Camping Fun

Well we finally made it out camping last week! Each summer, we try to get to Emily Provincial Park, which is out near Peterborough. We love the sites, the beach and the very clean showers and bathrooms (well... I love them. Chris would be happy with a private spot in the woods, I think).

I had planned on taking tons of photos and that didn't happen. Not sure where the time went, but in looking over the pictures, I have one of the trailer, none of the campsite, about 10 of the dog, one blurry one of Alex... and that's it! How can I call myself a scrapbooker when I don't take some fun summer photos of Alex and us camping???

But even without a lot of photos to mark the occasion, we had a great time. Chris did 99% of the work getting the trailer ready, I did 99% of the work getting the groceries bought, the salads made, the meat marinated and food packed, and we were off! The weather was amazing, even though it was a wee bit hot (hot and sunny is better than cold and rainy). Chris thought I was nuts to have bought a new shelter for the picnic table/grill table, but it was a HUGE help. Kept me out of the sun, and if it had rained, we could have been quite comfy outside instead of being cooped up in the trailer.

Alex had tons of fun, and it was amazing for us to see how much more independent he is now. We ran into a really nice couple we'd met last summer, and he actually went down twice to visit them on his own to show them his new water gun and a bug he'd caught and put into a little bug keeper they'd given him. Granted they were only two sites over, but seeing him toddle off down the lane on his own was both scary and exhilarating. He also loved going to get water on his own at the water tap (again... only two sites over from ours). There's no way he would have done that last year, or probably even just a few months ago.

Strider also had a great time. We weren't sure how he'd adjust to being leashed at the site, or how he'd settle in the camper (we'd agreed not to let him get up on the beds). He had no problems being leashed, as long as we were sitting close enough that he could lie near us. He was a bit restless for about 45 minutes the first night we were in the trailer, but he finally did settle down and slept the whole night without destroying the trailer. He was great every night after that.

He had one little accident when he was running around with one of the dogs owned by the couple two sites over. They were romping around together and then the other dog ran a bit further away, and Strider tried to follow and ran full tilt to the end of his leash. He ended up doing a face plant, and bit his tongue in two places, but it only bled for a minute or two and didn't seem to bother him at all. I kept giving him ice cubes and ice water, just in case it was tender or swelling.

We're going to be camping next weekend with a bunch of other families at the Korean Culture Camp that's run every year by the KCCA. This is our first year attending as we always seemed to be away when it was run (last year we were in the Outer Banks and the year before, we were in Disney World), so I'm sure it will be a wonderful time.

Here's a couple of pictures of our camping trip... wish there were more to share!

The one photo I took of Alex... and it's blurry. I feel so bad lol.


Poor Strider... you can see the two spots where he bit his tongue :-(


The trailer set up... doesn't show our lovely new dining shelter, or the 'pee' tent, but you can get the idea that we're pretty comfy when we camp.

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Some Summer Fun

The weather around here hasn't been the best for enjoying the summer. We've been trying to get out and do things and enjoy the backyard, but it still feels like summer hasn't really started yet.

One fun thing we did for Alex was sign him up for day camp. I did a bit of research and found a great day camp program in Guelph called Rainbow Day Camp. It's been running for many years and is staffed by some very fun and energtic (and patient) counsellors that are almost all university students (most from the University of Guelph).

Alex went for one week in July and he's there again this week for four days (short week) and he's really having fun. They play outdoors, go swimming, do crafts, have snacks, sing songs, etc.

Here's a few pictures of Alex on the last day of camp - they do a little routine for all of the parents each Friday, so Alex's group (the young ones) all did the Macarena!









Alex also had his first sleepover, with his friend, MacKenzie, from next door coming to stay with us overnight. We took them bowling (lots of fun), and then ordered in pizza for dinner. We'd picked up a video for the kids, so they then watched Bedtime Stories while enjoying some popcorn and candy. During the movie, MacKenzie's mom surprised the kids with sundaes from Dairy Queen, so I was amazed that the slept at all given how much sugar they'd consumed. We had them set up for a "sleep out" in our family room, and I slept downstairs on the living room couch while Chris was upstairs trying to keep Strider from keeping the whole house awake - thank goodness we still have the safety gate at the top of the stairs. I think Strider had a tougher time falling asleep than the kids did as he wasn't used to sleeping upstairs.



The last few pictures are some I took the other night while we were in the backyard hanging out after dinner. Strider and Alex just adore one another and Strider can usually be found following Alex around the house or the yard (and often stealing his stuffed toys and food).