Camp!

 Sunday afternoon I took my sweet cherubs to camp! 

They were decidedly unhappy with me for taking this picture because they just wanted to go join their cabin mates. Too bad, mom gets a picture, it's a rule. 

M went with 5 other girls from school. I nearly felt bad for the other 4 girls in their cabin but these are some of the nicest kids and I knew they would include the others. They definitely did! M was even bunkmates with a little girl named Fiona. 

M is so social, she could make friends with a rock so having her make some new friends wasn't a problem at all. 

The camp posted this on Monday. I appreciated seeing that she was doing well! 

Because M is just only going into second grade, she was only a mini camper. Like C last year. So just two nights. I picked her up yesterday and she was exhausted. But she had a lot of fun! She was so engaged with closing worship that she didn't even notice I arrived. 

M is a very good sleeper, but also a very high-needs sleeper. She needs it to be dark, not too hot, and include white noise. Oh and a bed. This gal hasn't napped in years. And doesn't fall asleep in cars. She says she was awake the whole night the first night but was able to sleep the second. I actually don't doubt that's true. 

Some of her friends crashed yesterday afternoon but M held on until bedtime. But the second her head hit the pillow she was done. 

It's very strange. For as much as I worry about her brother, I wasn't at all worried about her. She'd probably be fine going for the full week next year but she is only able to mini camp again next year. Nevertheless, I did miss her and I liked having her back home in the nest. 

I don't pick C up until Friday but I did happen to wave to him when I was there yesterday. He didn't come running over and he didn't look sad so that's about the best I could expect really. I miss him too. Hopefully, they post some pictures of him today! 

Another Weekend, Another Show and an Ordination

Saturday was just the best day! 

Our friend was ordained a permanent deacon. I got one of the coveted tickets to the Mass and it was so lovely and emotional. (In a good way!) The program very specifically said to not take pictures during the liturgy and I am a rule follower so I didn't. There were plenty of people taking them though so I do have a tiny little bit of regret for NOT taking even one quick one. 

It's hard to know what the most moving part was. 

Watching a Diocese's worth of priests and deacons process in? Hearing the consecration and doxology in surround sound? Watching the new deacons' wives carry their vestments to them and then watching them be dressed by another deacon? *These were in fact all the moments that made me tear up, however.

I think my favorite moment of the liturgy was when each Deacon was holding the Book of the Gospels and the Bishop said "Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach." 

Then afterward there was a party with all my favorite people at the new deacon's house. And it was SO good. 

Yesterday was his first mass and homily, so it was packed. It was good. And I definitely teared up again when the three (2 deacons and Fr.) kissed the altar at the beginning of mass. 

Then after that, we went to see another show. Because the Summer of Theatre that's why. (For what it's worth, this was the last planned show on our schedule. The summer isn't over and there are plenty of other options and things to see but we haven't gotten tickets for anything else.)

But we ultimately had fun.  

It was bright so they're a little squinty. Nevertheless. 

Now it's Monday already, which seems crazy. 

4th of July and Other Things

 Hello! 

In wrapping up my "catch up on all the things" mode, here is a little 4th recap. It was good. 

We typically make a 4th of July flag strawberry poke cake. But this year we tried a variation and made a strawberry lasagna. My friend had made one for a gathering and one bite in I knew M would LOVE it. She sent a piece home for both kids and they did in fact love it. I saved the recipe for the 4th though to make our own. 

It's got a Golden Oreo cookie crust layer, a cheesecakey layer, a strawberry jello layer and a straight cool whip layer. And it is delicious. (There is still some in the fridge, but I suspect there won't be tomorrow.) 

We otherwise stuck to tradition of glow sticks and Macy's fireworks on tv. No crowds, no heat, no bugs, no problems! And now the kids are insistent it's the way to go so... who am I to argue? 

You know how the Dollar Tree raised their prices? Well that extra 25 cents must have changed the glowsticks because the longevity of those things is insane. There was still one glowing last night. I didn't even know that was possible! 

In other news from the last bit here, we saw two more shows for our "Summer of Theatre." 

We started with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I like the material. I didn't love the production and was glad I didn't have to write about it. 

Then we saw Electra. And it was good. 

Then because we were staying up late anyway, we decided it was a good night for catching fireflies. 

I'll take "Wholesome Summer Family Activities for $200 Alex" (Or Ken or Mayim these days I guess. RIP Alex!) 

