Jubilee weekend

Thanks to the guys' flexible summer schedule, they were able to get a campsite at Jubilee Lake (which is always full by Friday). Teri and Homer (the poodle) and I joined them Friday afternoon. Going camping again only three days after the last trip was a little hectic, which is probably why I'm still so tired, but Cliff took the brunt of it--pulling the trailer, raft-inflating, swimming, etc.--while I did a lot of crossword puzzles and lounging in the sun. It's roughly a billion degrees cooler at the lake than in Walla Walla. Perfect except for the mosquitoes.

It's good to be behind the camera when you haven't washed your hair in two days.

Educational blog moment

1. When the guy at Les Schwab tells you to get some new tires, he isn't just messing with you and he doesn't mean to get them in a few weeks after taking a long trip pulling a trailer.
2. When the wheel starts shaking, PULL OVER. If you are lucky, this will happen on the highway right in front of a Les Schwab. Or in our case, Michael's Auto Repair. Which was actually better, because we found the owner at the taco wagon and he was willing to replace our tire even though it was 8 p.m. Michael, you're awesome.

Cousin camping

We met Ethan's cousins for a couple of days near Astoria. We haven't seen them in AGES! The KOA cost a fortune, but it was kid heaven--a pool, a jumping pillow, mini-golf, you name it. And Fort Stevens was close by for exploring.

Le Paris Party

Before we knew it, it was time to give Claire back to her family, just in time for her birthday party.

Cliff Camp

Cliff took the kids on a death march...er, bike ride...to Whitman Mission on a 95-degree afternoon. They also went swimming some days, a much more sensible activity.

Here, human, human, human...

While waiting in line to get in to Cat Tales, we discovered that Claire's a bit taller than Grandma! The kids both got a chance to feed Samba, a former MGM lion.

Take me out

Ethan and Claire were enthusiastic ALS volunteers at the Spokane Indians game, passing out Lou Gehrig baseball cards. Our team won! (Though we nearly got thrown out of the park by the fans when Claire decided to take pity on the visiting team!)