I love summer

 Decided to take the kids to the lake.  Zuke was the first in the van.

 Zuke learned to swim.  He prefers lying out on a towel like all the other sunbathers.  When I offered to take the children to the washroom he came along without a blink of the eye.  He simply went in the handicap stall with Clive and David and kept watch under the door.  I think the campers were to dumbfounded to say anything.  Nobody actually told him he is a DOG.

 We brought a boat, but who needs a boat when there are perfectly good logs in the forest!  The race is on!

 Here are my boys doing what they do best.  Clive gets these crazy ideas, then everyone wants to play.

 The apples are dropping like crazy.  We had apple juice this morning.  The chickens get the not-store-bought apples.  They're still pretty tart, but everyone loves the fact that we are making our own juice so they choke it down.  We're all happily eating mummy's yogurt though.  It turned out beautifully thanks to  the yogurt maker in the crawl space!  We had sourdough toast with eggs this morning as well. YUM.

 Matthew is catching "pets".  He got a moth this morning and kept it in his little hands so long it didn't make it.  Clive and David found some more creatures for him which softened the blow.

We are never bored.  The difficulty comes in deciding just what we should do.  One cores apples, one picks apples, one picks and eats cherries, one catches bugs.  I love summer.

23 eggs!

I've been told on several occasions that I look just like the lady in Chicken Run.  So, I went out to the chickens and talked to them about chicken PIE.  Today we got two more eggs than usual!  uh huh.

Marc was washing dishes last night when all of a sudden SPLOOSH!  The drain fell out of the kitchen sink.  After yet another trip to Rona, we realized that we cannot fix this duct tape job.  We called our favourite plumber, Jerry Hawkes, and he came out today and his son did "real" plumbing.  Now I can use two sinks with no more leaking, hurray!  So, another batch of granola is in the oven, sourdough getting sour on top of the fridge and raspberries and cherries needing to go in the freezer as I prepare for lots of kids this August.  I may start to stock pile my eggs.  They sell very fast.  I've been told to put my price up, but then I'd have to repaint.

Are you there God? We need sunshine.

The gray weather has been getting to all of us.

Even Zuke is getting fed up.  He knows he's not allowed on the trampoline but here he is showing off.  He thinks he's a natural.

For a wee moment Monday afternoon the sun shone.  I picked a few cherries.  We then fired cherry pits across the lawn with our new cherry pitter.  Good times.  The hens are still laying even though they are a little nervous by the circling hawk.  Cornflake is all puffed up over this.

The new renters at Kingscote have decided not to rent.  SUPER.  Looking again for renters.  I think we can live on eggs alone, can't we?  Oh, and cherries.

Clive put a picture on his website.  I can't imagine seeing nothing but water for weeks at a time.  Noooo thank you!  He did have sun finally, I'm glad, I hope he can dry out a bit.

So, I'm officially begging for summer.  Please turn on the sun.

rain

Here are my boys making strawberry rhubarb sorbet.  Yum.  David looks a little unsure... but Matthew is full of confidence!

OH look!  Summertime!  Really, does it get any better than this?

We found this on the couch fast asleep.

Finally, we managed to hang our reminder of Iben.  It's raining because you're not here Iben!

I don't know where summer went this year.  I follow Clive's website and see he is not having great weather either.  Surely it will improve??

Saturday

A Saturday with no soccer, gymnastics or violin.  Here we are doing what comes naturally.

In the afternoon the little Fellows went for a dip in the "pool".  The swim ended abruptly when a snake swam across the pool.

The boys' dresser is full of life.  Sometimes the creatures escape and mummy is lucky enough to find them.  In the back is a new fishing rod.  The boys have saved up for them and patiently wait for the next boat trip.  We're still recovering from the last one, rocking and rolling, I started to wonder if I was sick, but it seems to be going away.

Hawaii

Today, she set sail for Hawaii.

We hope he has everything he needs and anxiously await any news.

There he goes, under sail, leaving Cowichan Bay.

Good luck Clive!  Enjoy your trip, we are all missing you and thinking of you!

We had a fabulous weekend on our boat!  The boys played, rowed, and fished.

The weather was great after a week of overcast dullness.

Cindy's family, Maureen and boys, and Gaylene and family set up camp just around the corner from us at Ruckles Provincial Park.

Matthew was loving every moment.  There was so much to do and kids to play with.

We plan to go again mid-July.  It took a few days for the boys to settle down, their excitement was overboard.

home

The french family and my family did well together while I was gone.  Their eldest boy went to school with Clive and both boys had a great time. The tractor was fixed, fences built, barn roof repaired, and the truck was repaired.  I learned how to make mayonnaise.

Things continue to grow.  The grapes are amazing, hard to imagine these little guys full size!

We are still watching to see if these turn in to kiwi's. 

We hung CD's in the cherry tree hoping to get the cherries before the birds.

My blueberries are coming along.  We also found raspberries when doing some clearing!  

The roses came out while I was away.  They need some TLC, but they really are beautiful.  The kids love all the different plants and flowers, there is always something new to see.

Now I try to prioritize.  I can't do it all, even though I want to.  We'll take a break from wwoofers for awhile, and just enjoy what we have here and now.  Summer has eluded us, we hope for warmth and sunshine, but try to make the most of these cloudy, windy days.  It is fun having Clive home full time, the boys play together, daddy is getting a good workout.