Austin Goes to Camp

Took Austin to Camp Westwind yesterday and we're childless until next Thursday. This is the first time he's been separated from both of us and it was a little hard to let him go. But, Westwind (see link above) is a phenomenal place to be a camper, the staff is excellent and he's in good hands. I'm not sure he grasps quite yet how fantasticly beautiful the setting is and how lucky he is to be able to go hang out there. He's boarding a ferry in the photo because the camp is only accessible by boat (or helicopter, I suppose). The first day, they give them all a serious talk about how to avoid being attacked by a cougar or bear (never hike alone; stay calm; don't run away; if "buddies" walk too far apart, it's usually the smaller of the two that gets eaten, etc.). I'm not sure how many campers have actually been eaten, but the counselors don't have any problem keeping the kids in their cabins at night. :-)

Anniversary

Ten years ago today, a certain sneaky friend of mine invited me to go see a movie at the Bagdad Theater. The sneaky part was that he also invited this handsome and charming guy named Rudy. Well, y'all know the rest. :-)

Water Works

Some photos to go with Austin's blog:

Installing the main water line:

Azalea with Borg-like feeding tube:

Forts and Planes and Growing Pains

Since Austin didn't post any fort pictures, here's one . He was building airplanes out of scrap lumber on Sunday when he missed a nail and smashed his thumb into a bloody pulp with the hammer. Ugh, it brings back all the pains of childhood - skinned knees and gravel-abraded palms, bruised shins and smashed fingers and toes. It's a wonder we all lived through it.