Lester's Farm

Scott's employer has a social club for families called Frontier Club. They organize a few outings a month and last weekend we went to Lester's Farm. It was a gorgeous, clear day, and at 65 degrees almost felt too warm for a fall outing!

The kids and I went to the farm back in July and really enjoyed it. This time around there was a host of new activities just for our group, which made it even more fun!

First up was the sandbox. 

Helen and Daddy went to meet the animals in the barn, which she thoroughly enjoyed. And even though the boys said they didn't want to ride the horse, I waited in line hoping they'd change their minds. Joseph reluctantly but obediently mounted the horse, but barely cracked a smile. Even at the end, he seemed eager for it to be over so he could get back into the the sandbox!

Although Ian refused to ride first, he actually really enjoyed himself! He waved and smiled the entire time. But then he was straight back to the sandbox too!

A family photo. The fact that we are all in it makes the picture good enough! 

Then it was off to have their first-ever face painting experience. I was not impressed by all the super-scary options on the artists' poster. At first I tried to convince Ian and Joseph to ask for something sweet like a little puppy on their arm or cheek. But I decided to step back and let them just decide, and Ian ended up switching from the creepy, very life-like spider on his cheek to a pumpkin face. He was the first to have it done, and we noticed tons of pumpkin-faces popping up on the farm afterward. 

He loved the end result. He leapt around the hay bales and growled at passerby. It was obvious that he felt very cool and frightening as a pumpkin-face. 

Joseph went ahead with his original plan, but was bashful when it was time to tell the artist. So she asked him about each option until he nodded enthusiastically at this one. 

He also loved the results!

Meanwhile, Helen was taking her first horse ride. She is thrilled by animals and this horse was no exception. However sitting on a moving horse was not her cup of tea. She began crying immediately, and once Scott rescued her, she kept pointing accusingly at the horse.

The pigs were a different story though. Scott held her over the pigs and she'd reach out and touched them on the backs. She thought it was a hilarious game and kept diving forward to do it again and again. 

Then we ate some burgers, decorated Halloween totes, and took a tractor-pulled hayride with the Coopers and Sundbergs. 

We went to the barn to say farewell to the animals and the boys worked up the courage to hand feed the animals. 

Here, Ian had taken several feed balls and instead of giving them to the goats and llamas, he carefully placed them on the railing. Nearly as satisfying, and much less scary! 

Lastly, we selected pumpkins. Ian and Joseph had been looking forward to this for weeks. Can you believe our family has never carved pumpkins? 

It was a quick choice for the both of them. 

When we got back to the car, the kids all posed for a parting shot. When I squatted down to take the picture, Helen mimicked me. It was so adorable! (Yes, she was one-shoed the entire day.)

A cute and scary bunch! 

It turns out the face paint doesn't come off as easily as we expected.... Joseph still looks like he has black eyes, and Ian is a sickly orange color. His sensitive skin is also all rashy 3 days later...

It was a fun fall day!

Lesley's 28th Birthday!

On our third day in Newfoundland, I celebrated my 28th Birthday! The kids and I spent the day adjusting to our new timezone at the hotel, but things got festive when Scott brought home a cake. We also ordered Indian food after the kids went to bed. 

 After cake, Scott surprised me with a Flip Video camera. I was so impressed that amid all the relocation chaos, he had purchased and then stowed away this gift. Little did I know there were a bunch more surprises hidden away in his luggage! 

In the days before we flew to Newfoundland, a group of dear friends in Houston schemed and secretly dropped off a slew of beautifully wrapped gifts, that Scott hid away in his luggage for my birthday. How I didn't stumble upon them when I was searching for bathing suits and missing toothbrushes is a mystery and a miracle. It was such a sweet idea, and three months later as I finally record this, I am once again overcome with emotions of gratitude for such thoughtful friends. Our little family may have been drifting on a strange island in the Atlantic, but I still felt remembered and cared for and so, so lucky!

Three maps from my three homes: Martinez, CA; Conroe, TX; St. John's, NL. 

I love having some Texas paraphernalia! 

I wish I had pictures with each gift.

And I wish that none of the pictures included nose-picking.

And I wish I could reach back in time and fix my hair. But didn't Ian take a great picture? Thanks Scott and Y'all Ladies back in Texas for making this birthday so memorable and special! Oh, how I miss you!

Camping -- Oldmill RV Park

About one Friday a month Scott gets an EDO, or earned day off. We love it!

We'd been trying to convince our good friends the Coopers to give camping a try and July's EDO was the perfect opportunity. The weather was supposed to be fabulous so we thought we'd head back to La Manche. Unfortunately we waited until the night before to book a site and La Manche and everything else within a 2 hours drive was reserved. We got desperate, and against our better judgement, we finally secured 2 camping sites at an RV park 45 minutes out of town. 

To say the site was ugly would be an understatement. Compared to the rugged natural beauty that abounds in Newfoundland, this place was a complete hole. More like a gravel parking lot than a place to commune with nature. But, true to their word, the outhouses were the absolute best I have ever experienced.

We kicked off the campout with a delicious lunch interrupted by a heavy rainstorm. 

We positioned ourselves under the tent canopy and the open tailgate of the van. Thankfully, Newfoundland weather changes quickly and it was soon over.

Then it was time for homemade rootbeer!

Dry ice is so much fun!

