Last week of summer!

Whew! What a BUSY whirlwind the past two weeks have been! I thought about blogging often so I could catch up on events, but then I got sick with a sinus infection and laryngitis and just didn't have the energy. But I'll try to give a brief synopsis.

Last week our Bishop was in town. He is situated in Wichita, and his diocese covers many states here in the middle of the country. Since there are 7 Antiochian Orthodox parishes here in the northern Colorado area, he just comes for a week and visits each parish during that time. That makes it easier on him travel-wise, and cheaper for the parishes - they don't each have to pay for a flight and hotel, etc. The other nice benefit is that we get to go visit the other parishes when he is visiting. It was lovely - just to see people and clergy families from other parishes that we don't get to see that often. The fellowship and friendship was like a mini-retreat in a lot of ways. We all had a good time, even though it was busy!

Last week we found out that Emmelia HAS been accepted into the school we hoped for! We are SO excited about that. It is an awesome school and we'd managed to get our hearts set on it even before we heard, so we were very glad she gets to go. Kindergarten starts this coming Monday! So this week has been busy with getting final vaccinations, filling out enrollment forms, buying new clothes for school, etc.

The Deac started his new job this week, too and he LOVES it! He's like a pig in slop - he is really happy to work in a team environment with intelligent people and not have a long commute. We need to do a few things like figure out insurance and retirement plan stuff, but that shouldn't be too hard. So far, he is working a "normal" (daytime) work schedule. No word yet on when/if he will move to an evening schedule.

Emmelia got her second stripe in karate! She is really doing well in karate and is starting to do better in violin, too. It was a hard summer for violin - I think we were so busy that it was hard for her to stay focussed. Maura will start lessons with her in 2 weeks, and I think that will help. They will be able to practice with each other and hopefully be less distracting to each other. Yesterday I decided to volunteer to coach Maura's soccer team this fall. I know nothing about soccer, but the Youth Soccer Association is willing to train me, and this way Maura will have a team. They were really begging for coaches because they had a lot of interest. I think it will be fun to get out and kick the ball around with a bunch of 3-year-olds. Emmelia got assigned to the team we were hoping for, as well! Four out of the seven kids on her team all know each other from our La Leche League chapter and the coach is one of the local LLL leaders. I really think, if we can choose a mascot, that we should incorporate breastfeeding somehow - name the team after a mammal or something. Anyway, I was worried about the time commitment for coaching, but for the 3-year-olds, they only do a 30-minute practice (which is actually optional, but I think would be fun and doable) once a week, and play one 30-minute game on Saturdays. I figured I'd have to go to the practice and games anyway, you know?

We have our fall Disney trip all planned and paid for! We have a few reservations for character meals to plan, but in general we're set for a much-needed vacation. I can't wait! We haven't bought a new car yet because interest rates are so high! If we can find a lower rate, we might move quickly.

We saw my Mom last weekend for lunch when she was up this way to go to a sculpture show and this weekend we'll be going to a BBQ with family in the Colorado Springs area. I'm looking forward to seeing relatives we haven't seen since my Dad's funeral, and the girls are looking forward to playing with their 1st-cousins-once-removed. We are also getting ready for a road trip out to Iowa in a couple of weeks to visit Emmelia's godparents and their family. It will be really nice to see them, but the longest drive we've done since having kids.

I got a *little* bit of scrapping done in the midst of all this, but wish I could've managed more. There is so much to do at work that I haven't even had the routine breaks I'm used to that allow me to work on a layout. But here's the 2 I've done most recently:

Rebecca's 5th Birthday, using Christine Beasley's new "Date of Birth" kit:

And I love this new kit Amy came up with, called "Five Alarm" - I think I'll have several LOs to do with it once I find some time. I mean, these photos for the Firetruck LO have been waiting to be scrapped since 2005!