Niece Week 2016

Last weekend I was still in Erie, Penn, and Mark was at my place with my 2 nieces as were Simon, Daniele and Fiona. Dan kindly drove all the way to Erie and picked me up so I didn't miss "Niece Week". She also made all the beds. I owe her!
The Lake was dramatically different from one day to the next, providing lots of fun.

There was a windy day of big, churning waves.

Heather, Cami (Sarah's "exchange twin" visiting from France for 2 months), Fiona and Sarah

The life jackets helped with buoyancy and safety in the undertow that develops here when the waves are big.

They should have been exhausted

but, instead, they were invigorated.

Ruby, Si, Dan and Fiona's young lab also found the beach to her liking. She proved to be a water dog and was the only dog I have ever seen who digs in the sand while lying on her side.

Covering herself with sand proved to be a pretty effective way of drying herself off.

She loved chasing her ball into the water. "Ruby takes flight" photo by Mark Joynes.

Mark's Digital SLR took some fabulous pictures, much better than my "point and shoot". Photo by Mark Joynes.

Photo by Mark Joynes.

Another day the lake was as still as a mill pond. Heather and Fiona took out the kayak and the paddle board.

A peaceful way to just "hang out"

It was a perfect day to try out paddle boarding.

Though when you get tired of struggling to keep your balance, the board can still be used like a kayak. That's Heather's head in the foreground as it was also a lovely day for swimming.

Of course there were also trips to Udderlies to play in the arcade and eat ice cream. Not wanting to play favorites, ice cream was also purchased from Twins (in Port Rowan) and Stubs. A brief sail on Kestrel (the wind was building so they cut it short), walks and runs on the beach, colouring in Christines books, games of pool in the basement, and

games of Settlers and Monopoly (no the girls were not drinking wine, that bottle was left there from dinner the night before)

Chris and Jason were here for a couple of days and Mum and Dad visited for a day. It wasn't actually a week, the Ottawa contingent were only here for 4 days. It was crammed with activity but didn't feel long enough. Luckily I will see them again at Chris and Jason's wedding, end of September.

Flight