Back to school means back to all of the kids' activities, as well. Swim lessons started this week and Christopher is more excited about them than ever. He's learning turns now -- those things you do after completing a lap of the pool, those things that Michael Phelps used so astutely to win those 8 gold medals. He thinks turns are the funnest part of swimming and have him excited for swim lessons in a big way. Hurray!

It also means a return to Cub Scouts. Yesterday I helped chaperone a group of 12 wolf and bear scouts (2nd and 3rd graders) to the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum. I've got to admit that I've never taken the kids there. They've apparently done quite a bit of work over the past year or so to build it up. And guess what? It's quite a cool little museum. The kids listened raptly to tales by the guide about bush pilots landing on glaciers and flying in open cockpits at 30 below zero. They listened and learned about how the pilots had to keep their engines warm, and how many planes went up in smoke just from the processes for keeping the engine warm. And of course, there are the planes -- real ones, hanging over head and parked outside. The scouts were a bit squirrelly, but improved since last year. And Christopher loved hearing about one family in particular -- the Weins -- who were Greg's neighbors growing up. Greg was able to regal Christopher with personal stories after the tour, making it that much more immediate and interesting to him. Recommended tour for those who like me hadn't been there.