Camping Days

We are home for the duration now - it is officially the end of camping season for us. Our annual camping trip was for all last week and we arrived home this past Sunday afternoon. A wonderful time away with friends, even if we did get some rainy days. Note the big blue tarp over our kitchen area:

We did stay pretty dry despite the weather. That is, of course, part of camping! One of the 'big deals' of the week were that Duck and her friend HH got their own tent. Both moms had some qualms about it and I kind of expected to hear "mom!" in the middle of the night, but they slept well and only had one night where dad had to do a security check for the boogie man. The noise turned out to be raccoons having a party behind their tent - note the potty right outside their door:

We did have some beach days during the week - although I find the water frighteningly cold! My husband was game to play with Duck. I have to warn you their is a dirty picture from the beach - I apologize if it offends anyone, it was too good to pass up the shot!:

We also took a couple of day trips. One afternoon we went to my dad's neighbourhood and spent the afternoon at a local farm. They have a petting zoo, corn maze and a whole section of games and playground stuff for kids:

" Hello little fella!"

Here is my husband as king of the castle! The girls worked tirelessly to dethrone him:


Here's real camping treat - garbage can turkey! Obviously we used a new garbage can ;o). It cooked in just under two hours, but I have to say it wasn't as good as oven roasted:

Finally, what's a camping trip without camping hair! My rag-a-muffin girl:

So, now we are home, the laundry is done, school is started and life is getting back to normal. I have some great stories to tell in the next few days, including one about a small miracle in our house. Stay tuned.

For more show and tell, see Mary!

Adding to Family Adventure

This post will give a brief break in the "what if" series, but the third installment is almost done. I didn't want to miss a Show and Tell!

Well, we have been searching for quite awhile to find the best canoe for our family and just found this beautiful vessel on Monday past. After trying out multiple canoes, we purchased this Clipper Tripper for an excellent price: In our part of the country the Swift Canoe is the most well known and is recommended highly by anyone who has used one. We did try out the Swift brand, and we did like it, but the price of that line of canoes was a little high ($2500+). This brand, Clipper, is mostly associated with Mary's end of the country - British Columbia. We found it at a local canoe store after someone had traded it in for a purchase. It was the perfect size and handles great in the water:

These are all pictures that were taken when we were just doing a test paddle. It is unlikely that we will have another set of pictures with all three of us in the vessel again - one of us is always holding the camera! So far, I can highly recommend the Clipper to anyone who is looking.

Our family adventures for the rest of the summer and into fall will almost always include this new addition! Here are some of the names we have come with for our new vessel:

- wun*hoo*toots (family humour!)

- family ARK (that holds all of our initials)

- the northern rikibee (also a mix of our names, although we figured we would tell people that it was a native word for wun*hoo*toots!)

- a full, rich day

Any other suggestions!
For more Show and Tell, go visit Mary!

The Coolest Thing Ever!

Cool...way cool...the coolest thing I have ever made! AND it's a great homeschool science project - even cooler!

Flubber
3/4 cups warm water
1 cup Elmers glue
food colour of choice
***
2 tsp. borax (cleaning product)
1/2 cup warm water

In first bowl, mix top three ingredients. In a second bowl, mix last two ingredients
Make sure both bowls are well mixed.
Pour bowl one into bowl two.
No need to stir, just reach in a pull out the glob of flubber.
The consistency improves by 'kneading' the glob for a few minutes.
Lasts way longer than playdough...and, if I didn't mention it yet - it's way cooler!

For more great show and tell stuff, go over and visit Mary's place.

Girls' Trip!

We made it through our annual girls' trip and returned home on Saturday afternoon. We could have made it home earlier, but there were so many yard sales along the route home!

As I mentioned before we left, this was the first year that HH's little sister was BIG enough to come along - she's three. The best part for her was a fact that she kept repeating - "no boys allowed!" Remember, these are the only two girls out of 6 kids.

