the balloons the most out of the whole day... well, I enjoyed watching the balloon people. There was a man dressed up like a clown, and a woman with a beautiful butterfly painted on her face, both making balloon creations. But I think the woman was getting tired. At first she didn't realized that the girls and I were just there to wait for our boys to finally get through the line, so she told us they were closed, that they weren't doing any more balloons that day and she made shooing motions with her hands as if she was sending us on our way. Meanwhile the man probably wasn't watching the time and was causally and extravagantly building balloon things while keeping a quiet, but engaging conversation going with his customer. Every once in a while, he'd tune in to the woman sending more people away and would nod and agree that yes, they were closed. And they he'd look at another person (not in what was left in the line) and say, "And what can I make for YOU?" It was so much fun to watch.

(PC being fitted for a sword belt)

Anyway, PC finally made it to the woman and requested a balloon sword which she started working on quickly while the rest of my kids watched in fascination. Then the man said to Emma, "Why do you look so familiar? Do you have a twin? Have you been in my line today?" She just beamed at him, and mumbled the appropriate answers and then he said, "Well, I like your smile, what can I make for you?" We all glanced at the woman still telling people that they were closed and then Emma requested a sword, Like PC's. And the man said, "Can I make you a sword AND a hat?" Emma just beamed more. So he made her a sword AND a hat while the other kids watched and then he asked Ricka if he could give her a flower. She said yes, and he made a balloon flower for her. Then he said to her, "What do I get for making you a balloon? Are you going to pay me?" Ricka reached into her bag of popcorn and offered him the biggest handful of popcorn she could hold. He took it, and I expected him to toss it aside when she wasn't looking, but instead he ate the 10 or so popcorn pieces, thanked her and told her how good that popcorn was that day.

(A bouquet for Dolly)

When Dolly heard the balloon man comment on the popcorn, she went across to the popcorn lady, got a whole bag of popcorn and gave it to the balloon man as she thanked him for making balloon things for her siblings even though they were closed. And then, the man gave her his display bouquet of balloon flowers complete with a balloon basket that held them all. I'm pretty sure he was just cleaning up since they were closed, but it really made Dolly's day, as she didn't expect to get anything. All this took place while the woman made PC's sword and a sword belt to go with it, and then she made Butler a sword too.

(Flower vs. Sword balloon fight)

Finally we left them in peace, did a head count and headed home. Tired, a little bit hungry and very happy.
THE END

Summertime...

Editor's note: It's ok to laugh after you read the first paragraph - I did when I discovered it in my draft posts folder the other day. This post was actually part of a messenger conversation I'd had with Sir one day in August while he was at work. After it was all typed out, I realized it was post-worthy, so I copied it here to add the pictures and edit names. But it took me until the end of October to get the pictures off the camera to my computer and by that time I'd forgotten all about the post.

August 30th,
I thought I'd share another one of our summer days here before they're all gone and it's back to the schedules and rush that September brings. I love the summertime it always makes me sad when it ends so quickly.

The other day after lunch, the kids went back outside to play. A few minutes later I brought out some dessert options for them to choose from as long as they ate outside. While three of the kids were deliberating over what they wanted, a squirrel ran across the back fence toward the garden. Only Emma saw it and she nearly went into hysterics trying to get the other kids to stop what they were doing and LOOK! After they'd all chosen their desserts I went back in the house and was busy at my computer when the screen door slammed.

SLAM! Thump thump thump thump thump - a kid ran past me, but I didn't look up. Then they ran back past me and the door slammed again. 30 seconds later the screen door slams and I glance up briefly to see PC sprint into the living room. Then I hear nuts rattling in the nut bowel on the side table beside the couch. He was helping himself to a handful of nuts. "What are you doing?!" I demanded. "Uh.. nothing. I mean, getting nuts." he stammered. "Why?" I ask. He stood there frozen in place for a second before answering, "Because, well, Dolly did." slowly he started to walk toward the screen door. "What are you doing with the nuts?" I asked him. He'd made it to the door by this point, "We're feeding them to the squirrels." he said and with that, he dashed out the door before I could say they were or weren't allowed to do what they were up to.

