Catch Up!

It's nearly 6pm and I just now finished my morning coffee... that's the kind of crazy day I've had. Brandon had his 7th Grade Orientation this morning. Very well-organized and they did a great job of getting the kids acclimated to the new world of class periods. Brandon is very excited about school this year. He got into his favorite art teacher's class... he got into Industrial Arts with his friend Nick... and he is looking forward to his Science class. He also starts band this year and chose the trumpet as his instrument (his band teacher talked him out of the drums, thank God!). We got that all settled with Schmitt music this afternoon so he is excited and ready to go.

We got home around 2pm and I was amazed at how awesome the porch reconstruction project is shaping up!
I've added the new window that you see (there was only one in the back before. The old porch was literally falling off the house... the guy who built it didn't attach it; just shoved it up the house. This one is so solid! And it has a new door (which you can't see at the moment) and it will also have the new screen door that I picked out at Home Depot.














This is a phot from the back of the house. The old porch didn't line up with house at all... it was just slid under the fascia (sp?). They have electrical stuff, shingles, screen doors and gutters left to do. Maybe they will be done by tomorrow?! I may not even know until Monday because we are leaving to go camping with Jeff and the boys tomorrow around noon or so....











Yesterday I had my last lunch with the Wednesday Lunch Ladies... we go out for lunch every Wednesday from about May until mid-October. My school schedule is full over lunch every day so this was my last.

This is us, minus one -- Jane who attends sporadically. Not a great photo, since my eyes are shut, but you get the idea anyhow. From left to right is Janie who is daughter of Kathy (next to her), Judy (who lives on Lake Superior in the summer and Panama Beach Fl in the winter), Donna (a local) and me.
Since sports are over for the summer season, I thought I'd share a couple of photos.
This one is of Brandon on his way to Golf. His game has really improved over this summer... I hope to get him out one more time before the end.
















This is Brandon and the kids from next door: Micky, Brad, and Malory. I found myself the carpool driver for baseball this year since I'm the only mom around who is home during the day.










Did I mention we had a bear visit our place while we were on our last camping trip? Based on the advice given on the news, I stopped feeding the birds so that hungry bears wouldn't come around. But while we were gone he went after the empty feeders that were hanging off the deck. As you can see, they are destroyed. Now I bring the feeders in the house every night. I guess this is why the name of Hungry Bear Acres fits our place here in the woods!

That's all the news for now... I need to go pick up Brandon from football practice. Have a safe and fun Labor Day weekend!

Where has the summer gone?

I cannot believe that one week from today I will be back in school! This was the fastest summer ever!

I haven't posted in over a month, so I have a lot to catch up on. I'll start with today and work backwards. The guys from Jim Perrault Construction (http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/living/ask_expert_front.htm?forumId=2010) started working on my porch yesterday. Within hours they had it demolished (you would not believe the amount of mouse stuff in the insulation... yuck!) and the framework is up as of now. I ran to Home Depot and picked up my new screen door. It had gone on sale since I last looked at it... yippee for me!

Brandon started football practice today... 5-7 everyday.

I picked up my books from St Scholastica.... I am now $543 poorer.

Last weekend I found myself on my own so I went on an awesome 4 hour hike... about 7 miles. I started at the Trail Center at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and headed up Day Hill and across the highway to the Superior Hiking Trail. It was incredible!

This of course is the infamous lighthouse. I have hundreds of photos like this, but yet I cannot resist taking more shots when I visit. I wonder if it might be the most photographed landmark in Minnesota?








I hiked up this huge hill (more like a mountain) called Day Hill. At the top is this fireplace built on a rock. Apparently a man in the late 1800's named Frank Day owned this hill. He proposed to the love of his life, she said yes, and he began building their dream home on this hill. She then left him for someone else... this fireplace is what remains. How sad.














This is the breathtaking view from the top of Day Hill... well worth the sweat and feeling of exhaustion from climbing it! Plus, what a great place to relax and catch my breath!










This is my day pack and the book detailing the hike that I went on. This book is great because the hikes are all in a circuit; therefore no repeats. And he goes into great detail every step of the way. I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/50-Circuit-Hikes-A/dp/0816641994/sr=8-1/qid=1156894958/ref=sr_1_1/002-9921608-4011241?ie=UTF8

Me, on the hike, on top of Day Hill.










This is scat (aka wild animal poop) on the trail. I took the photo so I could figure out what animal did it when I got home. My conclusion? Timberwolf. I took other photos of other scat, but I won't make you go through that! ;-)









Do you see that tiny white dot in the distance? That's the lighthouse. I have now hiked across the highway and am up on a ridge overlooking the lake. It's awesome!










This is the remnants of an old mine from like 1905. You can find it within Split Rock State Park.











That's all for today... I gotta go pick up Brandon from Football. Later!