summer time!

The weekend before school ended, the cub scout pack made their annual trip to Thompson Lake.  Ben and I decided to join in on the second night of the weekend camp. Thompson Lake is a private campground owned by a timber family.  The lake was small enough to paddle across, which the boys did many many times.  It also was teaming with newts.  Four other families and their boys were with us and everyone had a great- and muddy- time.  Ben did great camping and proved to us that we could do a longer trip later in the summer.

Owen finished first grade, and he and Richard did their third annual Champoeg camping trip.  They brought their bikes and pedaled all around, to the museum and to ice cream.  All reports are that they had a blast.

Ben said goodbye to the Monroe Center, and his good friends there, Valerie and Natalie.  The boys stayed home over the summer with Lindsey, a teacher from Monroe Center.  The three of them had a great summer and went on lots of adventures around Corvallis, including hunts for construction equipment, which the boys lovingly call Mighty Machines.  The themes of the summer were Pirates and Mighty Machines.

Richard and Owen planted a garden again this year, and it was productive all summer, with beautiful berries and veggies to keep the boys snacking while they played in the yard.  Both boys would walk over, grab a leaf of kale, and munch on it while playing on the swings.  The last picture is the boys putting on a magic show for us.