Just Another Day

I just never get tired of the fall colors.

April and Jesse came out for a boat ride and a cup of apple cider this afternoon. It was another gorgeous day.

There’s definitely a reason I wasn’t on the high school debate team (or wouldn’t have been, had my school had one). I get stressed out just watching.I imagine that’s the part of me that wants to keep the peace and give everyone what they want.

That said, I’m pretty fascinated tonight. This is the first election I’ve followed so closely.

… just over a month now.

We had beautiful weather this weekend. I even got out on the lake a couple of times.

This weekend’s events began after school on Friday. Dad and I went and grabbed the canoe from some folks who’d borrowed it. Then we stopped in to see Gram and Gramp. They were in good spirits, and then we were off to April and Jesse’s. We joined up with Stacy and Dylan, and Brennan, Sibley, and Tina showed up soon after. We enjoyed a quick dinner before heading to watch Jordan play football. This was the first game I’d seen him play since he was in soccer as a little guy. It was a lot of fun! The lighting wasn’t great for getting pictures of the game, but Bill did snap this photo of the sun setting behind good old CHS. What an evening!

Stacy and Dylan came out to the lake and stayed that night, and then the three of us did a little shopping and KFC eating on Saturday.

I took the evening to work on a few lesson plans before Bill got back from his day trip into the BWCA. We watched a little bit of Heroes and then hit the hay.

Bill’s grandparents were in the area this weekend, so they decided to drive up to Cook this afternoon. We got out on the pontoon for a ride. It was gorgeous out on the lake.

We enjoyed a little dinner and visiting before Bill & Arlene headed out to their RV for the night. Now we’re winding down and getting ready for the work week. The weekends go quickly, of course so do the week days. Here’s hoping we all find a minute to slow down and enjoy!

The moon is gorgeous right now. Last night was a full moon, and I tried to get a picture. Of course, the camera just doesn’t do it justice. It’s amazing, though. I love seeing its reflection across the lake.

Dad was just over here cracking me up. Thank heavens, as I was cranky earlier this evening. I had to play plumber before I could do the dishes and then cook dinner. In the process I bleached out one of my new shirts and my favorite pants. But, there are more pants and shirts in the world, and when I finally got to cooking dinner, it was pretty tasty.

The 2nd season of Heroes arrived in our mailbox today. I DO love Netflix. Of course season 3 starts next Monday. I doubt I’ll be ready. 😉

Here’s my favorite adolescent boy quote of the day… “I’ve got an armpit hair, and it’s black.” 5th graders are funny.

Oh yes, since you all know how much I miss summer, I was happy to see Bill’s lastest video of our camping trip into Lac Lacroix. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the show, take a look. I love the summer scenery.

Alright, I’ve got 1/2 an episode of Heroes to finish before bed time. I hope this Wednesday evening has brought each of you some rest!

During the summer, I don’t generally have strong feelings about the weekends. In fact, the time goes by and I often don’t know what day it is. Ahhh… I love summer. I miss it. Now, though, I can appreciate the routine of Monday – Friday and LOVE the freedom of Saturday and Sunday. It seems the Sept. cold/flu has hit each of us – I thought I could hold out, but I started battling it off yesterday. Sigh.

Back to the weekend – though. I’ve taken full advantage of my minutes by resting up and of course playing in the kitchen. 🙂 The weather has been dreary, so yesterday morning was the perfect chance to brew up some tea and try a new scone recipe. YUM!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed and decided to head in to see Gram and Gramp. April and Jesse met me there, and Stacy and Dylan showed up a little later. G & G were both doing well this morning. They were out at coffee when we arrived (which was early for Grandpa!). They were both perky for visiting, too. I love when I catch them like that!

We stopped up to see my Grandpa’s brother and sister-in-law (Earl & Katie) next. We had a good little chat and some tasty baked goods. On my drive home, I couldn’t help but feel happy. It is wonderful to have family around.

Perhaps my chipper mood is partially to blame for the pictures I decided to take on my drive home. I only had my camera phone, so they’re not great quality. Still, as much as I am missing summer (desperately), I am LOVING the changing leaves. It’s so beautiful around here.

