Frog hunting in Barrhead (This post has a lot of brackets) (see what I mean) (oh I did it again) (and again) (oh forget it)

It was the long weekend and I was ready to head up north for Barrhead. When I arrived there wasn't as much family as I expected. But we settled down, roasted hot dogs and jumped on the trampoline. However it was spoiled by the high populations of mosquitoes (and I'm glad they don't carry malaria.) My mother was literally eaten alive. The nearby ponds and creek served as a nesting ground for (literally) bloodthirsty insects. And my Mom (despite the warnings) forgot bug repellent!! (thankfully Grandma had her own spray.) The next day after a delicious breakfast I was reading magazines in the living room. Three magazines i've gotten into are The Economist, Macleans and Consumer Reports. After I was done I decided to look for frogs. I was searching the pond but only found tadpoles. Then I searched the area by the canoe and guess what caught my eye?! Just lying in the hot sun was a toad!But I wasn't prepared to let cook in sun; so put him in the pond (not without informing my siblings and cousins of my find) and believe it or not they swim pretty well (sadly mom could not get a picture.) After that I rode around on the quad for a while until I got stuck over ankle deep in mud. I tried reverse forward, motor power, muscle power (oh wait I'm skinny) but nothing worked. It wasn't until my frustrated dad arrived when he got the quad out of the grime and I was covered in it (due to failed attempts to get it out myself.) But pretty soon I got stuck, AGAIN! Dad got it out and kicked me off the quad until further notice; and I kept reciting the quote: 'those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.' After being on the quad for probably half and hour, I went on another frog hunt that ended without a single find. The next morning I still couldn't find one amphibian. After some quad driving we hiked around thunder lake; and I found my favourite worm. The Leech. The day after that when we were driving from church mom promised another trek through the field on the quad trails. While walking, my cousin spotted a frog in the grass and I caught it but I had to get my hands dirty (literally.) After we sighted the creek (inconveniently blocked by barbed wire) we walked to the edge of the creek. But even though we heard the frogs but couldn't see them, what we found was shocking! Hundreds, no, thousands of mosquito larvae. The next morning I found another frog (and mom got a picture.) But then we had to leave. All in all my time in The ol' Wild boreal forest was great.

Jasper Adventure

Last spring break we had the ultimate ski trip ever. We traveled west to Marmot Basin in Jasper. We had only skied on hills near the river valley at home, but we had no experience in the mountains. And my siblings and I had passed the blue level and my mother was trying out skiing The drive to our hotel was long and tiring. But we passed the time with electronics and enjoying the mountain scenery. It was late when we got there and we had to unpack all our stuff which made me tired even more. so I was relieved when I got to lie down and sleep. The next day was busy we had to rent skis and ski poles. Then get our passes for the marmot basin. dad was blabbing about how much it changed over the years, but I didn't care it was my first time. We first skied down a beginner run a took a little shortcut through the a small path in a line of trees (my siblings had a habit of cutting through them at home.) But when we got to the longer lifts it was different. Unlike the ones at Sunridge, the quad chairlifts at marmot were incredibly fast, and when we were about to arrive at our stop, I thought it was going to fling me right out (It didn't.) skiing down a whole mountain was incredible; the smooth slopes the fast speeds, the long enjoyable trips, the beautiful scenery, the suspense in low lying clouds and the wind in hair. It was a thrilling experience! After skiing we went to Jasper pizza and believe it or not it was delicious. The next day we skied again and took new runs to satisfy our thirst for adventure. After that we ate at a Cantonese restaurant, then went to see a movie and the whole place as tiny compared to the ones and home. The next day unfortunately we had to leave. We could not go down straight to Magrath because of a very special occasion: my brother Grayson's ordination with the priesthood. Knowing my brother would pass the sacrament with me was exciting.