Watching the little boys experience dry ice was great. It was not Scott's best brew because the root beer extract was nearly solid.... and expired 3 years ago. That just means we will have to try it again!

The biting flies were not nearly as bad as our trip to La Manche. Helen got two bites, and I think she was the only one in our family to get any. It's so creepy how the first thing you notice is blood trickling down! They aren't painful, but they itch badly. Joseph still has a scab from La Manche (a month and a half ago!) because he can't stop scratching it. Luckily, Helen left hers alone.

Scott made the most incredible dutch oven dinner of potatoes, cheese and bacon.

 He felt horrible all afternoon and night, and was great to still play master chef for us.

 

Our boys loved wandering around with their buddy Lincoln. There wasn't a ton of space to roam between campsites (There are three sites in this picture. Way too close to each other!) but the kids made do and enjoyed "hiding" from the parents. They also had fun playing at the big playground, and throwing rocks in a stream at the edge of the campground.

Helen spent most of her time in the pack n play. And loved it! Something about being outside just makes babies happy.

These two are really starting to enjoy being together. Scarlett is four months younger than Helen and they are destined to be BFF's. They mostly demonstrated their friendship by tackling each other, but were so much happier to be together than alone in the pack n play.

Photos compliments of the lovely Taralee.

When it came time for bed, we folded down the van seats, put the pack n play inside and put Helen to sleep in there. But she just stood up and watched us through the window. Both babies had a terrible time falling asleep because of all the noise our fellow campers were making. It was something of a foreshadow for the night ahead... 

Our next-door-neighbors began playing music really, really loudly at 2 am. The babies both woke up, and we all laid there listening to babies crying and Brad Paisley singing for an hour and a half. Eventually Scott pounded on their RV and explained it was time to turn the music off. Scott scared them to death, and I am a bit ashamed to admit how happy that made me! We all slept great after that. 

Relaxing with hot chocolate after a breakfast of sausage and homemade donuts.

The skies were clear on Saturday and we decided to find a good place to swim. Taralee and I interviewed as many fellow campers as we could and got the best tip from a grade-school girl on the playground. She said to follow the traintracks for 30 minutes and there we'd find a swimming hole. Although she seemed sure of herself, we decided against wandering off on her advice alone. 

We also stopped a railroad enthusiast who was examining the abandoned train tracks that dead-ended at the RV park. Although he didn't know of any swimming spots (neither did his friend, who he called on our behalf) I learned some interesting things about the rail system. Apparently the rails in NL are more narrow than mainland Canada, because it was cheaper to build them that way. Train cars would be sent from mainland Canada and then refitted with wheels the proper width once they got to NL. It wasn't ultimately very cost effective to do it this way, and it wasn't terribly safe either as the train cars constantly derailed on the narrow tracks. There were freight and passenger trains, and the the passenger trains were called the Newfie Bullet. It operated for 90 years, but because retrofitting cars to fit the tracks was so expensive and made them so unstable, the Newfoundland rail system was abandoned completely in 1988. All according to our new friend. 

Some Googling from our phones yielded an article in The Scope magazine about some local "secret" swimming holes. We decided to check one out back near home and we weren't disappointed! 

You park along the main road to Cape Spear, then hike off into the woods. At one point you wade through a stream, and then pass a rusted-out van. The swimming hole is on Punch Bowl Pond and the scene was picturesque.

      Photo compliments of the lovely Taralee.

We will definately go back!

   Photo compliments of the lovely Taralee.

Camping at La Manche

 After celebrating Canada day at a St. John's Branch BBQ (in record heat!), we drove straight to La Manche Provincial Park for our first family campout in Newfoundland.

At the BBQ this messy baby tried watermelon and loved it so much she bathed herself in it. Then she found a smashed jelly-donut in the grass and ate that too!

Then it was off to the lovely La Manche, about 30 minutes away. Since it was a Monday, we were just about the only campers there.

Helen happily watched us set up camp from her pack n play. It reminded me of when, at the exact same age, Ian sat in the same pack n play on his first family campout.

While Scott set up the tent, the boys added to their cap collection.

It was still hot that afternoon, so we followed a tiny trail from our site down to the lake. There was a nice little swimming area and the evening was beautiful. Helen sat with me in a shallow area and splashed and raked rocks toward herself for a good 30 minutes.

That night we grilled steaks and made homemade donuts (our best yet!). We set up Helen's pack n play in the van and then taught the boys Charades around the campfire. I won't ever forget Joseph acting out "backhoe" and "tree".

Around the time we put the boys to bed, it began to rain. I laid down in the van with Helen until it was dry enough outside to carry her to the tent, but that time never came! She and I ended up sleeping in the van all night, and even set off the car alarm when I leaned against the tailgate! At 7 the next morning the tent began to leak, so the boys gathered up their pillows and backpacks and dashed for the van. (And found Helen and I eating Oreo's for breakfast.) 

Scott collapsing the tent in the rain.

Even though we didn't get to see all La Manche had to offer, this trip was still packed full of special memories, and was my favorite Larson family campout EVER.

When we got home we started airing everything out. Doors are ideal for drying out sleeping bags!

It took two days of running two box fans constantly to get this tent to dry out in our basement. Then we had to mop up a whole forest-worth of dirt...

We are looking forward to lots more Newfoundland camping trips and hopefully a return trip to La Manche this summer.