Day 4 at the Cottage

Just a typical day today, biking, hiking and swimming pretty much took up our entire day.  The weather was great, not too hot, but definitely warm enough to want to go for a swim!  I love vacation :)

It was so nice to bike around with the kids! 

 We biked to a look out point in Rondeau Park.

 Need the "Dad and kids shot" and the "Mom and kids shot" too :)

 And Sara thought we needed and Mom and Dad shot...not too bad Sara!

Aww...I didn't even ask them to pose like this..I think they really do like each other sometimes! 

 The view from the top of the lookout back towards the boardwalk. 

 The kids liked to bike to the beach, the rule was they had to carry what they wanted to play with.  Caleb had no problem doing this with his water rings...I think he quite enjoyed the extra padding!

 This was Sara's stance in the water everyday...go to beach, find warm spot in water, sit down and don't move!

 Zane was such a water rat - when he was set down, he quickly crawled to the water...when he was in the water, he'd crawl around like he owned the joint - loving every second!

 What a sweetie!!

 These were the biggest the waves got during out vacation.  The kids thought they were great!  They haven't really experienced "big" waves...so this was good enough (and kept me happy too that I didn't need to worry too much about these little ripples :)

 Esther enjoying the waves....

 Handstand time!

 Caleb was quite happy lazing around on the air mattress...

Sandcastles... 

And having your feet buried.

Another great day over all :)

Day 3 at the Cottage

Well, not really at the cottage today much, we actually headed to a zoo about 15 minutes from the cottage.  I wish I took more pictures then I have here...but unfortunately I was tired and dragging my feet that day (I'm pretty sure I had a good 10 minute nap at our picnic table while the kids played in the splash park).  So, it's only animals - not the awesome park for the kids (a lot of nostalgic playground equipment!), or the splash zone either...guess we'll have to go back sometime!

 Bald eagle

 Albino raccoons

Crane 

 Huge alligator

 Baby peacock (love the little tuff on his head)

Very friendly baby monkey - not so friendly mother came baring her teeth at my Mom when she was playing with the money in between the fence! 

 Most friendly camel I have ever seen!

 I suppose all the free peanuts he kept getting handed to him helped with his friendly nature!

 Kid shot!

What's a zoo without a zebra?

Day 2 at the Cottage

Our cottage at Rondeau

 So this is where we resided for the week. Doesn't actually look that big on the outside, but there were 5 bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, a family room, kitchen, dining room, living room and a covered deck. Lots of space for all 11 of us to live in together!

 Always lots of nature around! 

What's a beach day without someone being buried?

 Relaxing on Lake Erie

 Beautiful beach, warm water - mostly sun (even though this picture doesn't show the sun!)

 And of course lots of sand EVERYWHERE!

 Sara and Alvar testing out the water

 We did a ton of biking this week too - Rondeau Provincial Park was basically just outside our cottage, so we took full advantage of biking through the area.

 Live skunk in the middle of the road!

Sunset

And We Are Off!

Some of us just couldn't deal with the excitement of going to the cottage for the week, here's Sara coping on our way there!

Housewife

We enjoyed some company tonight from Fergus and Holland!  Dad's brother and wife were here for a visit and came by for supper tonight after touristing around Niagara Falls today.

They even came with presents for the kids (mini klumpen on key chains) and one for me too.

My very first apron.

Yup, I can finally say that I am officially a housewife now.  Only took 9 years!!

 

Rockwood Conservation Area

Today we enjoyed a very full day at Rockwood Conservation Area with Alvar's parents.  There was so much to do there!  And I think half of Ontario decided to check it out too - there were tons of people!  We went canoeing, kayaking, swimming and hiking - and could have done lots more.  I'm thinking we might do a camping trip there next summer to take advantage of all the things we didn't do this day!

 Canoeing with the kids (Sara's first time, she did great!)

 Beautiful scenery all around

 Since our canoe was full - Esther had to use the kayak - she did really well!

 Taking a walk around the ruins

 Recently restored, we were able to walk all around and inside the ruins

 Kid shot!

 Parent shot!

 Lots of little inlets to explore during our canoe ride

 Little caves and rock formations all around the area

 Alvar's Dad taking in the scenery, just beautiful!

Esther - you are growing up to fast!!

We had a fantastic day!

Campfire - Last Day

At the end of the last day, the campers are presented with certificates that reflect back on what their counsellors have noticed about them during the week.  This is definitely a high light for the kids as they are encouraged with the gifts they have been blessed with by God - and everyone gets to see it!

Here is Anna receiving her certificate from one of her counsellors

And here is her other counsellor.  These young women (and all the other counsellors) just poured on the love for the girls in their cabin packs - showering them with hugs and smiles and love.  What a blessing to see this at campfire!  There are many kids that go who come the inner city in Hamilton who do not receive this kind of affection at home - what a way to show Christ's love to others through Campfire Bible Camp!

I really enjoyed my time at Campfire as cook - and hope to do it again - maybe I'll venture into a full week next time - I survived 3 days...what's 3 more?!?!