Opening Ceremonies

We're watching the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics in  London. Since they are doing the "parade of nations" part now, I figure I've got an hour before they get to the U.S. of A. Not that the other costumes (for lack of a better word) aren't interesting, but I figured I'd blog now.

I asked Carter to be by guest blogger, but he declined. He said, '"Just tell them I made it home. Keep them in suspense. They'll just have to wait to see me in person to get the details."

I'm sure the suspense is killing you. So spoiler alert for most of you who won't see him in person any time soon. He had a fun time. I don't know that he'll do the whole hiking/camping thing again. But he said the Porkies were beautiful and, despite the rains, it was pretty darn cool.Or maybe he said "righteous" or it was "beast." Yup, he picked up some new teen lingo this week that bridges the parent-child gap further.

Yep, he did not rush to my arms to hug me like he used to do after absences from Mom and Dad. I sort of had to force it out of him. We definitely missed him way more than he missed us.That is something I'll have to get used to. He predictably raced to his iPod and his spot on the couch. Sort of like he never left!

For supper we had to take him to Hong Kong Buffett. That's about as far from camp food as you can get.

Got home in time for the opening ceremonies, which was was preceded by an Olympic-worthy juggling demonstration. Oh yes, it's good to have our baby back!

Let the games begin!

Rain Check

Carter will have to take a rain check on that week of hiking and camping in the Porkies. After all that severe weather up there yesterday, they actually ended up heading back to camp in Wisconsin. Just too much rain (unheard of, right?) for them to continue.

So he spent the night in a dry bed and got to do fun camp things today and will head home tomorrow as planned. I hope this doesn't dampen his enthusiasm (pun intended) for nature activities. I hope he enjoyed some of it anyway.

We got some of that wet stuff today, too. I had to take pictures because I forgot what it looked like!

It was coming down so hard and just smelled so good, I wanted it to last for hours and hours. Instead, it was over in less than 10 minutes. The sun came out, dried up the puddles and this afternoon you'd have no idea it had rained unless you saw it yourself.

We saw it because hubby and I took today and tomorrow off so we were home. We figured with Carter gone, we might do something fun. Just the two of us. Well golf would have been good, but that didn't happen. And the rain wasn't the reason we'll have to take a rain check on that.

Jim woke up with a really sore back -- probably from golfing with his dad and boy #1 yesterday, but it could just be age. Who knows? Anyway, he was stretching and resting it all day so we were not about to go make it worse. So I tried to get some stuff done. First order of business was an hour massage at 8:30. Basically rolled out of bed and went there -- not knowing that Jim's back was hurting worse than mine. I swear.

For fun after that, I cut his hair, did some organizing and put my Annika shrine together. My what?? See...

Got my autographed flag and photo plus the photo of us together in a large frame. Cool, eh? Now I just have to find a place to hang it!

For more fun, I sat on the deck and soaked up some rays while reading, then worked out and went to a picnic with some friends.

Tomorrow, I really better crack the whip (on myself!) and get some things done. Because once my baby comes home, I'll just want to hang out with him... while he ignores me and reacquaints himself with his iPod Touch and the TV. Sigh... I still missed him!

Mountain Madness

I've become obsessed with the weather in Ontonagon, Mich., these days. I know that's close to the Porcupine Mountains so I am torturing myself wondering how Carter is handling each and every little thing.

Yes, I miss my baby!

It's so weird not having any contact at all with him. Even a brief call to say he did "nothing" would be better than nothing. But I understand the rules about not letting them bring any electronics with them. That would only distract them from their time with nature, each other and God.

So I'll just pray for his safety and leave the rest up to God.

Of course, seeing that there is a 70 percent chance of rain tonight and a 100 percent chance of heavy thunderstorms tomorrow has me a bit concerned.

Yes, I packed a rain jacket but now I wonder if he'll be warm enough. Funny, when yesterday and today I wondered if he'd be too hot! Did we pack the right stuff? Oh boy. I guess it's all part of the adventure!

As long as the only mother he blames is Mother Nature!

Happy Trails!

Today was the big sendoff for Carter and 6 other high-schoolers from our church who are going backpacking and camping in Michigan's Porcupine Mountains this week.

Actually it wasn't that big of a sendoff. Trust me, after how stressful and time-consuming packing seemed to be (for me!), I was glad to see him finally hit the trail.

You know I'm not telling the truth.

I think we had everything he needed and we kept having to pare it down. I couldn't stress enough that every little thing weighed something and would add to the overall weight he'd be carrying on his back this week. I know he's used to carrying a very heavy backpack for school... but he doesn't have to carry that for miles. I think that finally sunk in but we still had to scale back on unnecessary clothes, etc. He did good. He even figured out my Bible weighs a few ounces less than his, so he took mine.

Early this afternoon, he got a ride to church and camp so I got to say goodbye at home. Of course I gave him hugs and kisses and said I'd miss him. And being a typical teenager, he had to torment me and say something like, "Mom, get used to it. In four years I'll be gone for good."

Thank you, dear, just break my heart one tiny piece at a time!

Uff da.

It's like he wants to be sure we won't miss him. Ha. That's just not going to happen. I'll worry that it's too hot for him -- projected highs in the low 80s most of the days, or whether he's safe -- from everything from thunderstorms to wild animals. I'll just worry.

And miss him.

And be grateful he has this awesome opportunity to bond with friends and God's creation. Happy trails, Carter!