Three Wild Days Of Summer

So Thursday was the last day of kindergarten for this clan and we have started the summer vacation off with a bang. On the last day of spring break this year, Darcy was in crisis because she thought spring break "lasted all spring" and was devastated to find out she had to go back to school on Monday. We've had many conversations about how summer vacation compares to spring break and have decided that it's an 80-day weekend. Here's Darcy starting the first day:

Anyhow. The first three days of this extra-long weekend have been spent extremely well. On Friday, Darcy and I prepared for Saturday by doing some birthday present shopping along with some grocery shopping in Brookings. On the way back, we stopped at the mouth of the Smith River for some water, seals, snacks, and sunshine:

Seals kept popping their heads up to check us out 15 or 20 feet off-shore. Darcy was digging it. When we got home, we planted a bunch of stuff in the garden before lunch. After lunch, we did some errands, spent time at the library, and then joined two of Darcy's troop-mates to check out the camp they're about to attend. Long day!


On Saturday, Darcy had been invited to two birthday parties AND had her end-of-tee-ball-season party. It was too much. We declined the birthday party that coincided with tee-ball. If you could find space out of the wind, Saturday was a day of glorious weather. It turned out that Endert's Beach was pretty much wind-free and therefore approaching what we call hot on the north coast. The low tide wasn't very low, so the tide pools were thin on the ground, but Darcy had fun holding back the ocean:

...and learning how to use her new camera...

It's a $20, 2.1 megapixel point and shoot, but she's doing pretty well holding the camera still:

She might need to work on holding it straight, but it will add a little avant garde feel to the camp pictures she'll be taking!

Today, the adventure continued, but without pictures. Michael went with another dad friend to float part of the Smith River in the morning. Part of the goal was scouting for a good section to take the kids floating in the afternoon. They chose the wrong section. By far. Michael came out of it alive and only slightly banged up, but minus his glasses (only pair with current prescription) and his wedding ring. Oh, and also minus the boat. He insists (like right now, as I'm typing) that the BOAT is not lost. He knows exactly which boulder it is currently wrapped around. The glasses and the wedding ring are gone forever.

After a lunch rendezvous, both families ventured back to the river -- a different section of the river -- and had a good time. Dads took kids floating downstream to where the car was still waiting for someone to float by. I swam briefly, but mostly found rocks for the toddler to throw in the water. We came home, had a good dad's day dinner, and packed for the next adventure: sleep away camp!! 

Yes, Darcy goes to camp tomorrow for two nights and three days of fun with her fellow Girl Scouts. We are very much hoping this is a good experience with not too much homesickness. Her camp day will start at 10 tomorrow, so by the time bedtime comes, I think she'll be too exhausted to worry about it. As long as she is having a good time during the day, I think it'll all be ok.

Our day should be long, too, so hopefully we'll survive sleep away camp, too! Anyone know of any good movies in the theater right now??

Purple Waterfall Wood

On the way to Grants Pass, OR, we drive through the small hamlet of Kerbyville. The first few times through, we noticed this wood carving place with a giant wooden waterfall with purple water. We finally stopped so that Darcy could see the purple waterfall up close and discovered that it is home to some amazing craftspeople. There are four or five tree houses to climb, some multiple stories tall, there are wooden bicycles and tricycles, wooden swings, wooden cars hanging from trees. It's a very fun place to stop for a leg-stretch.

Don't Try to Bowl On Sundays

This morning, the rain was still coming down. We were planning to go to church because Darcy's preschool class was singing (her preschool is connected to the church) at the 11 o'clock service, but we needed something to do after that if it was still raining. After checking online to see if the bowling alley is open on Sundays (their website said YES, except in summer), we asked Darcy if she'd like to go bowling. We got a very enthusiastic response and so came home after she sang (with gusto!), had lunch, called to invite a friend to join us bowling, and off we went.

Not open. Most definitely not open and it's sign claims not open on Sunday in general.

We headed home to see if there's a bowling alley in Brookings(there is, but they didn't answer their phone, leading me to believe that they are also closed on Sundays) , but while I was inside making phone calls, Darcy set her own Plan B in motion: she fell asleep.

So Michael stayed in the car and read his book while I turned over the compost piles and raked leaves. Then we switched places until she woke up. We ended up doing not much of anything today other than learning that one cannot bowl on the Wild Rivers Coast on Sundays. So don't try it.