I followed PC outside but immediately got sidetracked at the sight of the bottom part of our extra birdcage, sitting on the deck where it could be stepped on and broken. "Put this back in the birdcage." I order the nearest kid. "But Mommy!" Dolly protested, "We're trying to catch a squirrel!" I looked out into the yard from the lower deck. There in the very middle of the yard was the birdcage with it's door wide open, and inside were the handfuls of nuts the kids had smuggled out there. "We want to have a pet squirrel!" Dolly quickly explained, and then in order to assure me that the food costs wouldn't be so bad, she added in a more coaxing tone, "We'll feed him nuts!"

Now all four kids are 'hiding' behind the railing on the lower deck while they wait for the unsuspecting squirrel to, 1. hop into the cage, 2. stay there long enough for the kids to thunder down the stairs and across the yard to the cage, where 3. they can close the cage door and catch their coveted rodent! Makes sense right? After all, simple plans are the best.

I just went out to check on the squirrel catching project and PC greeted me with, "Hi Mommy, we're gonna catch a squirrel!" "You are?" I responded, "Yeah, one for me and one for Dolly." "Hmm." I said. "Yeah!" Dolly exploded in my ear, "There's a black one in that tree (pointing toward the garden) and a pretty one over there (pointing toward the tree house)". "And.." PC continued, "I'm gonna give my cat to Emma!." "You are?" I asked "Yeah." he nodded. "After you catch yourself a squirrel? I clarified. "Yeah, and then I'm gonna give my cat to Emma."

The cage has been moved against the back fence and when I was last out there, PC asked, "Mommy, what is a good trick for getting squirrels?" I think he's beginning to realize that their method might not work.

Lost in Deep Cove

I don't like driving routes I'm unfamiliar with on very rainy days after dark. I've done it before, and the results are never good.

Yesterday Sir was going to bus/walk/walk/bus after work to get a set of tire chains he'd found posted on craigslist not too far from his work. But then I had the bright idea of saving him an hour of travel time before he even started on his way home. I called him up at work and asked him if he'd rather the kids and me come pick him up and then we go pick the chains up from there. He said that'd be nice especially since the person selling the chains wouldn't be there until 6:30 which means Sir would have been getting home between 8 and 8:30 if he caught everything just right.

So, after picking Dolly up from school, taking a load to the storage unit, making a quick stop at the grocery store, dropping the groceries off at home and having Dolly change out of her uniform, we were on our way right at 5. Rush Hour.

Sir called me at 6 to see how we were doing, and at that time we were getting close to our exit making us less than half an hour away. Until I took the wrong part of the exit in the dark with rain pouring faster than my wipers could keep up with. I knew right away I'd taken the wrong part of the exit, but in my attempts to turn around and undo my blunder, we ended up going exactly in the opposite direction that we should have been. I thought I'd just stop at some intersection and call Sir and have him talk me out of my mess. Except there were no intersections for oh.. probably 15 minutes. We finally ended up at the end of the road in Deep Cove.

I called Sir, and he sounded more amused than anything else (which was good for me - I'd rather he laugh at my stupidity than be frustrated at the delay it caused) Anyway, he told me to go back the way I'd come and eventually I'd recognize my surroundings. By the time I finally picked him up it was 7.

Then we got lost finding the chain seller's house, but we still made it there by 7:30 which was when Sir had told the guy we'd be there. After that, I had Sir drive home - even though I've driven home that way plenty of times and probably wouldn't have gotten lost again, but given my record for the evening... I wasn't taking any chances.

