Just to give you an idea

of how I'm spending my free time lately. I know I've talked about it, but pictures are so much better (I think).

Family picture! He's almost 14 months old now.

Lucky for us, he loves playing with his aunties!

The water was too frigid for him one day, so his mom and I dug a little pool for him. I think Kristin enjoyed it as much as Wesley!

He wants to walk everywhere! He's getting more and more confident on his feet and can go across the room without any help. He still needs a hand when walking on the sand or in the water.

Chilling out at the lake. Can life get better than this? :)

Today was sauna 'n swimming day #6 in a row. I'm thinking this is a personal best for me, and I'm planning on continuing tomorrow. Jim and Lynne made it to town today! They're here for 9 or so days and I think it might be their last one for awhile. She's due in November, so their lives are changing!

Jim, Kristin, Peter, and I went sauna and swimming together today. We were sitting in there thinking it's been at least ten years since we've all gone together. Maybe more. We were also remembering the days when 10-15 kids would pack the sauna. Instead it was just the four of us. What a great day!

I must be dreaming

Things are going that great lately. I can hardly believe this is my life. :)

As I was taking a nice long, leisurely walk this afternoon around our little bay, I told Heather that through all of those long winter days, weeks, months at school, this is what I dreamed about. I literally would close my eyes and picture exactly what I was doing this afternoon. The sun was shining oh-so-brightly, glistening off the calm blue waters of Lake Superior. It was keeping us hot in our bathing suits (had to wade into the water every so often to cool off), I didn't need to know what time it was, I was truly relaxed, and I had this feeling of deep contentment.

Is it possible that life can be as good as (or better than) your dreams? Yes!

*Note to self* In January, February, and March when the school year is getting long, the days are short and I'm not seeing much sun or having much of a social life, remember this day. It truly was one out of my dreams.

Sauna, swimming, summer, sweet!

What a summer!! Going to the beach, sauna & swimming, walks, picnics, swimming, unexpected get-togethers, etc. Life has been so good back in this neck of the woods.

Yesterday's sauna and swimming was, in a word, refreshing. The lake was too cold to actually swim in so it was run in, sprint out. Hoping the water tonight is a few degrees nicer. I don't want to say "warmer" because we all know that only happens a couple of times a year - usually in August and September.

Upcoming: Jim and Lynne are coming to visit!, a trip to Maine (with a quick stop in NYC; we couldn't resist!), Katie's wedding, and some quality time with the babies.

One for fun!

I was just going through some pictures from the past year and I found this one from last January.
Don't you love a child who loves his food (fruit)?! :)

Today, July 7th

I am

• Missing family and friends who are away
• Wishing it was a little warmer out, but not too bummed (it's 50-ish degrees).
• Still trying to catch up on some sleep
• Thinking I should be at school getting things done
• Reminiscing about an awesome weekend!!
• Happy :)

Home again

A belated Happy Independence Day to you all ~ 233 years of freedom and liberty!

It's been a crazy weekend back home. I arrived back here on Friday evening, dropped my stuff, grabbed some more and headed north to camp for the weekend. I was home for probably half an hour. Camping was great! Nothing like waking up outside (well, in a tent), cooking food over a fire, swimming (even though the lake was painfully cold), enjoying the warm sun all day long... I LOVE CAMPING!! I sleep so well in a tent, too. (bonus!)

I'll be busy catching up on sleep over the next few days. I've been falling well short of the recommended 8 hours per night. I think over the past three nights combined, I've slept for a total of about twelve hours. I shouldn't say anything, though, because I'm pretty sure my sister Michelle has gotten less and that trend will continue for quite some time.

Growing babies!!

Busy life down here with the twins! Lots of feeding/changing/rocking/holding. :) They are wonderful! and growing every day. I was looking at pictures from when they were a day old and they've already changed so much. It's fun to be here to see it.

• Katz and I checked out some trails the other day. Walked/ran a couple of miles. It was on one of those days that wasn't 99 degrees and humid.
• Katz and I babysat tonight so mom and dad could go on a date. The babies slept the whole time.
• I haven't gotten lost at all :) There's construction here and there but I'm managing to find my way around anyway.
  

Life is good!

Keeping up

At this point I might be making up for being so sporadic with my postings during the school year. Yes, I realize I just wrote last night but why not two days in a row?

• I went to school to get some work done this morning. It was SO fun!!! This summer break is really good for me. It's helping me remember that I love teaching and I love history.
• An unexpected surprise in my classroom today: some sample books from a publisher, including some instructional materials. YEA! I love free stuff! The wheels are turning in my head about how I'm going to use them.
• I also finished filling out my (yearly) supply order form. After all of the pens, markers, papers, etc. I still had some money left for some sweet posters, maps, and other "fun" stuff. Now I can't wait until it all comes in so I can make my mark on my classroom. All year I had posters that the students made up all over. That's good and all, but this year my classroom is going to look like the idea I've had in my mind for the past few years. (I will leave some room for the students' posters.)
• The CAMP today!!! At one point there were fifteen girls there but by the time I was ready to go sauna, everyone else was gone. Weird. So I ate dinner and went sauna/swimming alone. It was peaceful being there by myself. It started to rain so I closed myself up inside and read some more of my book.
• Now I'm home and I'm supposed to be packing. I'll be gone for ten days so that's a lot of packing. I don't like packing. I'm not looking forward to it. I think I'm procrastinating. What do I need to bring? Did I mention I'm not fond of packing?
• I wake up a lot during the night (every hour and a half - or so) and last night I decided that everytime I woke up during the night, I'd get something done. So my room got semi-cleaned during the night hours. The only problem is now I don't know where everything is. Shoot.
• I get to go and see the babies tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!