Sun, 15 Aug 2010
End of SummerSince school starts this week(!) I think I'd better finish up writing about the things we did this summer. Soon after we got back from our trip to California, Melody and I went to Girls' Camp the same week that Bryan went to Boy Scout Camp. Both camps were, coincidentally, at different parts of the same Boy Scout facility. We went to S-F Camp in south central Missouri, about two hours from here. Bryan was at Famous Eagle and Melody and I were at Swift. Bryan has gone to Swift before. It is supposed to be the best of the camps around. We were very lucky to go there. The Boy Scouts own the whole lake that the camps are on and have developed some really nice facilities.
Anyway, the girls had a great week. I was a little nervous about dealing with all the "wildlife" that Missouri has to offer, namely: ticks, chiggers, snakes, spiders…Mostly these things don't bother me much, but the quantities that I'd heard about along with the no air conditioning just didn't sound that fun. Last year when Bryan came home from camp he went in the shower and came out and said something icky like, "Well I removed twenty-six ticks from just one leg…" Do you see why I was a little reluctant about the "opportunity" to go to camp?
So we went and had a great time. All the girls were troopers. The put up with bugs and heat and had fun doing it. It was very hot, but we were lucky to not get rained on (much). We were grateful for the waterfront so we could cool down, but we managed to do other activities away from the water, including a six mile enforced march through the forest. Here are some activities we did:
swimming,
games,
archery,
horseback riding,
worshiping the electric fans,
gearing up for the ropes course (which had to be stopped in the middle because of lightning) ,
and rappelling.
I don't have pictures of many of the coolest things we did. Mainly, because they were in the water and I didn't want to get my camera wet or I was having too much fun to go and get the camera. Melody and I went sailing together. We went tubing and also went to Huck's Cove, which is the scout "waterpark" where there were slides and zip lines and other water toys. It was a blast. The whole experience was so much fun and the ticks and chigger bites were minimal. Meanwhile…
During the same week, Bryan was on the other side of the lake. He left a day earlier, so he was there for the storm that hit before we arrived. Additionally, he participated in the Ranger program so he was roughing it for the whole week, eating dry food, sleeping in self-built shelters, and hiking from place to place to learn mountain man skills. I don't know if it was "fun", but I'm sure he finished with a great sense of accomplishment.If he'd write in his own blog, you'd know more about it.
Putting up with pain served Bryan well the next week when he got his wisdom teeth out. He was fine for the first few days, then developed a complication called "dry socket." He was quite miserable for another week. And so were the rest of us.
Let's see, I guess before that ordeal, we all enjoyed seeing Wicked at the Fabulous Fox theater.
And we've had "fun" school shopping and sitting around. We're watching Buffy on Netflix…
I've been working on a quilt and Bryan has made himself a bag for his new laptop. (How many 17-year-olds that you know could design and sew their own padded laptop bag? It's pretty fancy.
So, it's been an exciting summer and a boring one. I guess we're ready for school to start again.
Tue, 03 Aug 2010
SummerThis summer has gone so fast! I haven't written about anything that we've done, and now it is almost time for school to start. I don't know where all the time went.
Right after school was out, the kids and I left to drive to California. I wanted to spend some time being a tourist on the way, but the kids were anxious to visit with grandparents and cousins. We did stop for a little while at Arches NP, but only stayed a short time. It was so hot!
When we finally got to Fresno we got to see my niece, Lara's HS graduation. We visited with my mom. Here we are making strawberry jam at her house.
We went with Mom to San Francisco and Marin, so enjoyed Golden Gate Park and Rodeo beach. The weather was beautiful in Fresno and the Bay Area. We had a great time.
Then we got to spend some time in Coloma with the Bennetts. We enjoyed seeing them and had fun visiting our old neighborhoods. We miss that area. The weather was too cold and the water too high, though, to do the kayaking on the American River that we had planned. We enjoyed Placerville instead.
Then on to Sacramento to visit with Marc's family. Again, we had a great time seeing everyone. Marc flew in and we were glad to see him also.
Then we drove to Lake Tahoe to spend a few more days visiting at Kith and Kin. The weather was unusually cold for Tahoe this time of year and so we spent more time than usual inside visiting and playing games.
We did venture forth once to kayak on the lake. It was beautiful, but no one wanted to get wet.
After seeing Marc off at the Reno airport, we stayed a couple of days in Gardnerville, then headed across the desert to arrive in Idaho for another reunion. First, the kids and I went to Yellowstone for a day.
Then we had a reunion in Rigby with the extended Hall clan. We saw people we hadn't seen in a long time. It was also lots of fun to visit and play games.After the reunion, we "gave" Thomas to his grandparents to keep for a couple of weeks. I think he's written about part of that trip in his blog.
And we arrived home in time to celebrate Marc's birthday. We ate lasagna, opened presents, and ate ice cream.
We've done a few more things this summer, but I'll write about them in another entry.
Jan Dill Hall St. Peters, Missouri
Page created: 09 November 2008
Page modified: 31 December 2009
