September 16, 2007

The summer officially ended when the kids started school on August 27. I miss the days of not starting school until after labor day. I guess I should be grateful... the high school started the week before.

The summer was eactly as busy as we thought it would be (see the schedule here).

Kate had a lot of fun at Camp Newman (pictures here). She was there for 12 days, and thinks she might not want to go for that long next year.

Haley also went to Camp Newman (pictures here). She was only there for 6 days, and loved it!!

Personally, my biggest event of the year was my Bat Mitzvah, together with my mom and sister. We planned this for a year and a half, and it was really hard. From the note I sent my mom and sister a week afterwards:

I am so glad we did this because the three of us having shared something this difficult and special is important; I feel closer to both of you. I'm immensely proud of us. I'm a bit embarrassed about how panicked I got at various times. I'm thrilled that I felt competent at the service by the end, and that we all did so well. I'm sorry that we fought as much as we did, but glad we got over it and made it all happen so well. I'm really happy that you are both talented and competent, that I could count on you to do the things you said you'd do, and you counted on me to do the things I said I'd do, and we all trusted each other and we all came through. I'm very annoyed at the clergy for the difficulties we had with them and plan on writing a note at least about the fact that the booklet and CD they give out isn't complete. And personally, I feel more connected with my Judaism, which I'd hoped this would do.

You can see pictures here.

The kids had a two week motorhome vacation with Glynis and Susan, flying into Seattle and traveling into Canada. Pictures to come...

Other things we did over the summer:

• I got together with my Menttium group on July 2. It's been 9 years since we all met in the Menttium program, and it's been great to have their guidance, support, and adventures to share.
• Val was diagnosed with sleep apnea. She now has a CPAP machine which is making a significant difference in her life since she's getting decent sleep for the first time in several years. It's uncomfortable sleep with the mask on, but it's getting easier the more she does it.
• I got called for jury duty, and actually got on a jury for the first time from July 9-16. The person was accused of being under the influence of methamphetamine. This was a difficult one for me because I generally disagree with laws criminalizing being under the influence of drugs (as opposed to driving under the influence, which I certainly agree with being a crime). But I figured if she could get a fair trial from anyone, it would be from me. We ended up finding her guilty, which was a struggle for me, but I supported the verdict.
• We attended a going-away party for my nephew Christopher on July 14. He went off to Cornell University to get his MBA.
• My department moved to a new location. It's 6 miles closer to home, and, due to traffic patterns, saves me about 15 minutes on my commute in each direction. I love it! You can see pictures here. While the movers were busy the whole department went on a bay cruise where we looked at the great scenery, ate gourmet food, and played games. You can see pictures here.
• I visited with friends Jan and Owl on July 31.
• Six of the kids' "parental units" took them to see "Underdog" on opening night, August 3.
• I went to the DCI West Championship at Stanford Stadium on August 4, with Pam, Lisa Voss, and her husband Pete. We had awesome seats. You can see the scores here and my pictures here.
• Kate had a visit with her good friend Elizabeth, who visited here from her new home in Connecticut on August 26th. Pictures here.
• Val and I attended the wedding of her friend Jason to Harley on August 27. It was lovely, in Stern Grove.
• Our friends Jennifer and Selena came over for a visit and games on September 1.
• We hosted a brunc for my work group on Saturday the 15th. Not everyone could attend, but most of the team was there and it was fun to just hang out, meet some spouses, show off our house, and eat.

We had a little scare on September 9th. Val and I were at out club meeting in San Francisco when something caused her to have a terrible allergic reaction. She swelled up and was covered in hives. After trying benadryl and chlor trimeton antihistamines, we ended up at the emergency room, where she had IV steriods and more antihistamines. Luckily she was OK, but had to spend a week on steriods and will be seeing an allergist this week. Other than recovering from the steriods, which can cause nasty side effects, she seems fine now, but we're curious what caused the reaction. It might have been the peanuts she ate, but she regularly eats nuts and peanut butter so we're really not sure.