Pathfinder Camporee (by Annie)

Last weekend we got to go to the Pathfinder camporee. There was a lot of stuff going on there, between basic and fancy drill and all the other activities going on, we were going constantly. We had a lot of fun getting the fancy drill team together before hand, as well as at the actual competition where we took first place over all. Not bad for having had just over two hours of practice time. Can't wait to see their faces next year after we've had a whole year to practice, plus help from the two former ROTC members in our church. Now if only there was color guard out here, like there is in the Oreagon conference. As it turns out, a couple years ago the director of the other club that is the club to beat for fancy drill out here, told our director that we should get a team together, and give them some competition. Well they got what they asked for, since we beat them, with out any special ties, cords, or sunglases.

Last weekend was the Pathfinder Camporee at Alamisco and it was a lot of fun. There where two groups, leaving at different times, and we went with the first one. While we where waiting for the ether group to get there we set up the tents and the big canopy that goes over the food area. When every one else got there it was dark and getting cooler and it was a while before everyone was bedded down for the night. The next morning we had breakfast and then we put on our dress uniforms and practiced drilling, then there was an inspection, then we all went down to a big parking lot for the drilling competition, which we got a first for, in fancy drill. That afternoon their where several competitions which where a lot of fun. One was called i-hop and it involved flipping a pancake over a string then eating it, another was a canoe race where you had to go out around a buoy and come back, only the paddlers where blind-folded and the person in the middle had to tell them where to go.
The next day was Sabbath and there was Sabbath school and Church in an outdoor chapel, then every one from all the clubs had lunch together and in the afternoon there was a sort of treasure hunt that we got to do. That evening there was another meeting and a talent show, afterwords they handed out all the awards and trophies, we got first in a few things and seconds and thirds in others. The next morning we packed up and went home. All in all it was a grate weekend but I'm glad we aren't going anywhere else for quite a while.

My Summer Vacation (by Annie)

We got to do a lot of fun things this summer. My favorite thing was working at camp, even though I was just doing laundry. I never knew just how much laundry was generated by 50+ staff as well as 20-25 sets of linens a week. Never again will I think that the laundry here at home is a lot of laundry. And I am all the more glad for our front loading washer and dryer. I also had no idea just how much the laundry girl is liked up at camp. I just hope I don't have to do it again next year, doing 2 1/2 weeks of laundry wasn't that bad, but doing a whole summer of it doesn't sound that fun, especially when I could be up at horsemanship or in the ceramics room.

The best thing about the Summer-by Sarah

The best thing I got to do this summer was during one of my three week's at Camp MiVoden when I got to essentially be staff. I got to work in the craft room almost all day. 1st period I usually helped with a kids craft and 2nd I taught candle making, then it was lunch time, after lunch it was 3rd period and I didn't do much then because it was card making and I didn't know a lot about that. 4th it was braiding (which I as usually hyper for because I had ice cream during 3rd) and 5th was tie dye which was all most always busy. And I got paid for it all which I totally wasn't expecting.
The 2nd best thing this summer was probably when we went to see Toy Story 3 in theaters as a family in Denver on the Fourth of July. Those where probably the two best parts of my Summer.

