Niagara Canada, EH?

My darling husband and I had the opportunity to get away for a few days. As one of us (I'm not telling which one) had been a raving lunatic for 2 or three weeks... or months... or years...(one loses all track of time in the padded room), we decided to get far, far away. As far as possible without leaving the country. But then we actually did leave the country, but just barely, and it didn't really feel like we were leaving the country because we drove into Canada and they didn't even stamp our passports! I mean really! I LIVE to get stamps in that thing. I even took it to Mexico when it wasn't a requirement and begged them to stamp it for me. Anyway, back to the story. We flew into Buffalo, NY from Oregon and then got a cab to Ontario, Canada, home of Niagara Falls! We got in after dark so although we could hear the falls, we didn't get to see them until the following morning when we woke up, opened the curtains and were met with this spectacular display.







VIEW FROM HOTEL WINDOW OF CANADIAN HORSESHOE FALLS
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The first thing we did was take a walk along the falls and head into the heart of the tourist district.


RAINBOW INTO FALLS




We rode on the Maid of the Mist first. This is the famous boat that takes people right to the base of both falls. This is the American Falls. Very respectable falls but slightly less impressive than the Canadian Horseshoe fall. Also the American side is less developed tourist-wise. Which is why we decided to go Canadian.



AMERICAN FALLS

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It was pretty hard to get a picture of the Horsehoe Falls from the boat since we (and the camera) were getting soaked. The mist hides some of the falls but you get the picture. I don't have exact numbers but the falls are VERY HIGH. (I don't speak Metric, anyway).
HORSESHOE FALLS FROM THE MAID OF THE MIST

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We also went on down the river to view the rapids. These are very fast rapids, they are some dangerous category (5 maybe?) They told us on the tour to be careful not to fall in because we we could die....uh, really? I think I could'a figured that one out myself even if I am a stupid American!

DANGEROUS RAPIDS-DO NOT GO SWIMMING!


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This is a picture of the American (left) and Canadian (right) Falls bridged by a rainbow. I think this makes me look like a brilliant photographer, patiently waiting all day for just the right light and conditions to take the most perfect photo. Okay, maybe not but it is pretty, though.

Bungee Bear

Daddy took the girls to Girl Scout camp last weekend. They stayed in tents, swam in the lake, made pine derby racecars (in deference to the dads, I'm sure). They all said they had a great time. The girls slept in a tent on their own. The dads were left to wonder what their little girls were up to all alone in the wilderness without parental supervision...

We discovered this on the camera when they got home:

Home at Last

I am just back from spending 8 days at my in-laws house. It was over 100 degrees every day. I had my 9 year old nephew as well. I hurt my foot and was on percocet and using a cane. i had to use the electric cart at the grocery store (actually, that part was fun). I had dinner at the elks with the over 70 set. My dog threw up twice and ants invaded his food bowl My daughter threw up twice. My kindle ran out of power and I forgot the charger.

Big girl and I did have a great time Saturday night. We had a wonderful dinner and saw Henry the VIII at the Shakespeare Festival. But I am very, very glad to be home at last.

Free at Last!

Big Girl Got her braces off! She was extremely excited and invited us all to a Milky Way and Bubblegum Party. A good time was had by all.

Miguel the Monkey

The girls were in a summer camp play yesterday. The play was called Miguel the Monkey and the Cunning Lion. Big Girl played Flamingo #1. Little Girl played Miguel's Little Sister Monkey.

The play was adorable. The costumes were awesome and the kids all did a great job. There were some serious thespians in the group!

New School Books!

Yesterday we got 2 huge boxes full of our new home school curriculum. Most parents of home schoolers are taking a huge sigh of relief that they have a break for a couple of months.

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Not me. I plan waaayyyy ahead. I love, love, love books. Books of all kinds. I would love to own a brand new set of encyclopedia even though the information would be outdated as soon as I open the box and all the info is free on the internet.

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I really love fresh new textbooks. On the first day of school I always hoped I would be one of the first ones called up to the teacher's desk to pick up my new book. I knew the sooner I was called, the better my chances of getting a newer, fresher book. One with little to no wear and tear or writing. Even better than that...a brand new book...MY name the FIRST on the this book belongs to: page!

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Maybe when people ask me why we home school I should just tell the truth..."I'm in it for the books!"

Go for the Gold

With one thing and another, I haven't been able to post lately. More on that later. On Memorial weekend we all hopped into the minivan and headed to the metropolis of Garberville, California for the Region 1 Tang So Do annual tournament. Big Girl was competing as a 6th Gup or green belt in the 9 and 10 year old division. Little Girl was to compete as a Little Dragon.

Last year Big Girl competed 3 days after getting 8 stitches in her knee. She did not win a medal although she came close. We were really hoping she would place this year to make up some for that disappointment.

Little Girl competed first. She was adorable, yet intimidating. She did an amazing job on her form and won her sparring match.

In her division, everyone wins a gold medal but she surely earned it...next year she will be in the Gup division like her sister so watch out!

Next up was Big Girl. Dad and I had our fingers crossed she would place in forms. She had worked very hard on her form and we thought she'd have a pretty good shot at it.

She tied for 3rd... They both had to do their form again... They tied for 3rd again...

Dad and I were biting our nails. Head judges were called in. The 3 judges made a call. It was 2 to 1 for the other kid. Boo Hoo!

Next up was sparring. She won her first match. It was hard to follow but she had 2 more matches and we thought she was doing well. When the announcements for awards came we held our breath and...

Gold Baby!

Aren't they sweet?....I mean scary! Scary, of course!