Celebration time!

Last week the students returned for the beginning of the new school year and we have 100 more students than last year!  It is a good problem to have but it has it's challenges with getting everyone into limited housing, helping everyone get their finances finished and calming down parents who are leaving their children for the first time.  On Thursday I gave out all the tissues in my office!  We were open 8-6 three days this week and were busy every moment we were open but on Friday we closed at 4 to celebrate the end of the audit and the end of a successful week and headed to a beautiful house at Lake Anna about 2 hrs away.  The business office team went there last year and since we have combined the business office and the financial aid office into Student Financial Services this year we were invited to join in.  The home had plenty of room for all of us and we shared meal duty so it worked out great.  What a wonderful break it was!

Friday night after we arrived and got situated I went down and just sat on the dock and listened to the peaceful sounds of night on a lake.  It reminded me of the sounds of my parents home on Barrett Creek and then I looked up at the gorgeous starry sky and thought of all the nights I stood on our deck or on our roof in Newberg and stared up at those same stars.  It made me homesick for both places and yet at the same time brought me peace.  Our minds and bodies need that peace every so often just to help us handle the hustle of daily life.  I often used to go to the Oregon Coast to get that feeling and to refresh my soul.  I have a card that says "I go to the sea to breathe" and that holds true for any quiet spot with water for me!

The next morning Dad and I were in charge of breakfast and so he made his famous Crepes (he has an amazing crepe "platform" that makes them even better than he used to with a frying pan) and we brought along his great homemade granola.  Both were a huge hit!  We had fresh peaches, blueberries and strawberries to top them with and all enjoyed their fill.

After breakfast we went out onto the water!  It was a perfect day temperature wise with no humidity and clear blue sky.  Dad and I rode a jet ski and later were pulled behind one on a tube. Today my body is upset that I didn't remember how old and out of shape I am!   It was fun and a tad scary.  I was worried I would fall off and then not be able to get back in!  Today I am a little stiff having used muscles that have been idle for a very long time !Here are some pictures of Dad on one of his rides that he took after our initial one.

There was a huge deck that was great for sitting and eating and watching the water.

People used the tubes for lounging too!

And there was even a cool baby floatation device!

And nifty water guns!

We finished off our day with the first annual Stufin Awards (Student Financial Services).  The Committee (Tilly and Tricia) decided who would get what and Tilly made the cute piggy bank trophies!

All of us had a wonderful, relaxing time!