The cute part about the whole adventure was how the kids dealt with our dilemma. It went a bit like this:

Me: Ok guys, everybody be quiet! I need to pay attention to where I'm going.
Emma: Why? Are we lost, Mommy?
Me: Yes, we're very lost. Be quiet.
Dolly: Mommy, maybe you should call Daddy. Then he can tell us which way to go.
Me: I will, Dolly, but first I need to be able to tell him what roads were at. Be quiet.
PC: Mommy, I prayed for you. I asked God to help us get unlost.
Me: Thank you PC, but I need you to be quiet so I can drive.
Emma: Mommy!!! I need to go potty!
Me: Emma, you're going to have to wait, there's no bathroom around here. Don't drink any more water.

Silence for a few miles.

Emma: Mommy, are we lost?
Me: Yes, Emma, we're still very much lost.
Dolly: Mommy, do you think Daddy is hungry? Maybe you should have PC call him and tell him it's ok if he gets food at McDonald's.
Me: Daddy knows he can eat if he's hungry, Dolly. He'll be ok.

Silence for a few more miles.

Emma: Mommy, are we still lost?
Me: Yes, Emma! We are still lost.
PC: I love you Mommy, God will help us get unlost. I asked Him.
Me: I love you too, PC. Thank you for asking for help for me.
Dolly: Yeah, God will get us unlost.
Me: K, guys be quiet. PC, let me have my phone now.
Emma: Mommy! I need to go potty!
Me: Emma, we'll stop as soon as I can find a place with a bathroom!

We pulled over and I called Sir and then I turned around finally heading in the right direction.

Emma: Mommy? are we lost?
Me: Yes, we're still lost, but I think I know which way we're supposed to go now.
Dolly: Isn't that nice of God? He's helping us get unlost!
PC: Yeah, because I asked Him to.
Dolly: Yep, it's all God's fault that we'll be unlost! Isn't that nice of Him?!
Me: Yes, He's always taking care of us even when we're lost. Now everybody try to be quiet until we get to Daddy's work.
Emma: I need to go potty!
Me: K, we're almost there! Just wait a little bit longer.

And we got unlost, picked up Sir, found a bathroom, and survived the rest of the evening.

The End

All in a Day's Drive...

Monday was BC Day and Sir didn't have to go to work, so we took the opportunity to visit Grandpa & Grandma in the Okanagan Valley. So, Sunday night I packed the cooler and loaded it into the van and after a short night's sleep (Butler and Emma woke up multiple times), we woke the kids up, dressed them and hit the road just after 7:30 the holiday morning.

Biscuit wrapped smokies - fresh out of the oven

The kids helped me make "pig-in-a-blanket"s especially for our trip. We did that on Saturday before heading to the fireworks. So, naturally that's what we had for breakfast on Monday - along with individually wrapped cheese sticks, Clementine oranges and boxes of juice - once we filled the car with gas and were finally out of town.

We made good time and got to Kelowna right about noon. The kids did pretty good on the drive over too. We had to make a bathroom stop and I tried to feed Butler while Sir took care of the other kids, but Butler was more interested in the scenery than anything else. Other than that PC asked if we were 'there yet' about 6 dozen times and we had to make a surprise stop for an unbuckled Emma - she can unbuckle herself and does so when she thinks we might not notice.

Grandma 'n Butler.


Looking for ducks with Grandpa.


Mama Duck & her baby.

Once we got to Grandpa and Grandma's house, the kids immediately set out with Grandpa to go find some ducks while Butler hung out with Grandma. The older kids were successful and I was summoned to 'come see' by an excited Emma. After the duck finding expedition, we had lunch which was a myriad of cold cut meats (Sir and PC couldn't have been happier), watermelon, potato and coleslaw salads an assortment of breads and a vegetable plate that included sliced tomatoes to Dolly's delight. It was good and even Butler got his fair share - he was thrilled.

On top of the world - er tree.

After lunch, Sir and I visited with Grandpa and Grandma while the kids entertained themselves mostly within sight in the backyard. They found the tree very interesting and when we noticed that they weren't in sight anymore, someone pointed out that the tree appeared to be moving. 'Turned out that it was too - after about 3 minutes of watching, we were surprised to see Dolly's head pop up at the TOP of the tree! We knew she was in the tree, but I did not expect to see her come out at the very top.

