The Fipps Family

Feeding the Deer

We were conned at the beginning of the stay- we lured these wild animals over to us...

...by the end of the trip we realized how tame the deer were. You could be eating at the picnic table and Winken and Blinken would come over and peek over your shoulder to see what was on your plate! We found out that they all had names and they've been hanging around the cabins for 18 years! --not including the past generations of Mamas before that! Winken is a doe that has horns- so weird! ...and she has triplets.

Deer

The triplets...

...and their Mama (yes, she has horns!)

Bow and Arrows

Who needs to bring toys- the boys will just whittle their own creations!! We have dubbed this year's trip as "the year of whittling"! The kids (and Dads) made all kinds of things- mostly weapons and manly things, of course!

Cold Stream Falls

AMAZING! Every year we go, and every year I still can't believe we are lucky enough to swim in a waterfall! The kids (and Eva and I) slid down the waterfall slide. She just loved it- as you can tell from the ear to ear grin! She just kept saying--" again Mommy, again!" Then, of course, Daddy's lap was the best resting spot. I'm not sure if you can tell by that last picture, that the water comes up to the middle of the car... that's the obstacle that we have to drive through to get to the falls-- not as bad this year, as it has been in the past. Don't worry Mom- we all pile in Aunt Patti and Uncle Dave's van to make this trip every year. (Uncle Dave's a little nuts!!) I don't know how many people actually go to the falls- it's kind of our own private swimmin' hole!

Cold Stream Pond

One of the Gates family's treasured spots... Cold Stream Pond. We had to pose for a group shot on the water's edge.

Mt. Kineo

WOW!

What a gorgeous view from the top- we never thought we'd get there though. It was about a three hour round trip- not just trails either- we CLIMBED! At the top is a fire tower (a look out for forest fires) that some of us climbed too. I'm not afraid of heights at all- and it was a little tough for me... I had to focus on the steps to get up and down. Of course, the kids seemed fearless!