12 July 2015

Abe left at 4 am Monday morning for scout camp.  He got home on Saturday.  Favorite memories from camp include sleeping one night in a shelter he made for the wilderness survival merit badge, doing a polar bear swim at 6:30 am, his troop winning the camp-wide competition and learning to kayak.  Brandan took this photo Monday morning before the troop left.  In the photo are Jason, Spencer, Jake, Abe, Camden and Ashton.

Helen wanted to use the same technique she used to decorate cupcakes for her piano recital to decorate a full size cake.  She made us this cake for our family night treat.

 Sofi left for Girls' Camp on Wednesday.  This was Sofi's last year of camp.  She enjoyed being a Junior Cabin Leader, writing notes for the girls in the ward, spending time with friends and picking which activities she'd attend (the JCLs have a lot of freedom.)

Helen and Gibson had fun at home while the older kids were away.  We went rafting again on Wednesday.  Our plan was to put in at a quiet spot in the river and let the kids paddle around.  Brandan got in the raft with them and they decided to use the current to go downstream.  After drifting farther than planned, they went to shore and got out to head back.  Unfortunately the shore was thick with blackberry bushes.  It took almost an hour while barefoot for them to get far enough to notify Becky -- who was on the other side of the blackberry brambles and a mosquito infested ditch -- that they were stuck.  She told them about a boat ramp further downstream, so they got back in the raft.  Helen and Gibson were not very happy by the time they made it ashore, with scratches, splinters and mosquito bites galore.  Now that we know about the boat ramp, we'll avoid such trauma in the future.

On Saturday we went to a stretch of rapids along the river to watch a whitewater competition.  Rafters, kayakers and paddle boarders competed.  Most of the boats went over the rapids easily.  Occasionally one would get caught up on a rock or flip, reminding us that it wasn't as easy to navigate the river as the more experienced boaters made it look.

Abe and Helen had front row seats along the river.  The competitors were timed as they went down one stretch of rapids, then had to carry their rafts or kayaks across this island before heading down a parallel stretch.

Saturday was also 7/11 Day at 7-Eleven which meant they were giving away free slurpees.  Helen asked Becky for help getting her slurpee and Becky helped by spraying slurpee foam over herself, Helen and Abe. 

 Abe bought a hammock at scout camp and set it up in the backyard.  He took a nap in it before dinnertime.