The first camping trip of the year

Cliff had to be at Hat Rock Friday night for a student vespers, so we decided to make a weekend of it. I surprised Ethan by arranging for a buddy to come along, which made me feel like Best Mom Ever.

Not only was this the tent trailer's first outing of the year, it was also Ethan's first outing with his birthday kayak. He took right to it. We also had the blow-up raft so he could swap out with several other kids who joined us for supper.

Silver Creek hike

We spared the grandparents this adventure...a hike around the falls that wasn't too long (about 2.5 miles) but turned out to be fairly exhausting for all of us. Probably the heat and lack of water...bad planning. Anyway, here we are with my brother-in-law the genius, my gorgeous niece, and my goofy nephew (who takes after his goofy cousin).

Balloooooooooon stamPEED!

(Ethan always says it just like the announcer; it's a tradition since he could talk.) We missed the first of the launch, but it was still worth watching. Our major disappointment was missing Charlene and Carlotta and the Wild Goose, but they were already on a wild goose chase by the time we arrived. The price you pay for sleep.

Spokane: Bloomsday 2009

We made it! Must admit I was a little worried that we would freeze, get rained on, or just be too exhausted to go on (OK, that was mostly me). But it was fine. We didn't set any speed records, mind you, but we felt pretty good about our 18-minute miles.

I took a few photos on the phone, but haven't yet put them on the computer. So these are Mom's shots.