rhymes with orange belt

Ben practiced so hard and earned his Orange Belt at the start of the summer.  It wasn't an easy hurdle- he had to come back to get his red tip after reviewing a few moves.  The belt testing was a fun evening- at least for those of us watching.  They stayed in a horse stance for what seemed like forever.  Ben looked great- he went through all of his forms crisply.

summer rituals

Summer's first ritual is the annual camping trip at Champoeg State Park.  We enjoyed the bike ride to the museum and ice cream.  Owen and Richard worked through the orienteering challenge.

Amelia came back to spend her last summer with the boys and all were thrilled to be back together.

canoe camp

Owen and Richard's first canoe camping trip of the summer went from Harrisburg to Corvallis on a nice trip down the Willamette.  They found a new camping site, across the river from where they were last year.  Owen was thrilled to eat Subway for lunch on the river, and they both shared a large bag of oranges.  They enjoyed sitting in the river at the campsite after a long day of canoeing.

ben geared up for battle

Ben's school year finished with the Zion Carnival, where Ben learned about the joys of jousting.  He remains an undefeated champion, though his career ended short due to an untimely nose bleed.  

Ben and Sterling finished out a successful season of AA League Little League on the Angels team.  Ben battled hay fever, occasional sunshine in the eye, and even some boredom, but came through the season with better hitting, catching and throwing skills.  He continued to enjoy the catcher position through the season.  

the gorge with george

Grandpa came out to visit for Memorial Day weekend, and we went with the Muhly's to the Columbia Gorge.  We did some familiar things for all of us- like the Multnomah Falls, and explored new areas including the Gorge Museum in The Dalles and the Maryhill Museum and Washington's Stonehenge on the other side of the river.  We were able to join up with a tour of the Bonneville Dam- also a first for us.

new bike!

Owen continues to grow, and outgrew his bike.  This new bike is full size and he is fast on it!

closing out the scouting year

The local scouting community put together an event at Central Park, which Richard and Owen hosted a rocket launch booth.  We all enjoyed walking the ropes the boy scouts had set up, and Ben joined in with the karate class.  

Richard led his pack through the Arrow of Light ceremony which marked the end of the scouting season, and the end of Cub Scouts for two in the pack.  He did a great job with the ceremony, as he did with the pack all year keeping the boys engaged.