Well, it's been a whole 5 days since last I wrote. And I can tell you not a lot has happened. I do, however, have one story that might be entertaining. My family went on it's annual canoe trip on the St. Croix river on Thursday. Just a day-long thing, usually consisting of an early morning, several miles worth of paddling upriver, picnic lunch, then downriver again until a suitable sandbar is found, and we can go swimming for the rest of the afternoon. It would have all gone as planned, except for several extenuating circumstances that caused it to not go as planned at all. The first was that it was really cold on Thursday, something you might not have expected for August 19th. It was only 45 outside when I woke up and the high wasn't supposed to top 70. We just dressed warm and went anyway, assuming we would just have to abandon the swimming portion of the trip. So we got there, and dumped in, and headed north, which wasn't hard because we found we had a strong tailwind. Really strong in fact, and after we'd had lunch at Taylor's Falls, we had to battle the wind to get back downstream. You'd think traveling with the current would help a little bit, but there were times during which I was paddling furiously, and was still quite certain we weren't moving an inch. I'm not saying it wasn't fun, but it was hard work, and my arms were definitely feeling it the next day. But anyway, the really entertaining part of the story involves my Mom and Dad fighting not only the wind, but also the sudden and unpredictable movements of the 110-pound dog they had in their canoe with them. We've taken the dog on canoe trips before, and it is a challenge because she would much rather be in the water than the boat. You can imagine what happened when the entire weight of the dog was suddenly and forcefully transferred to one side of the canoe. Mom said it happened so fast, she didn't even have time to scream. They were all in the water in the middle of the river, boat floating upside down. By the time Colin and I made it back to them, they'd dragged the boat to shore. Colin swam out to the middle of the river to collect a wayward paddle, and I was the only one who didn't end up soaked and freezing. I was pretty proud of myself. :) Everyone thought it was pretty hilarious, but needless to say, we cut the trip a little short so everyone could get home and into dry clothes. So there you have it... my story of the week. On to other things... My mom's cousin and family, on their way to Canada for camping, are using our house as a stopping place tonight. I met three second cousins that I don't believe I've ever met before. The two youngest are pretty cute little kids. Also, the weather people on TV say it's going to be a "record-shattering night." Frost advisories and something or other... I'm beginning to think that ice age has crept up on us. Okay, I think that's enough for one night. Only 7 more days 'til school and my return to the life which I have come to think of as normal. I can't wait.