Also, M "got" me this sign for my office. She said I needed it. Have you seen the Holy Spirit Activate Video? (Skip to 1:51 if you're short on time, but the whole thing is good.) 

Well we love it. And I am big into the Holy Spirit. So... the sign. Anyway I think that is officially me all caught up... Happy Friday!

And Another Thing

So I got back from MN and went to work for what was likely the most awkward work week of my life. 

Because I was training someone. And I think even in the best of circumstances training someone can be a tricky thing. Especially as a legal assistant, there's a lot of different things to know and some of it you just learn going through it. But the whole process took on a different spin because I was training this person to take over my job. 

And I had been gone for a week. 

And she showed up at 8:00 am on the dot. 

So it was weird because I was trying to reacclimate myself and dig myself out of the hole, but also say goodbye to clients and coworkers and close the chapter well. All while training my replacement. 

It was a lot. 

This was my view for most of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As I sat behind new lady and tried to help her learn all the twists of my job. 

It was a bittersweet transition, but I am SO excited for the next step. Even though I will miss our work cats. 

Claws, Satchmo, Yes and Darlene. They're nice cats and these images brought me joy at work. Apparently even fake pets can calm people down. 

But... now I have a new job. I am the Director of Faith Formation at my parish and I am really really excited about it. So you see, VBS is was the first step and will be part of my thing for the foreseeable future. 

I got into my new office on Tuesday and dove right into the deep end. 

I got my Holy Spirit cross. (A goodbye gift from my favorite friend boss who I no longer work for directly. Who by the way, was ever so supportive of this change! She is first and foremost a faith sister of mine.) 

I got my Holy Spirit You Are Welcome Here sign. 

So on a wing and prayer I enter this new journey and we will see what happens next. 

Checking In

 Oh my gosh, it's July. 

Things have been crazy the past few weeks and now it's already a new month. There is LOTS to say but let's start with VBS was great! 

We had a fantastic week and I think for the most part it went really well. There are some things I will change for next year though, and I always look for ways to improve. 

Here we all are. 

Anyway, immediately following VBS, like we unloaded the car at home and reloaded it, we took off for Minnesota. 

We stopped on the way out of town to get C's new glasses. 

We had a delightful weekend. We hit the Mall of America because the last time we took the kids M was two and she doesn't remember. We went to the Aquarium. 

After the Aquarium we walked around a bit and then went to Ikea. 

The real reason for going north was Joe's high school graduation party. He is Husband's cousin but was also our ring bearer once upon a time. So we got to see some of Husband's relatives, which was nice. 

So this is my first part of the catch up check in. More soon!! 

VBS Week

 Oh hey there. 

If you need me this week I will be rocking out to VBS music. 

And hanging in the "southwest" 

This is my first year as director and Day One went pretty darn well! 

It's so much work, but I love VBS week and helping youth find a love for Jesus. 

The Start of Summer Break

The Last Day of School went well for the kids! And here we are already a few days into summer break. How is that possible.

M is devestated the school year is over. Mostly because the girl is a social butterfly and is already missing her friends. 

C is less sad about school being over. He likes the routine. But he was ready for a break. The last bit of Mondays there were more exhausting because he was just ready for permanent weekends. 

We surprised the kids with Hamilton tickets to kick off the summer the day after school let out.

We had a good time. Husband and I saw it in 2016 in Chicago. But this was the kid's first time seeing it. I am so glad we made it happen! 

We had so much fun that we kind of got on a kick and declared summer 2022 the summer of theatre. So we saw another show this past weekend. 

Madagascar Junior was more fun than I anticipated. We've got more shows coming down the pike too! 

Do you remember that C got Waldo for his birthday last year? So we now consider that to be Waldo's "birthday" too. So he got a betta log for his big day. We finally installed it and after some hesitation, both aquatic gentlemen have discovered it and find to be quite satisfactory indeed. 

In other aquatic news, swim lessons began last Tuesday and they're still going great. This year we put them together in the same "private" lesson of just the two of them. 

It works out okay! One of us waits, then takes them straight to their summer program, then heads off to work. In this heatwave we have, the pool was the place to be let me tell you. Sitting in my car for 30 minutes wasn't as much fun. (With gas prices so high you better believe I wasn't idling and just had my windows open!) 

And that's what we are up to about now. 

Happy Wednesday!