In a normal summer we get out and do something every day. This summer has been um a little different than usual :) We are still getting out and about but it seems like a whole lot more work to get there.
We met with my side of the family at a new to us spot on the river. Al and I joined everyone from work. We were woefully unprepared for the walk in. No one knew there was a trail so humped all of the picnic/swim stuff over rocks which is tough walking. Then had to traverse the river in three spots to get there. I didn't want to wear wet shoes all day so tried taking them off and doing it barefoot which was painful. Eventually gave up and got my feet wet. I'm a shade worshipper so when the area was choosen at the top of a mound in full sun it was a bit tough for Lili and I. I was melting and sooooo close to just getting in the river and dealing with wet clothes at work. It was a beautiful swimming hole and the girls and I want to take Eric and Isabel there but we'll be MUCH better prepared. Oh, and as I'm crossing the river, worried about falling in, I was calculating the cost of electronics on us. Three $500 dollar smart phones and one camera $500, a mere $2000 at risk. I put our phones in a food container for the hike back.
Every year we camp at a tiny lake in the boonies. You can drop in there if you know about it but we reserve using the secret phone number, this year I left it too late and we didn't get a water spot. It was ok camping in the bush, the walk to the lake was short. We managed. I missed the view though so will be reserving much earlier next year! The girls like to fish there. No one has ever caught a fish there. It's a warm lake and the lake is stocked but they are down deep, there is a 90 foot area where the spring is and they are all there. It's peaceful there. Jia had stitches so I managed to keep her busy all weekend and avoided swimming with her. Weather was ok, not fabulous and she would have been cold and only swam for a short time anyways. Big girls swam for hours and hours. More hours and hours catching newts and fishing from the dock. Fei sits quiet as can be leaning over the dock and when the newts/salamanders come up for air she just grabs them. Too funny. I'd rather they didn't torture the little guys but they've literally grown up watching kids do this there and it's like a rite of passage. They very graciously all showed them to the little kids and you just know that those kids can't wait to be big enough to swim under the dock with nets to catch them for themselves. We haven't been doing story time while camping and I went ahead and read to all of the girls, they didn't seem too interested at first, I reminded them about all of the campfire story times they've enjoyed and then they paid attention, Jia loved it. She couldn't believe we were enjoying Shiney Dinah with the big girls, outside, at the fire. So sweet. On our last day there I attempted taking Jia's stitches out, got two and the third was under scab so I called nurse Penny. The second Penny was on the scene the older kids were right there. I ran to get the camera to capture that! They were all a little in disbelief that Penny and I were doing this ourselves. I recall camping at Kissinger with Penny doing after surgury packing care with me in our old trailer, many years ago, the girlies don't remember that. Really, really shocking how fast this summer is going by. We're are NOT ready to head back to school.
