Trip to Canada

It's been a busy summer so far, and I haven't had much time to blog.  I thought I'd keep it light and simple by sharing some pictures of our recent trip to Canada. 

How to survive a ten-hour car trip with three kids and a dog:
1)  Go to the craft store and buy a bunch of little surprises.
2)  Wrap them individually and number them from 1 to 10.
3)  Print a map and mark numbers from 1 to 10 at regular intervals.
4)  During the trip, let them open one surprise at a time as you pass each number on the map, and enjoy some peace and quiet as they create masterpieces.

Two of their favorite surprises were plain metal lunchboxes they decorated with scrapbook stickers, foam letters and glitter glue, and a Mad Lib story pad.

Happy 70th Birthday!
The reason for our trip was to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday.  Doesn't he look young and healthy like a young man?  I'm so proud of my dad.  He has always been a source of inspiration for me.  I have fond memories of my youth, where he took us camping, taught us how to ride a bike, or just spent quality time with us.  If I could describe him in a few words, I would say he's kind, trustworthy, and he has a heart as deep as the ocean.  I took it for granted back then, but now I realize as an adult that not everyone had that chance of having caring parents raising them with good values. 

I love you, Dad!

A home away from home
My mom rented a cottage for the occasion.  To spend the whole weekend with my parents, my brother and sister and their partners, and my lovely niece who will soon be 19, was priceless. 

The cottage was right next to a river, with plenty of wooded area where the kids had fun doing a treasure hunt, looking for dinosaurs and other toys my mom had hidden.  At night, we had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows.  I miss the Canadian fresh nights, when we slept with the windows open.  No need for A/C.  Ahhh!  How refreshing!

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth
On the way back, we stopped for a barbecue dinner at my husband's sister's house near Albany, NY.  It was a good break from all this driving, and it was great to see my in-laws again.

While we ate scallops wrapped in bacon (hmmm!), hot dogs and hamburgers, a huge bug started hovering around the flowers next to the porch.  At first, my kids thought it was a humongous bee, but it had a feeding tube, much like a hummingbird.  I looked it up when I got back and found out it was a hummingbird clearwing moth.  A very big name for a very strange bug!  I had never seen anything like that in my life.