Cub Scout Camp

Also from the draft file, I found this picture of Peter at Cub Scout camp. This was in Oregon at his first Cub Scout day camp shortly before we moved away from Washington. He loved scout camp and was especially good at archery. He still laughs about the funny counselors that worked there and the silly skits they performed.

He enjoyed this summer's cub scout camp in New Jersey as well. It turns out that Peter is on his best scout behavior when he's at camp.

The West Coast

Instead of spending Saturday packing and cleaning, we did what any responsible person would do: we went to the beach. Oh wait, did I say responsible? I meant awesome.

Family picture

Bryan's family visited with us for a few days and joined us at the beach. You'll have to trust me on this as I seem to be lacking photographic evidence.

Sometimes when you run out into the waves, they knock you over, which will result in wet pants and a shocked expression.

The kids had a ball. They all ran into the ocean, fully clothed. We had brought swimsuits, but no one wanted to wait to put them on. Also, the wind was cold, and I suppose they thought wearing lots of wet clothes would be warmer than wearing a few wet clothes? We had a change of attire for everyone in the car, so it wasn't a big deal.

Sophie, in her long pants and long sleeves, was the only person adequately dressed for the wind.

This sweet baby loves the water. She loves baths and she loves bathroom sinks and now she loves the ocean.

Look! She touched the Pacific Ocean!

Now the plan is to visit the Atlantic Ocean sometime soon.

End of the Oregon Trail

On Monday we drove Peter down to his first day of cub scout camp (they were short one seat and I offered to fill the need). With the drive there and back and then down and back to pick him up, we were looking at three hours in the car. Instead, I Googled some fun stuff to do in the area and we made a day of it.

Cooper, Phoebe, Sophie, and I played at a nice park for a while, then went on a little nature walk. No one ran off and it was a very pleasant experience.

The big cool thing we did that day was visit the End of the Oregon Trail. The museum looks like three covered wagons, sans covers. We didn't actually go inside the museum though. The visitors center was free and had two things we really needed: a bathroom and a drinking fountain.

It also had a little corner with pioneer costumes for the kids to wear and pioneer games to play. Phoebe was in heaven and kept announcing that she was now a pioneer. We had a great time. I know I would have enjoyed the museum, and the kids probably would have too, but by this point in the day we were all hungry and tired, so we opted to finish walking the grounds and called it good. They each picked out a stick of candy "like the pioneers would eat," according to Cooper, and headed outside.

We walked over to a lovely garden and discovered a coblestone path and the stone marker announcing the end of the Oregon Trail. I wonder why that particular point is the end. Did someone announce, "I'm tired, and this place looks as good as any" and refuse to continue?

I told Cooper and Phoebe to stand by the plaque so I could take their picture. Phoebe turned to Cooper and said, "We're pioneers now, huh Cooper? It changed our lives forever." Then, after a moment of reflection, "Actually, no it didn't."

Once we were back in the car we talked a little more about pioneers. Phoebe told us, "Pioneers were good people. They didn't hit or kick or punch. Pioneers obeyed God." Indeed.

Happy Pioneer Day!

OMSI

We checked off another item from our to-do list on Saturday when we visited OMSI, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. One display had dinosaurs, both of the skeletal and animatronic varieties. The three big kids thought the robot dinosaurs were awesome, particularly when they roared and thrashed. Sophie was not a fan. She and Bryan ended up waiting in the hall while the rest of us walked through the exhibit.

Sophie found the kid-friendly Science Playground much more to her liking. She and I spent some time in the baby section playing with noisemakers.

The museum is built on the Willamette River, seen here out some of the windows. We didn't visit the exhibit parked in the river. For a higher admission fee and an hour of your time you can tour a submarine. I thought it looked cool, but an hour of telling the kids to "be quiet and stopping touching things!" didn't appeal to either me or Bryan. We opted to wave at the sub from the window.

The kids got hands-on in the Earth Science room. Most of the displays taught about environmentalism, which makes sense because that's a big deal in Portland. I think the kids liked this one mostly because they could get their hands dirty.

There was another room devoted to the life sciences. We walked in and saw a large display that was labeled "Prenatal Development." I distracted the kids with a giant model of an ear while Bryan took a turn through the exhibit to see if that was something we were comfortable taking the kids to. It was not. And that is all that I will say about that.

I'm glad we went so we don't have to wonder what we would have missed if we hadn't gone, but I also don't think we would go again, even if we weren't moving across the country. Between OMSI and the Portland Children's Museum, the latter was much cooler. Still, it wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon.

A Museum That Doesn't Act Like a Museum

In an effort to whittle down our Pacific Northwest Bucket List, on Saturday we went to the Portland Children's Museum. June was Superhero month and when we arrived we saw Batman, Robin (pictured on the left), and Iron Man. We also saw Master Chief from Halo (in the foreground of the picture) and Chewbacca from Star Wars (in the background of the picture and one of the coolest costumes I've ever seen), but I'm not sure how they count as Superheroes.

This particular museum has signs all over the place boasting that it's a museum that doesn't act like a museum. Basically, everything is hands on as opposed to your typical look-with-your-eyes-and-not-with-your-hands approach.

Here's Peter, climbing through a wall.

This museum has a pet hospital with real vet equipment and fake animals. The kids thought it was lots of fun.

They had a whole outside portion of the museum for the kids to hike through. They could build shelters, play in a small waterfall, and climb a tree. Cooper slipped going down a hill and ended up muddy for the rest of the visit.

One of the most popular parts of the museum for our family was the theatre. Bryan and Cooper played drums in the wings.

Sophie and I grinned at each other in the mirrors backstage.

Peter acted as stage manager and barked orders to all the children playing in the area. He would call for the curtains to be opened and closed and mics to be placed. I'm not sure why all the kids were following his orders, maybe because he gave them with such confidence?

He even found a director's chair to give him more authority.

And Phoebe spent most of her time on stage. She found a butterfly costume and did a dance that was a cross between modern and ballet. Then, when the mic was placed, she stood center stage and belted out "Let It Go." At one point the curtains started to close before the song was over and she yelled out, "NO, KEEP THEM OPEN! OPEN!" They were promptly opened back up. I finally had to remove her so other kids could have a chance in the spotlight.

We finished our visit with a run through the outdoor maze.

And a nap.