Camping

We finally made a recent family camping trip back to one of Becky and Rob's favorite spots, that we hadn't visited in years--Fish Lake on the Cle Elum River north of Salmon La Sac.

One of the things we love about this mountain valley is that one can go boating on the long narrow "lake" that extends up the valley for maybe a mile.




Rob and Auggie in our inflatable boat.

Cathedral Peak in the distance.

Rose and Rob in the boat.
A self-portrait by Rose.

A photo of the wildflower meadows taken by August.

Preschool Graduation

Apparently you officially graduate from everything these days--hence their preschool graduation ceremony last week. By my count that means there should be at least 4 more before they even get to college!

Father/Daughter Trip to the Zoo

Rose got her turn for a one-on-one trip to the zoo finally.


She got to ride the camel (with other folks who were kind enough to let her join).

And put her face through this weird outhouse scene at an exhibit about poop.

And then posed cutely on this statue.

"I'm crafty!!!"

We've been surprised recently to see August work independently on several "projects," as he calls them. He quietly collects odds and ends from around the house, often from the recycle bin, and puts together some really interesting creations. They involve a lot, I mean A LOT, of tape and sometimes tape of several varieties. For a kid who gets easily frustrated with simple tasks that we give him, his creativity and persistence has been surprising and fascinating to us. He's very proud of his creations and got them ready for an impromptu art show this Saturday morning. He happily exclaimed, "I'm crafty!"

This is one of my favorites - a mask made from two milk cartons he fished out of the recycling and popsicle sticks. Hard to see, but he taped "googly eyes" into the pouring spouts.

Here's the frog costume he made from a leftover carton from some toys. This proves the cliche that kids really do enjoy the boxes their toys arrive in more than the toys themselves.
Somewhere around our house there is a felt fly he made for the frog to catch.

Circus flag from the ends of a spool of ribbon.

A maraca. It's filled with dirt and rocks and when he gets a good rhythm, some of the innards sprinkle out, but oh well.

A magic carpet he made as a welcome mat for Grandma Gloria's guest room.

We were unable to post pictures of the rainbow he made out of a broken hula hoop for Mother's Day, the cutout of the word Love, or the totem pole which is currently a work in progress.

His favorite website for inspiration, the only one he asks for, is The Crafty Crow.