Fishing, and Flowers and Bears, Oh My!

This was the first year that Elijah got to go fishing with the men. He was just a tad bit excited. Moreso to get out of watching “Little Women” with his sisters, I think! Last year, Keona caught a 3lb bass- so Elijah had high hopes of doing the same. Unfortunately, it was not to be. He caught a few, but “couldn’t keep any.” We let him show off the fish that Scott and Mr. Brooks caught instead.

“Are they dead yet?”

“Why are they still moving like that??”

He was a little unsure of holding them. Jed on the other hand, wanted to hug them, and squish them, and make them his own! (Finding Nemo joke…)

Later that night, we went to the dump. Doesn’t sound very exciting, right?

Wrong.

See, this dump, is surrounded by forest, and supposedly it is the hottest restaurant around- for bears!

I stayed in the van, but Scott and Mr. Brooks got out and were standing maybe 20 feet away from these guys. I’m sitting there snapping pictures wondering if Scott could get back in the van, faster than the bear could get to him? Well, Scott threw them our McDonald’s garbage as a peace offering.

This guy looked like he had been eating a little too much McDonalds. Or maybe it was the Heineken…

So thankfully, the only thing that attacked Scott, were the crazy flies that swarmed him and our van as we were driving away!

 

And just a few of my favourite flower pictures from Mrs. Brooks’ garden. I never appreciated flowers much, until this year…

Picture-less Wednesday?

OK… so not “picture-less” but not “wordless” either! I just realized how long this is going to take- putting up all the vacation pictures. So here is a quick over view!

We went to a miniature village , that a man had built on his property.

He filled the room with vintage/antique items. It was pretty amazing to see it all!

He had even built a schoolroom…

…and a church.

The kids were chanting, “Preach, preach , preach!” When Scott came in.

He didn’t preach there…but he did preach on Sunday. Even though, I get to hear him preaching talking all the time at home… :P It was different. I’m so proud of him. I love him.

The kids got to go in the stocks…

 

So did Mr. Brooks!

They didn’t want to leave!

 

Eve rang the dinner bell and nearly gave the older man a heart attack. He said that he probably won’t sleep for weeks now! ha…

We went home that night and had a campfire.

Roasted and ate, many marshmallows!

 

Nearly had my eye poked out with several hot stick several times!

 

Well, I guess I’ll save the best for last! And tell you all about the bears, and fishing tomorrow!

__________________________________________________

Oh, and just as a side note, what kind of kids think that washing dishes by hand, is a treat!? What is this world coming to?…

(We ran out of dishwasher soap today and they thought that we couldn’t do the dishes! ha)

Well, that was definitely NOT "picture-less"...

Pictureful Wednesday!

Teeter Totters and Toads

I think we were all pretty relieved when we finally arrived in North Bay!

Especially the girls, who all made a bee-line to the bathroom!

We just spent the first day there, relaxing and playing. Mr. Brooks gave the girls some wood for a balance beam. They turned it into a teeter-totter.

Jess decided to ride with them. This picture was taken about 30 seconds before they bumped it hard and sent her flying...

When she wasn't running around playing hide-and-seek, Mrs. Brooks was playing Scrabble.

Or cooking... we all love Mrs. Brooks' cooking! Especially her cookies, which Jeddy couldn't get enough of! I think my kids must have polished off 200 cookies while they were there...
An inside look of the home.

This is the piano where Jessica gave the girls their very first voice lesson!

They sang, "Higher Ground" in church on Sunday morning, and at the senior's home on Sunday afternoon.
And of course, they had to catch frogs...

and toads...

Notice how Jed is choking the life out of this one?

See his poor little eyeballs bulging!?

"Where is my toad!?!?"
"Me find him! And hold him tight! So him doesn't get 'way!"

Yep... that's tight all right...

Endless Sky and Potty Breaks

I figured that I'd just post our pictures from the weekend over a few days. We took a TON of photos. We saw a miniature village, lakes, fish, frogs, toads, flowers, friends, and even bears...

Yep... you heard right!

BEARS

And not the tame, caged, zoo type bears... real bears!

Anyhow, I figured that it was only appropriate to begin with our trip there. To North Bay that is... Well, actually... Port Loring.

It amazes me every time we drive across the Canadian shield. Jed loved watching all the trucks, where they were blowing apart the rock to build roads through it.

And....
the potty breaks.

No long drive with children, is complete without potty breaks.
If only it were so easy for the girls...

Note to self:
*Self, Tim Horton's washrooms were not built to accommodate a mother with 7 children*


Oh, I forgot to mention, sleeping children.

Yes, there were lots of sleeping children.
She loves her blanket...

And apparently, she isn't afraid of the dark!


*More to come tomorrow!*

My Bags are Packed, I'm Ready To Go...

No... we're not leaving on a jet plane- just an over-crowded minivan!

I think I'm getting better at condensing our luggage each year, as we make our annual trip up to North Bay. The first year... oh man, they must have thought that we were moving in! This year we have it down to this....

Ok. So that's only the kids stuff. But Scott and I can get away with a bag or two.

I just finished packing all the individual snack bags for the kids- freezer ziplocs with their names on them, full of grapes, granola bars, licorice, crackers, and juice boxes. (courtesy of Grandma!) My hope is, that because they each have their own bags, and can eat at their own pace, we won't have any arguments about food... or who should share with who. Ah, let's get real... there will still be arguments! There have been constant arguments with the girls lately. I now understand why my Mom use to say that all she wanted for her birthday was for my sister and I to get along for a day. I understand... because I can now, as a full time referee, say the same thing. OK... enough "getting real..."

So, we will be gone for the weekend, and looking forward to it!

Here we come, Miss. Brooks! ;)