Saturday, September 11, 2010

A Birthday, A First Day, and almost a Wedding!

Back to the grind! That's what it feels like in our house right now.  Weekends are suddenly very important and all of those summer adventures are a distant memory.

We were reminded of all of our summer fun recently when I went to program an address into our GPS and scrolled through the recently found addresses....Hawaii, North Carolina, Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Antietam....it was bittersweet...but time moves on and the Rahns are getting ready for our next road trip, but first... two events that happened over the past week or so.

A Birthday:
Jack (the dog) turned 11 on Sept. 3 and because he is a four legged member of our family, we had to have a birthday party for him.  Last year, for number 10 we had a crazy party with about 20 people here.  This year, it was more of an intimate affair with just the immediate family.  We did go present shopping, and had to have candles for him to blow out.  Here are some pics of Jack's big day...
He and Don had to first share an ice cream cone!

Katie was reading him his card, before he got to open his presents.
He loved finding his presents!!!

Yep, "Seldom A Dull Moment!"  We don't do things simple in our house.....




Next event...A First Day!
The first day of school is an important time for everyone.  A fresh start, a new year, finding old friends....in our house because all of us get to experience the First Day fun....it can get a little crazy.  This year, Carleigh is in Fifth grade and loving every minute of it, and Katie is moving up the ranks in Third Grade. (Though she really wishes that she could catch up to Carleigh). 


    Fifth Grade.....Carleigh was excited to start the year with extra privileges, being the top dog at school and everything that comes with it.  Those extra privileges started on Day one as she was asked by our principal to be the "news anchor" for our school's closed circuit morning news show.  She, of course, jumped at the chance and, with two other students, did a great job of anchoring our morning news show (on TV, for the entire school to see) for the complete first week of school.  A rotating team of fifth grade students will be doing this all year, she was just the first.  I can't believe in one year, I will be sending her to the land of lockers, puberty driven adolescents, and middle school angst!  I'm not ready, but she already can't wait!!  They grow up TOOOOO fast.


    Third Grade....Katie is also off to a great start.  She is excited for the "big books - that you can't write in" and having an "agenda" (homework assignment book).  We were all very proud of Katie this year (including Katie) because every year since Kindergarten, she has had a hard time going back to school....crying for the first few days because she doesn't want to leave the fun of summer or the closeness of mommy and daddy.  This year, NO TEARS!!!!!  A little melancholy, but no official tears on school grounds!! Go Katie!


   Fourth Grade...Don and I are stuck in fourth grade again this year and slowly getting back into the routine.  It's very hard to transition back from being a stay at home mom, to full time working mom.  Those 9 weeks of summer allow me to enjoy my kids so much!  I truly appreciate every moment that I get to spend with the girls in the summer, even those too frequent arguments and statements of boredom.  I love teaching and look forward to my new "crop" every year, but the first couple of weeks are difficult as I try to remember when I did laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning.....Hopefully the next week will complete the transition and we will be back to our Rahn version of normal until June 22nd.

And finally...Almost A Wedding:
This weekend is "Get Ready for Wedding" weekend!  Next Friday at 6:00 a.m. the Rahnmobile will set the GPS for Alexandria Bay, New York (about 8 hours away) and we will be on our way to my cousin, Dave's wedding.  The girls were asked to be Junior Bridesmaids for this great event and are very excited.  This isn't just an ordinary "walk down the aisle of the church" wedding...nope it is being held on the grounds of Singer Castle, on the St. Lawrence River...a stone's throw from Canada.  Junior Bridesmaids in a wedding is big enough, but throw in a castle, a river, Canada, a fun hotel/resort, antique boats and there is a lot of excitement in our house right now!

Today I start packing for this event. I've been in back to school mode and need to transition to packing for vacation mode.....wish me luck!

Here is a pic of island with the castle, where the wedding will be held:

Chartered boats will take the guests and wedding party to the island for the ceremony, then the reception will be held at a resort on the mainland, with the Cocktail hour during the chartered boat trip back across the river.
And a close up of the castle...

The question is will Katie step up and be "big" enough to hang with the bridesmaids and ride the antique boat to the island, or will mommy be her right hand for the day?  Either way, it's going to be a great experience and a lot of fun!  

The dresses are a bright red (beautiful) with the girls holding a fall bouquet of flowers. My sister Patty is in charge of hair and makeup for the entire bridal party, so I know that they will all look beautiful.  Here's hoping for nice weather, lots of pictures and a pleasant road trip!


So there you go,  the Rahns are still as busy as ever and anticipating another travel adventure!  After the wedding, we will stay put until a possible November one night getaway.

Stay tuned for the wedding adventures.....

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