Here is little sister helping her mom relax at the beach:All the girls spent two full days at the campground's beach. Duck and HH were very good at including little sister in their play, but they loved being off on their own, too. Diving into the waves was longest lasting game:We were at Sand Banks Provincial Park, near Kingston, Ontario. It never fails to have good waves for swimming, but the water is actually quite shallow because of the 'sand banks' that go so far out from shore. The sun was out, but the wind was chilly and the water was like ice - for anyone over the age of 10, that is! The three girls didn't stop playing until they hit their tents and bed rolls. Of course, bedtime only happened after the s'mores had been made over the fire! Another great trip.

For more Show and Tell, go to Mary's place.

How Does My Garden Grow?

Today I am showing and telling about this year's garden. I love my garden, even with all the 'tragedies' that must be endured. This is the best, full shot I could get of it. We have green beans, peas, tomatoes, watermelon, eggplant, squash, cucumbers and corn planted this year:The corn is always a struggle in our cold climate. So when we see the fruit coming out it is a fantastic event! Even if we only get 1/2 dozen cobs, that meal is worth it!This next section shows the wild vegetation that we enjoy. This is one of the potato plants that have grown spontaneously in our garden every year. We don't plant them, they just grow. Each year I think I have pulled all the new potatoes out, each new year another plant(s) appears:These aren't really wild, but they were present on the property when we got here. There are several 'bushes' of these perennials just starting to blossom - if anyone knows the name, I'd love to hear it:I saw these in a gardening book just this past winter - they grow in the brush by my garage. Apparently they are garlic? The spear-like flowers are supposedly edible, but in the fall I will be pulling them up to see if there really is a garlic bulb in there:Finally, this is the plant that grows at my entrance. The container is an old, rusty milk can salvaged from a barn. The plant? I have no idea - pretty much just a weed that grew out of the soil I filled the container with. The original plan was to plant flowers, but this vine is quite nice...for a weed! There you have it. Proof that I don't kill every green thing that comes to my care. Hopefully in the fall I will be able to show and tell some of the produce we expect to enjoy. IF I can keep the critters at bay!

For more show and tell, go see Mary's place!

Sunday School Summer Picnic

Every summer we plan a picnic at our church. We always say it's for the kids, but the adults enjoy it just as much! Here is the pastor giving the kids some instructions for games. Take a look at the difference in facial expressions in the kids. The older ones have heard it all before, but look at the little blonde in front of the pastor: Here is a closer shot of her expression. Such attention! Actually, knowing this little thing like I do (I'm Auntie Kim) I know what she's thinking. "Alright Pastor, whatever you say...just get on with the prizes!Most of the races are set up for all age groups, including the adults. However, the running races are just for the kids - after about 18yo, nobody wants to run anymore ;o) The shoe kick competition has become more popular since we added a target! That's my hubby standing in the field as all the teenage ladies try to hit him with a shoe. If you can hit him, you get that bag of smarties in his hand: I'm trying so hard to hit my husband, I have to stick my tongue out! Serious competition for smarties!
Here a couple of action shots of the egg toss. That's me in the blue shirt and white shorts. I have looked closely, but I can't see the egg that I'm catching: This shot shows the moment the egg broke in my hand. So gross! But we did take third place. The kids are great to watch at the egg toss, especially when it does break on them! That's Duck just missing the egg - but it didn't break that time: And, what's a picnic without several long tables lined with food? We'll never starve at our church! And once the games and food are done, the prizes come out. Our pastor knows how to pick good prizes. Junk food for anyone over 18yo and toys for the kids. Look at this mischievious fellow about to shoot his new nerf gun at the unsuspecting crowd below him:

And a wonderful time was had by all! We'll do it all again next year!

For more great show and tell stories, go see Mary!

A Sunday Drive

Hello again! Another installment of S&T with Mary today - go over to her place for other great stuff! Our little family jumped into the car on whim the other night and drove through the nearby provincial park. Because it is spring time, we were pretty sure we would get a look at some of God's larger creatures and we were not disappointed! Three seperate road side sightings:

The moose and deer population generally come to the road sides of the highway this time of year because the spring run off has the accumulation of 8 months of winter road salt in it. It can be dangerous driving through the back woods unless you are prepared to make sudden stops around any corner!

Even the young moose can take out the front end of your car if a collision occurs.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the moose, they are enormous animals when mature and although they don't have any serious teeth to show off, they are dangerous to be around. And it just so happens that I do have an interesting anecdote.


