Gone Camping - Birds Hill 2011

We managed to cram a week-long camping trip into our busy schedule. We went to Bird's Hill and had a fantastic time. Clay had to work from Monday til Wednesday, but he had the rest of the week off.

I scheduled morning activities, like hikes and baseball with the kids and then we hit the beach every afternoon. The beach was so great because the temps were so hot.

We snuck home on Thursday and got all showered up. I wanted to put on my wedding dress and get a few photos with Clay and the kids to mark our 10th anniversary. We had a fabulous family day together.

Our campsite was magnificent: very sheltered and private with tonnes of space. The kids played soccer and bocce balls in it while having enough space for two hammocks. We loved this site and have decided that we will do this trip again next year in the same site, if possible. The kids are also becoming really good with camping routine and helping out with the chores.

Here are the photos from the week.

Grace's Birthday Party

Wow! We can't believe she is 5 and going to school this fall. Good thing, she is so ready for school and such a social butterfly.

We hosted 7 girls for Grace's birthday. It was a princess themed party, so everything was pretty much linked to being a princess. First, our princesses needed crowns,so we made some. Then we had a treasure hunt and the prizes were ring pops. Then, the girls got pampered by getting their toe nails painted. After the toe nails, we were ready for the crown birthday cake. We finished off the afternoon by opening Grace's gift and the girls danced around. Everyone had tonnes of fun and Grace got lots of great crafty gifts.

Canada Day at the Lake

We spent Canada Day weekend at the lake. It was super awesome. The water significantly warmed up from the time we got there until the time we left. Even wimpy little Evelyn went in the water and skied. Actually, everyone waterskied. Even Fiona...behind the boat. She didn't get far, but, she tried again later the same day. After she fell in the first time, I didn't think she would go in until next year!

We tried some fishing too. That wasn't so successful. Both the girls caught fish off the dock with the little princess rods, but lost the fish when they got to the dock. Riley was the only guy who successfully snagged one in. It was about a 3 lb jack and it fought Riley hard. But, Riley won and we had him for lunch one day.

We had a great weekend and got to see so much family. It's finally sinking in that we live closer to home now. We are loving it!

Odds and Ends

Here are a few photos from the end of June. It seemed to fly by so quickly and now we are in the full swing of summer holidays. I have captions on the pictures, but, I must add that Grace was forced into her bike situation because either her Mom or Dad crushed one of her training wheels when backing into the garage. Good thing we didn't crush the whole bike!

Sophie Jane's Baptism

On June 19th, we welcomed Sophie Jane into the Christian Community. She had a very lovely baptism. It was a very nice weekend, and one that would not have been able to enjoy (more than likely) had we still been in Ontario. Anyways, here are the pics from the baptism.

Just Goofing Around

Here are a few pics of the kids just goofing around. I bought some pink hairspray for the girls for fun, so that's what's in their hair.

Grace's First Year of Soccer

This was Grace's first year of soccer. She did really great and turned into a real go-get'r. She also averaged about 2 goals per game by the end of the season. Here are some of the pictures of her in action.

Corbin's First Birthday Party

We hit the farm on the second weekend of June to celebrate Corbin's birthday party. It was a really great time and we got to visit with a lot of cousin's. The kids had a blast with their cousins and second cousins at the party.

Like a regular one year, Corbin thought openning gifts was pretty much for the birds and did everything he could to escape that scene. Martin and Dawn kept bringing him back. I'm sure he's enjoying those gifts now. He also loved his birthday cake and ate it like a regular 1 year old: eat some, wear the rest. Here are the photos.