We thought we were going to sell our boat.  We no longer have Fridays to enjoy on the lake since John works 5 days a week instead of 4 days a week.  We've lost a whole day.  Then there is the maintenance on the boat which is usually more time then we spend all summer on the lake. However this year, we pulled it out of storage and it started right up so the logical thing to do was take it to the lake and see how it did in the water.  Better than it ever has done before. The kids got on the tube and of course had a blast. The only two things we need to overcome now is the time factor and weather.  When can we get out on the water? With tournaments on weekends and Isaac heading off to school soon, there isn't much time. After John gets off work, occosionally it's possible. The weather also has to cooperate.  So far this year we've had super hot weather in May. Then June and July, I've been wearing a sweater because I'm cold except between the hours of 11:00 and 2:00 pm. Those hours I roast but all the other times, I'm cold.

There is a moment in every parent's life when they have to let go. It's hard but exciting as well. That moment when the kid learns to fly and leaves the nest. This was only for 5 days but even then it was ... well it just was. He was on his way to WSU for Alive Orientation and then work in Seattle.  I wanted to go with him just to experience the excitement of college with him, to get ideas for his room, to meet other parents and to go on a road with him. But instead I watched him pack his car and leave the neighborhood. I knew that I would receive an occasional text and not one phone call.  John expected more. We received a text from him in his dorm room.  It was similar to the one he is going to be living in. Upon arriving home, he was ecstatic about the fall.  He has his classes, he's seen his room mate, but not met him. He's made some friends and connected with them on Facebook. I'm starting to shop for the necessities such as sheets, towels, laundry detergent, body wash and deodorant.  I also have air freshener on the list.  I am excited for him. I just can't believe that it's happening. I recently went to a baby shower and the gal received some books that immediately flashed me back to sitting in Isaac's bed reading those very same books to him as a toddler. It really does pass fast. I'm ready and I know he is too.

 This has to be one of my favorite hikes. I've done it twice now and would love to go again. I love hiking through the forest, noticing the mushrooms growing on the logs, the moss that covers rocks, roots and limbs. the smell of moist soil and the sounds of life that rustle through the air. Then all of a sudden you crest the hill, the trees are below you and there you see the Cascades stretching North into Canada, East and South in the US. Mount Baker so close that you feel you can almost reach out and touch it. It dominates the rest of the peaks. The wildflowers on display coating the hillside with color. I feel small.
This time, I took Isaac. He had never been and I wanted to share something with him before he left for school.  Besides he makes a great sherpa. The clouds floated low to the ground and you could see them rise just enough to crest the ridge and then drop down hugging the hillside. Mount Baker poked in and out of view. It was a different feel, a different hike, yet still inspired a smallness in me and an amazement of how creatively beautiful our world is.

 I love this quote:

"Don't ever stop dating your wife and don't ever stop flirting with your husband."

We've lived here for 15 years and are discovering places for the first time ever.  A month ago or so, my friend took me to Point Roberts.  This weekend, I took John and we did the same thing.  We went to the overlook at Lily Point to look down on the eagles. Then we made our way to the beach. We talked about dating each other and how that has been part of our marriage from when the kids were little.  We never got into a "dating weekly" habit, it was just too expensive to hire a babysitter every week.  We reminisced about our dates in college.  John would call up and ask if I wanted to go to Hardee's and get some fries.  He would order $1 fries and we would split them.  Cheap date but we would talk and dream.  Sometimes we would wander downtown Bozeman talking and dreaming.  In Billings, we lived a couple blocks away from the $1 theatre.  We would hire a babysitter and go to the show.  Sometimes we would watch the whole movie and sometimes the projector would break and we'd only see 20 minutes.  The cost of the babysitter was more than we paid for the movie.  Then we moved out here and dates were fewer and the we had more kids.  Our dates were usually over a shared latte and a walk.  Every once in a while we would get out over night sans enfants.  As they've gotten older, it's become easier to go for coffee but this was our first overnighter.  It was wonderful.

The eagles were out, shrieking and fishing.  There were a few skirmishes over fish. They would swoop into the trees with their catch to eat it in the branches. I wandered the beaches while John watched. It was comfortable, he allowed me to do my thing while he waited never pressuring me to hurry or engage in conversation.  Each time I am amazed at these birds.  Later we watched a soccer game over dinner and then headed to my friend's cabin for the evening. We dropped off our stuff and then headed to another park to watch the sun set over the water. It was like being in another world were time was slower. The lights were vibrant and the water played at the edge of the ocean with logs and rocks and whatever else was in it. The next morning we headed back to the eagles but with the tide coming in, they had taken to the trees so we just drove all over the five square miles to find the very last park.  Hiking down the trail we came upon the beach and the marker that designated the US/Canadian border.  Planting my feet on each side, I was able to be in two countries at the same time.  The border itself was amazing. The Canadian side was developed, with houses close together and yards landscapes. The fences of the backyards ran right up to the border. The US side was more country and underdeveloped, with wooded areas and little to no houses. This little point is all there is, no coffee shops, just a marina, a few houses, three parks, a restaurant/bar/liquor store, and a couple of convenient stores, and shipping stores. No industry, no real shops to bring anyone in.  It is a slow pace here and one that is refreshing after the go-go-go of live.