This weekend we went cabin camping with friends near Mount Saint Helens. It was a bit cloudy the day we explored the area, but still fun. There were a couple of accessible trails (paved and boardwalk) that I was able to take my scooter on. One of the trails had a section where you could go underground through a lava tube if you wanted to. Jeff and Maren went through:
Also exciting this week – Linden got braces. She is still adjusting but doing really well with it!
This past week we went camping for two nights at Alsea Falls. It was last minute, kind of on a whim, and we were pleased to discover that this campground was not fully booked and we were able to get a site. It turned out to be a really great place to camp – very relaxed, quiet, no bright lights, and not close to any busy roads. We also did not have cell service, so were truly forced to detach.
We roasted marshmallows, explored, read, and took a short hike to the falls. We will definitely go back ❤️
This year to celebrate Fourth of July, we spent the day with my family in Eugene on the third. We hung out at a park and played in the river.
At the end of the day we came home, got the kids ready for bed, then loaded them back into the car and went to watch fireworks at the end of a baseball game for our local collegiate summer baseball team. We were told that if you go up to the top of the parking structure near the stadium it is a good place to watch, and it turned out to be extremely close and totally un obstructed viewing. It is the first time our kids really saw a good fireworks show, and they thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a little loud for Linden and maybe next year we will not watch from quite as close!
Yesterday for the fourth, we hung out in our neighbourhood where our neighbours have a party and fireworks every year. Linden wanted to stay back a bit, so she and I were across the street in front of our house, and Jeff and Maren had front row seats (as did everyone else) 😁
Today we went to a local festival called Open Streets Corvallis. We enjoyed many unique local experiences like:
Wood planing with a folk craft school,
Riding a bicycle carousel,
And my favorite, the original pickle piano:
This past week Jeff had to work a lot because he is teaching an online summer class. That means there is a lot of work upfront, and then maintenance and grading for the rest of the summer (which is much more flexible). His work schedule gave me a chance to spend a lot of time with the kiddos.
Among other things, we went out to lunch, had ice cream, and shopped for Father’s Day presents. Linden had a friend over for a sleepover, and Jeff and the kids went to see a movie. Not a bad start to summer vacation.
For Father’s Day today we went on a little walk, had some presence, and at Jeff’s request had blueberry pie. Jeff had a bit of time for a video games, and we played a board game as a family. Also not a bad Father’s Day!
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