Surprise!

Guess who came up with a lovely surprise for me today???? And guess what it was?????

I actually tried to get mad at her, but I couldn't stop laughing. She just looks soooo goofy. But it is rather maddening. Of course it was that part of her hair that never stayed in her ponytails anyway and was ALMOST getting long enough . . . .

. . . guess those group/individual pictures of the kids that I was going to book are going to have to wait a bit:(

Like most bad things she does, this doesn't seem to affect her too much. She just tells us, "Now I'm ugly. I'm not a princess anymore." Nope Ky. You definitely aren't princess material anymore. But we still think you are beautiful . . . with a headband on:)

Inverhuron

We spent the weekend on our first camping outing for the year. Though life seems busy, some things are worth enduring the busy times that come before and after time away. Life was indeed busy for Jonathan especially, but this is why it is a good thing reservations must be made in advance. Then things are booked - and you go - you have too. You wouldn't want to squander that reservation fee and pay a cancellation fee on top of it! No - actually you go, because it's good to get away - to spend time with family, friends, and nature. And guess what? The work is always there when you get home!
When discussing with Jenn, where we should go, we wondered about going back to Pinery or trying something new. Trying something new won out and she suggested Inverhuron. I had never heard of it and didn't have a clue where it was, but it is a lovely place. It was very quiet during our entire stay - and pretty much empty by Sunday night.
The water was cold, but refreshing. That didn't stop the kids. They were in and out several times a day. Our campsite backed onto Lake Huron - the rocky beach. But if you hopped on your bike and rode for about 7 minutes along the scenic trail, you find yourself at the sandy beach.
Here is Kade chilling in the "hottub" - a pool of water on the "shore".

Jonathan and Mike deep in discussion . . . .

Searching another hole for crayfish.

Rock jumping. It got really deep really fast in some places (like below) and others you could walk out for a long time.

Sunsets were another highlight. They were beautiful and we always made sure we hit the water again around sunset time . . . some times it took a LONG time for the sun to fall. We started watching at 7pm one night - just because it was so beautiful out . . . but it got kind of chilly after about 2 hours! (we were very near the longest day of the year)

Kevin and Jordan biking along the shoreline.

Day 2 . . . at the sandy beach.

Kylie started to feel not so well . . . .

. . . and promptly fell asleep.

Ashley!

Hanging out in the campsite. The campsites were all white gravel. My first thoughts upon driving up were "YUCK"! But it turned out great. The kids stayed very clean, dripping taps on the water jug really didn't matter, and the boys couldn't ride their bikes in the campsite b/c it was VERY difficult. So as long as you are not in a tent, without any kind of mattress, I'm thinking gravel is really not so bad at all . . .

More sunsets . . .

Psalm 19 comes to mind . . .

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

Devin and Kylie. These two played marvelously together as well . . . except when they threw stones (which they both loved to do) and Kylie hucked a rather large one at his ankle. OUCH! Jonathan's inukshuk.

Day 3 . . . Jonathan pulling the boys for boogie board rides. It was a bit of an art to stay up, but they mastered it.

Kylie hiking along the shore.

Jumping off the sand down to the water.

Racing across the "river" which was significantly warmer than the lake.

The boys! Jordan, Kevin, Ian and Kade.

Buds!

Kade loves critters. He found many - a pretty orange salamander that got away as I was fetching the camera - much to Kade's dismay. A few tears were shed. Then there was this little snake that we told him NUMEROUS times to put away, but kept finding (don't know where he was storing him . . .)

"Hello OMA!!!"

Jonathan and Kylie

Mike and Jenn - our wonderful co-campers with whom we had a great time!

Us.

Jenn and I.

One last sunset.

Monday afternoon after we were all packed up, we went for a quick visit to the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant Visitor Center. This was neat to tour. Inverhuron borders the Plant, so it was neat to see a bit of what was happening over at the "neighbours"

And then we were off for home. Home sweet home --with memories of sunsets, swimming. s'mores, campfires, campfire discussions, friends, bike rides, card games, and killer showers! (You've not felt pressure until you've been to Inverhuron! Nearly took your top layer of skin off, but it was still kind of nice in a painful sort of way:))

Kevin's Piano Recital

I've put up a video of Kevins piano recital. It was held in the nursing home where my Oma is and was very casual. That's probably a good thing. Because I found Kevin very funny. He was quite nervous and you can tell. They played on an electric piano which is quite different sounding than what he is used to - hence him stopping midway through the first song and exclaiming "This doesn't sound right!" What a goof! The video quality is not very good in certain parts - the shaking all around is because I am laughing.
Nervously waiting his turn . . . (he was third:)) They started with the youngest and went up to the oldest.

You'll have to excuse his posture - it's the thing that shows me most just how nervous (and unsure of how to act) he was.

Maybe its mostly funny to me - b/c I see how he performs at home and how he does in front of a crowd. He had all of his songs very well memorized . . . which is why he didn't open his book for the second song . . . but after a few notes, decided he'd like the comfort of the open book - just in case.

And a little visit with Oma afterwards.