Oh, how I welcomed Midsummer with open arms this year! I was ready for summer: no school means time to write, time to plan, time to swim, and time to rest. The kids went with wide-open eyes into our media fast and I had a plan to teach them lots of skills and chores. I love that summer is unique in all the year; at least for stay-at-home moms and kids, it is a gift of time large enough to explore different skills and new ways of being. And, of course, we kicked off summer with our traditional camping trip. Here's a recap: 1. We went somewhere new this year: Lake Le-Aqua-Na. It's a man-made lake in Lena, hence the silly name. I find it ironic that even though I associate Midsummer with the desert, we will probably always camp near water now that we live in Illinois. The fun thing about choosing a campsite this year was that we made it an item of business for our (newly-formed) family council. We voted not to return to Apple River, then a sub-committee was formed t