What I Did This Summer

This seems a fairly familiar title...perhaps I've used it before?  I spent the months of July and August doing something I've never done before.  I staffed for our Boy Scout summer camp located on the coast of Oregon about an hour and a half from our house.  Richelle was also on staff, teaching the Woodcarving and Indian Lore merit badges.  She feels she's gained a few more brothers (as if she needed more!) and I'm pretty sure there are a few boys that feel they've gained a little sister.

We were there for one camp set-up week, five weeks of Boy Scout camp, and seven days (two sessions) of Cub Scout camp.  Richelle attended a week of National Youth Leadership Training just prior to staff development week so she was gone a total of eight weeks.

This is a picture of the entire staff.  Richelle is directly behind the fourth boy in front from the left and I'm also on the left wearing a black jacket and cap with a CB on the front....    Our esteemed Camp Director is the tall guy in the center back next to the flag pole.

One of the activities we put on each week was a Moonlight Canoe Race.   You can see scouts waiting to be allowed onto the beach for their turn.  The object was to race a canoe - two boys to a canoe - out around an anchored rowboat and back.  The three canoes with the fastest times received a medal at a special ceremony the next day.

Sunset from the west side of the peninsula.

Opening campfire at the campfire bowl.  We may not have floodlights, microphones, or a wooden stage but we make up for that with energy, cool ways of lighting the fires, and the opportunity to get downright filthy.

Another weekly event was dune diving.  Yes, they really dove off the top of the sand dunes!

Another sample of how to creatively get to the bottom of a sand dune.  The boys came back to camp with sand everywhere.  I watched a boy slide down the dune sitting down and when he paused at the bottom, the sand continued to slide (as sand tends to do) and filled the little space between his back and the waistband of his pants.  It didn't seem to bother him because he jumped up and continued with his horseplay as if nothing had happened.

Richelle and her area director helping the Cub Scouts with their leather work project.  Richelle worked in the handicraft area all summer and always wore several layers.  I couldn't figure it out until I helped out a few hours one morning.  The Handicraft Lodge is always in the shade, open on all sides, and has a concrete floor.  No wonder she was always chilled!  Notice the flag on the right.  It is made entirely of Duct tape except for the scotch tape to hold the stars in place.  I guess the troop who made it for them couldn't figure out how to make the star shape and still have enough sticky to attach it to the blue background.

Camp Director and myself with the Aquatics Director.  I have no idea what we were discussing, I don't even remember why we were both at the waterfront, and I certainly don't remember a picture being taken!  I included this picture because it's one of me that I don't violently dislike.

I had a great time but it felt as if I was away from home far longer than seven weeks.  We came home three times but with only twenty-four hours off each weekend, it wasn't for very long.  People have asked Mike if he enjoyed the peace and quiet and he said that at first it was nice but it got old pretty fast and he was quite ready for us to get home the last couple of weeks.

I was sitting at the computer beside the big picture window concentrating on some research when I heard Richelle call from outside, "Mom!  Look!  Quick!!"

There was a quality of urgency in her voice that I looked, quick.  And found the air had turned golden.  Inside and outside the house, the air was a warm golden glow that made us stretch into it as if into a cozy blanket.

The sunset was one I do not think I've ever seen in my life.  I have seen the air golden as well as pink, rose, and yellow but never so vibrantly gold.

Tyee Mountain almost looks volcanic.

We saw this double rainbow just as the glow was fading and the fat raindrops began splatting around us.

 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork."

Bradlee

Here's a couple videos of Bradlee.  I sure hope they play for everyone.  The second video is more than a minute long because Richelle's at the control and I don't know how to edit video yet.

In the first one, he's just discovered that the little flap on the toy moves but he can't always pick it up once it's flush to the toy.  He'd get frustrated and switch hands - as if one can do what the other can't (perhaps it can, who knows?  It certainly has a different angle of attack) - and finally squall until someone lifts it for him.  He figured it out rather quickly and doesn't have much problem anymore.  That's Richelle laughing in the background.

This second video is the first time he played the piano while standing on the floor.  The lid is usually closed but I opened it and plinked a few notes to see what he'd do.  What he did was immediately climb up the piano leg and make his own music.  He was quite pleased with himself.

Latin Class

Richelle is in her second year of taking Latin as a language.  She wasn't keen at first but when I offered her the choice between taking Latin and taking English, she happily chose Latin and cheerfully agreed to a second year.  There were fifteen in the beginning class last year but she has only three classmates this year.

The homeschooling mother who is teaching it added in a lot of culture studies this year.  They have a snack that is as close as a typical Roman food as she can find (lots of breads, cheeses, and fruits) and they study the duties of family members, geography, customs, money, dress, trade, etc.

Today, they learned about coming-of-age, marriage, and death customs.  Then they had a go at wrapping a deceased loved one using a doll and a roll of toilet paper.  That was quickly done and they turned their active imaginations to more challenging victims, er,  loved ones.

Their half-grown cat was handy and, surprisingly, willing.  Gales of laughter and a long length of toilet paper later, they had a very lively kitten wrapped for burial.

A Budding Pianist

One of Bradlee's favorite pastimes - playing Grandma's giant noisemaker.  He will amuse himself for quite a while making a 6-month-old's version of music.

Working on the treble notes...

Grand finale.

Four Generations

At Christmas, I realized I was looking across the table at four generations of Millers with Bradlee on Nick's lap, flanked by Mike and Mike's dad Ray.  So I demanded a photo.

They're going to get so tired of me lining them up whenever we all get together...

Fun With Family

     Last week, we had the privilege of hosting two of my cousins when they stayed in town for a short time.  Actually, to be strictly accurate, Chris and Robyn are my kids' third cousins, but who's strictly accurate except in my family?  Anyway, after supper, we pulled out the Trivial Pursuit game and had a hilarious time.  Robyn kept rolling sixes and got a tad disgruntled with her slow progress, especially when Chris habitually rolled twos and fours.

     Here, Robyn is reading Cameron's question while Chris tries to figure out the answer.  I knew a lot of the answers...unfortunately, they were to other players' questions.

I read Chris' card at this point and so missed his incredulous expression as the question unfolded.  It ran something like:  "What French president adopted a boat person refugee that he'd found crying in the Charles de Gaulle Airport?"
     "There's been so many French presidents, even the French wouldn't know this answer!" he exclaimed.
    
    

"The first name will be either Jacques or Pierre," Robyn suggested helpfully.  But after several minutes of agonizing thought, he decided he simply couldn't answer correctly and so gave in.  

     Although she didn't know the president's name, Robyn's guess was correct.  It was Jacques Chirac.  Chris groaned, shook his head, and passed the dice on.

We knew Chris and Robyn but not well, so it was a real treat to have them spend time with us and get to know them better.