Our day at Birch Bay....

Being talked through how to prepare for the obstacle course:

Sam on part of the obstacle course leading up to the mini zipline:

Sam waiting for his turn on the zipline - it was very slippery everywhere because we had had so much rain!! :

Sam on the zipline:

As part of the obstacle course the whole junior group had to climb on to the tyre together and balance:

This log slowly goes higher and higher - one team went in one direction and the other team went in the other - and they had to cross each other half way along without falling off - not easy when it was very slippery!!:

They had to climb up on these huge tyres then climb across the rope bridge to the other tyre:

horse and trailer ride which took us for a lovely long ride around the grounds of Birch Bay Ranch, by the lake.  Unfortunately a little earlier in the afternoon, this trailer had slipped in the wet mud and had a collision with my truck - smashing the back brake light/ indicator light and bumper....luckily no one was hurt and the horses were fine.  They gave me all their insurance info so it should be sorted out quickly.   :)

Sam enjoying the trailer ride:

My friend Sandy was with the older group all afternoon and was kind enough to take some pictures of Abigail for me.  I will post those when I get them.  

Catching up with old friends :)

On Monday evening we headed to Jackie Parker park with Rosie to take her to the off leash dog park there - the girls have been going on and on for AGES that they wanted to see Owen again, so I arranged with Darren to swing by and pick him up for the evening :)  

We had a fun walk around the park and a bit of an adventure in the woods fighting off man eating GIANT mosquitoes.....and then we headed over towards the splashpark and playground for a while.  

Before heading home we stopped in at Tim Hortons....

When we got back to Darrens house we said we would just go in and say a quick hello - which turned in to a LONG sit down and chat...and it ended up being a late night, but the kids NEVER want to leave that place!!  Sam asked if he could stay for the week....sigh....wish they felt that way about their Dads place....

Friday Fill-ins....

And...here we go! 

1. One of my favorite birthday presents was Swallows and Amazons, and a butterfly bookmark from my Aunty Doreen and Uncle John when I was a child..

2. It was just an accident, caused by too much rain and slippery mud, it was as simple as that.

3. The moon is what is left over of Theia after she crashed into Earth millions of years ago....part of her mixed with Earth and became part of Earth and the other part broke away and became our moon.

4. My family includes 5 children and 2 Dads for now....but that could always change. 

5. I was tempted by the possibility of being with the one person I was MEANT to be with.

6. swimming, walking, reading and relaxing are some of the things I like to do on vacation.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing, journaling and maybe watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include having a really lazy day to recover from a very busy week and Sunday, I want to take the children to the art gallery to see the Andy Warhol Exhibit!

Hanging out at Birch Bay Ranch.....

We spent this afternoon hanging out with the SHINE homeschoolers (Society for Homeschooling In Edmonton) at Birch Bay Ranch.  Abigail got to go trail riding on the horses, go on the ziplines and go wall climbing....while Sam got to go on pony rides, a long hay ride/ trailer ride and have fun on the obstacle course/ mini zipline with the younger group!!!  We know Birch Bay well so it's always fun to be there :)  I have more pictures to add but will do that tomorrow :)  

The comb....

Sam has a new comb :)  His friend Owen gave it to him :)  And now Sam is obsessed with combing his hair :)  This picture was taken on Tuesday afternoon at the swimming pool :)  I just thought it was cute :) Sam took his new comb with him to the pool and was sure to comb his hair properly after his swim :)  

My boy :)  so funny :)

Craft day/ play date with friends...

Yesterday we spent the day at my friend Joannes house - she had invited us Moms over to make mini albums that she had learned how to make...really cute ones that unfold cleverly!!  Of course Sam and Abby  had a great day there with their friends - Sam was in his element with his bestest friend EVER who just happens to own the biggest collection of Nerf guns in the WORLD!!!!  :)  We were there for 5 hours and they still complained when it was time to leave!!

And as much as I loved getting together with friends to chat and craft and relax, I have to say that the highlight for me was getting to spend much of the day cuddling and snuggling with THIS little beauty:

Awwww  bliss :)