Camping

What a fun camping trip! Freddie, Ruben and I, met Jeremy, Aerielle and Aeden at the lake on Friday afternoon. We were constantly under the threat of rain but Friday was cool and clear, and Saturday was warm and cloudy.  A few drops fell Saturday evening and we decided not to risk camping again Saturday night, but we stayed late for campfire fun.  I played a song about everybody on the guitar, and we told scary stories.
Freddie was a big help with the packing and unpacking, and he didn't even get to stay with us at night.  He was doing sound for some shows in town.  He has to keep his ear sharp... After the show he went back to moms to keep her dog company.
So Ru and I cozied up in our tent by the water, and Jeremy and his kiddos bunked down in his nylon mansion by the trail.  He wasn't too worried about the rain, he said at the first drop he'd go sleep in his van. I on the other hand drive an entirely impractical (but fun) car and hung tarps just in case.

Friday after the unpacking and snacks the kids all went for a swim.  Ru inflated his little boat but soon discovered how fun it is to climb around on half submerged logs.  The campsite I picked was in the very back or the campground on a little cove with a trail right to the water.  It couldn't have been more perfect for the kids.  We could see them playing in the water while we played music at the picnic table.  (Hooray for life jackets)

The pictures tell the more of the story.

Ruben in the boat he got for his birthday last year.

Freddie's tent. My tent wasn't as nice so we used his. Since we're married I suppose its now our tent...

More fun to make than eat, Jiffy Pop is now a camping staple for us.

Freddie playing guitar.  Sadly for us he only got to stay for a while in the afternoons because he was doing sound for some bands at the Axe and Fiddle both Friday and Saturday night.

Ruben, with Jeremy's kids Aerielle (10) and Aeden (8). They found a log that was more fun than the boat,  we saw them playing from our perch at the campfire.

Ruben and Aeden wouldn't leave the fire alone. Fortunately nobody got burned (much).

Jeremy bought a charcoal grill which was more complicated to put together than a circuit board. 

Although he was asked not to ignite living things, Ru had fun making large clouds of smoke burning wet moss. 

The weather was mostly sunny and cool on Friday, never getting above 70. Saturday was much nicer with highs at about 80. 

Saturday morning we went to the boat with our new towable and a kneeboard.  The lake was fairly calm . Every one got a fun tow ride except Aeden (he was too light to make our new towable work) and myself as I am the only one who could drive a boat. 

Jeremy on the kneeboard, Aerielle's hair blowing madly in the wind. Jeremy did great for not having been on one for 15 years!

My favorite picture from the trip, that's Freddie on the red towable.  It gets going so fast it becomes airborne at times!

4 weenies roasting on an open fire.

The boys mastered the art of weenie roasting and quickly asked for seconds. 

Selfie

Our tent and its view of the lake from site 32.

Ruben on the monkey bars.  Jeremy and I took turns taking the kids so we could each take a nap.

Aeden looking adorable, he was about to launch a tickle attack at me. Fortunately for me and unbeknownst to him I am a tickle master. Nearly impervious to tickling, yet highly skilled in tickle delivery. 

Jeremy and Aerielle relaxing after a bike riding lesson.  Aerielle has been trying to learn to ride a bike so we brought Ruben's for her to work with.  She had a hard time but tried hard!

Three happy kids about to get wetter. 

The Gibson family on the front of the boat

Freddie lounging

Its hard not to look cool driving a boat.

Due to the imminent rain we packed up on Saturday evening and stayed to enjoy the campfire.   

We left at about 10pm and headed home.  It didn't rain much, but it was still nice to not have to panic when those few raindrops fell.

The new towable is cool, its round like an inner tube, but its middle is inflated so its more like a flat disk.  When towed, it either flies over the water in a super fun and exciting way, or the front pulls under the water trying to sink and drown whoever is on it.  Unfortunately it seems you need to weigh more than 80 lbs to make it fly, and poor Aeden didn't get to ride much.  Ruben had one great pull on it where he was airborne several times, and one total drenching/dunking which he took a few minutes to recover from.  Fortunately its easy to recover when you have marshmallows.

In our family we like to toast the marshmallow quickly so the outside turns brown but the inside is still solid, then pull of the skin and eat it and re-toast the rest.  My mom is the pro, I think her record is seven toastings and skin eatings or so. Ruben won the marshmallow skinning contest this time, he came up to me and said mommy I skinned my marshmallow four times.  I was so excited I nearly yelled "Ruben that's awesome you got FOUR SKINS!" Then I realized what I said and we all laughed like idiots for a long time.

Pre camping

This morning I had a lovely workout and after a bowl of oatmeal Freddie and I sat down to make our grocery list for camping. We'll be camping at the lake with Jeremy and his two kiddos. He's going to make burgers, and I'm making fajitas. I'm really worried about the weather, I despise camping in the rain.

