Celebrate the Now, before it becomes a long time ago!

The Days are Long, but the Years are Short!

I heard that quote a few years ago as I was reading a book called The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. It definitely hit home with me, and time was flying right by me and I didn't have time to even notice.

Well, it has happened again and I realized it the other night, as I finished her newest book, Happier at Home. Again, I was brought back to the moment as I read the last chapter in her book entitled "Now."  The main point of that final chapter is to appreciate the now, because as she says.. "Now slowly becomes a long time ago."

We are nine weeks into the school year, and I barely remember any of it. Lots of exciting things have happened over the past 9 weeks including two volleyball seasons, a trip to Pennsylvania, 2 Rahns acclimating to middle school, lots of good news events, Halloween and many fun times.

So, let's take some time to appreciate the Now...as it is slowly turning into a long time ago....

Volleyball:

 Carleigh played on the Select team this season and represented her middle school. She had a great time, improved a lot and is hoping to make the freshman team at the high school next year. As you can tell from the pics below - her favored position is definitely at the net!!

Katie played for the first time this season, and did a great job. She is looking forward to returning to the youth league next season.

Afterschool Acting Class:

Both girls also participated in a 7 week Acting/Improv class afterschool. They worked with the Drama director of the Blue Ridge musical. They had a great time fine tuning their improv skills and getting a chance to "ham it up" with their Drama friends!

Yes, they are drama kids!!

Halloween:

 Halloween was fun this year, as both girls made their own plans and their own costumes. I just got to sit back and watch. Katie and some friends decided to be "Zombie Nerds." They created the costumes, and then enlisted my mom's help for makeup. They definitely looked the part!!  Carleigh decided to be a Minion and pass out candy with her friends. A fun time was had by all!!

Carleigh and her mini-me, a neighbor across the street.

Trip to Pennsylvania:

 We traveled to Pennsylvania for a quick weekend in October. We went up to celebrate Don's father's confirmation into the Catholic church, and be with family for the 1 year passing of his mother.

Middle School:

Middle school is progressing nicely for the 3 Rahn girls. I'm adapting to 7th grade English and loving it. Katie has transitioned into a 6th grader with minimal stress. Carleigh is loving her last year of middle school, in 8th grade.

Exciting News:

In the coming soon category are many fun events...these events will be here before we know it and then will be gone...so we are going to try and appreciate the anticipation and the excitement as we wait for them to arrive!!


The Little Mermaid - both girls were cast in the middle school musical, an ORIGINAL version of The Little Mermaid (no Ariel, and no Ursula with all original songs). They will be playing Gert and Golde the Goldfish....coming Feb. 28th.

Coming in March - Laura was selected as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert!! Out of 22,000 educators from around the world, she was selected as one of 259 that will travel to Barcelona, Spain for a week in March to network and meet with other teachers from around the world as part of the Microsoft Global Forum.  Plans are in the works for possibly the whole family to accompany me!!




So...The Rahns have had a busy fall, and the first 9 weeks of school are over. The days are getting colder, the threat of snow is actually in the forecast :) and the holidays are on the horizon. The pace is not slowing down, but I hope I can work to appreciate the NOW and not let it fly by and suddenly become the LONG AGO!!

Stay tuned for all of our fall and winter adventures as we continue to celebrate Seldom A Dull Moment!!

The last two Rahn events to unofficially end our summer!

Only a few more days till school starts for all of us...Don and I have been back to work for almost a week, and the girls had a great end to their summer. 

They were part of the Growing Stage Summer Theater camp production of Young Frankenstein, the Musical. They had a ball for the past 3 weeks. They spent the time with a great group of 25 kids from around the county. They were both part of the ensemble, and therefore were on the stage quite a bit dancing and singing as villagers or mad scientists, or students.  Here are a few pics from the production:

The full cast

Igor and Dr. Frankenstein

Prior to returning to work, we took one last family hike up  to Bear's Den - on the Appalachian Trail, not far from our house.  It was a beautiful night and we stayed to watch the sunset.  Junior also enjoyed the hike.

overlooking the Blue Ridge into West Virginia

I love where we live!

Two events that have marked the unofficial end of summer. As stated in the last post, lots of changes ahead and lots of new adventures!

Stay tuned to see where the Rahn adventures lead us as we venture into the new school year!

Happier times ahead? I think we're ready!

As I look ahead to the last 3 days of summer, before heading back to work full time...I wish for more days, yet I don't. It's the time of year where I am in that conflicted state of mind. I am craving routine and structure to our days, but I don't want the carefree days of sleeping in and "if it doesn't get done today, we'll do it tomorrow" attitude towards life to slip away. I start getting grumpy and realize that I want my house in PERFECT shape before next week, but I don't want next week to come...but then I do...See? Conflicted!

