pictured rocks!

And...I'm back from my lovely week-long backpacking stint up at the delightful Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with the awesome Christ Church youth group.

This was our sunset on Tuesday night...the first one we noticed. Monday night might have had a sunset, I think...but pretty sure I was in bed. Or close to it. We started our hike on Monday afternoon in the rain...which fortunately let up after about an hour. We did about seven miles that afternoon, and were all pooped. Tuesday, I was sore but in good spirits. And on Wednesday, I finally got my pack dialed in to the "perfect" fit. I do believe I danced a little jig. With pack on.

And this was our Wednesday campsite... 

 

(sigh of delight) And our Wednesday beach....

Lovely! I actually didn't bring my camera (gasp) but I wasn't worried. Everyone else did. Check my fb for the complete albums taken by some of the kids on the trip. I just hiked and enjoyed the scenery, and they gave me pics like this...

And this....

And finally, here's a pic of us frolicking at our last swim in Lake Superior.

still waiting for house news...

...and waiting...and waiting...

Fortunately, I've got lots of other things going on to keep me from dwelling too hard on my wait.

The coolest and scariest thing is that this summer I'm coaching our church's brand-new junior high girls basketball team. We'll be playing in a summer league starting in July.

Please pray that we don't get slaughtered. I know what you're thinking: "Gee, Spools, you're so optimistic!" But truly--we have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it, especially considering our practice this week (yes, we only get one per week) was canceled due to a severe weather warning. And I'm worried that my inexperience as a coach will also hurt the girls.

But I am also excited and look forward to our next practice. I have a brimming bucketful of ideas. I had nearly forgotten how much I love basketball, and can't believe I let almost a decade pass without playing hardly at all. It's a crazy cool game that rewards hard work and passion. And you get to run into people. How can you top that?