Day 6

Just let me know when you're sick of these. I still have two more days to post. :p

Aunt Kathy is the best at coming up with ideas for activities for the kids; must be from all those years of being a girl scout leader. We never did get around to the letter boxing, but the "middle" kids enjoyed making picture frames and decorating them with their treasures that they found exploring the woods. And everyone enjoyed decorating their T-shirts. I even got in on the fun, but snapped a few pictures first.

I think we played at the beach every day. Even as cold as it got and despite the rain. The water was freezing. I went in all the way up to my ankles. :) The girls needed a little help taking the plunge. They all held hands and ran in together. (again and again and again...)

I had a better picture of my mother in law letting the kids pull her around in their little raft. But I promised her I wouldn't post it, tee hee. Instead, here's one that I think she'll approve if.

My "special" child

My favorite activity of the whole week- the big girls (and two semi-big girls), me, Amy, my mom, Kathy, Kassandra, and Elisabeth took a walk at sunset. We walked the Logslide trail. It was more of a photography trip than anything. It wasn't a very long walk, either, due to the lack of sunlight and us girls not wanting to get stuck in the woods after dark. I have MANY photos of this hike, but I will share just my favorites.

Now, you know I love dragonflies. Earlier in the day, Elisabeth called me over to see this cute little guy. It was a little sluggish and let us pick it up and put it on my hand so she could get a good picture of it.
- they are forever teasing me for taking the picture of the falling child before rescuing them, or snapping a shot of the spider before I flick it off of someone. (Once while I was with my friend, Julia, a big- but beautiful- wasp landed on her neck. I had my camera in my hand, and debated quickly. But, I'm proud to say, I flicked it off for her and missed the shot for her sake. So, you see, I'm not all that bad) But anyway, the big, ol dragonfly jumped off my hand and landed right on my face. I was not very happy about this thing clinging to my nostrils, but I didn't freak out (much) and pause so that Elisabeth could get a picture. Then quickly said,"Ok, get this thing off of me!!"


Amy has some of her pictures up, too. Click HERE to check them out.

Day 5

We did sooo much in this day, I just can't figure out if I put these in order or not. But I don't really think it matter a whole lot, does it? Just enjoy these random shots from Tuesday...

discussing where Amy went to (we lost her)

discussing where Amy went compared to where the rest of us went.

Grace had a tough week.

I took a video of this, too. I'll post it just as soon as I get permission.

back to the beach. The water was so cold! These girls are crazy!

"Can we go now?"

"Goooo?"

Our leasurly walk back to the cabins, stopping often along the way

Our night time visitor

Day 3

Sunday began with rain and ended with rain. But it was decent enough in between showers to still get out and enjoy the day. Though, my camera didn't get out much (it hates the rain) so I don't have much to share as far as photos.

We took a trip to Puxatawny to visit a church whose pastor was Tony's family's pastor when he was a kid. Imagine his surprise when we all walked in. We managed to get everyone out the door and on the road in plenty of time and without too much effort, considering. It's hard enough on a regular Sunday with all the comforts of home. The only hangup was when I got out the boy's tie and shoes and socks from the tote and asked Tony "Where did you put their suits?"

"What do you mean? You were supposed to pack them!"

OK, so they have ties to wear with their T shirts and dress shoes to wear with their shorts. They will look great! It was fine. Nobody cared. Actually, someone there said to me, "I can't believe you guys are camping. You all are dressed so nice!"  Aah, I take it you didn't see the boys yet, right?

The rest of the afternoon, we relaxed (we did a lot of that) and Joshua rode Caleb's bike- again. He discovered how much fun it is to ride down a hill. He was flying! And joyfully screaming the whole way.

...running over a salamander

A wet game of hide and seek.

Day 2

began with a sunrise walk to the beach with Paige. As we rounded the corner, we saw that Amy and Rachael had the same idea. They were already there, walking at the edge of the water. We spent much time photographing the ducks, the sunrise, the girls wading in the cool water. It was a great start to our vacation. It was also the only sunrise walk we took that week, due to rain and a little stomach bug that kept a few of us up late for a couple of nights. As much as I enjoy the walks, sleeping in, at the time, was much more enjoyable.

The men enjoyed boche ball during the down times.(excuse my spelling. I don't have a clue how to spell Boche and my spell check has no idea what I'm trying to say. But you know what I mean, don't you?) Joshua just loved following them around stealing their balls.

Gracie showing off her latest find. Believe it or not, she didn't kill one salamander. She's actually quite gentle. Joshua, on the other hand, swished his share.

Beaver Dam trail...

Nina's new hat

Kimmy and Brenna were my companions on this trail. I always fall way behind and only have one or two that will be patient enough to keep me company. They thought this tree was funny.

Our evenings are filled with Blokus, Bananagrams, card games, drawing, hide and seek, roasting marshmallows, and this year, the middle kids singing for us at the fire. Oh, I miss it already.

Home

What a great vacation we had! -as always. We went on our usual Parker Dam trip, the same trip I've taken every year of my life. We've searched for a different campground, somewhere a bit closer. But no place compares to this. Now... how do I begin to share my 585 photos? There are so many memories, so many great shots, how do I narrow it down? So what I will do is break it down day by day. I promise to try to keep it short.

Our first day is always relatively uneventful. After a 5 hour drive and unpacking and grocery shopping, it doesn't leave much time for anything big. This year, Amy and her family joined us, making a grand total of 27 campers. So grocery shopping, even with all our planning, took quite some time. When we got back, we had a quick dinner of hot dogs, and relaxed around the campfire.

The kids jumped on their bikes right away. They didn't seem to mind travelling down the road in the pitch dark. When I was younger, I was terrified of this stretch of the road. Never, ever did I venture past the cabins after the sun went down. I guess there's safety in numbers. A few of the girls came back squealing and squawking about a "HUGE" snake in the road. Yeah, yeah. silly girls. By the time I got there, the snake was gone. So I had to take their word on it. But on the way back, a car was stopped in the road, and a man was yelling at the kids to stay back. Apparently, he had run it over, but it was still alive and striking. We waited in the dark until we were sure it was dead, then carefully sneaked past. Imagine trying to get this crew past a dead rattler in the dark.

As for the "silly girls", Boy, was I wrong! They weren't kidding, it really was huge!

Gone bug hunting...

...be back soon.

"Dear God..."

"...please let my real parents come and find me so they can take me away from this crazy family."