FUN WITH CHARLIE AND MONTY

Charlie and Monty and Jodie are here for 5 weeks.  What an amazing time to get to know the kids and for them to get to know us.
Day one and they were right back at the rocks in the lake that they learned last year.  We will have to get another load of Trap Rock when they are gone.  Rejean and MariLou with the death grips on the kids.  Sam was also helping.
PlayDoh snakes!!  I snuck to the Post today to get them some "real" plastic ones and they loved them.  I am searching for a real one to show them but so far I haven't been able to find one.
Rejean and MariLou snuggling with the kids watching a movie.
Today the sun finally showed up.  Rejean and the kids went for a walk on the road and Charlie picked some more flowers for Mommy.
And they love the saucer swing we picked up from Costco.  Every once in a while they will run over to it for a short swing.
And today, Monty had some pink veins in his eye that Charlie noticed and he was checking him out by placing his little hands around his neck and looking closer into his eyes.  This went on for a bit then they gave each other the biggest hug.  I must admit I had a little tear in my eye after watching that.
I wonder what adventures day 4 will bring...

BIG MOMMA SNAPPER

Saw this beauty on the side of the road by Appleby Lake this morning.  I had to turn around and come back for a picture of her.  She is dug in and laying her eggs in the gravel on the shoulder of the road.  She was a big one.  On my way back I looked but could not see the spot where she had been - she certainly smoothed it out well.
Hope those little ones are facing the right way when they hatch...

READY!!!

Rejean went to the Post the other day and came back with these.  Well, Jodie will be here on Saturday so we figured this would get her through her first day back in Canada - after her 15 1/2 hours in the air with Charlie and Monty.

Cheers!!

TRAILER PARKED

AND we got the trailer all cleaned up and parked in our home away from home - Hinkler.  I think last year we got it up there late July because we thought some of our guests might need it but never did use it.  So we wanted to get it up there early this year and we did.  The bugs were waiting for us and there was a bit of maintenance to do.  The roof over our wood pile came loose on one side so Ron took care of it.  The next time we go up we will take our small wood splitter to take care of those logs.

NEW RAILING AND STORM DOOR

It was work day at the Friesen's yesterday.  We went over just to check on their progress and ended up helping finish the railing and helping install the new screen door.  Not as easy as I thought it was going to be but we got it done and Joanne is very happy with the "bang" as it closes.
The railing looks great!!!  It doesn't obstruct the view at all.
It is a big deck - just big enough for a great party...just saying...

GETTING STUFF READY

The kids are coming on Saturday so there is a lot of work to do before they arrive.  Main priority is to put the plexiglass barriers back up behind the couch.  Jodie said they love to climb on things and jump - well as you can see it would be a long way down if they jumped off the back of the couch.  And the BabyGate is installed again.
I have the last minute food shopping to do and I have to sort thru all the stuff I bought for the kids.  Clothes and toys and swimming pools and dinosaurs and turtles...gold fish and animal crackers (which I got into big time - I now have to replace the container).
Can't wait to see them!!!

STUFF

Joanne and I had dinner in Bruce Mines after our trip to the Sault - there was a Show and Shine going on that day and the car in the first picture was still in the parking lot of the restaurant we went to.  There is another one later this summer so we will be sure to attend.

My "Testicle" plants are out right now.  They are actually Lady Slippers but I like to call them Testicle Plants because they sort of remind me of them.  None that I know personally tho...

And the Dragon Flies are out in full force.  Just when you think the bugs can't get any worse these saviours come out.  They eat those nasty black flies and mosquitoes for us.

And the last picture I got when we visited Ron and Mary.  The butterfly had just landed on the chive flower and I got the shot.  I kind of like it.

CLIMBING CANDY MOUNTAIN

Joanne and I climbed Candy Mountain this morning - took us 1/2 hour to reach the top - seemed like a lot longer!!
I haven't done this in years and Joanne wants to go on hikes so this was first on our list.  There were a few muddy spots and Joanne got a bit of a muddy soaker but we finally reached the top.  The view is spectacular and even better in the fall with the colours.  We were hoping for a breeze at the top but there wasn't one so we didn't linger.  The bugs were hungry.
To reward ourselves we headed to the Post and had ourselves an ice cream cone - child's size of course.
It was fun but I know I am going to "feel" it in the morning!!!

LUPINS AND DRIFTWOOD

After years of passing the beautiful Lupins in the ditches heading into town and saying that we will dig some up, we finally did it today.  Joanne wanted to plant some and so did I.  We got some beautiful purple ones and some pink ones.  I hope they take and come back next year.  They spread very well.
Then we wanted to head to Driftwood Bay and see what we could get.  We got on the quads and headed out with a quick stop at the old slate mine.  Nothing left there.  We got a couple of good pieces which we managed to get back on the quads.  Joanne brought a couple of beverages and we tried to relax and drink them but the bugs were too bad.  Next time I will wear my waders...