Our last hurrah of summer

We arrived home from camping today, just in time for the first day of school tomorrow. We had to squeeze in one last hurrah out of summer! 

In true Halverson fashion our trip did not go without a hitch, although this time instead of something going awry on the way out, it happened on the way home. Two miles from home in fact. In the form of a flat tire. And a stuck lug nut that would not budge. And a closed Les Schwab tire center due to it being a holiday. Leaving me carless for the first day of school tomorrow. 

Perfect!

But back to camping, our trip was awesome! It was our church family camp which is one of our very favorite trips of the year. In a nutshell here's why: picture a secluded strip of nicely paved and grassed campsites, with close bathrooms, and a dead end so there's no thru traffic. Add a large covered eating gazebo, a big empty grassy field with a volleyball net, and a beautiful lake for swimming and boating. Take 40 + families and singles, with a gazillion children and their bicycles and let them loose. The kids are free to play in the safety of our group's great camping area, leaving the parents free to play whatever they want! Namely; volleyball, cards and board games, and long lazy chats around the fire. Also add s'mores, a giant Saturday night potluck and a fun as well as moving outdoor church service Sunday morning and you have the makings of a weekend that you never want to end!

Wow that was quite a long nutshell, sorry. 

Something quite momentous also happened this weekend. My 7 year old son Cooper, who has long declared that he has no need to ride a bicycle in his lifetime and therefore doesn't ever need to learn how, actually did! Thanks to the amazing and talented mother of 5 young bike-riders of her own, Aunt Cara. 

Cooper went from this...

training wheels attached

 To this...

Yeah Cooper! And yeah Aunt Cara!

Even though I didn't run multiple laps around our campground like Cara, I'm still totally wiped from all the fun of the trip combined with a crazy evening of unpacking, temporary vehicle hunting, and bathing and preparing children for school in the morning. So I'm going to go do this...

Zzzzzzzzzzzz...