shady grove maple syrup farm - guelph, on

we spent the afternoon at the maple syrup farm on saturday.

 it's a great spot... 

wagon rides, snack shop, petting zoo and tours of the buildings and equipment.

jude and i learned a lot,

while the girls enjoyed the sights and activities 

(they weren't as interested in the process).

we came home with some delicious syrup among other treats...

what do you like to have maple syrup on?

pinery - ontario parks

each year we go camping with another family or two.

this year we were at pinery, 

near grand bend, ontario.

such a fun place to camp out and make memories!

there were nine kids in our group this year:

i love how these shots of our friends begin to tell the story of our time.

~

here are a few more images to fill in the gaps!

 the boys were not so keen on having their picture taken.

 we packed a spray bottle, 

which quickly became the 'toy' of choice while embracing the hot weather.

 on the first morning, selah discovered a very large moth 

(it died later that day, but was still kept close 

throughout our time away and 

might have even come home with us...)

 it rained on and off for one of our days,

we made the most of it!

 spotting this guy (surfer santa, perhaps?)

across the playground in grand bend,

brought a smile to my face!

(i don't have a zoom lens, so this was taken from far away and severely cropped)

 we also spent an hour paddling on the river.

we had to get ice cream on our last night.

chocolate peanut butter for me, as usual...

this s'more didn't make it.

little s'more secret:

at our house, we now skip the graham crackers and chocolate bars,

and make our s'mores with family digestive cookies.

do you know the ones?  

try it - delicious!

 car packed, ready to head home and start planning for next year!

where is your favourite place to go camping?

i'm looking for suggestions for 2013....

simple things

this week i did my first wine tour with friends in niagara on the lake.

it was lovely.

the first photo gives you a hint of which winery we toured...

linking up here today:

apple picking

we went to smith's farm on the weekend.

the weather was beautiful and the apples, delicious!

we picked royal gala apples,

what's your favourite kind?

 then we had some fun in the play area...

this weekend is not looking as pleasant as last in terms of weather, 

but we're looking forward to some family time with the O cousins!

linking up at:

this or that

and

more camping fun

abigail and emery spent a lot of time together - so nice.

jesse loves his books and stories...

i was a little surprise at how much time nathaniel & selah spent together - so cute.

 so, if you have seen all the camping photos, 

you see that there was a lot of stories and beach time!

the kiddos also had a great time at the playground close to our site,

learning a few new games on the iphones,

biking around to explore,

putting on shows for the moms and dads,

colouring and making crafts,

listening to judah's stories,

carving sticks,

swinging on the hammocks,

playing t-ball will an empty bottle on the cooler,

playing soccer on the beach,

& making s'mores.

great memories - i'm ready for s'more camping fun!  

(camping fun photos taken by jude & cheryl)