summer at the lake 2019

This summer has been somewhat different from previous summers. When asked at the end of the school year what our summer would look like, it seemed as though it would likely be some basic learning activities, punctuated at the beginning, middle, and end with travel. And that is what it has been, but it felt far more busy and lesson summer-like than I imagined. It also felt short, as I knew it would.

To launch our summer, we took a family road trip north to Portland and back. We camped our way home and, on the whole, had a really wonderful trip. The truth is that we deeply needed some time away, just the four of us, and that was quite restorative.

The middle of the summer took us to north Lake Tahoe. That trip was short and affected by kiddo high needs. While it was beautiful up there, it wasn't a relaxing break. We did enjoy family and the women's world cup soccer final and win!

And the end of the summer took us to the wilderness of the mountains again, to our special place we have been lucky enough to visit every year since before I was born. It is the anchor of my year and where I want my ashes scattered after I die. This year was a little different for a few reasons. There were some quirky things happening at the cabin that needed fixing, so we fixed those. Our kiddos, who were so kung-ho to hike hard before the trip, were rather subdued once there, and not quick to be overly motivated. We had multiple boot failures, most notably mine completely falling apart on a hot rocky trail, with about a 30 minute hike (without boots) left to return to the boats. (It took me longer, and some tears, to get back to the lake.) I never got to some favorite spots during our week away and found I had to grieve this a little. I also got very little quiet reading, writing, drawing time. A little, but not a lot. Regardless, it was soul soothing setting and felt so good. The photos are all from this trip, because I share some every year.

And in between, some language arts and math work for both kids and an incredibly successful coding class for our girl, complete with presentation and demonstration of their developed app at the end.

And summer? It is only early August, yet I must turn my attention to the school year ahead, since our beloved charter didn't get the memo that August is summer!