You Don't See That Every Day

Summer is almost over. We've had lots of family time this summer, as I might have mentioned in previous posts. August slipped past us quickly. We started the month with another family picnic, this time on my Dad's side of the family. He is one of two of his family left. We ate, we visited, we played games. This year the games were not the traditional races or feats of strength (3-legged race is brutal). We did some "Minute to Win It" like games instead. Besides the wind blowing the red plastic cups off the tables, it was a fun time. And there were water balloons to throw at my brother in the end. Somehow he got a hold of a few and soaked our dad with them. I'll be surprised to see if he's still in the Will. Little K has her ballet camp again this year. She wasn't so sure she wanted to go back on the second day because her muscles hurt. But she made it through the week and really enjoyed it! We get to see the results when she puts on Shows at ...

Dear Friend overseas, I haven't been too good at keeping in touch, and I apologize for that. But you know how summer gets around here! Let me catch you up on the month of August at least. I have to do that before I can post back-to-school pictures. The Cousins came to town. We're naming this summer the Summer of the Cousins. In July as I posted earlier, my kids got to hang out with all their paternal cousins - which hasn't happened ...ever. In August we had cousins come to stay at our place. Which involved the necessary trip to the Oregon coast, since it was in the triple digits at home! What a beautiful day it was too! No wind, warm and just about perfect. It also included the traditional damming-of-a-river. Some of them worked hard at it. We had the traditional fare at Mo's restaurant and ended the day with ice cream. We also spent one of the hot afternoons at a local aquatic center. I got up the courage to go down the big twisty slide, but no way ...

Halfway through summer! Here are some of the adventures we've had so far McDowell Creek hike with the whole crew:  And a sweet treat at the end of the trail - Silver Creek Falls - The Boy has to work now, so he doesn't always get to go with us: And no summer is complete without swim lessons: We also had a mini-golf day, but the competition was fierce so we didn't get any photos. We've got loads more planned for the second half of the summer, but I'm afraid we might run out of time before we get it all done. Which means, we'll just have to extend our summer into September .. at least those of us at home can!

August 2016-- family campout. We made it to Diamond Lake this year for our camping experience. It has now become one of our favorites. Even though it was quite a long drive, with many "how much farther?" questions from the 6 year old, there was plenty to see, and plenty of time to talk. We did see a car accident that must have happened within the half hour; that was pretty sobering. We got there in time for the kids to set up the tent with Dad while I got dinner together with some helpers. The yellow jackets decided they liked our taco salad, so we had to move our supper time inside the tent. Once we were done the visitors left and we came out in time to go down to the lake for a beautiful sunset. A campfire, with s'mores and a game helped end the day.   Brrr - the nighttime is cold there! Even though we weren't all feeling rested the next morning we went on bike rides. Little K. is now pretty much a pro on her bike without training wheels. That was an ...