Something happens to my mind when August comes around. It seems that my carefree summer thoughts are gradually eaten away by thoughts of the upcoming fall. It is still blazing outside but I'm looking for backpacks, trying on the kids shoes, and thinking about volunteering and music lesson schedules. I find myself ornery and mad at the bubbly teachers notes that come in the mail telling my children what to bring to school and how excited they are to start school again. What they are really doing is taking my children away from me. They are forcing our lives to conform to their time-intensive schedules. They are bringing back bedtimes, homework, projects, friend issues and carpooling. They are stripping my little toddler of her playmates, and eliminating the free play sessions in the sand or on the swing. I always consider homeschooling at this time of year. Turns out I'm just not good enough to keep them all going, and though I hate to admit it my kids end up loving school-after they forget how great summer was. So now I'm trying to pack all I can into our last couple of weeks to make the most of our time together.

A quick review on my week. Brigette came on Thursday to watch my kids for two and a half days while Craig and I went to his firm's annual summer retreat. We owe her so big! This year it was held in Park City which is a resort town up in the mountains. It was beautiful this time of year and refreshing to have a little cooler temperatures. We enjoyed touring historic Park City and spent a lot of time int he art galleries. Then we went to Olympic park where the ski jumping, luge, bobsledding took place int eh 2002 Olympics. We watched some ski jumping and then went down the giant zipline up the mountain that we reached from a ski lift. It was a bit of a thrill to have the doors upbruptly opened and then to fall into space. We also tried the luge simulation which consisted of riding a little cart that was springloaded and could be sped up or slowed down simply by pulling or pushing on the stick between your legs. It was exciting, and I'm sure I went at a turtle pace. I'm not much of a dare devil. We ate many delicious meals with his firm and I practiced my conversational skills (I'm terrible). Craig had meetings both days, so I went shopping at some outlet malls for school clothes and read an entire book. (the first one in a long time) We were able to go on a hike and relax at nights. I had a great time and enjoyed having a break from the kids and our regular routines and being able to actually focus on Craig. Many thanks to Brigette!