Little September Wrap Up

Oh boy. It has been over a week. And it was a crazy crazy busy week to boot. As evidenced by my absolute lack of pictures. But has that ever stopped me? No. No, it hasn't. 

It's September 30th. A great day. And it's literally 87 degrees farenheight outside, and I am pretty salty about that. 

But why are the ice cream places and pools closed?! I know their staff went back to college and they're tired but... it's so hot. 

We went to the annual Back to School Block Party. 

C went on a field trip to the marsh and he touched a snake. 

M made her friend an art project for her birthday and enjoyed her party. 

I went on a retreat and this dead tree in the middle of the vibrant color spoke to me. It also spoke to one of our deacons. He had some beautiful insight to share about the tree. I just couldn't stop looking at it. 

Yesterday I watched the live stream of Bishop Hennen's ordination. It was lovely. He is a good and holy man. 

And not pictured were:

• baptism class
• reconcilation prep
• confirmation retreat 
• spelling tests
• dinners
• a whole bunch of meetings 
• Husband getting hit by a deer and us being down one car while it gets fixed. Hopefully that ends soon!! 
• All the other regular day-to-day stuff. Choir. Piano. Voice Lessons. Work. 

See you in September. And somebody wake Green Day up! 

Not Much To Report

Last Friday night (not like the Katy Perry Song) we went out to see Come From Away. Oh, it was exactly what my heart needed. Some good uplifting art. It was so powerful seeing it on September 12, too. It also helped engage our kids in a discussion about September 11. 

My friend Heather was there too. I am not great about taking pictures of me with my friends. So... I am back on a kick to make sure that I do. 

This week, I pinch-hit as Sacristan for school Mass. I am proud of myself for not screwing it up!! 

I had lunch with my friend yesterday at Hawaiian Bros, and it made my heart sing. Did I take a picture of us? No. I didn't. But I did take a picture of the pineapple on the building because I love it. 

Not the most exciting week but there we are. 

Finding the Good

In a world swirling with some crazy things... let's talk about the good stuff? 

On Monday, a baby fell asleep on me. Is there really a whole lot better than that?! 

On Tuesday we had a mini meeting and sent this picture to our friend and former co-worker for his birthday. Our Bishop reassigned him to a neighboring parish. We have a lot of feelings about that, but mostly we just miss him. 

 

I also got some Citizenship flashcards to help a friend study for her test. But really, it would be embarrassing to not know the answers to these questions. So I started a "question of the week" at staff meetings to ensure we are all good citizens. 

Wednesday was our first faith formation kick off. The highlight was dinner with some of my friends. 

Yesterday, C had his second voice lesson. I was very proud of him. He is going to have to work really hard for it. And I think his hard work is going to pay off. 

This morning I had coffee with a friend, and it was so, so good for the soul. We spent some time looking at pictures the Vatican posted. 

And using our spidey-sense were able to find her good friend and former pastor who was at Baby Bishop School during the papal audience. (Him being there is the reason my dear friend has been moved... because when the Pope appoints a Bishop-Elect... well, a lot of dominoes start falling.) 

And today is Friday!! I am thrilled that we have a weekend ahead of us. Because when life (and the world) throws crazy at you, all we can really do is focus on the good. 

Oh Hello

There I was really good about posting in August. 

Then the reality of September hit, and I've got nothing. 

Truly, nothing against September AT ALL. I love everyday routines and schedules. It's just that I don't tend to take many picture,s and there's not a lot to report. 

Last week felt like forever. But it was the most beautiful fall weather. The kind where being a little chilly is a novelty and not even worth putting a sweatshirt on. But then the sweatshirt rocks too! 

The children found this praying mantis in the yard. It was quite exciting to them. 

Saturday night, Husband and I went to a Fiesta. I am a sucker for kids doing native dancing. Nordic dancing? Yep. Mexican dancing? Yep. Love it. Love it! 

Yesterday we had a special children's Mass to celebrate Carlo Acutis. Poor Pier Giorgio really got forgotten it feels like. He's a Saint too though so he probably doesn't care one bit! 

This week we are off and running. Second full week of school. We can do it. (I think.) 

September! (Which is really a Labor Day weekend recap.)

So to wrap up August... we took one last summer road trip. I know. 

If you're keeping track on where we've been this summer: 

• All of us to MN
• Waukon/Decorah
• Husband to Wyoming
• All of us to Indianapolis
• Kids to MN
• Kids to WI for camp
• All of us to MN
• Me to Orlando
• All of us to Chicago
• Me back to Orlando

And for our last and final trip we took a little day trip to Mason City, IA for some musical theatre fun. 

First stop was the Charles H. Macnider Museum. It's located in a former mansion that has been renovated. I loved the roof! 

We were very patient and cultured. Looking at all kinds of art. 

Patient because the real draw of the museum was upstairs, and we didn't immediately run right there. But we were there to see the Bil Baird exhibit. 

He is a famous master puppeteer. He also worked for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. And even if you don't think you know who he is... you probably will recognize his work: 

Have you ever in your life realized that the "One little girl in a pale pink coat" was wearing a crucifix? I hadn't either. And you bet we watched that scene of the "Lonely Goatherd" while we were standing there to see it. She completely is. We already knew it was a Catholic story, but it was a fun and small detail I had never noticed before, and we watch The Sound of Music all the time. 

We had a delightful time taking in the magic of the puppets. 

There were plenty of hands-on activities in the area, and even my kids who are likely not the intended age, put on a puppet show for us. 

We saw more art after the puppets. M liked this one because it matched her shorts. 

I really liked this watermelon and peaches. I can't quite explain my reasoning, but I could really look at it for a long while. 

But we had to head out for approximately one building down the street... to Music Man Square! 

We looked like fan girls because we had our Meredith pose with Meredith Willson. 

A little backstory: we had been talking about stopping here for YEARS as we drive through every time we go to my parent's house! But it's closed on Sundays and Mondays. Our family watches The Music Man every 4th of July. 

I am so glad we were able to make it happen! And my parents even came down to meet us for a while at the museum. 

We saw the 76 Trombones. 

The girls took a picture in the bathroom, and annoyingly, it's actually really cute. Why is that the place to take a good picture?!

The whole thing is broken up into 3 parts. There's a museum, Meredith's boyhood home, and the square, which has all the little town shops and even an ice cream parlor. (We definitely stopped.) 

The last thing we did was tour his boyhood home. It was pretty neat, but not as cool as Abraham Lincoln's house. 

It was a lot of fun and I am glad we went!

On the drive home we stopped at a pizza place that we have talked about eating at for the past 20 years. Seriously. 

It was good. I mean, it's hard to screw up pizza. 

Sunday... was my birthday. I turned 39! My friend got me a cookie cake to celebrate and my family and I have enjoyed eating it this past weekend. 

You know you're 39 when your favorite gift is a fan. To be fair, this Woozoo Stand Fan is AMAZING and makes such a difference in my room! 

I also really excelled in middle age by getting socks, chapstick, Touchland hand sanitizer, and a new sleep eye mask. Each item, equally delightful! 

And for Labor Day and the first of September, we did a lot of house projects, including but not limited to, starting M's Halloween costume. 

Guaranteed you can't figure out what she's going to be from this. But it's also the only picture I took yesterday at all. Just know we also cleaned, and did some outdoor projects too!