I am excited for this new school year to start! There will be many changes in the Rahn house and I think (hope!) they will all make for a happier home. Each of us will be changing in our own way, and through those outside changes, the inner attitudes will hopefully reflect positively.

Katie will be starting middle school...finally! She has been wishing she could be there for the last 2 years. She has spent many afternoons at the middle school helping with the afterschool musicals that Carleigh was in. Finally, she will be able to audition for the musical and have a locker and change classes, and .... and.... and...

 

Carleigh is developing into the independent teenager that I was told would be coming. She has lots of friends and I know her eighth grade year will be one of the best yet! I just hope we can all survive it. :)

Don is back in fifth grade, where he belongs - after 4 years in fourth grade he will be teaching fifth grade again.

Don's last summer adventure - camping with friends in PA.

And I will be making that much needed, much anticipated jump to Middle School. I CAN'T wait!! The new experiences and people are going to be so refreshing...I crave change and need to shake it up every now and then! Walt Disney and I agree..."If you can dream it, you can do it!" I've dreamed about it long enough and in 3 days I'll be doing it!

Can this say.. "Let the NEW memories begin?"

 So...it's been a great summer, with two fun vacations!

 But the craziness of homework, volleyball, schedules and becoming a working mom again is just around the corner, and ready or not...here we come!

• Stay tuned for the start of the school year, and trying to figure out how to adjust to all of these changes while maintaining a happy Rahn home! I'm sure there will be stories to tell and pictures to share. :)

 

Disney World ... How We Ride the Rides

Rahns Ride the Rides...
This is the first visit to Disney where we actually paid attention to the ride pictures that were available.  We decided to purchase the Photopass+ card before leaving. We've always used the photopass photographers in the parks, and many times we've purchased the CD with our pictures. It's nice to have family photos without worrying about finding someone to take them.

This year I researached the photopass+ card and decided to spend the little extra to get this "upgrade." With the PP+ card, you get all the professional shots in the parks and then you also are able to get ALL of the ride photos that are available at  no additional charge. The 14 pictures below would have been purchased at $14.95 each in the parks, so right there the price of the PP+ card was paid for. We also were able to get all the special dining pictures included at no additional charge.


That also worked for us because we ate dinner at Chef Mickey's and the photo package would have cost about $40. We received it at no additional charge.

mom and Katie are deeply focused

Don knew where the camera was and posed for the picture.

We both posed at exactly the right time. :)

Katie hammed it up for the camera also, and Carleigh appreciated it.

Rina is still focused!

 Ok...this ride picture below has a backstory that needs to be explained! We rode Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom - all 6 of us. My mother is the only one who hadn't been on it before. The ride is bumpy, dark and definitely suspenseful because you don't know when any scary dinosaurs will pop out at you.  Well mom freaked out, and then started yelling that she felt like she was going to fall out of the vehicle (you have seat belts on) - and Katie was crying her eyes out and totally freaked out. The photo below was snapped at the most "thrilling" part where it is dark and this giant dinosaur comes down and appears out of nowhere.

Notice my smile and locate my two arms in the picture below - I was grabbing mom so she wouldn't fall out, holding onto Katie and trying to comfort her - and I was laughing hysterically!!!  Carleigh and Don knew where the camera was.:)

This was the second time that we rode it. Notice, no Rina or Katie. :)

Don and Carleigh rode Everest alone.

The 6 of us had our own car in Test track at Epcot

 Don, Carleigh and I were the only ones brave enough to ride RocknRoller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. I think this is one of my favorite rides - as long as I get through the first 2.8 seconds. :)

Don was in the car behind us.

We rode it twice, and the first time we were all in the same car. Don looks way too relaxed.

So...if you think you will be riding the rides above, or going to any special dining meals that offer photos, you should definitely think about investing in the Photopass Plus card. Did it save us money? Probably not, but it provided us with a lot of additional memories that I might not have been able to record if we hadn't purchased the card. :)


Here are a few of the other favorite photos that we got taken with our photopass card in the parks:

My mother was never shy in front of a camera! :)

So, we have 20 days until Don and I have to return to work. He'll be going back to Mountain View alone, and the three girls will be going to Blue Ridge Middle School. Lots of changes ahead as the new school year starts. But first...to finish summer...

Stay tuned as the Rahns finish the summer of 2013 - we don't have many specific plans, but I can guarantee that it will be "Seldom A Dull Moment?"