We cruised to Springfield where we bought supplies for two projects I've been wanting to do. We bought wood, screws, and paint. Hopefully our new shelves will be lovely when we finish... It's nice to have access to an electric saw! A HUGE thank you to Jeff for sharing. For camping we got plenty of smores makings, and lots of good snack food. On the way home we drove through the most rain I've ever seen fall at once. It was nearly a flash flood on the freeway. I was going 30 mph with the wipers at full and was still scared. We saw a car that had gone off into a guard rail. I was just hoping that the sky rained itself out for a few days.

When we got back to Mom's, Ru threw pine cones for Freddie, and a while later accidentally threw a Frisbee into my eye from four inches away. It seemed okay after I iced it for a while. After some soup and salad we called it a night.
We've been reading "A Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" but tonight Ru asked for "Pippi Longstocking". That was a fun change. I'll be sad when he outgrows bedtime stories.

Rain

What do you do on a rainy day in the summer? Same thing as winter but with less clothes on.

Fred and Ru did a puzzle, I exercised, Ru and I played a million games of pool, Fred cooked spaghetti AND cleaned the kitchen, Ru took a bath, I meditated, Fred started a new puzzle, we all danced to the James Brown Pandora station, Ru pet the dog, we watched a few episodes of How The Universe Works, I fed the fish and played with Wanda the angel fish, Ru threw the ball for the dog, Fred and I took a nap on the couch, Ruben ventured outside and picked cherries... Not necessarily in that order.

Settling in

Well, after a delicious pancake breakfast prepared by Freddie, we continued our packing. I went through all my sheet music to find the best songs for camping. I'm going to bring my guitar and some harmonicas.
During a sudden bout of rain the neighbor boys came in and played a few games of Candy Land. I biked a group of kids to free lunch at their elementary school and when we got home Fred finished packing the car.
We have another car load to get before we can go camping. Not much fits in my Eclipse. That actually worked out well because for the first twenty miles from Salem I was making a list of all the things we forgot.
We got to mom's and just as we were sitting down to eat Ghostbusters was starting. So we ate fantastic burritos, and said all the funny lines along with the movie. (insert your favorite Ghostbusters line here)
I beat Ruben at a game of pool, (barely) then Freddie beat me, and now Ruben is beating Fred.
The rain is watering all the flowers so I'm thinking of cracking the first trashy novel of summer. Yep off I go.

First day at home, and last for a long time.

We had a lovely but busy day today. Apple pancakes were made and eaten, Fred cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed.  I worked in the garden pulling weeds, and planted some new lettuce and spinach.  My old spinach was starting to bolt. Kids came by and Freddie fixed their bike. We went to dinner at our neighbors house and had delicious spaghetti.  I rode my bike to the store for the garlic bread and was almost taken out by a postal worker in a van.  I finished a book, and Ru played a long game of hide and seek with his friend Grace. We finished all the laundry and folded it. We packed our bags and got the camping gear together.  We still have lots to do tomorrow but at least we got a great start on it. Oh and I made cookies...

Mom and Jeff are taking off on an adventure and we are going to do some house sitting for them, then we are going camping, then Ruben goes to day camp... so we are leaving for Creswell tomorrow and needed to get our place in order for our house sitter.  busy busy.

Haircut in progress

Dye job in progress, and bike maintenance in progress.

Yea its purple.

Garden in progress

Another garden shot

Man with vacuum. Nice!

Hide and seek with the walkie talkies.

Packing for our camping trip this weekend

No bake cookies

Road trip to Washington

Thanks to Mom and Jeff for keeping Ru on Thursday night!  Early on Friday morning Fred and I took off for Spokane. It was a great road trip.  Top down all the way there and all the way back.  What a great way to start our summer vacation!  The weather was lovely, and the scenery was terrific.  Lush green forests, rolling hills, miles of farmland, and little puffy clouds that just hung in the sky. We skyped with Ruben a few times and he was having a blast with his dad.  Unfortuately we were late getting back due to a traffic jam, but it worked out great because we got to have a delicious dinner prepared by Mom and Jeff.

Traffic was backed up for miles

School's Out

Some pictures from the last days of school.  Ruben, Fred and I have spent the year in education and have really really been looking forward to vacation. We will all be at the same schools next year, Ruben in 5th grade at Liberty, Emily at Judson, and Fred at Chemeketa.  The last few days at school are always a mix of fun and frantic activity.  I spent a lot of time on paperwork, Ruben spent a lot of time with his buddy Braedon, and Fred had finals.  We all helped each other out and got through it just fine. 

Ruben's end of the year concert was a blast, they did a show about a radio station and the kids dressed up in outfits that represented a different decade.  Ru and his buddy were mobsters(ish). They sang boogie woogie bugle boy, and songs from other decades as well.  Very entertaining but the gym was about 100 degrees. 

At work on a Saturday, enough said.

"What? I have to quit riding my bike and come in for dinner?"

Last day of school, room packed up, ready to walk out the door...

Spring Break Overview

3000 miles in 10 days.  It was just terrific.

Here is a link to the full 350 pictures we took!