Summer's over. . .

Summer is over for Lani and me. Today we both returned to our teaching jobs and went through inservice activities and getting our rooms ready. Lani found out that she'll teach TAG three days per week (2nd, 3rd, and a mixed 4th/5th group) and have two days to "prep" (I told her she has a GREAT job!).

Now to get used to going to bed earlier and getting up on time! Ugh. . .
Summer is definitely over.

I'm probably feeling more tired because we were awakened during the middle of the night to see the lunar eclipse (Hannah and three friends were up watching it and their voices woke both Lani and I). I got up around 3:00 and took a look. Kind of interesting, but not worth staying up most of the night to see was my thought. I noticed that two neighbors were outside across the street watching it too.

Fishing (but no catching!)

Caleb & Levi went fishing with me on Thursday. We tried several locations all over the Mt. Hood Forest, but never caught a single fish. We first headed for the Barlow Crossing campground on the White River (heading up Hwy 26, then on 35, then on Forest Service road 48). I've had some luck there in the past (years ago), but we found the water to be really murky with silt and sand and so we left and headed for Timothy Lake. However, not knowing any better, we detoured a bit and checked out Clear Lake. I'm not sure if they catch much there or not, but we had a hard time fishing from the banks (we did see two boats of fishermen out in the middle). So, on to Timothy Lake. I had read on the Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife site that this is a top option for sure-fire trout fishing in the state, and they even pointed us toward the south shore and the dam. So we parked by the dam and tried our luck for a couple of hours, but again didn't ever even get a nibble. BTW, we had to pay to park anywhere near the dam too! Well, I really prefer stream fishing to lake-bank fishing, so we headed down the gravel road from Timothy, following the Oak Grove branch of the Clackamas River. Here we stopped several times to try nice-looking holes. Finally we had some action! This water was clear and cold -- coming right out of the lake -- and this should be good for trout. We found some holes where our bait finally got struck! This was fun, but yielded no catches. Either we were poor catchers or rather what I suspect is that there were a lot of little fish just striking our bait, but none big enough to gulp it down. Eventually we gave up there and headed down to where we ran into Hwy 224 and joined the main Clackamas River. We stopped at a really promising stretch of water with deep holes and put in our lines, but never had any action. So. . . lots of nice water, gorgeous scenery, but no fish! Still, you know what they say, "A day fishing -- even with no fish -- is better than a day someplace else." As we left our last spot on the Clackamas, both boys were asking if we could come right back here the next time!
-----------------------------------------------------

Other news:
Today is Caleb's 11th birthday! Tomorrow we're having a party for him at the Gresham HS pool. Should be a fun time with a bunch of boys!

Caleb's lightbox treatments continue to be going well, as far as we know. We're looking forward to meeting with his doctor on Sept. 6.

Caleb & Levi are both playing football for the first time. They're working hard (four practices a week for 2+ hours each time). Both are linemen, of course!

Lani & I are counting the last few days of our Summer vacations. We both officially report back on Tuesday, Aug. 29 (though I'm sure we'll be in our rooms before then).

Cool Computers

Have you seen the new iMac? Yesterday Apple announced their latest iMac models and a very-nicely revised set of applications called "iLife '08" I've been taking tech classes all this week (offered free through my school district) and so there was quite a buzz there as these products were announced by Steve Jobs in Cupertino yesterday.

I've taken classes in digital storytelling/portfolios, an overview of the iLife package, a class in "web authoring", and today 8 hours of iMovie. Tomorrow I take an Excell class. The coolest thing is that not only are these offered free by my district's tech department, but they also offer incentive points based on how many classes you take; these points can then be redeemed for cool products like digital cameras, DV recorders, iPods, projectors, SmartBoards, etc. I'm going to have enough points to get a video iPod!

Levi and Caleb are in their second week of football conditioning/practice. Tomorrow and Friday they find out which team they are on (and whether they are on the same team with any friends!). They're some of the biggest guys in their age groups, but not very aggressive -- yet!

Caleb's UV treatments are still going, of course. We don't see the doctor again until Sept. 6, but we think things are progressing well. After that appointment we may know if it seems to be in "remission", whether we continue three-times-a-week treatments, etc. Thanks for all the prayers on his behalf.