Goodbye Pix

We have an odd tradition.  Whenever I leave for a trip, I take a selfie with each of the kids before I go.  Initially, the first time, I told them that this was in case one of us died; that way we would have one last photo.  And somehow this morbid thing has become a tradition.  

I was leaving to take Marian off to college.  The two of us were flying away and I had to say goodbye to Dad and the other three kids.  The girls took one last picture together, and then I got my selfies in.  And then we ran away.

 

Canoeing at the Lake

Miranda really wanted to take the kids out to canoe.  In theory, I also liked the idea.  What I did not like though, was having to drive very far, and then to have to have the truck drive to the end point.  The point-to-point paddling did not entice me, and an all-day event definitely did not entice me.  Fortunately, we came up with a fabulous solution! We went canoeing on the lake!  It was perfect. Dad drove the canoes out and helped us unload them.  Miranda and her 4 kids, and me and my 4 kids and 5 canoes all went out for a ride.  We paddled around the lake and checked out the shore and had a really nice time. The exciting adventure took less than 3 hours and was quite fulfilling.  10/10 would do it again.

And here are the fun photos to document the event, in utterly random order:

 

Celebrating Dad's Birthday

We went out to visit Mom after church.

And we officially celebrated Dad's birthday with family.

He enjoyed his cake.

Alex patiently waiting for his slice.

Good loot was had.

After the massive Pie Event, it was nice to have a low-key celebration with Dad.

Did someone say Pie?!

Dad had his annual Birthday Pie Party.  Apparently I was sadly negligent with the photo-taking and also forgot to nab whatever pictures Dad took.  So this is all I got.  But It is the most important!!!  I have the pie lineup list of all the pies we made. 15 different pies, and a total of 26 pies. Plus a few more were brought in by guests. It was a most successful event.

 

A girl and her critters

Marian likes the critters.  Salamnders are cool, but Cicadas hang around longer.