My father and his cousin used to own a piece of hunting property in the 'boonies' and on one occasion as they were heading up to that hunt camp they were driving a large cargo van with a trailer attached - quite a heavy load. They saw a moose on the road ahead of them and slowed down to wait for the moose to cross over into the trees. However, they did not come to a complete stop - just moving very slowly toward the moose to encourage it to move along.


The moose took exception to their approach and rather than get off the road, it (a large bull moose with full rack of antlers) turn toward the van and lowered it's head. This is sure sign that it will charge and trample anything in it's path! My father, who was the driver, quickly hit reverse and made the fastest retreat possible with a trailer attached! Even though the moose would have lost the battle, it would have done serious damage in the process.

That's my show and tell! Join in the fun at Mary's site!

The Secret is in the Sauce

Alright...I can't stand it anymore! Without the regular use of my computer I am going through some serious withdrawls. Two weeks without being able to play Show and Tell with Mary. So used my girlfriend's computer and emailed myself a picture so that I can place it on this post from my workplace tonight - is that a little pathetic?

Oh, well.

Today I am showing and telling about the sauce that has saved my dinner times many times over - Sweet and Sour sauce. When I am running late or running short on pantry items I pull out the ingredients for this sauce and make up a quick and easy meal.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup cider or wine vinegar

1 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. hot pepper juice

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 can pineapple

green pepper chopped in 1" pieces

1. mix top 7 ingredients into frying pan (I use a wok) and bring to slow boil while stirring,

2. Add remaining 2 ingredients and stir until boiling again until thickened

That's it for the sauce. I have used meatballs (as in the picture), stir fried chicken pieces, and pork chunks. The pineapple and green pepper are really just options - if I have them. Sometimes I'll caramelize onion wedges to add in, too, and the bed of noodles in the picture can be replaced with rice.

It really is a 'search and rescue' pantry meal - and my family always likes the different versions presented to them. It's the sauce that sells it!

For more S&T, go see Mary!

Field Trip!

Today I'm showing off a vacation that only ended on Wednesday. Our family and a family/friends from church headed out early Sunday morning for Niagara Falls. Our friends have 6 kids, one of whom is HH - Duck's good friend. In the picture below, you can see the girls never got too far without the little brothers tagging along:We did disguise this vacation as a field trip - we trekked through some rigorous trails down the Niagara Gorge which brought us down to the Niagara River. The boulders that lined these paths were huge! This is Duck using a nice smile to hide how tired she is:Our school part of the trip was to discuss the contrasting views of how the Falls and the Gorge were created. The old tale of evolution (billions of years) vs. the Lord's creation (thousands of years). We collected rocks and examined the layers of soil/rock. The kids have an assignment that each age level can complete to write out what they learned.

Of course, we had to walk down by the Falls themselves. It wasn't raining, but the wind and the mist from the Falls always ensures the path is wet. We wrapped Duck in a blanket because the wind was so cold:What Niagara attractions interest a country-bumpkin and homeschool kid? The escalator! Duck and the other kids rode up and down every escalator we came across - several times! The other big deal was the bus tour we took - on a bus with NO seat belts! The big city is an exciting place: Here's the whole kid pack in front of the giant Hershey bar, right outside of the Hershey store (yes, they had free samples!):And I would be crazy not to show you some of the scenery shots from our hikes. The first shot shows off our vantage point from approximately halfway down our trail into the Gorge. It was a long way down, and an even longer way up:This is a nice picture of the trail right on the river. The rapids are fiercely tumultuous and we had to be diligent about watching the kids. It was such a good time for everyone, we actually stayed an extra day over what was originally planned. The blessings we received from the Lord during this trip were remarkable - and I hope to write about them early next week.

For now - visit Mary for more Show and Tell!

Duck Notes

When my husband and I were away from Duck for a length of time recently, I had written her several letters. Three per day to be exact, and I gave them to her before we left. Each envelope was labelled with the time she could open it, i.e. Saturday morning, Saturday at lunch, Saturday at bedtime.

These little notes of encouragement and love made me feel like I would still be part of her day, even when we were miles apart Duck like the idea so much, so she quickly made up letters for me to take on my trip, too.

