August, where did you go?

So all of a sudden September is upon us! Where did August go? To Washington I suppose and a new job. So many things have happened in the last month, where to begin?
Let's begin with the new job. After subbing a few days in the preschool summer camp program at church, I was reminded how much I missed working with little kids. When I was offered a teaching job, I lept at the chance to return to TVA. Technically I am now working for the church (which is a bonus) but the PreK kiddos still wear the school uniform and attend music and chapel with the rest of the school. It is so nice to be back with the staff and kids I missed so much.
So that was the 2nd week of August. The third week of August found us in Washington for a family reunion. Andy's mom's extended family gets together once every three years. Each reunion is held in a different part of the country and allows for many new adventures for everyone. We flew into Portland on Saturday afternoon, met up with his mom at the hotel, and took the train into town for dinner. The next morning we did some sightseeing along the Columbia River Gorge. There were so many beautiful waterfalls! After touring the gorge we made our way across the border and up the winding road to Mount Rainier. I was amazed by the amount of snow that remains on the mountain all year. Snow doesn't stick around in vast quantities around here. After spending the night in Seattle, we went up in the space needle, visited the famous market, and took the ferry across to the reunion site. The reunion was scheduled to begin Monday afternoon and by Monday evening we had successfully caught up with many family members we had not seen since our wedding! The reunion was held at Fort Worden, an old army base turned state park. The group (all 80+ of us) stayed in the "officer's quarters". These 3 story homes were built in 1904 and ours was last updated in the 50's. The house had a lot of charm. It was neat to see how things might have been way back when. In addition to exploring each house, we took quite a few hikes through combat history. There were so many old concrete batteries around the base. It was interesting to walk through and read about what the building would have been like when they were operational. The group enjoyed many rounds of hide and seek in the old buildings and even had an encounter with bats in a dark hallway in one of the seaside batteries. When we returned home, Andy and I rented the movie Officer and a Gentleman because it was filmed on location at the base. It was so much fun watching the movie and pointing out all of the familiar places!
Two days after returning from the reunion, my new job began. I have really enjoyed working with the little ones for the last couple of weeks! They just bring a smile to my face with the funny things they say and do (i.e. falling asleep sitting up at the lunch table--too cute!!).
I realize that it is no longer August but I figure it's worth mentioning nevertheless....Hobie had surgery today (we didn't want to be responsible for accidental puppies). He is sleeping this evening but seems to be doing well. He is definitely calmer tonight then he has been in quite awhile!
Well, I think that's all for now. My camera was broken during our trip to Washington but I am hoping to acquire some pictures in the near future. Check back for fun pictures and commentary!!