This is a collection of our activities for our trip from Jul 2 to 8 in the RV Bus, some of which include trapezing, building and cooking in a sand firepit, and the kids driving the RV.
The kids start out with the more routine activities … morning kayaking. Canoeing.Doubles canoeing – moving in the canoe while it’s in motion.Neil is always repairing something! This time it’s replacing dolly wheels.Solo canoeing. Felix loved to take the canoe out onto the lake by himself.Rigging the sailboat while the kids enjoy Aunt Mary homemade popsicles.Nolan does some weed whacking while waiting to sail.With the dolly repaired, it’s a one-man job to launch the sailboat.Water is still cold – our garage-sale wetsuits came in handy!Daily afternoon swim with Aunt Mary and Aunt Julie. They thought they’d be warmer using the lawn chairs 🤣Snorkelling during the sunset.Team work to build a fire.It took a while, but they got it going.Focus.This is what I’m doing while all the other activities are going on. Neil had surprise sparklers.Entranced.Maestro Khoo F.Mad wizard!HAPPINESS.
They got 25¢ if they hit the buoy (empty beach bottle). The Littles get a handicap. Felix’s jubilation on scoring!Aunt Mary’s beach remains empty through the days, but the little beach down the way is packed in the afternoons.Excavating to build a firepit.Lining the firepit.And then prepping to start the fire.Checking on the firepit. We need this oven for our lunch!While we’re waiting for the oven to heat, Lara ferries Neil in from the sailboat, and LL prepares the experiment.We heat a flat rock wrapped in foil and the loaf in Aunt Mary’s fish grill. Neil will put the lid on the oven while everything cooks.The rock is for pizza.The cheese and garlic crack bread done in the fire pit is a success.After lunch, it’s time to trial the trapeze harnesses.The Littles experiment on balancing, in some cases, getting pretty brave.Mid-afternoon snack is perfect for cherry-pit spitting contests.The Littles build a village with housing, farmland, forest, water reservoir, and graveyard.
What happens you miss your footing 😱Pump out of our black water (aka sewage) at Harrison Park. The RV bus behind us was towing a Beetle.Seen at Harrison Park.Kids and Aunt Mary in kayaks, and Neil and LL in the canoe to explore the river.3 on a kayakwith inevitable results 🤣
Teamwork!Then, there’s going out in the motorboat, which always leads to ….
requests to be towed in their kayaks.
They love the sinking version [sound on for uproarious laughter and shrieks],
and the 3-on-1-kayak version,
the standing version (slow and steady is key),
and the tipping version of course! [Sound on for the laughter.]Aunt Mary made a scrumptious chocolate cake to celebrate the missed and upcoming birthdays! It was so good, everyone had two slices and it was demolished (except for one itty bitty slice).Any guesses as to what this is? It’s the bee stinger pulled from the bottom Lara’s foot!Apparently, that’s a string of digestive material plus muscles, glands and the venom sac. The act of leaving a body part behind as self defence is called autotomy. Other examples are lizards leaving behind their tail and crabs leaving a claw.Lara getting some private sailing lessons 😀Hitching a ride because of the bee sting on her foot. It was so swollen, she was unable to put her foot in her sandal.Fresh mango lassi from Aunt Mary using her homemade yoghurt.Neil and Nolan out for a sail.
Trying out the trapeze out on the water. Note the bare foot – still too swollen to fit in a sandal.
Felix at the helm on the same trip – his reaction at the end made us all laugh 😂Lara expanded the village with a guard tower.Guard tower closeup – ladder for access is on the right.
Second pump out, this time at the KOA campground.
If you rent a super cool vehicle, everyone wants to try driving it. Neil worked the pedals for Felix.
The kids’ drives took place on the gravel road out of KOA campground. Neil worked the pedals here too.
Nolan started out working the pedals, but it didn’t last long. 😱 This is our family album, so equal exposure for the kids is required. 😃Nightly quiet time for about an hour before lights out.Saying goodbye. Thanks to Aunt Mary and Tony for putting up with us again!
Everyone enjoyed a wonderful visit!