But, the idea of little love notes has been part of our homes for long time. Look at these:

Every notebook I have is speckled with these notes and pictures. I was searching my Bible one day came across this sticky note:

That note is actually several years old, and I plan on keeping right there! That way, when my Duck is too old to leave me notes and pictures (hopefully never!) I will have some left to reminisce with!

For more Show and Tell, go see Mary!

Do You Love Me? John 21:1-18

Today I am showing and telling my reflections for Easter. If you prefer something more light hearted, scroll down to the next post.

For more S&T, see Mary!

Simon Peter was a fisherman. It had been his life's work before Jesus called him. This chapter (John 21:1-18) shows us that he and other disciples returned to that familiar lifestyle when things did not turn out as they had hoped and imagined. Jesus was their leader, their Saviour, their Christ; but, to their limited sight at that time, Jesus was dead.

Simon Peter had been so very close with Jesus. He believed he would follow Jesus to the death, if necessary (John 13:37). Instead, he had run away; he had denied Christ; he had failed.

So there they are - fishing. They had been out all night and caught nothing. Does anyone doubt they had spent those hours in misery, focusing on their failure? They couldn't even catch a fish!

And then they see Him on the beach...calling them back, giving them instructions for success. "Put the net on the other side of the boat." Imagine the grumbling! "We are professional fisherman...we have been out here all night and caught nothing...how is that going to change by moving the net?" It made no sense, but it worked. Success from simple obedience to Jesus.

How many times do we, as His children, run from Him. We return to our old lifestyles; we go back to doing things our way; we fail to follow Him and lay those old sins at the foot of the cross. OR, we lay down one sin, just to pick it back up again! I know I am guilty of this lack of faith, this lack of trust (Isaiah 53:6).

The road to spiritual success is written out clearly for us. We simply need to apply scripture to each and every part of our lives (Colossians 3:17).
1. study
2. examine ourselves
3. obey & change
4. success

Now picture yourself as Peter on the beach (vs. 15-17). "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?"

My heart breaks for Peter, who had agonized over his failures. Who had given up all his stated convictions of following Jesus only to return to his old lifestyle. "Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." Jesus repeats his question to Peter (or imagine it is you) three times - "(Kim), lovest thou me?" And each time He asks, we remember the sins we continue to hold onto. We peek into that closet in our hearts where we think we are hiding those areas of our life that we don't want to analyze through God's eyes. We are grieved because we have returned to our old lifestyle, yet again, instead of following Christ.

He gives us simple instruction, "Feed my sheep."

We can't do Christ's work if we constantly run away from Him. We can't "catch fish" from the side of the boat we have chosen. We can't feed His sheep without a solid, constantly growing relationship with Him. We can find success ONLY in obedience to Him.

Verse 18 shows us the difference. When we were young (unsaved) we did as we wanted. Now we are old (saved, growing) and we must follow where He carries us -- where we would not go on our own.

Look at each area of your life and examine it under scriptural lenses - i.e. finances, relationships, employment, health, etc. Is your 'net' on your side of the boat(worldly)? Are you following Christ all the way to the cross? Are your repeatedly returning to your old lifestyle?

Success will come from simple obedience. Cast your net on the other side.

Reason to Celebrate

Spring has officially arrived on the calendar, but I am generally skeptical about the end of the snow this early in the year. I am going to be optimistic this weekend, though...as you read this, my husband has taken me to a homeschool conference. I find the idea of purchasing our grade 5 books early AND for a good price very exciting. When I talked to the Duck about it, oddly she did not share in my excitement - ? "Mom, could I just work on finishing grade 4 before we look at next year?" OK

For show and tell today, I have some great pictures:

Some true signs and symptoms of spring are everywhere these days. These crocus pictures are from around our neighbourhood. It was even a lovely, sunny day today to take the shots.

BUT...the real, most exciting sight is this picture:

Do you recognize it? It is my rhubarb starting to push through! I think I love rhubarb the most because it is free groceries! That is my reason to celebrate.

As I mentioned above, I am away this weekend, but I will visit your show and tell posts early next week - I always enjoy them!

For more Show and Tell, go see Mary!