Friday, August 31, 2012

Zombie Apocalypse Survival 101

The boys are really growing up.  They used to all get excited about going to the library to sign up for  Summer reading, and they looked forward to going back to get their prizes and to participate in the activities.  Now Rowan is the only one who really has any interest in participating, and he mostly just wants to earn a free book.  I can't say as I blame them for not wanting to go to a lot of the activities, as most of them are geared towards younger kids.  But this Summer there was one activity that both Grayson and Rowan were excited about: Zombie Apocalypse Preparation.  This was something right up their alley.

First step- choosing your survival gear.
Second step- learning to identify Zombie body parts- a useful skill should you ever have to perform a Zombie autopsy.
Step 3 was Zombie camouflage, but neither of them wanted to put makeup on their faces and look like Zombies.

Step 4- Obstacle course.  The librarian timed them, and reminded them that you don't have to be the fastest, you just have to have one person that's slower than you that the Zombies can get first.
Step 5- Target practice.  They had to try to hit a cardboard cut out of a Zombie with nerf weapons.  It was funny how seriously they talked about how more effective it was to hit certain parts of the body.  Apparently head shots are the best.  Kids have an amazing "wealth" of knowledge about such things.
And it's a good thing to have a helpful brother around when your gun jams.
I'm very thankful to the librarians for doing something a little "outside the box" and in doing so getting my kids interested participating.


Sunday, August 26, 2012

Steens Mountain Running Camp

 This Summer Fuller got to go on a big adventure.  We sent him to Steens Mountain High Altitude Running camp for a week.  He was both excited and nervous about going.  He had heard a lot about how hard the week was going to be from other runners who had gone, and I was glad that the high school coaches were going to be there all week to keep an eye on him.  The first day was about getting used to the altitude,  being at camp and getting a tour of the area.
 
 DAY 2:  BIG DAY  Day two of camp is simply known as "the big day".  They get the campers up very early, eat a good breakfast, make PB & J sandwiches for the road, and head out.  They spend the rest of the day hiking and running 22 miles up and down canyons, across streams and through some beautiful country.


Fuller stubbed his big toes so many times this day that they turned deep purple an stayed that way for weeks after he got home.
After finishing the 22 mile event the  campers have the option of running another 7 miles back to camp, or riding the bus back.  Fuller chose the bus.


 DAY 3:  Lots of stretching, recovery runs, and camp life.


 The guys of tent 3.  Twenty smelly guys living together in a tent isn't exactly my idea of fun, but Fuller enjoyed it.  They had a ton of fun and laughed a lot.
 GATE-GUESS- GALLOP-      This was a team event where they had run up and down a mile long hill as a group for a time.  Then they had to run it again and try to get the time that they guessed they could do it in.      The team that got closest to their time won.                  
  
But first they had to get pumped up!

                                         Fuller's team came in second among the guys teams.


DAY: 4  The day started out with the counselors waking them up by banging metal trash can lids in their tents.   I don't quite know how Fuller slept amongst all those smelly running shoes, but he didn't even seem to notice.






 The event of the day was another team event called Cross Canyon.  This was an 11 mile event where they were given a quote to remember as they ran, and someone from their tent had to be prepared to recite it later.  The quote Fuller's group was given was : "I asked myself, Harland are you going to let fear run your life, let fear make every decision for you?  I decided to face my fears head on."  Harland Yriarte

 DAY: 5  Steens Olympics-  A series of several events- including the Uphill 5K-  Fuller said this was the hardest, worst day for him.


 They also competed in the super muddy tug of war.


Other notable things- skits, inspiring (but sometimes long) talks from the camp directors and college athletes, and the Basque dinner.  The Basque dinner was apparently a "boys ask girls to be their date" dinner.  There were more boys at camp than girls and Fuller's counselors were determined that everyone in their tent get a date.  Fuller apparently took a nice girl from Idaho.  The boys had to be gentlemen and get their dates dinner for them, provide them with nice conversation, and take care of their dishes afterwards.

Fuller's main thoughts on his experience at camp were 1) he suffered A LOT ,  2) running at high altitude is not fun, 3) living in a tent with 20 guys IS fun, 4) he's dying to go back!

(I am so thankful the camp has a great photographer, who documented the week so completely!)



Monday, August 13, 2012

Bridge Pedal

 This last weekend Paul and Grayson participated in Bridge Pedal in Portland.  A couple of years ago we did this event as a family, with Grayson, Rowan and I doing the shorter kids ride and Paul and Fuller doing one of the longer rides.  This year Paul and Grayson were the only ones interested in doing it, so they opted for the 6 bridge ride which was about 13 miles.
 The start of the ride was really crowded and they had to walk their bikes for part of it.
 But then they were off to enjoy the city.  Lots of great views to stop and admire along the way.

 I love that Paul and the boys do these fun events together.


 Grayson was pretty dang tired by the end, and unfortunately they had parked far away and had a nice trek back to the car.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Summer Tradition

 It wouldn't feel like Summer for us without a trip to Shipwreck Beach.  This year our trip got sandwiched in between all of the boys activities, and was a perfectly timed break from the heat.  In fact the wind was so chilly that Fuller pretty much  wrapped up in a blanket and went to sleep, and no one spent much time in the water. (Well, except for Buster.)







Until next time!

Friday, August 10, 2012

Grayson at 12

Yesterday we celebrated Grayson turning 12. He is at such a strange age- part kid, part teenager. He is full of plans and ideas and is still one of the funniest people I know. He celebrated his big day with some of his best buds. We took them to see the new "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" movie, then they consumed large amounts of pizza and root beer floats and swam in our pool. Grayson deemed it the best birthday he's ever had!

A few facts about Grayson at 12:

 Favorite food: Cookie Crisp
Favorite movie: Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Dog Days
Favorite restaurant: Chipotle
Favorite TV show: Dr Who
Favorite game: Minecraft
Favorite music: Rap
 Favorite thing to do: play soccer
Favorite toy: ipod touch
Best friends: Hunter W, Cody C, Ethan W
Most important thing you learned this year: How to make a para-cord bracelet.