Summer's underway - Posted by Steve Mount

Our vacation is over and we're all back home safe and sound. We had a great time in South Carolina, though we went in the middle of one of the hottest Junes in recent memory. Not until our last night was the temperature really bearable and just because it happened to be, uh, a thunderstorm. We went to see some new houses there, though not for anything more than just to see what there is. We're pretty committed to Williston.

The boys got to play, endlessly, with their friend Alex. They were either in front of the Nintendo or squeezed into the back seat of our hosts' Suburban or playing hide and go seek for the umpteenth time. When Neighbor Girl came over, you could almost imagine the four of them double dating one day! (Neighbor Girl's name was Corinne, but I just called her Neighbor Girl). An interesting aside - the Morrisons live so close to North Carolina that you had to go into North Carolina to get to Neighbor Girl's street.

Brittany and Anastasia spent all of their time together, too, with Brittany getting a glimpse of teenage life. Except for a few times when Anastasia was at dance class, the two of them were inseparable.

Karen and her friend Vickie spent hours and hours just sitting and chatting. Most of that time, I sat reading and reading. I finished both of the books that I'd mentioned previously (Terrorist is an interesting character study, and not a good choice if you're looking for action [which I wasn't]; The Plot Against America was fascinating, a look at what America might have been like if Charles Lindbergh had run for president in 1940 and defeated FDR - the author told the story from the perspective of Jews living in Newark). Vickie's husband Ken got four tickets to a WNBA game and we got to see the Connecticut Sun kick the Charlotte Sting's butt. And on Father's Day, we got to see X-Men 3.

We also got to go to some places we don't have around here, like Target, Cheesecake Factory, and Coldstone. On the way south, we stopped at a Red Robin's for dinner, a place James introduced me to when we were in California.

All in all, it was a good time, and we're glad we went.

Since we left as soon as the kids got off the bus from their last day of school, this week is their first "real" week of summer vacation. The boys are at Camp Greylock, which is a camp run by the YMCA. Since it rained today, they mostly played games, did crafts, and worked in the Drama Building. Hopefully they will be able to go into the lake tomorrow. Brittany is going to Rosie's Girls, which takes its name from Rosie the Riveter of WW2 fame. They teach girls trade skills like carpentry and other things like self-defense. They will also hit a pool and do a ropes course. Brittany will be making a tool box to hold all her new tools, and she's already told me when we cut down our Christmas tree in December she will be helping me with her new saw. She also surprised me by telling me she has a new speed square - something I myself have only had for a few years.

For Karen and I, the challenge is keeping all the activities straight while still putting in a full day of work, plus taking care of the lawn, keeping the gardens weeded, keeping the pool clean, and picking up shedded cat fur. Whee!

And, if you've read this far, you win an official Williston Mount No-Prize. Congrats!