And another photo of my photography assistant, making some final adjustments.....

One lovely morning, we took the kids and some boats to the pools near the lighthouse.
Paige saw the girls struggling with the sailboat.... 

Aaron decided he was too big for either boat....

So just sat on the rocks and watched....

Nami and Ringo wanted to try the rowboat....

But they couldn't coordinate their paddling, so they didn't go anywhere....

...until out of frustration, the boat tipped a little, and they both went over the side head first. And I was too busy rescuing them to take pictures. Fortunately just their wigs got wet, but the water dripped onto their clothes and wet those too, and it certainly wasn't the cleanest water, so both dolls needed a good wash, and their wigs shampooed, and their clothes laundered.

Anyway, all's well that ends well. But seriously, what's a camping trip without going for a swim??

With wilderness camping, comes the inevitable outhouse.

​'Wow, two whole rolls of toilet paper!  You must have some serious business to take care of."

"Hey, where are you going??"     "I'm going to find another outhouse!"

"Don't be like that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything.
​If you lend me one of your rolls I'll let you go ahead of me."

So Ringo handed him one of his rolls, and did his business, then headed back to camp.....

For Ringo, the worst part about camping was doing without a proper washroom....

Two of my old art dolls went off to new homes yesterday.

​The Marquis was the last of my attempts at making a sculpted doll all by myself, after my sister decided she no longer enjoyed sculpting dolls. But I decided that even though his costume was great, I just couldn't sculpt a realistic guy to my own satisfaction. And to be honest, I didn't feel like practicing at it for who knows how long, until I was better at it, as I much preferred costuming.

Short John Silver also left.  He was a fun character from a series of smaller OOAK caricature and gnome dolls that both my sister and I made during a period when our regular dolls were not selling well, and we were looking for fresh inspiration. We both sculpted our own figures and I dressed and finished them all. They were much more fun to make - even the sculpting - but there was no market for them at all, so I still have most of the ones I made.

After every meal, the kids took turns washing and drying the dishes. 
​Today it was the boy's turn....

On the third night up north, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset. It started nice enough...

..and everyone came out to watch....

And of course, that's when the swarms of mosquitos come out, so some of the kids left....

Thinking it was all over for another night, they all went in.
​Except me. I stayed for more pictures...

I was very disappointed the other day to discover that Japanese beetles had developed a taste for my impatiens. For years they've been eating my yellow loosestrife down to the bare veins, and they really liked my fireweed too. But this is the first year they've gone after my impatiens....

It's an especially big disappointment, since it's the first year I have the regular impatiens in my backyard again. I thought the disease had passed, so bought them again.

A few years back, there was a fungal disease that totally wiped out all the impatiens. First they'd look droopy and the leaves would turn yellow, and then the plants would look 'cooked'. All the undersides of the leaves would be covered with a white mold. Every single plant died. 

​So the next two years I bought the New Guinea type of impatiens instead, as they weren't vulnerable to the disease. But they just didn't have the flowers and colours of the regular variety. So I was so very happy that some test plants did really well last year, and I went for them again big time this year.  The plants were all doing really well....

But then the other day I discovered the Japanese beetles on them, eating the flowers and leaves...

Well, the battle was on. I did some research and discovered that the best way to get rid of them is to just 'hand pick' them and drown them in a pail of soapy water - but not with bare hands, as they have a nasty, painful bite, that takes months to heal.

Then to make matters even worse, I discovered signs of the white mold on several of my plants. My garden looked so beautiful too, and now it was doomed - if not from the beetles, then definitely from the mold. So I went out and took all kinds of photos, before everything is gone....

*Sorry for all the spaces. Weebly had replaced most of the photos in this post with doll photos from elsewhere on my site, and I'm having so much trouble trying to fix things.  Spacers keep popping in and making one huge mess. I have to leave it for now, and then hopefully I can fix it later.

It was a glorious day, perfect for eating lunch outside overlooking the bay....

They were having hamburgers and hot dogs....

And for dessert there was watermelon and pie....

Aaron was up early the next morning. It looked like it was going to be a gorgeous day.

Byuri came out to see what her brother was up to....

She was glad he was really enjoying the camping trip.

She sat down beside him to take in the beautiful scenery....

Soon a few others came out to join them....

...as someone came paddling towards them.         "Hey, don't we know that dude??"

When we go up north to Kilarney, we never stay in the Provincial Park, but at a private campground, where our favourite site is one on the bare open rocks overlooking Kilarney Bay to the west. It's the perfect spot to watch the sun set each evening, and it's always a surprise.

​Several of the kids got comfortable on the picnic table to watch as the sun started to set.....

..and down it went, on a clear cloudless evening.....

Maybe there would be a more colourful sunset tomorrow.