Let the Cleaning Begin

When I found out that our school would start a lot later than Meg and Cameron's I decided to use that time to thoroughly clean the house.  We had had a wonderful summer with everyone and I was sad to see it go, but the thought of having a clean house gave me something to focus on in their absence.  I began with the upstairs today.  My plan was to dust, pick up, wash windows and scrub the bathrooms.  I did pretty well and by 8:00 p.m tonight I had everyone's bedding washed and even cleaned their doors.  Doug said he'd vacuum for me, but once he started it quit.   That will have to be a project for another day.

All Boxed Up

Meg, Cam and I decided to go to 11 a.m. mass this morning.  We had talked about going last night, but realized that the garage sale was going to run past 5 p.m. so we couldn't.  Doug arrived from Bloomington before we left.  He didn't join us, however, as he had work to do.  I was surprised at how few parishioners were at mass.  In summers past the late mass was always packed.  Doug has remarked several times how small the lake crowd has been this summer.

We spent some time this afternoon boxing up all of the garage sale items.  The majority was earmarked for donations.  I did keep a couple items to either put on Ebay or use in my classroom.  It took a couple of hours to get it all packed up.  I was glad to be done.  We do not plan on having anymore garage sales in the near future, so it was a relief to get rid of so many items.  We also made quite a bit more money than I had figured that we would.  That was a nice surprise.

Back Home Again in Indiana

Brett said goodbye to D.C. this morning and hello to Indiana.  It was a little tricky getting through baggage check as his suitcase was over the weight limit.  He moved the scale to his tote bag and wore his suit jacket on the plane and he had no problems after that.  No one even commented on the fact that he had a jacket on with his shorts and a t-shirt.  He said that he would have even wore a second jacket if he had too.  The flight was on time and except for lugging his suitcase to the van it was smooth sailing.

Doug left around 10 a.m. this morning.  I appreciated him being able to help us set up for the garage sale before he left.  He timed his trip perfectly as he got a parking space just as Brett walked out.  They made it to Bloomington by 2:30.  They picked up his key and had his bed set up before dinner time.  He won't have a lot of furniture this week, but that will come soon.  He and Doug met Parce for drinks and dinner.  They first went to Bear's Place and then Upland Brewing Company.  Brett and Doug ended the night with a walking tour of campus and breadsticks.

While Doug was busy with Brett I worked on the garage sale.  We actually did very well and had customers still coming at 5 p.m.  I packed up a lot of it afterward, but will have to finish the rest tomorrow.  Meg spent the day at the Dunes with the soccer team.  It was a lot of running, but they had fun as well.  Cameron and my Dad went golfing.  They were glad to get a chance to play.  Tonight the three of us went to Hacienda.  We hadn't been in quite awhile and enjoyed relaxing after a busy day.

New Year, New School

Today Meg and Cameron started their first day of junior year and 7th grade.  They were both dressed and ready to go well before they needed to leave.  Cam wore his flamingo shirt and Meg dressed conservatively with jeans.  Meg was nervous, but also very excited.  She had texted Rachel several times last night and felt a lot more comfortable.  She also finished Northanger Abbey which was a relief to her.  Cam said he was excited to see his friends, but not so much about starting class again.  I thought about both of them all day and was so happy when I got a text from Meg before practice stating "I had a very good day."  Dad picked up Cameron and he had the exact same sentiment.   How exciting for both of them.

While they were at school I spent my day working at the garage sale and helping Brett get organized for his trip to Bloomington.  He ended up having to throw out one pillow, but other than that he fit everything in his bags.  He was planning on leaving at 6:30 tomorrow morning to make sure he gets to the airport on time.  It was unseasonably cold today and I am not sure the temperature rose above 60. I was glad that the garage sale was still busy.  We definitely had less to take in at the end of the day.

Tonight was just as busy as the day.  Cam and Doug went golfing.  I took food over to Paula's for Debbi's retirement party and then came back to visit once Meg got home from practice.  Tonight was also the junior class get together.  It was at Rachel's.  Meg wanted me to take her, so after we visited with everyone at Paula's I took her to the party.  I spent the rest of the evening back at Paula's catching up with everyone and helping clean up.  Meg didn't call me until 9:45.  She had had a wonderful time and was glad to get to know some of her classmates better.  As soon as I got home Doug loaded the van.  I had brought most of Brett's items up from the basement and he already had some furniture in the garage.  He will leave around 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.  Hoping for a safe trip for Brett and Doug.

