Michael and his dad had a campout this weekend with cub scouts. They made rockets and shot them off at the campsite. Here's Michael sitting with the other scouts (and one or two of the scouts's sisters), wating to shoot off their rockets.

Michael and his rocket.

That's a twenty ounce bottle and a two liter bottle with cardboard fins all duct-taped together and spray-painted.

Shooting off the rocket had something to do with this rope that Michael is about to pull. I wasn't there and Jeff, exhausted, is already asleep tonight. So, I don't know how it works, but trust me that it shoots the rockets really, really high.

We have a friend with the most amazing green thumb. Check out those tulips! They are taller than Jim. Yes, landscape architecture is our friend's profession.

My favorite element of the garden is this pond and stream. The stream continues down the hill, cascading down several little waterfalls before reaching the bottom, where a pump brings the water back up to the top.

Jim ran around and around the pond at the top for his dad to lift him over the stream gap at the far end. This was probably his favorite garden element, too. :)

Here's Michael, looking like a little man. Except he's not so little anymore. 52" tall at his 8 year check-up this month.

If you click on this picture and take a close look at the path at Michael's feet, you can see how bad the pollen's been down here. See his footprints on the stone?

Jim looks so small in these pictures, but I swear he's starting to catch up to other kids his age. The gentleman who made this garden is well over six feet tall, so things are a little out of proportion for a toddler.