sunset silhouettes

summer photo shoot - 2011

 

It's that time of year again - time to put my kids in matching outfits, take them to the beach and snap away!  Last year it took two tries to get the pictures I wanted, but this year things went very smooth.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I had seen a large rock out in the water on the beach near our cottage the very first time we walked on the beach back in the spring and right away I could picture it!  So today was the day, I dressed them in white and carried the girls out to the rock (it's a fair bit in the water, I was quite wet myself) and Kyle made it out there himself, dry for the part.  The weather was beautiful for pictures, slightly overcast, no glaring sun.  The kids were all in a good mood and it went very quickly.  This year I switched things up and did this in the morning rather than evening - much better all around!

I have to say, these are definately my favourites of all the photos I've done with the kids.  I love natural look of the rock in the pictures, I love the water and sky in the background, I love the kids in all white, and it was our easiest photo shoot yet.

Jillian doing her best Little Mermaid impression

Kyle was so excited when I told him he could jump into the water with his clothes still on.  This is definately one of my favourite shots, it's so telling of my kids with the girls sitting safely on the dry rock and Kyle literally leaping into the water!

Discovery Harbour

I have to admit, I wasn't completely on board about this day trip.  We were headed to Penetanguishine for the day with a stop in Discovery Harbour for a few hours.  It just wasn't too appealing to me, but hey, the family does more than their fair share of things on my to-do list so off we went loaded up with snacks and rain jackets due to the possible rain showers.  Wouldn't you know, I was pleasantly surprised.  This turned out to be a fun day for the kiddos.  I even learned a fair bit about Canadian history...although admittedly my knowledge of history is sparse so it doesn't take much!

Discovery Harbour traces its roots back to the original British naval and military base in Penetanguishene, built to safeguard access to Upper Canada after the War of 1812.
In 1828, a British garrison on Drummond Island was relocated to Penetanguishene. By 1834, Canada was defended exclusively by these forces. An impressive stone Officers' Quarters was built in 1845. The military occupied the site until 1856.

(no, I didn't learn enough to actually have this memorized...this is cut and paste directly from the website!)

From testing out sailor's hammocks in their barracks and touring the navy surgeon's house to climbing on cannons and touring recreated tall ships, Kyle, Jillian and Leah all enjoyed the whole experience.  The tour was informational but moved at a fast enough pace to keep the kids (and parents) entertained.

The ships were really neat.  It was nice how they set everything up for the kids to explore and really see how the navy lived and worked in those days.

 I found it very interesting when I couldn't drag my kids away from the super fun activity of...wait for it...swabbing the deck.  Yes, a bucket and a mop kept my kids happily entertained for ages, and they didn't want to stop until they had swabbed the whole deck.  They didn't even believe me when I told them I had plenty of swabbin' for them to do at home, apparently swabbing the kitchen floor doesn't have quite the same appeal, darn!

Kyle and Jillian showing off their British heritage

Overall a fun activity for the family, along with some history thrown in for good measure.  Afterall, nothing says summer vacation like an educational field trip! ;-)

Blue Mountain

During our week at the cottage, we spent one day at nearby Blue Mountain enjoying the lovely resort area.  The highlight of the day being a ride down Ridge Runner...a mountain rollercoaster.  So much fun!  Even our little Leah enjoyed her trip down the mountain.  I'm very much enjoying this new stage for our family, being able to enjoy activities like this as a family of 5.  For years it seemed Jeff was doing the fun stuff with Kyle or Kyle & Jillian while I stood by on the sidelines being pregnant or looking after a baby.  It definately helps that Leah is very adventurous and willing to try anything!

We ended the day at a local drive-in theatre to enjoy Winnie-the-Pooh and Cars2

friends

What's better than a day at the beach?  A day at the beach with friends of course!  These guys made the trek to our cottage which made for an extra fun day at the beach for everyone. 

It's interesting to see this group as they have evolved.  A long time ago when Kyle and Teagan were the only 2 "big" kids they hung out together while the babies/toddlers/preschoolers played.  Now that everyone is older we see the kids break off in groups by gender, especially the older 4 kiddos...Jillian just loves hanging out with Teagan, and Kyle and Caden are kindred spirits, similar in so many ways.  Of course all 6 get along very well as a group and love getting together no matter what the activity. 

Thanks for visiting, we can't wait until the next time we get together!!