Camping with a Large Family

We finally got brave enough to try camping with seven children. This is our first time going camping since our three youngest joined us three years ago. It was a grand success -- of you don't count the fact that four of the seven came down with colds that had them napping daily. We weren't even staying up late or getting up early. It didn't seem to deter the hiking or swimming though.

We went north to camp because the north country is breathtaking. Sure there are bears and rattlesnakes (first time seeing a rattlesnake as it crossed the trail while we were hiking), but if you accommodate them and think wisely, it's really no big deal. We're rustic campers. We love our tent. It holds the nine of us plus luggage beautifully! This year all our meals were made over the fire pit. We only had one panic moment and it was actually on the way up when we realised that we hadn't checked what the conditions were for fire cautions. We were fine. It's been a cool decently wet summer, so food over the grill it was.

If you're trying to figure out if all seven belong to us, well, no, the uber blonde ones belong to friends of ours. The two oldest were at home working and we wanted to try the seven kid experiment, so we "borrowed" two children. Really, they fit in so beautifully, you would have thought they were ours. People were more inclined to ask about our three ebony headed children before they asked about the four multiple shades of blondes. :o)

Seeing as this was an experiment to see if we could handle camping with seven children -- three of them still have boundary issues, we only went for five days. It was a largely positive week! Next year, perhaps we'll go for longer and even further north! ;o)

How about you? Do you camp, or do you glamp? (Fancy camping.) Any tips I should know for rustic camping with a family of nine?

 

Grade 8 Class Trip

This is the second time we have had the privilege of attending as drivers and chaperones on the grade 8 class graduation trip. It is always a lot of fun and sometimes quite enlightening to see these kiddos outside a classroom setting.

Some of the kids in this group are not fond of being away from home, some are afraid of heights, and I'm sure there were some other fears that needed to be overcome as well. So this was a big thing for a lot of these kids.

Despite a bit of rain at times where it didn't really matter, it was a fantastic three days. I think all the kids had a fabulous time! The Engineer and I as their chaperones enjoyed it very much!

A few highlights:

 Canoeing through the locks.

 Our overnight campsite.

 Fishing. The boys were up at 5:20 am the next morning to fish.

 How not to do archery. ;o)

 High ropes instruction.

 Walking the cat walk.

 Doing the possom.

 Some pre-swimming discussion.

 A games night while it stormed outside.

Climbing Mt. Moriah.

Love these kids!! What a great three days!

Camping

We had a camping weekend.

We enjoyed burned offerings of tube steak

and pure sugar.

We had a beach day with Grampa and Gramma

And the best part? If it rained, we could run in the house and sleep in our own beds!

We're Back

We're wetter, and dirtier, but none the worse for wear. We had a great time!! Now I remember why we camp! It's certainly not for the rain and dirt, the damp feeling sleeping bags, or the perpetual wet towels. It's for the memories. Kids getting to know second cousins, adults catching up with adult cousins and aunts and uncles. Watching the kids swim and build sand castles at the beach. Sitting around the evening campfire sharing laughter and stories. I'm so glad my cousin thought to ask us to go camping!

The little (2nd) cousins get to know each other while colouring by lantern light.

Didn't I say it always rains when we camp?

Squirt hides out from the rain and dampness with Grampa.

The rain stopped and we enjoyed a second evening around the fire.

Camping gets a two thumbs up :o)!

Going Camping

We're packing up to go camping. It's just for a weekend. My cousin emailed me asking if we were going to camp. We hadn't thought about it, but after he asked we thought , "why not?" It's only for two nights so no bikes are going, but we will pull our utility trailer. We're primitive campers. No hydro, no running water. We sleep in a tent, on mattresses, on the ground. Yep, we're a little crazy like that. Somehow, we enjoy it. Surrounded by birdsong, breezes, and mosquitoes. We set up in the rain and take down in the rain. Come home scratching every exposed part of flesh, to set up the tent and dry it out, air out the sleeping bags that are damp from the humidity, and dump a mountain of dirty, damp, smoke scented laundry on the floor.

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, August 2009

Aaaah! I love camping! I'm really not sure why we do it though ;o).

