A little walk to the lake

Yesterday we took the dog and went for a walk to a little lake nearby. The girls were fine at first, and waded a little in the creek, but then got quite put out at us for not letting them swim in the lake. Um, let's see...we don't have swimsuits with us, and dogs aren't allowed at the beach area - it doesn't seem too hard to accept, but somehow it was. Anyway, WE had a nice time, and ran into a couple of families from church out walking. And Andy had a great time sniffing around and meeting some other dogs.


Mia on the bridge over the creek.

Claire the thinker... "How can I get them to let me go swimming?"



Fake smile on the fishing dock.

This is Mia's "I'm not getting my way" look. "You're not letting me do what I want, so I'm not going to do what you want." But at least she snaps out of it pretty quickly these days - yea!

Have a good week!

At the Nature Center

Claire and Mia were invited to a birthday party at the Nature Center yesterday. Our Nature Center showcases animals that are native to this region. Claire had not been since she was very small, so it was pretty much all new to both of them. They had a great time.

I thought these turtles looked like they were talking - probably about how tired they are of people looking at them, and all of those noisy kids running around...



Sliding down the otter slide

In the butterfly house they sprayed our fingers with sugar water to attract the butterflies. They wouldn't actually land on you, but if you put your finger by one that was sitting, it would crawl onto you.



Mia showing her beaver teeth.


The bears were in a fence that was curved in at the top, but still a little too close for comfort for me!

Too far away. I would like to have seen the deer a little closer.


Coyote.

Claire was fascinated with this green striped caterpillar.

Ooh - I would not want to touch that thing!


This was the biggest rabbit I've ever seen.


A wolf lying down for a little nap.

A white wolf.

FFF - Sweet Tristan

Here's a picture of my sweet Trissy Bug, taken this week. Poor little guy, he's been so unsettled since Andy came into the family. He's spent most of the past month and a half hiding under our bed or in our closet. They've gotten into a couple of scraps, but I don't think Tristan knows that he could beat Andy up with one paw tied behind his back - he's a pretty big cat. He's finally starting to get a little braver, and will sleep up on the bed now, and if Andy is in his crate, Tristan will walk slowly past the door as if to say, "Ha ha - I'm out and you're not!"

For more FFF posts, visit Sarah's blog.

Have a great weekend!

Pix from yesterday

Mia all dressed up from church



We straightened Claire's hair, but the humidity was just too high...


Andy all dirty from playing in the fresh cut grass

This picture shows Andy's personality perfectly!

School starts tomorrow for the girls, so they're enjoying the last day of summer vacation.

Swimming

We have friends that have a pool, and we've gotten to go a few times this summer. The girls have had so much fun, and I love taking pool pictures. I don't know if it's the blue, or the natural light or what, but they usually turn out good. Here are a few of the girls and their friends, in no particular order. (I also like to try to catch them in mid-air while jumping!)


Dmitri -

I love Mia's big smile as she leaps -



Rachel -

Hannah -








Daniel's dad was throwing the ball, and Daniel would try to catch it as he jumped in -


I think he caught this one -

Katie and Claire -

Josef -



Here's Claire's "No more pictures, Mom" look -


And here's her "Now you're really making me mad" look -