Thursday, August 21, 2008

School Shopping

Ah, that new crayon smell! Don't you just love that? New crayons and blank paper- the endless possibilities! Thanks to Jeanne Mom for reminding me to post something new already!

Last weekend, the 15th-16th, we had planned to go the Ochoco National Forest to camp with my Mom's cousin Betsy & family. My Mom's brother Mike and his wife Leigh were able to make it, along with Betsy's son Neil, his wife, and father in law. Whew! Lots of people! It would have been really fun, except. . .

We realized that we've been really busy. Too busy, in fact. Camping nearly every weekend is fun, and makes for wonderful memories. But we just needed a time to relax. Zoe mentioned that she was worried about starting first grade with no crayons or pencils for school. Reluctantly, I contacted Betsy and canceled our RSVP. My Mom & Dad took pictures.

So instead of spending $200 to take Peter to my reunion, we took the kids back to school shopping! We got all the required school supplies, plus a few extras to donate. On Saturday I took the girls to McMinnville where we found good deals on clothes to accommodate growing bodies and changing tastes in clothes.

Meanwhile, Peter went to Oregon City to help friends of ours remodel their house. Tim is an electrician, and he is doing most of the work himself. Ben & Peter joined him to help destroy existing stuff in the attic, to replace it with new stuff. As Peter described coming down from the hot dusty attic in 104 degree weather and walking right into the spray from a garden hose, I was really glad we didn't join him.

Sunday we didn't go anywhere. We read books, relaxed, and sorted all the school supplies.

Tomorrow, August 22nd, we are leaving for a 4 day weekend on Hartstine island. It's in the tip of Puget Sound, near Olympia. We've done this every year for a few years now, and we all look forward to it. We're staying in a cabin with Sonia Honeydew, a good friend of mine from Jr. High and High School. we only see each other once a year, but it's always like we were just talking yesterday. So stay tuned for more amazing photos next episode!