Thursday, August 25, 2011

A Few More Pictures of Summer

Thought I'd post a few more random pictures of some our summer days . . . .
  . . . trip to the beach after supper one night.

 Kevin (and Jeremy) participated in soccer camp again this year.  It was a good week, but Kevin was tuckered right out by the end. I can see it in these pictures (taken on the last day).  It was soccer from 9-3 and then late nights b/c Jeremy slept over . . . so lots of fun . . . but tiring too!



 Anna's birthday party . . . .



 How many kids can you fit in a baby pool?!

 Kevin got this puzzle for his birthday and we worked at it last Sunday night and got it done in pretty good time!  (Now it decorates our floor in the dining room - b/c who wants to be the one to break it?!)
  A rare moment when these two are actually playing nice together - without Kade teasing and Kylie screaming!  (had to take a picture to remember that one!)
This week has sure felt an awful lot like fall! (I LOVE fall . . . but in the fall!)  We've had a quieter two weeks (not Jonathan!!) since Port Burwell, and it's been a bit strange . . .but nice. The kids have really been playing well together and I will be very sad to send them to school after holidays. They say they are not ready at all either. I believe them. But I think once they are there, they will be happy to see their friends and enjoy the fun aspects of school.   But for now we will prepare for and enjoy another holiday!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

There has been a whole lot of . . . .

BIKING
 going on
 over here
 at our house -
 table tops, ramps, and whatever else -
 (Kylie learned to ride without training wheels one fine summer night in July . . . she loves it!!! - though it took some convincing at first. Now she is the one sticking bottles in her tires to make "dirt bike noises". Pretty cute!)

 SINCE . . . .
 we went to see
 Jeremy
 and Darwin
  do their thing
 at the races
 The kids LOVE watching (though Ky could do without the noise!)
All this biking has not been without its tears though . . . see cheek and hand - and the hair covers up the other goose egg/bruise
Its been pretty fun.  I was just thinking that the bikes have not been used that much this summer, and now its been every day, all day for two weeks straight! Love it.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Rain, Rain, Go Away - AKA Port Burwell 2011

Another year at Port Burwell with my family has come and gone.  It was another good year, though it had its moments we could have done with out! (RAIN!!) 
Our first beach day (Friday) was fabulous and ended up being the best beach day by far. It was sunny, still, hot enough to go swimming, and the water was extremely clear and warm on top of all that!
Kade getting tossed.
Kevin's turn.
 Kate (with Kyra) is making the water seem kind of chilly here, but it wasn't.  It was quite comfortable to just sit in the shallow part and relax.
 Summer and Richard
 Landon
 Ella and Saige. Both of these girls LOVE the water and probably have far too little fear of it.  These water wing/ puddle jumper things were marvelous. 
 Tim and Anna
 Kylie, Meika, Summer, and Hunter
 Saige
 Ella
 Opa with his grandchildren!  They thought it was great fun to try to get him wet.

 Then it was Saturday.  Jonathan has had the idea that vacations are a wonderful time to wax your vehicle, so Saturday morning, him and Kev were out there making her shine!
 Next on the agenda was a canoe trip.  I dropped Jonathan and the boys off in Vienna, and they canoed back to Port Burwell
 Setting off.
 Farewell!
 On their way.
 Saturday afternoon, we rented the seadoo again.  Great fun.  (We also got our first drizzle Saturday morning).
 Jonathan water skiiing.
 Summer and Kylie
  . . . and Jeremy!
 Not sure if they are having a peaceable discussion here or not, but thought it was cute and somewhat characteristic of these two either way.
 Ella
 Mom and Dad getting ready for their turn on the seadoo.
 Planning and plotting . . .actually I think Ken is getting ready to take a turn on the skiis.
 Savannah and Kyra - What cuties! And they were both great campers too!
 Ella
 Carrie, Meika, and Kevin
 Saige
 And then it was Sunday  - which was a pretty nice day - as long as we were at home and at church.  When we got back to camp - It poured!!!


 Some mothers were rather prepared for this and had their kids in boots and slickers and let them roam.
 Yep. It was that good!


 Monday was lots of rain and clouds too, but we managed to do a few things.  Here Mare and Kate are playing some badminton.
 Kids on a bus?
 All slicked up for his quick trip to town.
 Then Tuesday was Kevin's birthday and was also rather rainy most of the day with clouds in between though we did have a few good beach hours in the late afternoon.
 Hunter
 Ella
 Beth enjoying her book and coffee.
 Kevin opening his gifts from Opa and Oma
  . . . and from us - at night - and once again, in the rain.

 Wednesday morning the sun rejoined us and stayed the rest of the trip - well - there were still plenty of clouds, but no more rain!  Here is various family members gathered for "Opa/Oma Porridge"
 Meika
 Dad and Mom left on Wednesday. Here is their post picture of the year with some of the available grandchildren.
 Summer
 Meika - love her smile on this picture!
 Hunter
 Meika with her post picture.
 Landon
 Beach day on Wednesday was windy, cool, and very wavy!  We didn't stay too long!
 Kade, Jeremy, and Kevin

 Eating and staying out of the wind.
 So cozy! (Hunter)
 Kade - this boy has no fear of water and it is very scary for me.  I had to swim more times than I wanted to in order to tell him to stay shallower!  His memory seemed to be very short.
 This was definitely a life jacket day!
 Waves are so much fun - they had to go out, even though it was chilly.

 Parting shot of our campsite (119) on Thursday before we packed up.
 And when we got home around noon, we unpacked and Kylie who already fell asleep on the way home, had to catch a few more zzzzz's on the deck. Tiring business!
And that is it for another year. We had a good time, though I don't find the rain is conducive to relaxing - b/c even when it stops, there is all kinds of stuff to try to get dry etc.  But I am glad we had lots of sunshine too and everything was dry by the time we packed up - which is very helpful!  We were all very thankful that we decided to stay for a full week this year. If we had left on Tuesday like we usually do, it would have been pretty miserable!! And even a week goes by way too fast!  There is something about camping that is just so great - especially for kids. It was so fun to watch them (actually I didn't have to that much) play all day and spend time with their cousins. Family is such a blessing!