Grundy Lake Provincial Park

Our vacation to Grundy Lake went off without a hitch and we all had a great time. We took with us our babysitter-turned-friend Jacqueline and since she has never really been camping it was neat to share this experience with her. The weather was great athough we had one big storm just after we finished setting up on Monday. I didn't realize the severity of it until I drove up to the front desk the next day and there were five big trees down. I really don't like thunderstorms at the best of times and camping during them makes me feel so vulnerable but I really find it puts my trust in God to the test. I think it's good to feel that way though every once in a while, it shows us who we really rely on in times of trouble.
Anyway, for our first time visiting this park, we were impressed. It is a nice family park and that was demonstrated by the fact that over 50 kids attended an interpretive program on reptiles that Anna and Naomi attended one morning. I was really impressed with their kids interpretive program. They had booklets that you could fill out/colour about different nature topice i.e. wildlife, environment, vegetation etc. and when you finished a booklet you got a sticker on a certificate verifying its completion. When you collected all the stickers you were considered a Super Naturalist. Anna and Naomi thought this was great and were able to each complete the wildlife booklet and will have to come back some day to try to earn their other stickers.
The park has about six beaches on three different lakes and almost all of them had floating docks out in the water. Since Anna and Naomi had just finished swimming lessons they felt confident enough to swim out to them and jump off of them with their inflatable rings. They spent hours swimming and jumping and so we had no problem getting them to sleep at night.
Camping is so great for kids and although it is a lot of work (10 loads of laundry today = 2.5 hours at the laundromat to get it all done at one time this morning :)) it is so fun to see them entertaining themselves in nature. Never once did they ask, "What do we do?" There was always some exciting adventure to be found whether it be biking, canoeing, catching minnows with their nets, roasting marshmallows, going for a 2.5 hike over rocky terrain or just veging in the sand on the beach. Never a dull moment! We can't wait to go again in August!
(Pictures will follow shortly)