First Day of School

They were all excited for the first day of school so it was an easy up early day. Tor is in 3rd, Bridget in 5th and Jillian in 8th grade. I think it will be an easier to bed early night this time.

 

Kalyn's Shower

Aunt Julie and I picked up Jillian and Bridget to go with us to Kalyn's wedding shower. It was a really nice day and on the tables were several things to fill out for the bridal couple. Jillian and Bridget got busy, like cards  with advice for the new couple. I didn't read them but I'm sure they were quite entertaining. They had several games, like steal the ring, and Jillian tricked me a couple times and got mine. There was lots of good barbecue food to enjoy.

A picture with Kalyn-a pretty bride-to-be. Jillian and Bridget got to take home a special basket of goodies too. A very nice shower!

 

Kids Day at the Beach

The girls had already been at the beach for a day and night while the boys were at Skamakowa. When the boys arrived, all the kids went right to playing a badminton/pickleball-hybrid game on the new net.

In the evening, we took the kids for a long walk on the beach.

It was a long sleep-in, but once we got going, we headed to the beach. The weather was decent, but the water was cold. The kids tried some board surfing for a bit before heading to the dry sand to get warm. We couldn't stay long due to the rising tide.

Our next stop was the park. We played a game of boys vs. girls (including adults) two-hand touch football, which ended in a tie. This was followed by a boys vs. girls (including adults) basketball game, won by the girls.

To wrap up, we had hot dogs and s'mores, then went for a short bike ride.

Boys Weekend at Skamakowa

Tor and Dad made the trip to Skamakowa for the annual boys time at Papa Ken's property. We were joined by Adam, Andy, Jesse, Jace, Paxton, Jim, Tim and Jerry.

The kids really did do some work, but Dad was too busy on other projects to take pictures of them. On the other hand, there are pics of them eating (dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs and sides).

The kids went full tilt late into the evening, especially Tor and Jace, who played tag and bottle flip, and chased Paxton everywhere. This led to some tired kids in the morning. Tor was one of the last to wake up, so Paxton helped out.

Pokemon Battle Academy

Tor spent his money to buy the Pokemon Battle Academy board / card game. We've been playing it non-stop for the last couple days, and Tor has been dominating everyone. It's a fun game, though.

Garage Sale

Our weekend was spent at the annual Castle Rock garage sale. We put in quite a bit of stuff, and managed to pull in some nice change on Saturday.

Bridget's money maker was selling cookies that she made: snicker doodles and peanut butter. By the end of the day, she was sold out. Lots of times, people would just give her money (and not take a cookie), which kind of confused her. All told, she made $17.

Tor attempted to put on a baton performance on the trailer, twirling to music. He made it about an hour before tuckering out (due to heat and humidity). He did manage to make $6 in tips.

Meanwhile, Jillian helped out around the place, bagging purchases and running errands.

Sunday was the half-off sale of whatever was left, with Jillian and Bridget running the show. Jillian ran the cash register while Bridget checked prices and bagged. They sold a ton, making nearly $400 to split between the two of them.

Boating and Pool

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Julie took Jillian, Bridget, Tor, Cale, and Erika out to Silver Lake on the boat. They have a raft and Jillian and Tor took the first ride and loved going over the wake in the boat. 

Next Bridget joined them and wasn't too thrilled. They had had signals and pretty soon she gave the signal for done.

Meanwhile Erika and Aunt Julie rode and went very fast and sometimes the wake almost threw them out of the raft. After watching that, Bridget had changed her mind and went all out for it. Loving the fast bumps over the wake. Jillian had a ride with Erika, went very fast and loved it too. 

Every once it awhile they all jumped in the cool water to swim a little. Papa and I enjoyed watching as the 100 degrees felt nice from a breeze over the cool water. 

Today they got an invite to Rielee's pool from Ava and Harper.They stayed for at least 2 hours playing games and having cannonball competitions. Tor won over all with a forward flip in the air into the water that shut down that game. Later Ava and Harper came down for some art and games.

They all worked in the morning getting stuff put out for the garage sale for about 2 1/2 hours before it got to 100 degrees. Some tired puppies!
 

Work in Skamakowa

The kids made a trip to Skamakowa on Monday with Papa Ken and cousin Adam to help get some work done on the property. They cleaned up brush, carried wood, raked dirt, and finished up by cleaning the tractor.

Silverwood

Silverwood was our Disneyland replacement this summer (due to lockdown uncertainty). This photo is of us on the Lazy River at Boulder Beach ... just before Daddy dropped his cellphone into the water. It couldn't be revived, so no other photos of the trip.

We had a good time, though.

Sunriver

The first leg of our summer trip was Bend / Sunriver with the Stephenson / Paul families. We set up camp in the Thousand Trails, borrowing a huge tent from Grandma Cindy.

Tor brought his golf clubs, and spent most of his free time hitting a ball around the campsite.

One of the highlights was tubing down the Deschutes River.

Another exciting activity was driving an off-road vehicle on forest trails.

We made a brief stop in Sisters to shop.