"The Craftsmen"

[Band camp was in mid-July.]

Rock band camp was a first this year and wow, what a good time! They did it at Seattle Drum School (not the School of Rock franchise), because we have a friend who has been happy with his lessons there and it seemed to me to be the most musician-oriented. Jordan was placed in a band with a terrific guitarist and drummer; he played keyboards, there was a lead singer, and the counselor played bass. They called themselves The Craftsmen and they were amazing. They played songs by the Black Keys, the Beatles, and a couple others. Here they are at the Friday concert, attended by parents and friends. 

One guy shouted, “You guys have no idea how righteous you are!” Love it.

Finally, they sang Beat It, and to my complete amazement – Jordan sang! For all his singing experience, this is something we’ve never seen him do. (Though now that he’s in Vocalpoint, more is on the way.) I was beside myself. What a fantastic growth experience.

The icing on the cake was that the terrific guitarist is, like Jordan, a 9th grader at Nathan Hale in the fall, and lives in our neighborhood, and seemed like a great guy. Let the band play on!!

Bike camp

[Bike camp was in mid-July; I'm catching up.]

The kids loved bike camp last year and were eager to return for a second time. This camp is run by Cascade, and it’s all about enabling kids to be city bikers. They do skill-building exercises about signaling, biking near pedestrians, rules of the road, etc. This is great stuff and they really learn it: I’ve biked with our kids, and their road awareness and manners are really excellent. They also teach the kids how to read a bike map. 

The big event of every day is that they ask the kids where they want to go - and then they go there! Aaron’s group rode from Magnuson to Log Boom Park, then another day to Gas Works, then another day to Green Lake. It’s awesome. Jordan’s group (with their bigger bikes and longer legs) rode to Discovery Park, which is literally the other side of town, and then another day to Volunteer Park, which is at the top of a heck of a big hill. The whole thing is incredibly empowering. Jordan in particular feels like he can bike anywhere he wants to, in all of Seattle, and I’m sure he’s right. (My testimonial to this effect made it to their website!)



Aaron was amazed to learn that if you are able to bike up a big hill without getting exhausted, that tells you about the strength of your heart, at least as much as your legs. I know this is true, but my explanation of why felt pretty thin. Something about delivering more oxygen to the muscles so they can do their thing better?

Forest cake

[This post refers to events from early July]

Perhaps because of recent camping, the boys asked for a forest-themed birthday cake, and asked for me to design it (instead of them drawing their own design). I had a lot of fun with this. We found a cougar and a wolf among their figurines; the cougar was especially appropriate, because there were cougar sightings near Camp Kalsman this year. They picked up aquarium logs from the dollar store. From the cake supply shop, I got evergreen trees, chocolate river rocks, and chocolate boulders (!). The lake is fondant, surrounded by the river rocks and busted cinnamon sticks.



For the cake itself, I made the frosting into a grassy forest floor.



Fun and delicious!!

Birthday battles

[This post refers to an event on June 7. Better late than never!]

For their birthdays this year, the boys asked to have a joint laser tag party in Gas Works Park, like Jordan’s last year. It was a delightful day. Grownups had blankets in the shade, and party guests had their battles.

Some of the guests were relieved to learn that the battles were optional, and after one good round, joined the adults in sitting and chatting.

After battles and cake, people just hung out. How about these guys?



Last year, there were live knights battling for our entertainment. This year there was a different sight to see: naked bicyclists! Maybe ten of them? They changed (into…nothing) in the restrooms near our picnic spot, set out on their ride, and filed back in as the party was ending. The boys were actively uninterested in this long-running Seattle tradition. Here they are huddled around someone's phone, with the bicyclists just barely visible in the background.

La Wis Wis

Our second family camping trip of the summer took us down to the Mount Rainier area, to a campground called La Wis Wis that Jules and Dale had scoped out the year before. (I do not know the proper pronunciation of this name and we all had a great time guessing.) We reserved three great big campsites and invited lots of friends, so that we wound up with 20 people.

The kids had their own tents; the older kids were particularly independent, what with all their Billings camp experience, and seemed particularly at home chatting by the fire. 

Each family signed up for a meal or two and we ate communally. It was a great time. 

Dishwashing has a special appeal at a campsite like this because it's kind of the only time you get to wash your hands, at least in warm water.

Some people took themselves up to Paradise, the stunning alpine area near the top of Mt. Rainier. Their long, blazing hot hike was rewarded not only with extraordinary views, but also with snow at the top. Plus marmots.

Some people, like me, stayed down in the cool shady forest and did no driving.

On the way out many of us went to the Grove of the Patriarchs, a beautiful hike down to a valley of gigantic trees. We especially enjoyed the river access.



A few brave souls dunked themselves, which takes serious chutzpah, because it is snowmelt.



This was a great crew for camping together and we’d love to do it again!

Middle Fork

On the banks of the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River is a sweet campground, literally one hour from Seattle, but out in the woods as much as anything you like. We camped there a few weeks ago (okay, it was back in June). We were joined by Sue and Rob, and the Ishmael-Weisbarth foursome, who get a special appreciation for joining us for the entire weekend on one day’s notice.

Not only the beautiful woods, but also the river!

There were huckleberries nearby.

The kids got along great and spent a rather amazing amount of time just gathered around the fire. They made smoke, battled with foam weapons, and gazed into the flames.

I bonded with Buddy. And we all enjoyed each other’s company.