BEFORE VACATION FAVES

 

By 2 pm today I will officially be on SUMMER VACATION!  Summer school ends today and we say "good bye and good luck" to 8 out of 12 students. 4 are going to Integrated Kindergarten programs in the public schools where they live, and 2 are going to self contained kindergarten programs in their public schools.  2 are only 4 so they will be moving up to our Integrated Nursery School classroom.  I'm more than ready to have 3 relaxing weeks before the new school year calendar begins.  It is still summer and here in the Northeast we love our August days!

Let's pause on this beautiful day and share FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the past week.  Mine are pretty much centered around teaching/work/the children.  After reading this, head on over to Susanne's site where other bloggers join in, too!

FIVE FAVES

King's Flow in the Central Adirondacks
Indian Lake Area/Chimney Mt trailhead parking area
7 August

Chimney Mountain, a small but steep climb
Elevation is 2708 feet.
(as seen from the parking area)

• HIKING DAY!  Saturday, Dave and I got up like it was a work day (5:30 am) to get on the road by 7:15 to drive almost 2 hours north-west to meet our friends Scot and Diane in the Central Adirondacks. I have hiked every major mountain in this region except for 1.   The other ones require bushwhacking which I don't do.  We've been hiking with one or both of them for several years now and it's always a great time. Dave and I had hiked this in 2006 with our daughters and neighbors while we camped up there for a week but we had only gone to the "chimneys" so this time, we went to the true summit as well (1.5 miles up). We had a blast and it was hot and humid but at least we didn't get the thunderstorms that were predicted.  All in all, we hiked just a little over 5 miles as we explored along the summit and also went down towards the caves and explored more around the chimneys. I'm thankful for fun friends and good hikes! and i'm thankful it was good for my back.  Hiking with back pain is tough but I felt ok most of the way up. Chimney Mountain is definitely a mountain that is fun to hike!

Scot and Diane
on one of the chimneys

We climbed halfway up this;
discovered on the other side a way to get up!
I took this after climbing down!

Round Lake from the "chimneys" 
The peak in the background is Blue Mt which I climbed with Dave and the girls in 2008
That mountain is one of the top highest 100 in NYS and stands at 3750 feet

Dave, Scot, and I
just before climbing up the chimneys

Dave stands near the entrance to one of the caves under the chimneys

Dave and I on the true summit
of Chimney Mountain

the town beach at Lake Pleasant in Speculator
South-Central Adirondacks

• BEACH TIME:  After our morning hike and lunch at the chimneys, Dave went home around 1 pm with Scot and Diane and I continued on in my car to the village just south of where we hiked to sit on the town beach there for a bit and read my book.  I needed some alone time. I also had plans to stop in at the village of Northville where my mom was born and where my childhood summer camp was from 1960-1976. While I was in Northville, I called my cousin Kenny who lives on the road where our camp used to be and he met me in town for an ice cream and a quick walk through the park  that overlooks "Little Lake" also known by locals as "Northville Lake".  I'm thankful for some alone time.

Little Lake aka Northville Lake
as seen from the edge of the waterfront park
in Northville, Southern Adirondacks

image courtesy of Kr*ger website

• AFTERNOON TREAT:  One day after work and running two errands on opposite ends of town, I was  starting to feel like I needed a snack.  I stopped into a store where I knew these were sold and bought 1  package. I had had these before the pandemic hit and had forgotten how superior they are to Reese's PB Cups.  These are just amazing!  Such a better taste with better ingredients and less sugar! I'm thankful for fun small treats to indulge in every once in awhile. 

• SPLASH PARTY DAY!  Wednesday was our annual Splash Party Day with all of the children at our site.  We have 2 self-contained  preK classrooms, and 1 Integrated PreK classroom.  We  took turns going out to the playground where another teacher and I had set up large water bins, water tables, squirters, water balls and buckets.  What fun it was and how thankful I am that all of the children in our class were that day for this fun event. We loved it when the kids were all trying to squirt us and they loved it when we squirted them back!  It brought out much laughter and many smiles. (i'm not allowed to post photos due to confidentiality laws)

• CHORES HELP:  One morning this week I came down for coffee and breakfast and saw that Claire (our youngest) had emptied the clean dishes from the dishwasher the night before and had wiped down counters, etc.  I'm so thankful for her help.  It puts a smile on my face. 

That wraps up my week and list of special blessings.

I hope that whatever you do this weekend, that it gives you time to pause and reflect on the things God places in your life.....those things for which we pause and say "Thank You, God". 

HAPPY WEEKEND!!