Where did summer go!?

It has been quite a while since I have posted anything and I guess that's because we have been fairly busy around here.  The summer has flown by faster than I thought it ever could and a new school  year is days away!

We have had a lot of time together to enjoy the summer.  Our trip to Glen Arbor was wonderful.  We spent lots of time at the beaches which were almost Caribbean-like... lots of white sand and warm, clear-blue water.  We also hit quite a few wineries in the area and the distillery in Traverse.  We got to visit with some of the Farrell clan that was up the same week as well as some friends from Delaware.  We kayaked, went to a concert on the dunes, made s'mores on the beach, and got a private peek at the abandoned homes and farms of Port Oneida.  It was a great vacation!

The day after we got home we picked up our new Prius C in Delaware.  Because, as you know, a week of vacation just doesn't cut it. ;)  It is awesome.  I will never not have a hatchback again.  We can put SO MUCH STUFF into it!!!! And I finally have the navigation system I have always wanted... and needed. ;)

Then, just 2 days ago, Drew got a call from Westerville.  He had a phone interview while we were up north (they called while we were kayaking and we were passing the bag with the phones in it back and forth trying not to drop them... crazy).  It was really awesome of them to let him do a phone interview since we were on vacation and they wanted him to come in for an interview 2 days later, which would've been possible, but not nice.  Anyway, Drew did GREAT and landed himself a job!  That ended break with a bang!  They called Tuesday and offered him the job, he went in Wednesday morning to fill out paperwork, today and tomorrow he has orientation/training, Monday and Tuesday are teacher work days for him, and Wednesday is his first day with kids! WHEW!

We are both excited to start the school year and we are looking forward to a normal schedule... no more hovering over the computer waiting for a sub job and feeling like we can't leave the apartment because he might miss one, no more late nights or weekends at Whit's.  It is going to be AMAZING!  We will have evening, weekends, and breaks off together!  SO EXCITED!  Westerville is having some issues right now, teachers are even threatening to strike, but even if he is riffed after a year he will have a year of experience! We'll keep our fingers crossed that doesn't happen, though. ;)

We do have some sad news... we lost Mae the morning Drew got offered his job.  The day was filled with ups and downs.  Callie is now an only dog-child.  We were very sad, but she lived very long for a rat and went in her sleep.  She was fine the day before.  If only we could all be so lucky to end our time on earth the same way.

Just to end the post on a lighter note, we did go away for one last mini-vacation in Cincinnati last weekend.  We stayed 2 days and went to Ikea (twice), Jungle Jims, the Cincinnati Art Museum, Findlay Market, and over the bridge into Covington.  Drew had never been to Kentucky (crazy, right? it's NEXT TO Ohio!) so we checked something off of the bucket list while we were down there. :)

Overall, this summer has probably been the best summer ever.  Vacations, new cars, and new jobs are a little hard to beat... that is until next year when we go to Europe!  We thought that was out of the running with the new car, but now that Drew will be more than doubling his income from last year we are going!!!  I'm honestly a little nervous about how well things are going for us.  It seems to good to be true!