So Long Sweet Summer

Hello?

 I just keep finding more photos of this summer.  The summer is always a good time but there was something super special about this one.

 The weather in Eugene was scorching.  We figured out how to keep our place cool by opening the doors in the morning and then shutting everything.  It only worked when we didn't cook anything inside so our back porch became our kitchen.  efu n used an electric grill, which also led to several blown fuses, but one day we busted out the popcorn popper.  Everything is just a little better when you can do it outdoors.

 We spent a lot of hours "working."

 Our camping trip began okay and then the Oregon rain made its summer appearance.  After all the heat it was incredibly refreshing.  We drove all the way out there before we realized that we had forgotten the bag that had pretty much everything we needed to camp.  After a family vote we ended up deciding that we would have a great day on the coast and then drive home and make a tent in our front room.

 We hiked to Drift Creek Falls and went over the suspension bridge.  While we were crossing it was impossible not to imagine it falling and all of us hanging on like happens in every single movie that features a suspension bridge.  Our experience was a lot less dramatic and a lot more fun.

 Then we went to see the tide pools at Boiler Bay which were some of the best we have seen.

Just kind of a perfect moment

 I am not sure that all the kids slept well, but I am sure that I did, in my bed.

 I ordered a new cookbook from Barnes and Noble and I was just a dollar short of free shipping.  I ended up getting a bookmark to put me over the top.  When the box came it was pretty big, but way too light.  Inside all the packaging was the little bookmark.  This is what we have come to.  The book came a few days later.  Yay for free shipping.

 The Hero Up 5k was a highlight as it is every year.  We love that race so much.  It has become a great tradition for our family.

 A new thing that we decided to start this year is a back to school dinner.  We made everything all fancy by using nice dishes and setting the table. I once learned that you should never have dinner without some kind of centerpiece so Rocky gathered some flowers from outside.  I feel a little bit jealous that everybody gets to go to school except me and Ike.

 I felt pretty good about our summer bucket list.  The first one was for while we were in Utah and we did really well on getting everything but the Oregon one ended up with a little bit of unfinished business.