Breaking News: VMs Leave House for Fun Outing! :)

Check me out!  Two blog posts in two days!  Must mean we have a day off!

As previously mentioned, we've been in a bit of Survival Mode since school started.  If it wasn't for church, school or the grocery store, we weren't leaving our home.  This weekend we finally ventured out for a super fun couple of days.  Some church friends had the idea to open up their beautiful back yard to families wishing to camp out.  We pitched our tents with other friends on Friday night and enjoyed activities, like a potluck style dinner, discussions around the campfire, trampoline, s'mores, an outdoor movie and stargazing, until the late hours of the night.  Then we bundled up and slept in the wonderful, cold, fresh air.   

Our friends had this backyard camping idea because they live about a half mile from the park where the annual hot air balloon inflation and launch takes place at sunrise.  We actually overslept a bit and missed a good part of it, but the early morning walk through the orchard still provided us with a long-distance view of the balloons drifting into the sky.

And we got there in time to see something we've never seen before; the last few balloons DEflating because they were unable to battle the winds that had picked up.  We shrieked with delight at this huge chili pepper balloon sank practically right on top of us!

After all the balloons had either taken off or deflated, we made the walk back to our friends' house.  We ate our cooked-outside-on-the-camping-stove blueberry pancakes and eggs and started to take down our tents.  As we did so, we saw an amazing jet show right above us!  The flyover was intended for the festival, but our close proximity to it allowed us to enjoy it right from the backyard!

   

It took some time on Saturday to recover (read: lots of  smoke-scented laundry and some naps) from this grand camping adventure, but it was totally worth it and really the perfect way to experience the hot air balloons!

Back to School

For just under a month now, we've been back in our school routine.  We are discovering that many things about this year are already awesome: The girls, once again and as an answer to prayer, getting teachers that seem perfect for them; the opportunity to make new friends and to also reconnect with old and dear ones; a fresh crop of adorable and enthusiastic new students for me; a schedule already full of fun new school stuff-- like band for Ella and Friday night football games in our brand new, state-of-the-art football stadium.  

But, the year has had its challenges too.  Dave and I are both adjusting to changes in our jobs and new demands.  Both girls were immediately thrust into the world of nightly homework, preparing projects, and studying for tests.  I won't deny that a feeling of being overwhelmed sneaks up on us and the fear that no matter how hard we all work, we'll still never have the job done perfectly.  My friend Dorina likes to give a theme to each of her years.  Maybe ours will be "GRACE".  And it will include the grace you extend to me for neglecting the blog while I attempt to stay on top of life! :)

Here are some very belated pictures from our First Day of School! 

A Special Sunday

Last Sunday was a big day!  Our summer intern, who we have gotten to know and love, preached his last sermon about striving to be a unified body in Christ.  Then, perfectly and appropriately, our congregation commissioned Dave as the Lead Pastor and Pastor Patrick as the Youth Pastor.  Dave and Patrick were charged with questions.  Our church family made promises.  And we stood up front while the elders and deacons laid their hands on us and prayed for us and the church.  It was a moving day that was overwhelming and emotional.  I could write pages and pages about how blessed we've felt serving at this church the past 12 years.  And how honored we feel to be invited into a new leadership position. And how grateful we are for God's provision in giving us Patrick, who seems to be both a perfect partner for Dave and an awesome leader for our youth.  And how at peace and trusting we feel that, even though the calling seems daunting at times, we have the support of the congregation and we know with certainty that God will continue to be faithful in filling us with His Spirit and equipping us as we seek to glorify Him.

   

If all that wasn't enough, we got to spend a few hours in the afternoon with Dorina and her girls as she was passing right through town on her way home from a weekend in the Bay Area!  We had much to catch up on and celebrate in each other's lives.  This was a happy reunion full of Just Dancing, laughing, Mexican food, and every toy in my house ending up on the living floor (always a sign of a good time)!

This Sunday was also special because it was officially my last day of summer, as I went back to school the next day for in service meetings and prep for the big First Day on Wednesday.  I could not have asked for a better day to bring to conclusion one of our best summers ever!

Happy Birthday and So Long, Summer!

Since life was full of other stuff, like settling into Rehoboth, or JUST returning from Chicago, on the days of the girls' birthdays, I had promised them a special birthday outing that would take place at the end of summer.  We let them each pick one friend and we made a day trip to Monterey to visit the aquarium.  Working with the schedules of our friends, this trip had to take place on what would be the last week day of summer, so it was a great goodbye, as well.

We've been to the aquarium many times and we've shared it with many friends, but letting the girls each pick a school friend to hang out with for the day was another new experience.  It was so fun for Dave and I to sit back and take in their interactions.  Here are a few fun photos and their captions:

 Group shot in the octopus lair.

Wall of sardines in the Open Seas tank!

Jellyfish symmetry.

Admiring the seemingly hand-painted spotted jellies.

 The classic shot.

A perfectly beautiful Monterey day!

 Ocean selfie!

 Active otters, and our best spot ever viewing them right up against the glass.  We also saw a presentation in the auditorium about an otter pup the aquarium had rescued and rehabilitated.  I think otters won "Favorite Animal" of the day!

 Touching sea cucumbers, abalone, urchins and crabs.

 "I don't mean to alarm you, but there's an octopus right above you!"

Hiding in the kelp forest. 

 The penguins kept blocking my picture of Ella and her friend!

Laughing in the Wave Cave.

Cool sun beams shining through the kelp forest tank.

With a splendid summer drawing to a close and school starting in a matter of days, this was a great bridge between seasons.  This fun outing was something special to end the summer with. And the time spent with school friends, and learning who this year's teachers would be via email on the ride home, was just right for getting us excited about getting back into school routine next week!

More VM Family Photos

As previously mentioned, when we were all together in Chicago last month, we hired a photographer to get, what we hoped would be, ONE good picture of our family that we could frame and use for Christmas cards.  Welllllll, I think this was mission accomplished!  Our problem now is not knowing which ONE of these awesome pictures to pick as a favorite!  We are so pleased with how they turned out and love our photographer for capturing the fun our family has when we're together and for giving us CDs with the copyright to all 200+ images!