It has been a busy week getting ready for vacation. Tonight (late) we depart on the Amtrak train from South Bend to Boston. I'm looking forward to not having to drive all that way, and it's always seemed like it would be fun to take a long train trip. However, we'll find out in a few days whether it really is. Not sure how the kids will like it. Nor us. But, it wouldn't be much different for them in a car all that way either. So, we're up for the experience. We had a spaghetti dinner at Lincoln School on Monday, as a fundraiser for Drake (one of the students, who had a lot of medical issues in the last year). It's the first time I've ever been in the new building. Beth is going back to work there this year, so she's pretty excited and nervous. Tuesday the softball team had an amazing game: we were short-handed, just barely enough in fact to have a game. We had 8 people show up, but that's legal, though you take an auto out with the 9th battling slot each time. Even so, we jumped all over them early and won the game 9-3. We played with only 2 in the outfield and they did an amazing job. We were even playing a team that worked us a few weeks back! So we have a little winning streak going. There was a surprise even at the Bells' house for youth group...the new house we helped them move into a few weeks back. The surprise event turned out to be a pool/pizza party, although I gather not everyone used the pool because it wasn't as clean as it might be yet. They're still working on that. Anyway. The kids (except Nat, at counseling) all had a fun time. The last couple days has mostly been about getting things ready to go on vaca. Acadia, here we come...