Ok - so maybe posting on the blog has not been that high of a priority. It was fine when Lon was still with us, but now that it's just me and the kids, we are having a great time, and things are going (reasonably) well, but finding the time to blog isn't so much happening. Sorry bout that. The second day we left from the campground in St. Louis and headed for Topeka. We had a very nice visit with my aunt and uncle in Topeka and did make it several more hours down the road to an RV place in Abaline, KS. The next day we logged hours and got all the way into Denver, in hopes of finding a Fireworks show there. A rather large, menacing storm blew through (tornado warnings and all) right about sundown, so we decided in the end, to skip the fireworks (besides it was ccccccold!!!) and go see the movie Toy Story 3. It was a good movie. The next morning I took Lon to the airport and then got the kids and we headed up into Rocky Mountain national park. That was breathtaking!! We had left the trailer in Denver, so we were traveling light. We were glad we had left it when we discovered that there was a particular road that we wanted to go on that they do not allow RV's on (for good reason, there was already, even without the RV, several switch-backs, where I had to jocky in the truck, just to get around the corner. It was gravel and narrow, and one-way!) It was very neat, driving it though, reminded me of my old motorcycle days. We saw elk, and dear, and Sarah saw Mt. Goats, and we saw (almost ran over) a wood chuck. The continental divide was NOT AT ALL as I remember it from the trip through there with my grandparents when I was 10. We actually had to drive DOWN to get to it. Rather odd, I thought. We did stop at one spot where there was some snow beside the road, so the kids could play in the snow. :)
Back in Denver, we got to bed early, so we could log a bunch of miles, and also have time to stop at Glenwood Hotsprings the next day. We got up and got a good start on the day - no problems hooting up the trailer, etc, without Lon's help. Sarah is amazing!! We made it almost (within 400 feet) of the top of the pass and heard a LOUD PISHHHHHHHHHHH from the engine. Ugh. Fortunately there was somewhere I could get off the road. All the gauges were reading normal and the check engine light was not even on, so I almost thought it was some sort of a natural pressure release. I called Lon, he called our old mechanic in Portland, and he suggested that possibly there was an issue with the turbo. Ouch. I'm seeing four-digit repair bills about now, and not sure what to do. God lead me to an AWSOME mechanic in Silverthorne, CO, (he was in my GPS point of interest list) He told me that I should limp over the peak and coast into him, and he was betting it was a clamp or a hose or some such simple thing, and he would get me back on the road again ASAP. Which is pretty much exactly what he did. I sure wish he would move to Huntsville!!! Nice guy!!
We still made it to Glenwood in time to swim (no thanks to their LOUSY RV parking situation, it took us nearly an hour, just to park. First we paged a guy who was parked in the RV section in his little Mazda truck, then we decided he wasn't coming, and tried parking in several spots that were open in a block, but we would have to unhook the trailer. We were in the process of doing that, and the Mazda guy came. So we pulled around to get into that spot and discovered that we could not, there was not enough room to swing wide enough to get into the narrow spots they had. So we ended up going BACK over to the other spot, which had in the mean time opened up a bit more, making it easier to get in, but had to drop the trailer again. Crazy. They really need to improve their RV parking at that place!!!
After we swam and ate, I was not tired, so I figured, I would just drive until I was. We got almost all the way to Salt Lake City. We stopped at a roadside wide spot and climbed into the trailer and slept for a few hours and then pulled down into SL, and got a few groceries and ate out for breakfast (IHOP childrens menu is only $1.99 per kid!!! And Ricky actually got FULL!!!) Then we headed out to our campsite. We relaxed all day, the kids played in the water, I took several naps, and we built a campfire to roast our hotdog dinner, and had s'mores. All around, a pretty good two days, even WITH the three hour lay-over in Silverthorne.
Today we pretty much spent the day driving, though we did stop first thing, at the Golden Spike National Historical site. That was FUN and INTERESTING. Amazing to find out that all the iron that was used to lay the western rail line was shipped from the east coast, down around the horn of S. America, and up to California, as there was not a Iron foundary anywhere on the west coast yet. Even the Locomotive that came up the Western line was shipped there!!! And the tunnel that was cut through the Sierra Nevadas, OH MY GOODNESS - 8 INCHES a day they were able to progress!!!
We swung through Boise on our way to our campsite, here about an hour toward Lewiston, and we bought groceries at a WINCO!!!! I miss that store. I was even taking pictures inside, so I can show my friends in Alabama what a REAL grocery store looks like inside!!
Anyway, tomorrows drive is on windy roads, so I should get some sleep so that I can be a safe driver. We are spending two nights in Lewiston with friends, so I should be able to figure out how to post pictures here while we are there. We'll see.

Sharon