I went out wandering the streets with the three older kids last night in search of fireworks (and so Jen could stay home with the sleeping Willow and work with her cornucopia of quilting supplies). We managed to find a block party several blocks away, with the ends of the street roped off and everything. The kids quickly found a number of familiar faces in the crowd, so we sat and watched an endless succession of fireworks. Things were winding down as we left. On the way home, we saw a bunch of miscreants aiming fireworks at power lines and nearby, disgruntled neighbors mumbling about calling 911 on them. It seemed like people everywhere managed to sneak fireworks into a county where it is now supposedly illegal to light them. I guess some people, like the ones at the block party we crashed, had permits, but I'm sure most didn't. Still, the kids had a great time, and Jen got a little break. She's been going kind of stir crazy lately due to the van being temporarily out of commission. As I write this, she's driving it over to a mechanic's house to get it fixed. Also on the list is the camera, which keeps flashing a big red, "lens error", message everytime we try to turn it off. That's irritating. Not sure what's wrong with it. I hate finding that something I once did without has become indespensible. Like microwaves, computers, and cd burners... the list goes one. Technology really has its claws in us now.

Anyway, it's now the 5th, and I still occasionally hear fireworks going off somewhere in the distance. Any excuse to blow things up or light them on fire I guess. I taught a camp today up at Sanborn park, and the place is pretty quiet this week. There's my camp, which is actually a combination of two different animal-themed camps because there weren't enough sign-ups for either camp to have enough kids to make having two teachers worthwhile, and there's a chemistry-themed camp. The kids are pretty cute though. They range in age from not quite 4 to 7 or so. I predict short hikes and more crafts. Their legs are just too short for long hauls, and it takes them a long time to do crafts. Add to this the fact that it's a four day week and it will almost be over before it has begun.

Currently listening to Cordelia's Dad "Jane" single... oops now it's just switched to Popol Vuh. I love having the music on shuffle.