Summer and Cousins

Every summer we reap the benefits of living close to Alan's parents when his siblings come to visit them from all over the country. We get to see them a lot more often because of where we live and it's awesome. Caralee came all the way from Virginia this year. Caralee and her youngest boys came before the rest of her family and before Spencer was even out of school. Mason and I got to go to the zoo with them one day. Spencer was really torn between spending time with his cousins and attending the last few super fun days of school. He decided to go to school, but was still a little sad about it as he left. He had a great day at school with a desk sale though and didn't regret the choice later. Mason and I also had a lot of fun at the zoo. Carter and Austin were so kind and good with him.

When school finally did get out for Spencer, we had a cousin sleepover at our house. That's a very rare occasion, so it was really exciting for Spencer and Mason.

Alan made them all pancakes while I was running in the morning and then we sent Spencer and Carter off to Webelos/11-year-old Scout Day Camp. They had been at the camp for about 10 minutes when I got a phone call saying that Spencer had stepped in a pan of bacon grease and it had covered his shoe and gone half-way up his shin. Yuck! It had mostly dried by the time I got to the camp with a change of pants and shoes though and Spencer didn't want to miss any of the stations to change so he just stayed in them all day. Those shoes will never be the same.

Father's Day pic. Mason's not looking, but at least we got something, unlike Mother's Day.

The rest of Caralee's family came on Saturday night so we got to spend a couple of days with them. Bowling at Big Al's was a hit.

Everyone came to our house for a bbq that evening. Oh yes, and Alicia surprised us all by just showing up at her parent's house. Hooray!

I didn't take any pictures, but Alan and I got to attend the temple when Jeramiah went through for the first time. It was neat to be there and we had a yummy dinner at Olive Garden afterward. Camille was awesome and watched all of the younger kids at house while we were gone. Grant's family was having a reunion at the coast after that, so all of Caralee's family left for the rest of the week.

The extra freezer in the garage got filled up with berries and cherries, so I made Spencer take out the snow he had been saving since February. The boys had fun watching it slowly melt on our back lawn.

It's not summer until they play in the sprinkler.

Alicia got to stay for about a week and we met her at a park one evening. She's a fun aunt!

Alan must have been really tired because he took a nap on the cement. ;)

We met Caralee's family at Cook Park when they got back from their reunion.

Spencer's good buddy S. got to come with us. Mason almost fell in the river several times. 😬

We got to have Austin over for one last afternoon of Lego building before they all went back to Virginia. He and Spencer got along really well and had a great time.

Almost Summer

I always think summer weather should start on June 1st because my birthday is on the 9th and it was always great weather for my day when I was growing up. That's not the way it usually is in Oregon though. You'd think I'd be used to it by now!

We've been spending a lot time in the backyard with the warmer and dryer weather. Mason is still having lots of fun with his sandbox.

Some of our long time neighbors moved in June so we hosted a neighborhood bbq to say goodbye to them. L and K have been great neighbors and their kids have been fun friends for Spencer and Mason. We will miss them a lot. I snapped this picture of the kiddo, but am sad I didn't get one of the adults.

Spencer participated in a 24 Competition . 24 is a game where the players are shown a card with four numbers on it and they have make an equation using all four numbers that equals 24. Spencer was in the top two of his class so he got to go to the District tournament. I was amazed at the mental math abilities I saw there! Spencer made it to the semi-final round before getting out. The kid with the mohawk was really good. He must have memorized the cards because he knew most the answers immediately. 

Mason helped me pick strawberries at Koch Farms one morning. Surprisingly, he actually got a few in the bucket without eating them this time. ;) We both ate until we were almost sick while we picked. You can't buy strawberries like Oregon strawberries in the store. They are amazing.

"I don't want you to take a picture Mom!"

The pioneer trek is probably the most highly anticipated event of the year for 4th graders at Edy Ridge. The kids are divided into wagon groups, build a covered wagon with their team, and then take it on a trek through the neighborhoods surrounding the school. Most of the kids dressed up and Mason didn't want to be left out!

They had to carry their wagon over river crossings (intersections) and got to stop at the trading post to trade canned goods for supplies (snacks).

At another stop, they dipped candles, shot bows and arrows, and collected buffalo chips.

Mason and I walked most the way with them. I took the stroller for Mason, but he LOVED being one of the big kids and kept up with Spencer's group for probably two miles! That's the farthest he's ever walked on his own two feet. We were close to the school when he finally got tired, so I put him in the stroller as we walked to our car. We stopped in the office for a minute before going home and he went straight to the couch for a rest. 

It was a super fun and appropriate activity for the 4th graders who had been studying Oregon history for the past few months. Spencer LOVED it!

School finally let out on June 15th. Spencer had a wonderful year with Mr. Bahns. He was challenged mentally, made some new friends, tried some new things, and grew several inches. It's a good thing jacket weather is finally almost over because his is getting rather small!