Camping and the park
We finally went camping this year. Yes, it was right at the end of August, but we did it!! There is a really great provincial campsite in Ontario that we found last year while out on a drive. We drove out, booked in and got set up. Adam surprised us with a lakefront property...ha ha! We had about a 5 minute walk to the actual swimming beach, but Nellie was able to swim right in front of our campsite, which was fantastic!
The girls made friends with these 2 little boys who caught an endless supply of frogs, tadpoles and minnows. The sandcastle was made to house the Frog King, who wasn't so thrilled with the notion of carrying out his days trapped in a house made of sand.
Marin loved learning to swim with her water wings this year. Calli made huge progress this summer with swimming and by the end of the season was swimming without any help!! Yay Calli!
It was the first time we'd used our tent and we loved it! It was really big inside and it has a screened in porch area where we put Nellies' bed for the night. Unfortunately, we had raccoon visitors in the middle of the night and Nellie discovered she could escape under the sides of the screened area and chase the raccoons away. There's nothing more annoying than getting up at 3am to call your dog back to the tent...quietly.
This trail led the way to the beach area where we spent the majority of our days. You can see a bridge in the distance. This picture was taken at the end of the day, just before the mosquitos came out to feast on us. NO amount of bug spray could keep them off us. It was disgusting and poor Marin has really severe reactions to mosquitos and ended up looking like she had a bad rash!
We had a really great time and now that we know we can do it and that the campsite is as good as it is, we'll go again next year for longer.
Marin is so much braver than Calli ever was at this age and it's great to see her exude so much confidence on the climbing spider-web, as they call it. Apparently she's going to end up with curly hair too!!
Calli is a great climber and a fantastic picture poser!! She loves going to the park and would do it from the moment she got up in the morning...possibly taking a break to draw, colour, sing or dance.
The "lake" is actually a piece of the Ottawa River. This little arm is a part of the river that has snaked inland. The Ottawa River isn't the cleanest water to swim in, but the girls had such fun in it for hours on end.
The water was only 4 feet deep at the deepest spot and was nice and warm. Just behind this beach, on the grass was a swingset and a climbing apparatus for the kids to play on.
The water was only 4 feet deep at the deepest spot and was nice and warm. Just behind this beach, on the grass was a swingset and a climbing apparatus for the kids to play on. 
The girls made friends with these 2 little boys who caught an endless supply of frogs, tadpoles and minnows. The sandcastle was made to house the Frog King, who wasn't so thrilled with the notion of carrying out his days trapped in a house made of sand.
Marin loved learning to swim with her water wings this year. Calli made huge progress this summer with swimming and by the end of the season was swimming without any help!! Yay Calli!Calli also made another friend at the beach who she hung out with for 2 days straight. It ended up that she would be going to the same school as Calli!! Can you imagine!? Calli couldn't and was so thrilled that she'd be able to see this girl again.
Our campsite was really nice. It was quiet and within walking/bike distance of a "comfort station," which had flush toilets, showers and vending machines. There were stinky outhouses nearby as well, but I'm not a fan of those.
Our campsite was really nice. It was quiet and within walking/bike distance of a "comfort station," which had flush toilets, showers and vending machines. There were stinky outhouses nearby as well, but I'm not a fan of those. Just between the red cooler and our tent is the little private lake access trail we had.
It was the first time we'd used our tent and we loved it! It was really big inside and it has a screened in porch area where we put Nellies' bed for the night. Unfortunately, we had raccoon visitors in the middle of the night and Nellie discovered she could escape under the sides of the screened area and chase the raccoons away. There's nothing more annoying than getting up at 3am to call your dog back to the tent...quietly.
This trail led the way to the beach area where we spent the majority of our days. You can see a bridge in the distance. This picture was taken at the end of the day, just before the mosquitos came out to feast on us. NO amount of bug spray could keep them off us. It was disgusting and poor Marin has really severe reactions to mosquitos and ended up looking like she had a bad rash! 
We had a really great time and now that we know we can do it and that the campsite is as good as it is, we'll go again next year for longer._______________________________________________________________
A few weeks ago, when it was still warm, we went to the park with Gus and Sarah and their Mom. We decided to take pictures of the kids together at the same time every year. The kids were great little models!
Here are Calli and Gus looking very mean and scary.
Here are all the kids looking very mean and scary. (Marin still wasn't sure of the theme here.)
Here they all are in their 'not listening' modes. Calli and Marin are whistling...
And here they are as the great friends that they are!
Marin is so much braver than Calli ever was at this age and it's great to see her exude so much confidence on the climbing spider-web, as they call it. Apparently she's going to end up with curly hair too!!
Calli is a great climber and a fantastic picture poser!! She loves going to the park and would do it from the moment she got up in the morning...possibly taking a break to draw, colour, sing or dance.
Comments
I had to laugh about calling Nellie back "quietly" I think all dog owners have tried to do this at least once! Did the frog make it out of the castle?