Bears, Bats and Bugs - YIKES!!!

So, my kids are up in the Adirondacks doing all sorts of Adirondack-y things with my BrotherTheirUncle and Aunt Sue and all my cousins and their families.

So, every time I've called them, they've been down by the river, or hiking or swimming with cousins;

...and while I'm enjoying my current responsibility-free hiatus from parenthood, I was missing them feeling guilty at pawning them off on my bro and cousins.

They finally called this morning as I was getting ready for work. (Yes, I was late, but it was worth it)

In the past two days, they saw a bear - less than 200 yards away (Holy WinnieThePooh - isn't that like only about ONE BLOCK!?) while playing at the Beckery House (cool rented house on a hill above the river - very isolated),


had a bat flying around the kitchen of the cabin while they were trying to make pancakes,
(I hear much shrieking and screeching ensued - bro and Number One Son were out on an early morning hike)

and my daughter got a leech on her foot.
She says it bled for an hour and 45 minutes.

They report that they're having a blast.

Of *course they are. :-X

*that is not the actual black bear or cabin kitchen and that is not my daughter's flesh being eaten by the yucky leech.

We go pick them up on Friday and will spend a raucous weekend doing Adirondack-y things with my cousins. :-)