The other five days of the work-week were pretty good, too. They went quickly, and I’m sure hoping it’s an indicator of what’s to come! My job is going well. Last Monday we had a man from the Native Pride Dancers do an assembly for us. He asked for student volunteers to dance, and it reminded me of the days in Brevig Mission when our kids would show the traditional dances. It was neat. When it was time for the teacher dance, he did not ask for volunteers. Yep – my first official Monday at work, and I was up in front of the school at 8:40 dancing! Most of you know that it takes late nights and more than courage to get me dancing on any other occasion. It was fun, though. I’m thankful I teach at an Elementary. 🙂

I am also really enjoying getting out at lunch for a quick walk with a couple other teachers. We do a short little route, but it’s great to get outside.

Hope each of you are finding some happiness during this transition between seasons.

Whew. I always know I’m going to be tired upon the start of the school year, but I never seem able to remember the true exhaustion of it all. You’d think I hadn’t moved an inch in the past 3 months… almost nothing makes me feel lazier than getting back into the work mode and realizing how far out of routine I am. Oh well, I guess that’s what summer is for!

Anyway, school is going well so far. Here’s a picture of our first day. Bill basically got a new wardrobe because his shorts and Chacos weren’t going to cut it. Pretty snazzy!

Back to school tomorrow.

Ready or not…

You may remember the little gaget Bill got me along with my iPod… my Nike+ tracks my miles and pace. I have recently been better about getting out to jog and uploading my data, and I found that Nike had plans for “The Human Race” – a worldwide 10K. So, I registered to run along with thousands of people around the world. The run itself was pretty anti-climactic: no gunshot start, no cheering fans along the route, no celebratory finish. Still, it was fun to be a part of something big.

There were different cities around the world that had actual race routes, but none of those were close by. So, I just wore my little tracker and uploaded my data to the site.

As you can see, my time wasn’t spectacular, but it could’ve been worse. And as it stood at the time of my upload, I was in 6880th place. 🙂 Thousands of people will still have to upload their runs, so I’m sure I’ll get kicked down the list a little further.

There will be a woman’s 1/2 marathon taking place the same way in October, and I may just decide to join. If any one else out there has the same gadget and wants to run together – let me know!

and they couldn’t have come at a better time. I’ve pretty much been in denial over the fact that I start work in 2 days. So, when Sara sent these pics over yesterday, it helped me to wake up and get excited about the upcoming school year. It is going to go so quickly, and I’m hoping to do my best to enjoy each moment.

Here I am on our last work day in June with four of my favorite ladies at Forestview. From left after me is Alison (my twin), Tammy (assistant principal), Sara (social butterfly), and Trudi (5 & 6 counselor).

And I had to put this picture up because I just look funny. My team (6D) decided to take a “jumping” picture, but I don’t think my feel left the ground. And just look at my face!

Joan: SPED, Mike: math, Robin: Science, Me: Yikes, Alison: self-contained , Sara: entertainer extraordinaire

April planned a little weekend get away for the four of us to the North Shore of Lake Superior. We headed out after everyone finished up with work on Friday (I was the only vacationer that day…), and arrived at the resort at Lutsen Friday evening. We stayed at a cozy little ski resort – each room came equipped with a jacuzzi and fireplace. I imagine it’s PERFECT after a long day of skiing, and since it’s the off season, we got good rates and got to enjoy the place and it’s location close to lots of state parks and cute little towns.

Saturday morning we woke up and got going to a cute little coffee shop down the road. Then we headed off to Grand Marais and checked out the farmers market, harbor, and a couple of shops. This is another key entry point for getting into the BWCA, so the shops are geared towards folks who love the outdoors.

After walking around the town, we headed even further North to do a little hiking. One of our first stops was at the Grand Portage Heritage Center. Not only did we get to walk through the museum to see artifacts and videos, we got to walk through buildings set up as they were by the North West Company back in the days of the voyageurs. This is also at the start of the Voyageur Highway that Bill wants to drag me across for one of our BWCA trips next summer (an 8 1/2 mile portage!!!). It is very cool to be reminded of how much people were able to accomplish back then without our modern day conveniences!

After taking in a little history, we headed out to a couple of state parks. We were able to see these beautiful waterfalls.

Mix in a little more shopping, Sven & Ole’s pizza, drinks and the Vikings pre-game, and a little sibling harassment and it turned out to be a great weekend. We’ll have to grab Lo & Mike for our next adventure!