Last trip to story book park 2012

We visited Story Book Park 5 times this season!  The kids love it - they're the perfect age.  Today was our last trip of the season, and also Shaun's first trip this year.  They're really good to me though, they allow any other adult to use my season's pass when they come with me and my kiddos so  I was able to bring my friend Adrienne twice and my mother once too.  I was brave and took them once allll by myself!  Eek!  Only once :)

Riding the little train

All three together on Wind Jammer

Silly expressions!  P makes me laugh :)

Silly kiddo

 It ended up being a very very hot day, and when we got home W was sweaty despite the AC so I stripped him down and he ended up passing out on the floor infront of the T|V

sleepy baby

 After dinner & baths, Kathryn and I picked the red peppers she'd been growing all summer!  They're tiny but super flavourful!

MmmMm red peppers!

Trip to Barrie

With great anticipation, we took a family trip to the Elmvale Zoo!  

Petting a baby lemur 

Kathryn and her Bambi

Haires 

Hungry Tiger stalking my children for breakfast

Peacocks

Petting a baby goat

Waiting for the animal show

Waiting for the Animal show... it was getting hot & muggy.

 After the Zoo, we took a drive while Willy had his nap.  We drove past when my Grandparents used to live. The gardens at 10 Hawthorne are amazing!  Truly the people who live there how have a love for gardening.  The front porch has been re-done and the place looks wonderful.  Grandma would be happy to see that!

After quickly checking into our amazing hotel room (more pics below), we drove downtown to go to Centennial park. I have wonderful memories of playing at this park when I visited my grandparents. Many memories of going 'too far' on the spinning tire swings and feeling super ill afterwards.  Also, many memories of Grandma offering us gum afterwards - Double Mint.  It will always remind me of Grandma.

My attempt at a group picture.  They were too tired to care.

Watching the fountain and checking out the 'mist' rainbow.

 After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went for a swim in the indoor pool which was like bath-water.  It was a lot of fun!  I gave the kids pony rides around because it was just the right depth for that.  It helped to finish wearing them out.

Back upstairs we all put our PJs on.  The kids zoned into the TV in their room and shaun and I putzed around on the internet until bedtime.

Kids room

Snuggling and watching their TV

View into Kids room through a tired KJ.

view from the front door.  Kids room to the right, our bed ahead, kitchen & bathroom to the left.

Fully stocked kitchen included 2 fridges & working stovetop.

Our room/office/space.

The next morning we enjoyed their included breakfast, then some shopping and lunch before heading back to Port.  It was a nice little family vacation.

Splash Pad!

Sadly, this was our only trip to the Goderich Splash Pad this summer.  Somehow we just didn't have time!  But at least we got one trip in, and got to see Boo's new place - which is awesome and steps from the Beach. 

Kids played in the water, then we had lunch, fighting off bee's the whole time (they are really bad this year - everywhere!) and then played at the park before coming home.

Camping!

We spent the last 3 days camping with Shaun's parents.  It is our first camping experience with children, so we weren't roughing it by any means.  We had a cabin, complete with a small bathroom & shower, mini-fridge, microwave and heater.

Our cabin

Huge rock out front of our cabin

 Shaun's parents had their trailer, and were right beside us!  It was perfect.

We had campfires:

Campfire the first night

Campfire the last night

 The pics are kind of in random order... but we had a lot of fun, despite the colder-than-expected temperatures.

Camping bouquet for our picnic table.

Snuggles with Grandma

Snuggles with Grampy

Big smiles, bright and early!

 This campground was very family friend and geared almost exclusively to family camping.  There was a pond with paddle boats & canoes to use, a petting farm, splash pad & pool and an amazing wooden park.

Each morning, the kittens would come out to play!  There were at least 5 of them and from two different litters.  The first morning we kind of stumbled upon them by accident trying to fill time with Willy before breakfast.  After that, it became a morning ritual to treck down to the front and watch the kittens play.

Kathryn fell in love with one in particular:

Kathryn and her kitty

Willy loved them all equally.

Mornings were spent snuggled together on the trailer couch watching DVDs and slowly waking up before breakfast:

Sleepyheads

The grounds were gorgeous and well maincured.  This fountain at the front was lovely and the gardens were freshly weeded & turned.

On the last day, Shaun took each kid out for a ride in a paddle boat before it was time to leave:

We played a LOT at the park.  The play structures were very unique and lots of fun:

The petting farm included goats:

And bunnies.  These two were quickly named Isis & Ramses after the kitties:

We played in the splash pad twice despite the cooler weather.  The kids had a blast!

The first night after supper, I read stories to the kids while clean up was taking place:

And of course, there was down-time with calliou on Daddy's iPad.  Nothing like camping and TV!

We trecked into Tobermory and did some random sight-seeing.

Even hiking out onto the rocks

And even got to watch the Chicheemaun pull into harbour.  

Each night there was dessert, which the kids eagerly gathered for:

And there were lots of walks down to the park & pond:

Willy had a bunk bed to sleep in, inside the cabin with us while P&K slept on the bunk beds in the trailer.  The cabin was easily big enough to have all 5 of us though!

Ni-Ni Willy!  Fresh air = good sleep!