March Break Doings

Although March break always falls on the second week, you never know what the weather is going to hold. I was born on the fourteenth and when my parents brought me home from the hospital five days later, we had a snow storm. This year, people were walking around in t-shirts and shorts. Pushing it a little maybe, but there was definitely no need for the winter woollies. (I was soooo tempted to wash them and put them away).

Last night the Engineer and I went out and did groceries. It was 18C when we went into the grocery store, and 8C when we came out 45 minutes later. Yikes! I was thankful that I had my winter coat on then. Today it's 1C. A twenty degree difference from yesterday.

Anyways, March Break was gorgeous! The Engineer went to work as usual, and Bub went to work for the week too. He works at a nursery. He tags pots and quite enjoys it. (The paycheck for a thirteen year old isn't too shabby either).

The girls spent hours upon hours playing outdoors enjoying the sunshine. I let them just BE. Thus the real ragamuffin look in most of the photos. No hair do's. No clean clothes. Undershirts and winter boots -- have to love that style. I'm so thankful they aren't uber fashion queens having to worry about what brands they're supposed to be wearing -- or not. I sometimes wonder how different that would be if they were still in school...

While they played, I worked on getting the rest of the concrete dust out of the one room in the basement. Scary stuff. I didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry and throw a tantrum. It's still not done, but it's getting there. My sanity through it all was this:

Algonquin Park 2009

Now that the children are older, we find that we are really beginning to enjoy camping again. This year we went for a week at Algonquin Park in Northern Ontario. This is not our first time camping in this incredibly beautiful park, nor will it be the last I'm sure. We love the quiet lakes, rocky trails, and the abounding opportunities to see wildlife in their natural habitat.

Home sweet home for a week. Our sleeping tent and dining tent.

Tarps are used not only to keep out the rain, but to keep leaves, pine sap, pinecones, and other falling paraphernalia from landing directly on the tent.

We rented a canoe as we don't own one, but more and more we're beginning to think owning our own canoe would be a good investment. We spent hours on the lake canoeing and swimming from choice spots along the water. One day was even a day trip spent canoeing along the lake and investigating the river at the opposite end. The weather was beautiful for being out on the water.

A beaver out for an evening snack.

Great blue heron getting ready to fly.

Herring gull ready for take off.

Black-throated green warbler.

Common loon. There were eight of them in the lake near our campsite. I have always loved their calls. It's such a wild untamed sound.

Red squirrels abound. The one above we saw on the Hemlock Bluff trail and the one below at our campsite.

The chipmunks however, are always the hit of the week -- and the most interactive. We know we are not supposed to feed them, but this guy was so bold, it was incredible! We almost thought we should take him home as a pet. His antics were enough to keep us chuckling for hours.

When and where it is available, we like to rent a canoe for the week. At the price of it though, we beginning to think it might be time to invest in our own canoe. We canoe everyday, sometimes several times a day when we camp. It is so beautiful and relaxing out on the quiet lake and we don't have to worry about motor boats or jet skis running us over like we would if we were out on our local lake at home.


We also did some biking and hiking. Nothing is flat (except the Old Railroad Bike Trail), so you always have to watch out for roots, ruts, and rocks, as Beans says. We did a mountain bike trail (as I mentioned in my bike post) and wondered if we would make it out in one piece. We ended up hiking more of it than biking it. When we finally made it to the end of the trail, we read the board about the trail. Umm yeah, we certainly are not moderately experienced mountain bikers. Oops! The rest of the trails we were able to do without a problem and were much more able to enjoy the beautiful scenery without taking our life into our hands :o).

A beautiful view on the Hemlock Bluff trail.

Biking to the beach.

The scenery is breathtaking at every twist and turn we took weather, hiking, biking, or riding in the van.

Dropping Bub off for cadet camping. He only spent the beginning and the end of the week with us as he was enjoying the Algonquin experience with other cadets from around Ontario.

Sometimes canoes grow legs of their own and walk ;0)! I'm glad ours didn't.

Finally, what camping trip would be complete without a fire every evening!

*Sigh!* I only wish we were going for our annual September trip in a few weeks, but the Engineer will be tied down at work for the next six weeks or so. It is so nice to get away!