Last Day of Summer

Today was crazy being the last day of summer, but overall it went well.  Meg started her morning at Bethany.  The soccer team ran down to Goshen College and then played volleyball.  She enjoyed it and was glad to be done with two a days.  Cam slept in and was up by the time she got home.  I worked the garage sale until noon or so.  It took quite awhile to get everything set up and I appreciated Cal's help.  The morning was busy which we were happy to see as we have a lot to get rid of.

Meg, Cam and I left at noon for Goshen.  They wanted to eat at Olympia this summer and we hadn't had a chance to yet.  Glad that we could fit it in today.  We then walked down to the shoe store so that Meg could purchase a pair of Birkenstocks.  The workers were extremely helpful and she was excited  to find a pair that fit and that she liked the looks of.  I also bought a pair of shoes that will work well for school.

Once we were done shopping we stopped at The Chief.  We had been there this summer, but definitely wanted to go again.  We had piano afterward and while we were there it started raining.  I was worried about the garage sale, but knew there wasn't much I could do about it.  We found out later that Cal had gotten off work early and was able to carry a lot of the items back in for us.  By the time Cam and I arrived there were only a few items that we had to throw out.

Meg had pictures today and soccer practice.  She was glad to have received the number 11.  She really wanted it as she had worn it the past two years and it was special to her as Doug had the same number in high school.  Once Meg got home we left for Buffalo Wild Wings.  Our yearly tradition has been to take everyone out for dinner the night before school starts.  We had a lot of fun talking about the summer and their thoughts on the school year ahead.  I know that Meg was nervous, but we were so proud of her for taking on this new endeavor.

Nearing the End of Summer

Our director of curriculum called me on Monday to see if I would sit in on a Learn Zillion training session.  Our corporation has decided to use this program for our elementary math students and as a resource at the middle school level.  She said that I would then be a liaison for teachers in our building that would need help with the program.  I was proud to be asked and interested in learning more about Learn Zillion.  I had used it with my high ability students at the end of the school year and there were some questions that I had.  My only concern about agreeing to be a part of the training was the fact that Cameron had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Allen regarding his knee.  I called Doug to get his thoughts and he offered to take Cameron until I could get there at my lunch break.

Today was the training session and it went well.  We talked a lot about growth mindset at first which I felt that I had a handle on.  Late morning and the entire afternoon were spent on using Learn Zillion.  I really appreciated those sessions as I gained a lot of knowledge on their program and was able to have all of my questions answered.  Doug drove home from work and took Cam to the doctor.  Just as Dr. Allen got in the room, I arrived.  Cam definitely has Ogden Slaughter's disease in his left knee.  Besides ice and Ibuprofen there isn't much he can do about it.  It stems from growing quickly and playing sports. If it gets worse, then he will have to sit out a season.  Hopefully, that doesn't happen.  The good news was that he will outgrow it.

Meg had a great day with her friends.  She met Preston, Aaron, Graham and Clayton at Center Lake.  After they swam they all went to Steak and Shake together.  She made it back in time for practice.  Since Cam was golfing with my Dad I told her that I could drive her and walk while she was at Bethany.  Doug stayed late to finish up some work and Cal spent the day at Tippy.

More Golf and More Soccer

Cameron was back at Raccoon Run for match play this morning.  I ran him over and then went back later to pick him up.  He did well, beating his opponent by one hole.  Next week is the final week and we have agreed to let him play.  School will have started, but it is the end of the season party and he doesn't want to miss it.

Meg has started two a days and they have been killers for her.  They do a lot of running.  She said that it is going alright for the most part.  She may have to play midfield, so the extra running will definitely help.  She is also getting to know more of the girls which will really benefit her when school starts.

Last night was the athletic parent meeting at Bethany.  We met with the soccer coach first and signed up for food and ticket taking.  After that we went to the auditorium for a large group meeting.  The one part that really stuck out with me was the fact that the athletic director never once mentioned drug and alcohol use among students.  It was different at Wawasee as those topics were a main focus of the evening.

Tonight Meg and I were back at Bethany for new student orientation.  I enjoyed listening to the discussion even though I knew most of it from having Cameron as a student.  Meg was complaining that she already knew everything and didn't need to go.  Cam reminded her that Mr. Miller took his children and he was pretty sure that he already knew it all since he taught there.  Overall, it was nice to have the two meetings.  Even thought it was a reminder that summer was coming to a close, it was nice to hear about all of the academics that will be offered to Meg.