What A Way To Spend A School Day

Swimming

                              
                             Basketball

                                   
                                         Games
Pictionary

Scavenger Hunt

Gorilla/Warrior/Damsel in distress (a chasing game)

and a nighttime campfire with smores

For the past two days our middle and high school students, along with some selected teachers, have been up at Northern Grace Youth Camp on a retreat.


And even though I wasn't thrilled about the overnight aspect (I don't function well without sleep), and even though I had to give up my days off, I had a great time - as did the kids.


I stayed in a cabin with my discipleship group which included two 6th grade, two 7th grade, and two 8th grade girls.  A fantastic group!


This was our cabin:

I was more than excited to see that I had my own room - complete with an air conditioner and a fan - really roughing it!

So, at 11:00 I turned out the lights, went to my room, and let the girls whisper and giggle while I slept.  I got about 7 hours of good sleep - which is 5 or 6 hours more than I was expecting.


This was the girls' room:

They also had an air conditioner in their room.  As I found out... not all the cabins had air conditioning so we really were fortunate.

Our theme for this year is Love 2 Serve so we spent a lot of time talking about how we can show love and serve not only our peers, but also the people within our community and beyond. 


I think everyone had a great time and, all in all, it was a great way to spend two whole school days!

First Day of School

And he said he had a good day.


Despite the fact that I forgot to give him schedule so he had no idea what elective classes he was supposed to go to.  So he was late for his art class and went to Drama class instead of his scheduled Study Hall. Oops... my bad.

Back To School

School starts tomorrow!


I'm pretty excited.  After several revisions to the original, my schedule now looks like this:  On Mondays I am done at 2:00, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays I will be putting in full days (7:30-4:00).  I don't have class that whole time, but will use the extra time to go over curriculum or clean.  Thursdays I have off.  And Fridays I am done at 10:40.


This is what my room looks like:

Zack says he is not as ready to start as I am. The idea of homework and studying and tests is not as appealing as computer games or T.V.   But he does enjoy hanging out with friends. And this year he gets a locker!

The Airport Drop Off

Oh how I hate the airport drop off.

The realization that your time together has ended and the memories you created will have to carry you until next time.


The quiet ride home as you relive those memories...tossing them around in your mind like a beach ball.


Saying goodbye is never easy.

Walking out alone... just my little buddy and me.

and viewing some interesting artwork along the way.

The Last Time?

A few years ago, when we were still living in Florida and we made our usual summer trek up north for the summer, we went to the U.P. to visit with my grandma and grandpa for a few days.


On the day we left, we met them at a McDonalds for breakfast.  As we were driving away after saying  our goodbyes in the parking lot, I looked in my rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of grandma and grandpa, arm in arm, waving goodbye, and I immediately choked up.  


Then I turned to look at C.J. who had also looked back for that last glance, and was crying.


No words needed to be spoken for we both understood the reason for this overwhelming emotion.  Would we ever see them again?  


Many things have transpired since that July morning in 2004, including moving back up north and being within 3 hours of them which increased our visits to 4-5 times a year instead of just one.


Fast forward to June of 2008.  I took a picture of the boys kneeling around grandpa on one of our visits.  What we didn't realize at the time was that it would be the last picture they would take with grandpa... the last time they would see him.  He died in July.


On Wednesday, as I was taking these pictures, we were all keenly aware that they most likely will be the last.  As we tried to keep the mood light and cheery there was an underlying sadness that loomed. Not for grandma, but for us.  For all we will miss.  A thankfulness for all she has meant to us.  For the blessing she has been to our family.

Of course, we all know that God's timing is a mysterious thing... and grandma may still be around at Christmas time (which is our next usual visit) but the decline has been fast and very apparent over the summer so the chances are not good.


For now, we are grateful for our visit and pray for peace and happiness for her.

A Sure Sign...

that fall..

is right...

around the corner.

Pumpkins from our garden.

Lambeau Field Fun

Still way too tired to organize a productive post.

Ski Jump/War Memorial

I had planned to write a post dedicated to my grandmother and our visit yesterday.... but because I spent nine hours at school today and because I am under the influence of heavy cough medicine,  I am far too tired to string my thoughts together.  


So I will instead just post some pictures of our visit to the ski jump:

Jon preferred to read

They have erected there a nice memorial to all wars fought by America.

My father (Paul Olson) and my uncle (Dale Olson - who died in 1987) served in Korea in the 60's so they each have a stone with their name on it.