August Fun!

August went by in a flash! I don't know where it went...swoosh and out the door :)

Gabe had swimming lessons with his friends Alex and Lizzie!



We went camping again with some more friends where we really roughed it. We tried to find a walk-in campsite but by the time we got up there on a Friday, they had all been taken. So we tried out their dispersed sites aka no running water and no toilets! So Archie dug a latrine and we headed to a store and got some extra water. It was really fun. We camped really close to a forest enclosure and the kids went and played in their all day. We ate yummy food and had some yummy beers and a campfire to end both nights :)









We made Magic Power Shields and talked about the Plains Native Americans and listened to some fantastic music while creating art and learning of other cultures!



A transformer near our neighborhood blew out the other night and knocked out the power for a few hours. So we gathered with our neighbors and talked and let the kids play outside till the lights came back on.

We had fires on the other side of the mountain that made for some pretty sweet sunsets and clouds.



Archie had his work party at Cow-a-Bunga water park and it was spectacular for Gabe! He keeps asking when we can go back :)

Cow-a-bunga!

And he has started soccer this year. He's had his first practice and his first game happens tomorrow night. He signed up with his neighbor friend and so far loving it! Sports for your kids become so much better when you are not coaching :) Yay to enjoying soccer this year!

So it's been a fantastic month and now onto school! Gabe starts his second year of preschool next week.

Sunday fun times with friends

Sunday hike with Gabe

And can't resist Shadow

Or Wolfy

Camping at Mirror Lake!

My friends invited Archie and I and Gabe up to go camping with them last weekend and it was so fun. We decided one night would do us since we are always weary with Gabe and camping...But they had two boys that Gabe played with the whole time.

They brought up their water-rafting raft and handcrafted some oars and we went on the lake. A thunderstorm followed us up but it wasn't too bad. We got off the boat right as it started to downpour. Luckily we didn't see too much lightning!

Camping up in the mountains with a beautiful lake and beautiful trees hit the spot. We sat around the campfire and drank some beer, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and gazed up at the Universe. With no light pollution, the sky at night is gorgeous.

The only thing bad about camping is the sleeping. I don't sleep well and even less so when camping. But one night ain't too bad. Gabe got to see experience nature and getting dirty with friends and we got to relax with friends in nature. We even saw a couple of deer run through our camp!

Our beautiful campsite

Gabe sleeping peacefully in the car!

The deer that ran through!

Oregon Trip

We just got home from a week long trip to Oregon. We camped at Camp Dakota with Archie's family. We stayed in a yurt, ate a lot of food, got cold, wet, saw beautiful trees and landscape, got no sleep, and was dirty!!!! All in all, I think Gabe had the time of his life. He got to meet and play with many of his cousins for the first time. This was the first time he slept for more than a night outside of his bed. The first night or two were a bit rough but he caught on and got some sleep...well, a little more anyway.



He panned for some gold and found an arrowhead and a fleck of gold and got lots of precious stones. He loved it! We disc golfed. Went to a beautiful waterfall. We hung out in Portland at the famous biggest and still independent bookstore, Powell's. Hung out with friends and more family.





But the DRIVE! HORRIBLE! Gabe was a trooper. We did the trip to Oregon in two days, but the trip back was slow and furious.





In short: Fun but glad to be home! Also, be careful of the squirrels! They plot out there ;) One night they were having a war or something. Chattering incessantly and I think they even threw acorns at our yurt...



Oh, and yurts are the only way to camp if you don't have a motor home!

Lake Owyhee aka WannaHockALogee and Other Pics!

We went camping up in Idaho at Lake Owyhee the last weekend in August with Archie's family. It was our first time camping with Gabe! The ride up was semi-eventful...we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, but Archie was a trooper in the 100 degree heat and fixed up in no time flat. The downside was we got a lot of extra flies in the car, which was really, really annoying. Every time Gabe was falling asleep one would land on him and he'd freak out and start crying again. So it wasn't the funnest driving.

We took the first exit of Boise and stopped there for the night. The next we had to get a new tire and then we were on our way.

The lake was really pretty, but the first day was really hot and stuffy. I thought Gabe was getting burned really badly and that he was going to get heatstroke. But the kids all cooled down in the mini swimming pool we brought.

It's been awhile since the Crozier clan has gotten together...we had two of Archie's brothers and their families, plus their mom flew in as a surprise so she was able to hang for the weekend as well.

We checked out the lake, waded in the hot springs...which were either too hot and you were getting burned or it was way too cold from the river water getting in. Gabe didn't know what to think so he just stayed in my arms the whole time while Archie and his brothers built up dams and what not.

Each day got a lot colder, which was nice since it was just soo darn hot that first day. We had amazing food from everyone pitching in so we ate like queens and kings. The only thing that was super hard was just Gabe not being used to it. He wouldn't take naps which made him extra grumpy and we had a hard time getting him to sleep at night, but once he was asleep he stayed asleep (well, he always got up at the crack of dawn). So we're hoping next summer he'll have a lot more fun being older. It was fun to get away for a few days, but we were all happy to make it back home and get some actual sleep!

I love eating blue crayons!

This is the closest to a smile I could get from him!

Oh, back to grumpy!

Also, Archie left yesterday for Singapore for three works for work. He's training the peeps down their in their new facility. He arrived a few hours ago at about 1:30 AM their time. It'll be a tough three weeks, but hey, I can't complain too much. He'll bring back some good souvenirs and pics! He also claimed the camera so no pics for a few weeks...Maybe I'll get him to send some via email and post some up here in a week or two!