<<< Summer 2007 >>>
	What a wonderful way to end the summer! We don't want to go home. Back to school and routine is just too much to handle! :( Here are some highlights of our holiday at the Smilin' Moose - :) Michael, the bat slayer, single handedly capturing and releasing the bat at 5am our first morning - buck naked! Captain Matthew of the paddle boat, providing taxi services to the island, Oma as his passenger! William learning to ride his bike sans wheels. Georgie celebrating her 7th birthday with many exotic and precious birthday gifts from Dollarama - including feather masks for all. Lynne and her early morning runs on the cottage road. Many trips to Parry Sound for mammoth "kid scoop" ice cream. Matthew mastering badminton; William his deep dive skills to rescue Obi Won Kenobe from the dock. Our Family "walk" to the Moose Meadow. Sea Doo rides for all (Thanks to Uncle Jeff from San Francisco) at great expense. (rented) Lauren's first lake swim! And on and on and on....Thanks for the memories. (Hoppen, Aug /07) We had a wonderful time! (Ashton, August 07) Your place was great, the kids loved all the toys and crafts. There wasn't a moment the kids were bored. Your watercraft and the beautiful beach also got a lot of use. Everybody had a great time. Thank you so much! - We smiled at the Smilin' Moose - From the setting to all the comforts of home! What a beautiful place. We loved it!! - Wow! What a great place. We thoroughly enjoyed our first experience at the Smilin' Moose! There was so much to do and we had so much fun just exploring to find all of your "conveniences". Thank you. (Popkey, Fascinato, McDonald Aug/07) We enjoyed marshmallows by the bonfire and played LOTS of games. We toured the lake on a rented jet ski. We caught a frog, saw a beaver, heard the loons, chased the chipmunks and saw beautiful butterflies. The badminton court was enjoyed thoroughly. - We had a fantastic time! The week was filled with beautiful weather, super company, tons of laughter and our favorite new drink - the "Naked Pirate" The SML is absolutely a perfect place to spend time with family. The 6 and 9 year old loved exploring and the almost "2" year old loved the sandy beach. Thanks for making this such a comfortable place to be. (Dymond, Aug /07) On Sunday the 22nd July. We took some of the boat's up to the island to explore! We all thought it was great. On the way back I decided to swim back. When everyone else was there and I was almost there my mum shouted "Izzy I saw a turtle and Neil said it could be a snapping turtle" so I panicked and swam as fast as I could then stopped and said "you're tricking me then" she said, "I'm not come on lets go turtle hunting". So we did and after about half an hour on a log we saw a turtle we followed it in our boat and then let it go. We called it 'terror'. (by Izzy July/07) On Sunday the 22nd of July I went fishing with my dad. We caught 2 fish but they were quite small. I like the boats. I always wear a life jacket on the boats. We roasted marshmallows on the camp fire. (by Charlotte July/07) We had a great week here at the Moose. Lots of family came up for overnight visits and lots of games were played and drinks consumed! The weather wasn't great, but enjoyed ourselves anyway. The sea shells were a nice added touch- kept Logan busy for hours. Boys brushed up on Boy Scout fire making skills - would be voted off 'Survivor' for sure! First cast caught a 4 pound pike - and then not even a bite all week :( --> other than mosquitoes! Some of the wildlife spotted included chipmunks, mice, bats, bull frogs, toads, humming birds & large dock spiders and daddy long legs! And don't forget the 29 moose (inside the cottage-lots of time on rainy days) All the extra touches did not go unnoticed and are appreciated. Worked off the beers doing 59 stairs from beach to master bedroom checking on Logan. Highlights included badminton tournaments and bocce ball in tree alley. Hope to see you again - thanks for contributing to our family memories. (Chris, Kimberly & Logan July/07) Ahh yes. This place is the exact way I remember it was. (with the additions of the comfy cozy, easily fall asleepy couches). Yes the chair & couch were very, very comfy! My great grandmother and I found some sea shells at the beach! Mariska had lots of fun in the lake/sand. My uncle's parents came along for the ride and had lots of fun! Badminton, croquet, chess and all that stuff was fun! We had fire works & roasted marshmallows/hot dogs! Mariska crawls every where in this place and she loves it when I scare her! Anywhoo, we had lots o' fun and we can't wait to come back! I'll miss the Smilin' Moose Lodge :( The week went by so fast thanks to all the activities including my uncles 'Nintendo Wii'! Well I gotta go! Bye! Thank you! (Rebecca, 11 yrs July/07) Our annual week at the Smilin' Moose has been fantastic! And this year, we had the greatest fun introducing some new people (visitors from Holland - the Maastricht Braekens) to the joys of the 'Moose'! And let's not forget the latest addition to our family to come to the Moose: Mariska. From badminton to paddling around the lake, we did it all again this year, accompanied by much laughter. This included a hotly contested game of croquet (fortunately for us, we managed to stop the balls from rolling into the lake!) And, of course, our week at the Moose would not be complete without some animal sightings... okay, near-sightings. We had deer tracks on the beach on Sunday night that had not been there before dinner, and we ended up keeping an eye out for any additional tracks the rest of the week. On Thursday, we saw a family of geese - parents and babies - paddling across the lake. Despite some cooler weather earlier in the week, we had an amazing week! It's absolutely incredible how fast our week here went by, as we continue to add to our collection of Moose memories. Thank you, Pete & Marj, for your hospitality!!! (Tunney, Braeken, & Swiddle Families July/07) Thank you again. The memories that we will keep, will always be in our hearts. For the animals we saw and those that we missed will live in our memories. (Frank, Rose, Frances, Merry July/07) "What an amazing place- The lazy day we spent yesterday in the pedal boat and kayak was one of a dream topped off by a Bell moment camp fire. We'll be back for sure." (the Gagne family June /04) "What a beautiful cottage! Hopefully you'll let us come back next year!" (Antin May/04) "What a wonderful place to celebrate a 40th Birthday with family, friends and loved ones!" (L. Tkaczuk May /04)