Sunday...

The sun came out this afternoon. We haven't had much of that lately. Yesterday, it rained horizontally and the wind blew all day long. This morning, it snowed. Now, the sun is streaming in the windows and shining off of the new snowpack.

Fall has been weird. By now, the river would ordinarily be frozen, maybe even enough to operate a snow machine on it. There would have been snow that had been on the ground long enough to get good and dirty. But the river is still open. I have seen some recent video that showed it in a slushee-like state, but I am sure that yesterday's hours of rainfall ended that. I saw a boat moving down the slough yesterday at a decent rate of speed. No suggestion that the captain was picking his way around ice floes.

The baby has discovered the delights of guacamole and even could be sighted sucking on a lime this afternoon. My wife is determined that we will not have a "kid's menu" kid. It looks as if I will have to compete for the guacamole with an 8-month-old from now on. There are worse fates, I suppose...

Week number thirteen begins tomorrow. Nothing real fancy this week. Maybe kickball in PE, but that's about it. Thanksgiving is a little over two weeks away, and then it is a fast downhill run to Christmas. I am amazed at how fast it seems to go each year. Each year seems to be faster. Before we know it, the years will fly by and Alice will be in pre-school. Okay, maybe I am getting a little carried away.

I think that we will skype with the kids back in Traverse City, and then I need to get up and do some vacuuming around here. Three dogs worth of hair to contend with. On to the holidays!

11 Weeks Down...

The mad rush is beginning to ease a little. Since the last post, we have had our Halloween carnival, and things will be relatively quiet now until I take high school kids over to Bethel for the district high school speech contest. That is always intense, but fun at the same time. I do not care all that much for the part that requires me to sleep on a classroom floor for two consecutive nights, but the event is generally entertaining, and I enjoy watching the kids rise to the occasion.

After that, we have Thanksgiving week, which features a big lunch for the community at which we serve. Of course, we also have a nice, long weekend. From there, it is a short rush to Christmas vacation and a long break in Alabama.

The kiddies are coming along reasonably well, although it seems that one of my seventh graders has broken his arm this afternoon. With any luck, it will be resolved simply. We shall see.

I have some kids in here enjoying some free time on their computers. Time to kick them out and go home and snuggle the baby. Night, all....