We're Off!

This family is headed out for a much-needed vacation in the early morning tomorrow. We are all so much looking forward to this one, especially since for a while we weren't sure we'd be going at all, due to uncertainties at DH's work. B"H that has resolved, and we will squeak in this trip before his academic schedule goes crazy.

It's been a pretty good week. Visits with grandma and grandpa sprinkled through the last couple of weeks, processing the last of the summer fruits and pickles, making plum liqueur for channukah, taking a two-week learning time vacation (and what did the kids do this morning? design their own learning time!), doing a little bit more decluttering (we're truly almost getting down to having not a single item of clutter), playing games with the kids, LOTS of drawing time, anticipating the upcoming holidays and the new year, preparing food for our trip so while we're on it I really have a cooking vacation and meals can magically appear in just a few minutes, reading from the Legends of Ga'Hoole series, baking with the kids (they love this!)...

Everyone is very excited to be going camping tomorrow. Our first time with everyone in a tent, so they're especially excited. The last few years we've just done yurts.

After we get back we're planning to get ready for the holidays, go apple picking, get back to our learning time, and finish the cooking for Rosh Hashanah. I'm really looking forward to the fall holidays. It's a sweet time of year. We'll have a couple of people for first night of RH, then have a big crowd (and growing bigger!) for lunch. Second day, we'll all trudge down the hill and go to shul, then to friends for lunch. Should be a lovely weekend! And for sukkot we have a little work to do. We really didn't think we'd be here for another sukkot, so we used the lattice from our former sukkah on the bottom half of the deck when we fixed the house up. :) We'll be putting together a new structure this year! There was a great sale on tarps at Bimart last week, so hopefully those will work and we'll figure out the rest. OY.

Hope everyone has a great week!