Summer plans

Yes, it's mid-July so a little late to be detailing summer plans. It's been so busy around here it hasn't seemed like vacation too much - except for the brief family reunion trip that combined 30 hours of driving with about 20 of actual family fun time. Usually I am starting up our academic year now, but so far I have only been able to record a few days. But there are some summer things I'd still like to do:

Camps:

My girl leaves for Girl Scout camp today! She is excited and a little nervous. It's not her first time away at camp, but it's her first where she won't know anyone at all going in.

My boy goes to Boy Scout camp next month. He's working feverishly (well, not really) on his Rifle Shooting Merit Badge requirements so he can do some shooting at camp.

Then there's soccer day camp for both. And a Vacation Bible School that we are all helping with. Why, exactly, did I agree to take on the preschool class?

By the way, all these camps count as school days. The kids will be learning skills and, of course, getting socialized.

Mom and Dad don't get to go to camp this year, except for one night at the end of Boy Scout camp to enjoy dinner, a huge bonfire, awards, and the (groan) skits.

Sewing:

Any sewing I get to do is usually of the maintenance or emergency variety: a pair of fleece pants for winter camp, or taking down the hem of an outgrown pair of trousers. This summer I want to make at least one tote bag, a dress for my girl, a skirt for myself, and I'd like to finish the two quilted wall hangings we started last fall.

Reading:

Most people wouldn't know I like to read because I do so little of it. So this summer I want to spend more time in books. I need to get my daily Bible reading back on track; some days I only read a snippet or none at all. At this stage of my life I'm not aiming at completing the Bible in a year, but I do believe in systematic reading and I'm not doing so well at it. I also want to read The Seven Laws of Teaching by John Milton Gregory, Praying Backwards by Brian Chapell (a re-read and one of the best books on prayer I've read), something by Dorothy Sayers, and Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West, a book that's been on my shelf for years and years but rarely touched, except to move it from shelf to moving box and back again. I opened it this morning and couldn't stand to put it down, and that was just the prologue.

That's a pretty modest list for a whole summer but it is the middle of July now. I also want to read some hammock books, which are like beach books for those of us who aren't going to the beach. And Black Lamb and Grey Falcon is over 1100 pages...

Other stuff:

When the kids aren't at camp, I want to take weekly trips to the pool (either the YMCA, of which the kids are members, or our little township pool), to a garden or nature park for drawing and observing (Mill Grove, John James Audubon's house is on the short list for this), and to a significant Pennsylvania historic place. We've still never been to Independence Hall or the National Constitution Center, which we'd better get going to right away as there is an exhibit relevant to our upcoming history studies ending on August 1. Other than the pool, these are things we should be doing weekly all year long, not just in summer.

My plans don't usually work out very smoothly - something always pops up - but it's good to have a plan anyway. At least there's the potential for success!