August Adventures

Well, the beginning of our month was busy with Janis and Mike's wedding and the last half of our month has been busy with backyard soccer games, "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?", getting ready for school, and once again cutting Shaela's hair. She informed her brother the other night that she really wanted short hair - so he obliged and cut a bunch of big chunks off the back of her head! Of course, I had to fix it - and as I was cutting it she started crying and saying she didn't want to look like a boy! Poor girl. Maybe next time she won't say anything to her brother and will instead come tell Mom and Dad that she'd like a haircut. And in the meantime, I think we'll be hiding the scissors!

 {The new do (after I fixed it!)}

Then there's Cohen - our little monkey of a baby. He's loves to climb anything and everything, but his latest trick is in Shaela's room. The kids like to stand on her bed and look out the window to watch the cats playing outside. He's not tall enough to see out on his own, so he grips the windowsill as HARD as he can and walks up the wall with his feet! He is one strong little munchkin!!

And Xavier - our imaginative, mischievous oldest. Here he is pretending to be an eagle. He is very much looking forward to starting school, although we have yet to inform him that this will mean he actually has to put a shirt on everyday! (He's pretty much only worn one this summer when we have to go out in public). And speaking of haircuts - he will be getting one before school starts. He's been adamant all summer that he didn't want a haircut, but he's starting to look a little too much like Shaggy for my liking! He'll be getting a trim whether he wants one or not. :)

Congratulations Janis and Mr. Mike!

Last weekend marked a very special occasion for our family - my beautiful sister in law, Janis got married to Mr. Mike Severloh - aka Mr. Mike. They have had a whirlwind romance the last year and a half, but they are perfect for each other in so many ways. It was very exciting to welcome a new brother in law into the family, and it was incredibly adorable to watch my beautiful children walk down the aisle at the ceremony. Janis and Mike outdid themselves with the decor at the reception site, and it was a great chance to visit with so many of our relatives that we don't see nearly often enough.

As I write this, the happy couple are now in Hawaii for two weeks, enjoying their honeymoon - which I am only slightly jealous of! I hope they have a blast!! Congrats again you two!! We love you!

The Rest of the Story

Well, by now you have all read about our adventures with Mr. Bear while camping (if not, see the previous post). After his second venture into our campsite, we decided to pack up and go elsewhere for the rest of the trip. We meandered down from the park across various gravel roads - we had a small map, but not a very detailed one. We had a general idea of where we were going, but the kids were sleeping and we were in no rush, so we knew we'd find our way eventually. After about an hour of driving, we figured out where we were and another half an hour later we were in the river valley near Russel, MB. We checked into the campground at Assessippi Provincial Park for two more nights of adventure. We got set up and ate supper and then went for a drive to the beach/playground area. It was too cool to swim that night, but we had high hopes of having a beach day on Friday.

The rest of the night proved uneventful and after a good night's sleep, we awoke to cloudy skies and 15 degrees. It was a bit rainy, so instead of cooking breakfast in the rain, we decided to venture into Russell for food. After we ate, we stopped and took pictures with Arthur the Bull and then took a drive to the Inglis Elevators - a row of 5 grain elevators that are in the process of being restored. It was really cool to see inside of them and learn about how they were built and how they operated. It's one of those local touristy things that you never really take the time to do - but since it was too cold to swim, it was a really fun way to kill the early afternoon. After a short nap back at the campsite, we took the kids back to the playground. We walked along the beach and played in the sand, but a quick dip of our feet in the water was the only swimming we got in. By that evening (this was now Friday - we had left on Wednesday), the kids were all beat. Cohen, especially, was sick of being outside and was ready to go home. After a family discussion, we decided to pack up our stuff after supper, then eat smores and hot dogs around the fire and head home later that night.

The older two kids really enjoyed the fire, as did Jared and I. Cohen was not a happy camper at this point, so it was a bit of a challenge to keep him occupied. We managed and by 9 pm, we were ready to take off. We put the kids in their jammies and they slept the whole way home. It definitely wasn't the sunny, beach-filled, relaxing camping trip we were envisioning when we left, but it was still a great experience and one we will definitely not forget anytime soon!

And, as always - some pictures of our adventures!

 {Fresh raspberries from along the path to the washrooms}

 

 {visiting Arthur the Bull}

 {Inside the restored grain elevator shaft - six stories high}

 {all five Inglis Elevators}

 {at the beach}

 {at the playground}