First Back to Nature and Then Back to School

This weekend the weather was beautiful. Mid 70's, sunny, and no humidity. Perfect for an extended weekend and Fourth of July activities. I started the weekend on Wed. when I went on a canoe trip with a few of my friends from school. My friend Mandi lives on the river, so we were able to stop at her house halfway through the trip and have lunch. I was paranoid that my camera was going to get wet, so I didn't take many pictures. Here's one of them:

We were actually stopped on the side of the river waiting for our friends in the other canoe. We learned later that they tipped their canoe. Whoops. I made it home just in time that afternoon for a really bad thunderstorm. A lot of people were out of power, but luckily we weren't affected.

For the Fourth, Stein and I were invited to a party at a friend's parent's lake house. They live on the same lake as most of Stein's friends from high school. I know I've blogged about being out there before, I just can't remember when. Anyway, they have a party every year, but this was the first year we were invited. It was a really nice party, with a lot of good food. I should've taken a picture of the tables of food, but forgot. Since everyone on the lake was out of power, and septic tanks need power, they had port-a-potties set up. I felt like I was back in college at a big outdoor party. (Except there wasn't anyone getting sick, and the port-a-potties didn't stink.) Toward the end of the night, we all congregated on the pontoon boats tied up together by their dock. This is the sunset we caught:The next night, we were back out on the same lake for fireworks. Matt and Anne invited everyone over for dinner and then we watched the fireworks. I love fireworks. There's nothing like hearing the booms of the big ones that also resonate in your chest. The different colors look so cool against the black backdrop of the sky. Although I have to say, fireworks on the Fourth give me kind of a bittersweet feeling. I'm happy because I love to see them, but it also means that summer is about halfway over. You all know how I feel about summer. And winter. I tried to take a picture of the fireworks, but wasn't quick enough. Here's one that turned out okay. Maybe I need to read the owner's manual for the camera since I haven't done that yet.

We ended the night sitting around the fire at Dean and Beth's house. A perfect ending for a great summer night.

Stein and I also took a bike ride on Saturday afternoon on a trail that we had never been on. It was nice to be out on our bikes again. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant downtown and ate outside. I was in my glory with all things summer converging this weekend.

Today I started back at school for the summer program. So far so good, but I won't have my kids to teach for another 2 weeks. They are involved in an African American camp where they're learning all kinds of cool stuff about the culture. In the meantime, I am working with my friend Mandi on the lessons for the 3rd and 4th grade teachers.

I do have to say that it was nice being back with kids today. They seemed to be happy to be there too, surprisingly. I have to remember that school for a lot of these kids is better than their home lives. Reason #641 why I am thankful for the upbringing I had.