A new hobby.


Monkey see... monkey do.

Emma couldn't figure out how to get into the tree, but PC did and he soon joined Dolly in climbing in and out of the tree. They would have stayed there all day, but we finally decided that the poor tree could use a break from all the abuse and called the kids down for a while. After that, they stayed busy trying to see what else was scale-able while still being in sight.

Stealing Grandpa's chair.


Sharing a foot rest with Grandpa.

With all the tree climbing and attempts to climb other trees, the kids got quite hot and sweaty. Grandpa remedied this with ice cream cones. During the cool-down break I got to see a new level of prankishness in my oldest two munchkins. Dolly found quite the thrill in stealing Grandpa's chair - all three of the older kids had ganged up on Sir to steal his chair earlier, and once the chairs were all settled, PC impishly collapsed Dolly's folding chair just seconds after she hopped out of it to go talk to Emma. Dolly never noticed, but the rest of us got quite a laugh watching PC's expression at being such a rascal.

Eating ice cream with a view.

Little Emma - while the bigger kids were done with their ice cream and back at the tree climbing, she set up a table and stool overlooking the neighbor's flower bed so she could enjoy her cone and God's handiwork at the same time. After a few minutes, she set up a second table and stool should anyone wish to join her. It was special to watch her find a way to be content even when she couldn't keep up with the older kids.

Honey bee.

The kids started unraveling shortly after the ice cream was finished up. We let them climb the tree again before it was time to go, but by the time I had finished nursing Butler to sleep, PC was definitely showing his need for a nap. By the time all the diapers were changed, bathroom visited, kids buckled in and good byes said, it was already 4pm. We filled up with gas, settled the kids so they could go to sleep, and headed for home.

An old cemetery on Hwy 8.

It was just before 6 as we approached Merritt and read the sign saying the Coquihala Hwy was closed. We stopped at the Merritt visitor's center to find out why the route we wanted to take was closed and to find a map. There had been an accident 25km ahead and traffic had been stopped in both directions for nearly an hour. We had two choices: 1. Hang out in Merritt until the highway was re-opened. and 2. Take the scenic route to the old Hwy 1. Since we couldn't find anything else out about when the Coquihala would reopen, we chose to take the scenic route - AKA: The Long Way Home.

The kids woke up from their naps just as we set out on our alternate route. They'd slept for a little over an hour so they were recharged and happy until they started getting hungry around 7pm. By 7:30 the sounds changed from singing/playing/chattering to whining/fussing/screaming baby. We'd originally planed to stop for dinner in Hope and had we taken the Coquihala, we should have been having supper around 8pm. But now we found ourselves pretty much in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't even any good places to stop for the kids to run around somewhere safe. Everything was either right on the highway or right on the river the highway was following. Both not exactly where you want to have your small children running around at dusk.

Split rail fence.


Heading to Hwy 1.

We set our goal for Spenser's Bridge - a little town where Hwy 8 was to meet up with Hwy1, only to discover it was pretty much a ghost town. Just a few houses and a confused dog wondering why there was so much more traffic than usual. By this time the crescendo had reached, what we hoped, was it's high, and we kept on looking for anywhere to stop somewhere along Hwy 1.

Train tunnels along the Fraser River.


Following the Fraser.

If we thought the little river on Hwy 8 wasn't safe, the raging Fraser River along Hwy 1 totally changed our minds. Finally around 8pm, we came to a little town called Lytten. We stopped at the hotel/cafe/restaurant to rush PC to the bathroom and to rescue Butler from his car seat and the rest of us from his wailing. Once the bathroom break was over, the kids and I waited in the car while Sir ordered some take-out burgers from the cafe. Then we went to the school playground overlooking the police station to eat and rest on the grass as it got dark. The kids watched a handful of trains go by and then burned off some energy by running from one end of the soccer field to the other until they couldn't run anymore. At 9pm we washed them up, put them in pajamas and loaded them into the van tired, full and preciously quiet. They were all asleep within half an hour and we were still hours from home.

