FIRST FAVE FIVE OF SUMMER 2013!

Today is the first day of summer!! According to the calendar, we are experiencing the Summer Solstice ..the longest day of the year and the first day of the summer season.

And today is my first day of summer vacation. I don't need to go back to the classroom until September 4th, and I am so happy to be at home with my daughters and  doing the stay at home mom thing!! whoo hoo!! I love it!!  Even though my daughters are 14 and almost 20, I love being home with them. I really do.  Summer is when I feel most re-charged and refreshed and I love being outside. I am outdoors almost all day long when I"m not doing housework.  I don't even mind walking in the rain in the summer!!

I'm linking up at Susanne's to join in with other writers who take time to find five favorite moments in the past week.  Blessings from God....He gives us many if we just look. What are yours this week??

Claire (in the middle) with 2 of her friends
8th grade Awards Ceremony

• AWARDS CEREMONY!  Our youngest daughter had the 8th grade awards ceremony and formal dance last Friday evening.  She earned the following awards and it was a surprise to her and to us:  Science, Health, Art, Foreign Language/Russian, Perfect Attendance, Academic Honors and recognition for being selected by her peers to represent her class hall for a student/teacher committee on selecting the overall student who performed good citizenship.  She had never told us about winning that position so that was another surprise. It was a nice night for us and then she had fun at her first formal school dance.  We are proud of all her hard work and dedication to school. It's definitely a fave.  She is now done with all her exams and her first day of summer vacation was Wednesday. She is happy to be able to sleep in!

Faith and Dave on Summit of Rondaxe Mt
Old Forge, NY
15 June

Firetower on Summit of Rondaxe (a.k.a. Bald) Mt
Western Central Adks

Hiking up the ridge to the summit

Me (on r) and my friend Cheryl  on summit of Rondaxe
Fulton Chain of Lakes in background

• HIKING!  Yes, Dave agreed to drive 3 hours northwest from where we live in the capital region to get to the west-central Adirondacks (Old Forge). We hadn't been in that area of NYS since 1995!  We hiked Rondaxe Mt, making this my 7th fire-tower mountain! (there are a total of 23 ADK mts with fire-towers on them). We also met my friend from childhood there to hike with her and her friend!  Cheryl and I have been friends since 1967 when we were in 2nd grade!  What a beautiful day we had and there were, surprisingly, NO BUGS!  A great feat in the ADKs in June after a week of rain.  It was a real blessing to do this 2 mile hike.  It was so short that Dave and I decided, since we were out all that ways, to hike down to Fly Pond as well.  It was less than a mile one way so it made for a nice warm-up before the mountain.  We took our time coming home, stopping for a  sandwich and ice cream in a little "mom and pop" cafe.  We then made it back to the Mohawk Valley and stopped in to visit my dad before heading back to the Albany area.  We were gone for a fun-filled 12 hours but it was so worth it.  I love the mountains!  and I felt fit and energized after the work-out. The best part besides spending time with my friend and my husband was that my back felt great and I had no knee problems coming down!! Thank you, God!

Pond at Crossings Park

• BOOK BREAK!  Tuesday was a day where the students left at 1:30 and I could leave at 2 pm.  I had a meeting at our HR offices at 3:45 which gave me an hour or so to do some errands.  After a quick errand to the library, I headed over to our largest town park and sat on a bench to read.  I noticed that a group of engineers were there sailing these model boats.  What fun!  It was rather cloudy that day and chilly but I sat for about an hour reading and people-watching.  What a nice respite in the middle of the day.  

• BED MADE!  One morning this week, I got out of the shower around 6 a.m. and discovered when I padded back to the bedroom, that Dave had already made the bed. I am not kidding when I say this is RARE!  He hardly ever makes the bed, especially on a workday!  I was thrilled. I love it when our husbands surprise us with these little tasks. And yes, I told him. :)

• SUNNY DAYS/COOL EVENINGS!  After much rain most of last week and a little earlier this week, we have enjoyed some sunny days and cool evenings. My favorite kind of late spring/early summer.  I've been able to enjoy a cup of coffee on the deck in the evenings and Wednesday evening was the last meeting for the small group I lead.  There were only 2 of us that night but we finished up the book anyways and of course talked about many other things.  I loved sitting on the deck with my friend, sharing what God taught us through the study book and just enjoying the evening.  It's also nice to wake up with the windows open, the birds chirping and the sun rising.  So thankful that summer has begun!!

And a bonus fave is this quote I found. I posted it on FB and wanted to share it with you. This pretty much sums me up except for the last 2 lines. I love being around people like my family and close friends or church members.  And I didn't know how to crop off that last statement so please excuse that language. It is NOT mine!

I hope you enjoy a wonderful start to summer!!