Lisa’s Room

I am going to try and capture the highlights of this past summer so that I can remember what we did with these past three months.

It was a great summer. Mimi and Lucy did swim team so I became a daily swim mom. The great thing was that I got to hang out with and really get to know some great other moms (Denise, Laurie and Melody). I also had the girls enrolled in other camps which got to be too much. Mim got to do a science camp - and both girls did little walnuts and Mini skyhawks. I may do the science camp again and the sports camp for Mimi but not for Lucy. In the end swim team was ENOUGH and lots of fun. I never had to schedule playdates as my kids got to mingle and play everyday.

My cousin Blaise came for a nice long visit. He is wonderful and one of my favorite people in the universe. I find him engaging and inspiring and I am very happy to get connected again. In fact I think I will call him after this post. With him I drove down to San Diego - had a visit with my bro that included Mexico, and then wandered up staying in Solvang. I discovered Solvang is not so great for kids but seems best for couples seeking time together and wine from the nearby vineyards.

Then after a few more weeks of swim team - we went out to Michigan thanks to my stepfather who generously bought me and the girls tickets. We had a great time with my mom. And for something totally new, my father and stepmother joined us there with another grandchild - Victoria and we went camping at a local jellystone resort. It was fantastic. There were activities for the kids every hour - a playground across the camp road from our tents and a swimming pool. I got to really relax with Dad and Marilyn and we agreed it was an experience worth repeating. We did have a funny ending when a very sudden and fast storm swept through and me and the girls returned to my mom’s place a night early. I’ve gotten spoiled by the dry California summer weather. I have to confess I was happy to get back to california and I no longer feel much like a midwesterner - my heart is clearly here.

The final adventure of the summer had Marc join me and the girls for a final camping trip. We drove down to Arroyo Grande and stayed at lopez lake. Through a reservation mishap we spent the firsy night sleeping in our car - but I digress. When we did camp at lake lopez it was lovely and not at all crowded. Then we were off to San Diego to see my brother Phillip and his wife and baby. Well our camp ground there - Campland was atrocious but we had the most heavenly day at the beach with the warmest water temperatures that area gets. It was intoxicating.

So now we are home and both girls are in school. Mimi is set up in 1st grade - staying a full day without batting an eye. And Lucy is in her final year at her preschool - happy to see her friends again. As for me - I am extremely happy to have my 4 hours a day back. I haven’t had the solid chunk of time since the year before last. Today was day #1 and I certainly got a lot done. I am to be playing a piece in October that is very challenging and I finally got to practice.
Here are some highlights from the summer:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 6:59 pm and is filed under Family Milestones. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.