Create-my-own Christmas photo card

This was fun to do.

First off, I follow a blog (several actually) that points followers to freebies and/or good deals. When I came across one for 50 free 4X6 photo prints, well...

I haven't taken very many photos this year, and I've done an even worse job of putting them on the computer, editing them, etc. Somehow I managed to find a couple highlights from the year. I used my CM stuff to make a 4X6 scrapbook "page", which I was able to save as a photo to upload for my 50 free prints. So, here it is:

Camping at MilleLacs Kathio ("playing hookie" from school)

For the first time in a couple summers, WE WENT CAMPING!

We surprised the kids by inviting a friend for each of them - packed up and headed out Wednesday morning, after multiple short stops: back home for a football, swung by to pick up a waterbottle, got ice for the cooler, even stopped by the library to get a book that was being held... Still managed to forget the one more pack of hotdog buns we needed (oh, and the ham for lunch - grrr!).

After we set up camp, we went and explored a little: found the playground and swimming pond, took the short walk to the fishing pier/dam. After hotdogs on the grill (and all the hotdog accessories), I went wandering by myself, came across some deer that really weren't phased by my being there - for the longest time, I just stood watching them, until their curiosity made ME skittish.

Our 1st night was pretty sleepless: between cold temps (the forecast said 40-something for the low), lots of trips to the outhouse, and at least one kid who couldn't sleep with the many snorers in the tent. I was glad to have brought a stocking cap and gloves, besides the warm sleeping bag!

They 2nd day was filled with (1) an interpretative program about Minnesota Symbols (state tree, bird, flower, fish, etc.); (2) a trip in to town to find a grocery store for hotdog buns, ham, and more bug-spray; (3) a visit to the MilleLacs Indian Museum; and (4) a climb up the fire tower.

We slept well that 2nd night - everyone was tired, and it was a little warmer. Three of the four kids nestled down in the van, leaving us snorers in the tent. One of my favorite things was the brightness of the moon - I swear I could've read by it.

Mark is always quick to break camp the last morning, so we were out of there pretty early. We went and explored one more trail, then headed over to Father Hennepin State Park, which was nearby. The water was quite cold, but the girls still waded in (and called it swimming). The boys - in typical boy fashion - picked rocks and shells, tried to chuck rocks the farthest, and searched for gross things: dead fish, pieces of crab claws, etc. Our lunch was in the van on the way home.

I love camping, but I sure enjoy the comfort of my comfy bed and the conditioned, bug-free air of my house!

(I tried to upload some pix, but they're either too big or my internet is too slow or I just don't know how to do it or all of the above - so no pix yet).

Moving Back Home

From school, that is...

I've been doing my fair share of "relaxing" since school got done for the year, but inbetween afternoon naps and episodes of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (Anna found the boxed sets of seasons 1-6 and has decided to watch them ALL this summer), I've slowly been sorting and organizing and cleaning...

I knew I had a lot of stuff - after 16 years of teaching. I did pre-sort my stuff in the weeks just before the end of school, so on that last day, I was able to just hand over my keys and walk out. But all that stuff had to go somewhere - my family has been so good putting up with boxes and bins stacked and stashed all over the dining room and living room (and a variety of other nooks and crannies all over the house).

My sorting process has gone something like this: Garbage? School property? Have I used this, or could someone else use it better? Is it useful for homeschooling, or tutoring, or subbing - or might I use it if I ever full-time teach again? So there's a corner of the spare room where all my if-I-ever-teach-again stuff will store 'til who-knows-when.

Our old dining room (just off the kitchen, overlooking the entryway and the front yard) will become the homeschool "classroom" (or at least, home base).

I still have much to sort and organize, and of course, the rest of the house to purge of junk, and catch-up on months' of good housecleaning. I've been doing little by little, some days making more headway than others.

Goodbye, SCCS!

Well, today we will be officially unenrolling the kids from the Christian school where they've been attending since kindergarten. The end of this schoolyear is very bittersweet - kids and teachers alike are usually excited for summer vacation, but because we're closing a chapter in our life, it's a little sad too.

I'm excited to homeschool, but can't move ahead on that 100% yet - just in case a position opens up (someone else decides not to come back - the contracts aren't even out yet) and I get asked back. So it's still a waiting game, until the end of August maybe - very unsettling for a planner like me.