By 10:30 I was so tired I couldn't stay awake any longer, and poor Sir drove alone for hours. He woke me up to talk to him around Midnight and I think I slept-talked until we got home at 1. We unloaded the kids and everyone was asleep by 1:30. Of course, the kids tell me that they want to go back to Grandpa and Grandma's house because their tree is easier to climb than the three in our back yard, but I think we'll wait a while for now.

Our Snowbirds.

Creatures of Deer Lake

'You see what I see?!

The first day we were at the campground, all three of our older kids joined Microchip for a boat ride on the lake. They came back with the most exciting tale of seeing a real live beaver in the water. Evidently Emma was quite terrorized by it. She kept telling me about a 'dog in the water that was black and it was wet' and that she was 'scary'. Throughout the week we saw quite the collection of wildlife at the lake from tadpoles to a flock of Canada geese.

Mr. Skunk.

This guy passed through our camp Monday night as soon as the lantern was turned down. It was like he was just waiting for 'lights out' so he could make his rounds. He later went through Microchip and Lily's stuff that same night. I think he stopped by just about every night although it wasn't until Thursday that Sir got a picture of him.

Serious discoveries.

PC and Emma were so excited to find this guy Tuesday morning. When I asked them to point him out for the camera, PC looked like I was asking him to do a very dangerous feat. Emma, on the other hand was quite matter-of-fact about it, and very seriously obliged. So I took at close up shot for the record.

"Look, Mommy! Look!!!" - they found a slug.


Madame Butterfly

Just before lunch on Tuesday, we all headed out to 'the point' for some swim fun. There were butterflies all over the place and I finally got a picture of one when it landed on Sari whom Dolly had left guarding her shoes.

Caterpillar

Wednesday morning PC found a caterpillar in our campsite. He wanted to take it home and for a short time the poor insect was continuously relocated about camp. Finally Sir and I told PC to let the bug go. He did, but about three minutes later I looked up to see PC and Emma fighting over something and discovered upon closer inspection that the caterpillar had ended up a casualty of war.

Stopping by for breakfast.

A raccoon stopped by our camp Thursday morning for some bread crust. This was probably the same guy Sir saw Monday night in our camp just minutes after Mr. Skunk passed through.

Pointing him out for the camera.

Once the kids discovered the raccoon he kept a larger distance between himself and us. He'd grab a piece of bread crust and then scamper up a nearby tree to eat it in safety. Then when it looked like the kids had given him a bit of space, he'd come back down for another piece.

A Steller's jay

This fellow showed up to clean up the leftover popcorn that the kids had tossed for the Raccoon. He never held still though, so every picture I got of him was pretty blurry.

A minnow, some tadpoles and a few water bugs.

Friday, a bunch of the kids spent a good deal of time collecting lake life. They also found a little stream where they collected quite a few junior toads. Microchip took them 'frog hunting' in the boat at least three times during the week. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures when the kids brought the 'frogs' back to show us - they were pretty cute.

Canada Geese.

There was quite the bunch of them that lived on the lake. They were very used to people and put up with a lot of kids trying to herd/catch/chase and feed them.

ShyGuy and the geese.

This kid has got to be one of the world's most photogenic. I love this picture.

Butler on the hunt.

"'Gonna get me a goose for dinner... it's gonna take all day." He really though the could get one too - they kept him busy for quite some time!

I found it interesting that we never saw a single squirrel or chipmunk while we were camping. PC wanted to know when the deer would come. We were camping at Deer Lake, so you'd expect to see deer right? He asked about them every single day. We never did see any though.

Dolly and a fish.

And we saw lots of fish - once they were caught of course. Sir and Microchip spent many hours helping the kids to fish.