What we are up to

Lots of big and little stuff happening around here:

My Aunt Jackie has gone up to Maine for 3 or 4 weeks. She's got a house up on there right on the ocean just a couple of miles from the Canadian border. It was quite a logistical and emotionally trying time trying to get everything set for her to go. It is kind of peaceful now that she's gone. I think I needed a little break. Having her move in really changed a lot of our household dynamic and inevitably caused some strain, I think the the most for me. I'm glad we did it but it is nice to have a little break!

I was not planning to do this again this summer but we wound up taking another Austrian student in for 3 weeks this summer. We pick him up from the airport tomorrow. Eek, taking in outsiders into one's home is very humbling, at least for me. I am not a good housekeeper, very cluttery and disorganized, nor am I a good cook (I forget to feed people on a regular basis) and well, my family is quirky. So all that gets exposed. We had such a wonderful experience with Florian last summer though and it is only 3 weeks, so I hope Raphael will enjoy his stay here with us.

Hannah got an internship with The National Right to Life Committee in Washington DC. Last week she got to meet Justice Alito and get a tour of the Supreme Court. Her job is to research euthanasia issues including at NIH's library. Tomorrow in the a.m. she's flying down to Jacksonville to help with the annual conference. So she'll leave in the a.m. and Raphael arrives in the afternoon!

Will got a part time job as a file clerk at a doctor's office. His friend's mother is a doctor. He's kind of job sharing with two other guys, his friend and another guy they know. So that's made life interesting. I'm glad he's finally gainfully employed outside the home. I think it is/will be a good experience for him.

Josh is finishing up his last 10th grade subject, Lit/History. We are reading Hamlet and doing the last two chapters in History of the Church. Then he has to take the CAT and then he's off to work camp next week. The group is going to some town in PA.

Sean is still adrift a bit. He's been playing a lot with his friends, playing video games, learning all he can about arcade games and their history, development and demise. He's also lately been talking a lot about whether DC or Marvel Comics have better superheros. He said he plans to reread the 3 Mysterious Benedict Society books. He just reread Holes for the 3rd time.

Becky is completely into Harry Potter. She's started reading the books on her own in addition to her dad reading them to her and listening to them on audio! She is a Harry Potter expert! Today she has her first homeschool girls basketball game. It's an informal thing.

For me, I've gotten involved in starting up an Aquinas Learning Center and it looks like it is going to take off in the Fall. I also am helping to start a new 4H club in our town. Whew!

We've been watching a lot of movies lately. Sean wants to watch all the Charlie Chaplin and Mark Brothers movies. We rewatched Ducksoup a few weeks ago and we watched A Night at the Opera last night. We hadn't seen that one before (well, I had a long time ago). We also watched The General with Chaplin a few days ago.