SURPRISE! Conrad and Jacob were gone only a week before they came home from the Appalachian trail. Conrad's hips hurt so badly that he decided not to continue. They hope to return in the fall with lighter packs. I'm glad they had that experience, even if it was brief. Now Jacob knows exactly what to expect from the trail. He found it was a lot of work, but he loved it. Conrad's brother, Jan, and sister-in-law, Lynn, who live in the Atlanta area, dropped them off and picked them up again (a lot of driving for them!). Conrad and Jacob had a great little visit with them. They had a fun day on Lake Lanier on Uncle Jan's boat.
I was so relieved they were safe, and it was good to have them home. However, I hadn't expected them to be here all summer, so hadn't planned any summer activities or camps for Jacob. I'm a slow thinker, so it took some time for my brain to adjust to them being home. I was thrilled that Jacob came home early enough to participate in his band's final concert, and our homeschool group's final yearbook party.
After 13 years of nagging and begging, Formica countertops cracking and swelling, cabinet doors repeatedly falling off, stove only half alive, Conrad decided to start on our kitchen remodel since he's home for the summer after all, so we are in the planning stage of that right now. The whole kitchen will be different, rearranged and walls torn down, so it's going to be a lot of work. Conrad's doing most of the work himself, but I can see this is going to take all summer. I sincerely hope it's completed before school starts! I can't wait until it's all done and I can use my new kitchen--but I try not to think about it, because I'm not a patient person.
This week we took a tour of the facility that will make our quartz countertop. After my piano lesson this morning, we're meeting with the Lowe's designer for the third (hopefully final) time. A Lowe's kitchen installer measured our kitchen and she had to make changes. I hope we order today, because she said it takes 4 weeks to get the cabinets in!
Jacob and I went blueberry and strawberry picking with our friends. I have so much respect for field workers! It was a beautiful day with a cool breeze, but I was still covered in sweat. I loved it, it so much fun. I can't wait for next year! Those strawberries started wilting pretty quickly, so I made a big blueberry/strawberry coffee cake.
This week, Jacob was invited to Camp Kulaqua in north Florida with our pastor and his wife. They are camp pastor and nurse. Jacob hung out with their son. He called once, and was having a terrific time swimming in the deep and scary springs.
Jacob's band teacher sent me a craigslist used trumpet suggestion, and that was the catalyst for my research of trumpets. Once I felt knowledgeable, it was time for Jacob to start blowing. We went to the Horn Section in Melbourne, and he tried a used Besson for $500, Bach Strad and Getzen Eterna, among others. The expensive trumpets sounded very piercing to me, but Jacob said he didn't notice a big difference in how easy or hard they were to play. I was surprised. I really thought he'd fall in love with a trumpet and we'd walk out of there with a huge payment plan. I was also relieved because I realized that at his current level, any decent beginner trumpet is just right for him, for now. I thought it would be a good idea for him to take trumpet lessons, and planned on continuing to rent, but when I got home, I started looking on ebay, and got excited about some trumpets on there. Just before Jacob went to camp, I got in a bidding war and was surprised to win a 1970 silver Getzen Capri. Utterly shocked, to be more accurate. I shocked Conrad and Jacob too. Considering Jacob's lack of enthusiasm at the music shop, I was surprised that he seemed very excited to have his very own trumpet. Conrad had to do some catch-up research, to be sure I didn't overpay. I was really happy that I had sold Jacob's outgrown clothes on ebay, and used that money to pay for the trumpet. UPS delivered the trumpet last night, and everyone enjoyed blowing on it. It sounded pretty bad, but hopefully will sound better when Jacob blows on it! It is 40 years old, and I expected it to look a lot uglier than it does. It's beautiful! We'll see how it sounds when Jacob gets back.
There are free golf and band camps next month. Next week we plan on putting Jacob back into swimming with his favorite coach, Coach Mike. Trumpet lessons start next week. I have to pick something and commit to it, because Jacob can't do everything.
Our church is having VBS on June 21, and we're going to that. I love VBS! It's so much fun!
We've been to the beach, Sea World and Busch Gardens. I'm still teaching piano (but my, isn't everyone relaxed! Including me!). I'm practicing my choir CHRISTMAS cantata like mad--it's HARD!-- and thankful I have the summer to practice it, because this coming school year looks so busy. I've found that the summer is flying by, and I am hanging on, having fun, and recharging my batteries.
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