Beaver Creek and Kinsmen Park

There is so much more to do and see in and around Saskatoon. Close to home is the Beaver Creek Conservation Area, where we went for a nice little hike yesterday morning. The Interpretive Center is really nicely done, and Finn and Lily enjoyed playing with the costumes and discovering bird voices. They also did a really good job walking!

Kinsmen Park in Saskatoon with its train and merry-go-round was another big hit with them. There also is a nice playground and water park, but we didn't have any swimsuits along, so they couldn't go in the water. Finn really wants to go back, so hopefully we can fit that in still.

Beaver Creek Interpretive Center. We played dress up, and the wolf mask was their absolute favorite.

Out on the hike.

A beaver dam, but we didn't see any beavers around.

We found some "wisecracks" along the hike. Ha ha. (Grandma calls them "groaners" :)

And another one...

Back at the Center we quenched our thirst at the watering tree.

Kinsmen Park train ride! Finn chose the Little Red Caboose to sit in.

This thing moves pretty fast, and the bigger animals move up and down too. Finn picked a deer to ride and I sat next to him to make sure he wouldn't fall off. He hung on really well, though, so I could abandon my post to chase after Lily who couldn't make up her mind who to sit on.

Her favorite seemed to be the donkey. She was quite good at making the appropriate noise, too. (She's had some exposure to the impressive braying of Ross' two donkeys, Finnegan and Buttercup.)

And ice cream afterwards! This got pretty messy pretty soon, but of course they loved it!

And some more pictures ...

... of Finn and Lily having fun with their Auntie Kristine and at Ross' place. They really love it there - all the cats, horses and things to discover are right down their alley.

BBQ at the neighbors'

Hard to believe, but our time here is coming to an end! We only have a few days left and had to say our goodbyes to a few people already. Karl, Kristin and Kristine were here last weekend - it was great to see them again. Saturday night we went over to Staceys' and Collin's for a BBQ. Food and company could not have been better! Afterwards Finn told me he wants to marry Meghan (4). But he also wants to marry Jana in Germany. Because they are both soooo pretty! :)

Well, I had to break the news to him that in our part of the world you can only marry one person. At a time that is. Secretely I'm glad though. This is a huge step forward from Finn insisting that he will marry Lily when he grows up.

Watch out, it's tickle time!

The trek to the neighbors' for some BBQ fun. Stopped and chatted with Bob, another neighbor and told him he was trailing some rope behind his pick-up truck. I will miss seeing all those trucks when we're back in Germany! Oh, and by the way, that's only the wind blowing up Kristin's dress, in case you wondered. :)

In order to get a hug from Finn these days you have to either be extremely lucky or - a dog.

Lily is more of a cat person, whether the cat likes it or not.

Uncle Karl trying to remedy his extreme back pain by playing soccer with Meghan and Kyle. He went on to spend most of Sunday lying down.

How is this for a view from your back porch?

Gingy so wanted in on the fun but had to be content with a few smoochies from Lily through the gate.

Collin did an excellent job BBQing - Finn ate a whole big fat burger and Lily ate two hot dogs. Stacey's salads were equally good!

Emily was a bit overwhelmed by all the noise and people, but a bowl of dessert finally made her let go of Stacey.

Trekking home. Lucky Finn and Lily got to ride in the wagon again.

Two peas in a pot

Who needs a paddling pool when you have horse watering tubs? Thanks to a good scrubbing from Grandpa this one was good as new and Finn and Lily had fun in it for hours.

Sandy Bay

C'mon Grandpa, quit chatting! Time to get in the boat, we're all ready for the beach!

In case the engine should fail Finn had the paddle ready at all times.

Boat is tied to a post, Kurt is ready to join us on the beach, Sandy Bay.

"Oooh, cold!", was Finn's first reaction to the water. A lake in northern Saskatchewan in June is not very warm, that's for sure.

It didn't take them long to go back in, though! They loved it!!!

As Kurt said, "It takes a kid from Germany to go in the lake when no Canadians are there." :)

The waves were pretty strong and Lily got knocked down and under water. After we pulled her out she was quite happy to stay with Grandpa, wrapped up in his jacket.

Finn playing crab.

Dried off, in clean clothes, heading home for lunch! (And in case you wondered, no, I didn't go in the water. Except to pull Lily out. :)

Campfire fun

The perfect ending to a perfect day at the lake is, of course, a campfire, fish or no fish. We grilled hot dogs instead. Easier to gut and no bones. For dessert, Kurt and Norma demonstrated their impressive team working skills to make smores! (For the uninitiated: a marshmallow grilled to gooey, sticky, sweet perfection, topped with a piece of chocolate and squished between two honey graham crackers. YUM!)

Starting the fire:

Mesmerized

"Isn't this great, Finn?!"

Catch of the day:

Gimme smore(s)!

Finn ate most of one, Lily put some in her mouth, more in her hair, even more in my hair as I came to the rescue, then handed it to me: "Don't likkit."

It was way past their bedtime (days are long up north), but we sat around the fire for a bit and sang campfire songs. Didn't take us very long as the first couple lines were all that we remembered of most. :)

And last, not least, a bedtime story from Grandpa. Night, all!