It’s another weekend at the lake. Last trip was Madison and her friend, Anna. This weekend was Taylor’s trip down with her boyfriend, Clayton. Tay & Clay came down with us for a weekend last year and we’ve all be looking forward to another trip down. It’s going to be a long year for the kids as Taylor heads to the mission field for the better part of the school year and Clayton plans to study abroad 2nd semester. It’s been good to spend some time with them.

We were all bummed that Grandpa and Grandma weren’t going to be here this weekend, but the crushing impact of their absence was lessened by the homemade cinnamon  rolls and chocolate chip cookies Grandma Jeanne left in the freezer for us! Thanks Grandma, for leaving them and making sure Grandpa didn’t eat them all.

The Playhouse has always been a place of rest and healing. You get down here in the quiet by the water, the stress melts away, and you melt with it. So, it was no surprise to watch the kids sleep so much yesterday. It’s been hot and muggy, but we sat and chatted the late morning away on the dock as we listened to reggae music. It was good to have the time to catch up with Taylor in light of all the life decisions she’d made in the previous weeks.

The hot afternoon was spent on the waverunner, keeping an eye on the Cubs game, restringing my guitar, and napping. Then, it was off to Captain Ron’s for dinner. It’s been fun to see the place get so successful, but gosh it gets nuts on the weekends. With a 45 minute wait to get inside, we opted to eat on the patio. It was hot and muggy, but at least we didn’t have to wait quite as long to eat.

[cue "We Will Rock You"] Last night was the 2nd annual Playhouse Trivial Pursuit (Pop Culture Edition) Championships. Last year the women suffered a bitter defeat at the hands of the men after climbing to a seemingly insurmountable lead. After 12 months of trash talking between the sexes, it was, finally, the ladies opportunity to get revenge. The revenge would not come, however, as the boys methodically collected their pieces of the pie and marched once more to victory! Cries of "unfair" and an appeal to the mythical judges that the men got all the easy questions would fall on deaf ears. The men once more hold sway as Playhouse Trivial Pursuit Champions. [cue "We are the Champions"]

To the girls’ credit, they were able to let the bitterness rest. One of Taylor’s favorite movies is American History X with Edward Norton. It’s an intense, violent story of racism and hatred as a skinhead goes to prison and is forced to confront his anger. He then must leave prison and try to walk away and lead his family away from their hatred. Wendy and I had never seen the movie and Taylor has been asking us to watch it with her for three years. While those who are easily offended should avoid it, Wendy and I found the graphic drama incredibly moving. A great discussion about racism and other issues followed as the four of us chatted into the wee hours.

It’s Sunday morning. I expected to be here on the dock alone for quite a while. After the late night, I figured the other three sleepyheads would snooze the morning away. But, Wendy just joined me a few minutes ago with her tea. Taylor followed a few minutes later and Clayton is on his way down. It’s hot and muggy. The air is so thick you could cut it with a knife. But, there is a slight breeze making it bearable.

Time to end this post.